During my work, I ran into a fellow vaper who, upon seeing my DIY mods, we started talking. He told me that ever since an 18650 battery exploded in his pocket, he only uses disposables…
Listening to his story, I was horrified; it exploded suddenly in his pocket while stored in a no-name spare battery storage box. It wasn’t in a mod, not during use, just put in his pocket while resting.
Like a birthday cake candle, shooting a jet flame for 3-4 seconds, it ignited his coat, causing serious burns on his body according to the photos.
By favoring reliable, well-known brands, do you think the scenario described can be avoided?
Or are there signs of battery degradation? Or is storing them in an asbestos steel box recommended?
This is almost 100% certain to have been caused by a short circuit.
The key is proper storage and immediate handling of damage.
Batteries from reliable manufacturers undergo much stricter quality control, and the specified parameters are real. With no-name batteries, it often happens that the written values have no relation to reality, which can lead to overload and dangerous heating.
The storage was likely inadequate, or there was a metal object in the pocket that somehow still contacted the terminals.
The most important things to watch out for immediately:
Damaged wrap: This is the most common and dangerous fault. The battery wrap is responsible for insulation. If even a small part tears, or if it gets damaged near the terminals, the battery can immediately short circuit if it touches metal. It must be rewrapped immediately!
Dent, deformation: If the battery casing is damaged, dented, or deformed (e.g., dropped or hit), it can also damage the internal structure. Such a battery is trash!
Unusual heating: If the battery becomes unusually hot during charging or use, it may indicate an internal problem.
Performance drop: If the mod indicates draining faster, or the battery can no longer handle the load, it’s time to replace it.
So, having a reliable battery is not enough; that is only the first step, but it must be continuously checked, maintained, and used correctly…
Never place the battery where it can come into contact with metal. The safest way to transport it is in a good quality plastic, lockable battery case.
If we adhere to these rules, there is nothing to fear.
I once experienced this with a Liitokala battery purchased on AliExpress; one of the four started heating up in the holder. Naturally, as soon as I noticed, I immediately removed it from the others and threw it into the hazardous waste container.
Something similar almost happened to me once, about 12-13 years ago… Back then we were still trying everything, so I had a bottom-fire mech mod, a Nico N-Storm, Hungarian made, with a factory spring-loaded bottom switch. The “Big Brain Árpád” ordered magnetic rings from Fasttech, because what a technocratic innovation it is to make the switch magnetic, plus a salvaged battery from a Samsung laptop for 300 forints… Yes, but the big brain left the locking ring open, and shoved it in his pocket before heading to work, and that’s when Murphy started his work… one of the quarter-dollar magnetic rings from Fasttech broke (I guess from the shaking), and it immediately flipped to the other side in the switch base and engaged the button… I noticed the mod was getting hot, and the cotton in the dripper had practically turned to dust by then. The coil was glowing red hot in the atomizer, heating up the entire mod and the battery too… I only had enough time to take the mod apart with a tissue, by then it was already hot, and the battery flew quite far into the middle of the street… It cooled down, thankfully it didn’t hiss.
Since then, only quality batteries and mods equipped with electronics.
Lesson learned: the battery doesn’t need to be damaged; the end-user can kill it too if they are careless…
From all this, I started to wonder if disposable ones don’t have a battery that could potentially explode? I have no other thoughts, because from coffee makers to cars, we use quite a few things that can explode… Just casually
I have no other thoughts, because from coffee makers to cars, we use quite a few things that can explode… Just casually 
