Hysteria and Shoddy Reporting on E-Cigarettes
First, the facts: the injured man is Andrew Hall, he’s from Idaho, and he helpfully posted photos on Facebook! He also explained which vape setup, which batteries and what kind of mod he was using when the tank shot straight into his mouth.
Andrew has been busy posting photos himself. Apparently very much in the spirit of “never mind why, I’m famous now”. The photo clearly shows that the battery is completely intact – what blew apart was the tank connector. Everything, including the tank, is shredded. So the claim that the battery exploded, which is doing the rounds especially in the oh-so-“well-researched” gutter press, is simply false. Anyone can see that for themselves on Facebook.
So how did the accident happen? We have two pieces of information from the victim himself – the batteries used – LG – and the atomizer, a rebuildable dripper, plus the note that the mod was an unregulated device, in other words a mechanical mod.
And that brings us straight back to the warning we keep repeating – if you want to build your own coils, you need to know what you’re doing – that includes measuring the resistance, and very low-ohm builds absolutely have no place on an unregulated mod.
If you want to vape at low resistance, you need a regulated mod! The electronics make sure the batteries can’t overheat, which means you don’t end up with a short circuit and a blown atomizer.
Unregulated mods belong in the hands of people who know exactly what they’re doing and which resistance range can safely be used with them.
One possibility is that the pin for the tank connector was screwed in too tightly, causing a short circuit. An electronic mod would simply stop doing anything at all – not even the slightest beep! No power would reach the tank, and the mod would simply be broken and dead as a doornail. The second, and probably even more likely, possibility is that the coil was built with far too low a resistance and the mech mod couldn’t cope with it. Here, too, a regulated mod would simply refuse to fire.
Of course, the tabloid press is once again being incredibly “precise” and simply whipping up the next scare story without really engaging with the subject at all! And now you know why we keep saying “not suitable for beginners”!
On Thursday, we’ll explain once again how ohms and watts are connected and why you should measure your coils if you’re thinking about using a mechanical mod! And why you should also measure them if you like your electronic mod!
Photo source: Facebook – Andrew Hall
