The batteries we use in our phones, watches and so on, release a flow of electricity when we connect their terminals through a circuit. But the voltage and wattage varies according to the battery type. This system works well provided the battery wattage and voltage matches the device. If not, you can end up with a situation where e-cigarette batteries burn holes in more than your pocket.
E-Cigarette Batteries Burn Holes As They Overheat
A young dad from North Carolina had an experience we decided to share, because it could equally happen to us. He absent-mindedly popped two spent lithium-ion button batteries into his pants pocket where he kept his loose change. We can only assume he believed the batteries were ‘flat’.
Well, the two spent lithium-ion batteries may not have held sufficient voltage and wattage for his key fob or whatever. But they still had loads of electrons left over if he had checked them with a multi-meter. But how many of us do that, or tape over the terminals for that matter either?
What followed next may have happened hours or even days later, as the active young man got on with his life. The two batteries and his spare change moved around in his pocket until two coins touched one pair of terminals, and created a short- circuit through one battery.
Think Twice Before Reading If You Are a Sensitive Person
Cigarette batteries can burn holes in pockets, and can also cause serious injury to small kids if they swallow them. The lithium-ion button battery that short-circuited became extremely hot in an instant, and exploded. The heat spread to the second battery, and it too exploded in a flash.
“It just, like, burst into flames,” the young man told Yahoo Life. “It just burned right through my pants. The other one explodes, shrapnel in my face and everything, hits me right in the eye.” We’re happy to confirm his injuries were not life-threatening, and by now he should be well over the experience.
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