Battery explosion in your pocket
E-cigarettes often draw their energy from 18650 lithium-ion batteries, but these batteries are a fire hazard without a protective cover, as an Empa test shows. Anyone carrying such batteries loosely in their pocket is living dangerously.
The SRF program "Kassensturz" on January 23, 2018 reported on a man who suffered severe burns to his thigh from the exploding battery of his e-cigarette. He had kept the spare battery for the e-cigarette in his trouser pocket, together with coins and a bunch of keys. This caused a short circuit; the battery turned into a flamethrower.
Empa battery expert Marcel Held recreated the situation in the laboratory for the SRF television team: He removes the insulating foil from a standard-size 18650 lithium-ion battery and places the battery in a beaker full of nuts. Behind a protective screen, in a chemical fume hood, Held then fills up the beaker with some 5-centime coins (see also Video film to it). The upper contact of the battery, which was previously exposed, is also contacted. A short circuit occurs, and after just under ten seconds, the battery ends its life in a fireworks display about 30 centimeters high.
Intended for installation in battery packs only
Standard size 18650 batteries carry the warning "DANGER - DO NOT USE OUTSIDE OF BATTERY PACK". Such batteries are only intended for installation in battery packs of laptops, power tools, e-bikes or cars. They should not be used or transported without protective extra wrapping. This is because the insulation of the standard 18650 battery consists only of a thin plastic film. If the insulation at the top end of the battery cylinder is damaged, for example by a bunch of keys, then a single coin is sufficient to short-circuit the positive terminal with the battery housing. Anyone who carries such batteries unpacked in their pants pocket or handbag is therefore literally living in a fire hazard.
