Although the safety of vaping products has greatly improved over the last few years, there’s still a worrying trend that seems to make the news every week – and that is fires caused by vape or ecigarette battery devices catching fire.
In this article, we’ll look at some of the dangers these devices can pose, as well as advice and information on vape battery safety, how to keep your vaping device in tip top condition, and how to reduce the risk of fire when charging or using your vape device.
Below is a table of contents. Clicking on any of the headings in this table will take you directly to that sub heading on the page, for quick navigation.
Table of Contents
Vape Battery Safety, Fires & Explosions
As well as the health risks being reduced by using vapes instead of regular cigarettes, there’s also a massive reduction in the risk of fire – usually from unextinguished cigarettes setting fire to surrounding objects, or worse – people falling asleep whilst smoking.
Thankfully, with vaping, both of these things are eradicated.
However, there are other dangers associated with vapes and ecigarette devices, and it mostly comes from the battery.
Whilst I couldn’t find any official figures related to fires caused by battery malfunctions, or any figures of how many injuries were caused, there are plenty of newspaper articles detailing inuries and fires caused by vape products, such as Richard’s story here.
Below are 5 ways to minimise the risk of fire or injury and improve vape battery safety when using these products.
1. Trustworthy Retailers
Try and avoid purchasing ecigs and vape products form random eBay sellers or random listings on Facebook or Amazon.
Try, if possible, to purchase these products from reputable retailers, such as Tesco, Sainsburys and Asda.
Products in reputable and well known stores are more likely to be rigorously designed and tested to UK safety standards.
Sellers on eBay may not be so careful in choosing products to sell, instead, some may be after making a quick buck with some poorly produced, poorly tested Chinese products that don’t meet safety standards.
2. Use Supplied Kit
Never be tempted to use chargers or cables from other items to charge your vape battery.
Always use the wires, cables and plugs that were provided, and follow the instructions on how to charge.
Some fires have been known to start when incorrect cables and plugs have been used to charge a vaping device, causing the battery to overheat and either explode or catch fire.
Similarly, don’t use a battery from one manufacturer on another manufacturers kit – they can be incompatible and can cause internal damage to the battery and cause the battery to short or worse.
3. Charging
Charging should always be done when you are present. Never leave a vape battery charging when you are not there.
Once the battery is fully charged, always take it off charge as soon as you can.
Again, this minimises the risk of the battery potentially overcharging or overheating – leading to fires or the battery exploding.
You should also try and charge the battery on a flat, clean surface, and away from anything that could increase the temperature of the battery, such as on a sofa or on a carpet.
4. Storage & Carriage & Disposal
It’s tempting to keep your vape in your pocket or in a bag. If you have to store it in these places, ensure there are no other metal objects that could potentially damage the battery – such as coins, keys or metal objects.
Keys have been known to damage vape batteries and cause explosions in people’s pockets, in some cases, causing third degree burns.
If you are leaving it in your car, always make sure it is kept out of direct sunlight. Sunlight on particularly hot days can cause the temperature of the battery to rise to unsafe levels.
When the battery has come to the end of its life, do also remember to dispose of the battery in a safe manner.
5. The Instructions
It’s estimated that 60% of all instructions for every type of product in the world is never read.
We’ve all been there, we just want the product out of the packaging and ready to use.
Instructions for these products can be important, because it will often give you safety advice on how to completely turn off the battery (such as clicking the power button 5 times in quick succession).
These peieces of information are really important, as you may inadvertantly press the power button down for a prolonge period of time when leaning on your device for exmple, causing the battery to overheat.
Summary
Without a doubt, the safety of these products has improved over the years. But accidents still happen causing serious injury or fire. Vape battery safety is really important, because mistreating a battery could have dire consequences not only for yourself, but for others around you as well.
When thinking about vape battery safety, it’s also a good idea to think about fire safety in general.
There’s tonnes of articles on this site about fire safety, fire safety escape plans, best smoke detectors to buy and best heat detectors to buy, and much more.
If you already have heat and smoke detectors, consider this as a reminder to go and check them, and make sure they are fully serviceable with working batteries.
Questions & Comments
Let me know in the comments section below bout your experiences with vape batteries. Have you ever had a malfunctioning one? Has one ever caught fire? Or maybe you have your own tips that you’d like to share when it comes to vape bttery safety.
Just leave them in the box below, and I’ll get back to you.
Stay Safe. Stay Secure.
