First : Even if the original poster was not careful enough, he at least checked the batteries and charged them when he found them to be 0.00V. The fact that the voltage was is no sign of dead batteries anymore, as any kind of protected cell will show 0V if it was shorted for a moment or discharged to fast. One should not expect any more care from a user.
Ok, after going through the accident again, this would have been absolutely no issue with any kind of venting design:
The first sound of problems was seemingly a single cell venting. This was followed by additional vents some moments later (probably accellerated because of temperature and pressure buildup). That lead to a cascade that eventually produced enough pressure to RIP OUT THE THREADS.
Which means that there was absolutely no weak point for pressure release in the design than _ripping apart metal_. People have been talking about pipebombs pretty often, but this really fitted the definition. Have a slow deflagration and contain it long enough for a pressure vessel burst.
What I find curious is the fact that the battery chamber seems to be toally contained. Not even the switch or the glass window worked as a release (people say bad things about glass fagments going anywhere, but it really is preferable to pipebomb shrapnell).
And for those who make those analogies about guns, cars, etc. Yes, users have to be careful. But that does not mean that the products is allowed to be a deadtrap.
Just try selling:
- a gun without any safety and a hairtrigger
- a car which has no upward shielding around the transmission that will send gears through the driver if it fouls up
- a chainsaw that has a on/off switch instead of a dead-man button (would it not be much more convenient?)
- a hairdryer without a protection sieve on the fan inlet
And hope there wont be any backlash if it goes south.
I mean, following that argument, you would KNOW that you have to be carefull when working a chainsaw. So why do you need a saw-brake and two operation buttons? Would it not be the users fault if he isnt carefull?
No, that wont work for a chainsaw. And a chainsaw is a thing that earns enough respect that people put it into horror movies.
Flashlights, no matter how big, are NOT in the same class of respect. Because one does need to assume that if you are not put into a situation of potential danger.
Just imagine that light would have been used in a crowed to show of its power. The shrapnell would have hit somebody. Around here, there was a death some years ago because somebody put fireworks in a tincan and a metal sliver ripped through somebodies artery.
PS: There is nothing really wrong with the batteries. They behaved nicely. Reverse-charging with 20A+ WILL result in venting, thats what they are designed for. Putting them where the venting gases cannot go anywhere is the problem.
Ok, after going through the accident again, this would have been absolutely no issue with any kind of venting design:
The first sound of problems was seemingly a single cell venting. This was followed by additional vents some moments later (probably accellerated because of temperature and pressure buildup). That lead to a cascade that eventually produced enough pressure to RIP OUT THE THREADS.
Which means that there was absolutely no weak point for pressure release in the design than _ripping apart metal_. People have been talking about pipebombs pretty often, but this really fitted the definition. Have a slow deflagration and contain it long enough for a pressure vessel burst.
What I find curious is the fact that the battery chamber seems to be toally contained. Not even the switch or the glass window worked as a release (people say bad things about glass fagments going anywhere, but it really is preferable to pipebomb shrapnell).
And for those who make those analogies about guns, cars, etc. Yes, users have to be careful. But that does not mean that the products is allowed to be a deadtrap.
Just try selling:
- a gun without any safety and a hairtrigger
- a car which has no upward shielding around the transmission that will send gears through the driver if it fouls up
- a chainsaw that has a on/off switch instead of a dead-man button (would it not be much more convenient?)
- a hairdryer without a protection sieve on the fan inlet
And hope there wont be any backlash if it goes south.
I mean, following that argument, you would KNOW that you have to be carefull when working a chainsaw. So why do you need a saw-brake and two operation buttons? Would it not be the users fault if he isnt carefull?
No, that wont work for a chainsaw. And a chainsaw is a thing that earns enough respect that people put it into horror movies.
Flashlights, no matter how big, are NOT in the same class of respect. Because one does need to assume that if you are not put into a situation of potential danger.
Just imagine that light would have been used in a crowed to show of its power. The shrapnell would have hit somebody. Around here, there was a death some years ago because somebody put fireworks in a tincan and a metal sliver ripped through somebodies artery.
PS: There is nothing really wrong with the batteries. They behaved nicely. Reverse-charging with 20A+ WILL result in venting, thats what they are designed for. Putting them where the venting gases cannot go anywhere is the problem.
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