Recently, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released a public statement concerning loose 18650 batteries - a type of battery often used in vape mods. It is rather common to see them in online stores.

From the CPSC statement:

“Specifically, these battery cells may have exposed metal positive and negative terminals that can short-circuit when they come into contact with metal objects, such as keys or loose change in a pocket. Once shorted, loose cells can overheat and experience thermal runaway, igniting the cell’s internal materials and forcibly expelling burning contents, resulting in fires, explosions, serious injuries and even death.”

This is something many vapers have known for a while, which is why nearly every vaping site has a page on vape battery safety.

The CPSC warns against buying cheap batteries that may have been unsafely separated from a larger pack, and not to carry loose batteries with metallic objects that could cause them to short circuit.

In addition to their guidelines, we’d like to add a few more recommendations for battery safety.

• Do not drop your vape.
• Do not expose batteries or vaping devices to water,
• Do not make custom modifications to your device.
• Follow battery and vape mod manufacturer instructions.
• Buy high quality, trustworthy vaping devices.
• Never mix old and new batteries together.
• Store batteries at room temperature.
• Charge devices and batteries properly, and don't overcharge.
• Do not vape and charge at the same time.
• Purchase a mod that comes with the batteries built in or a mod with regulated power draw, which draw power from batteries with protective limitations.

It is simply not a good idea to cheap out on batteries. It is generally not a good idea to cheap out on any part a vaping device. Given real danger that batteries can pose, it is worth investing in quality batteries and staying well-informed about vape safety.

References :

CPSC Issues Consumer Safety Warning: Serious Injury or Death Can Occur if Lithium-Ion Battery Cells