Fire lighting idea using disposable vape batteries

[magnetman]

It occurred to me that one could deliberately cause a thermal runaway event on a small vape battery as a way to light a fire. 

 

I collected a couple of batteries today. I'm wondering if one could trigger these using the 12v supply or would the wires melt first. 

 

If one could encourage the tiny little battery to self ignite it might make a handy firelighter.

 

There are probably reasons not to do this but it seems better than setting fire to bin lorries. 

 

 

Anyone tried it ?

 

 

[tree monkey]

30 minutes ago, magnetman said:

It occurred to me that one could deliberately cause a thermal runaway event on a small vape battery as a way to light a fire. 

 

I collected a couple of batteries today. I'm wondering if one could trigger these using the 12v supply or would the wires melt first. 

 

If one could encourage the tiny little battery to self ignite it might make a handy firelighter.

 

There are probably reasons not to do this but it seems better than setting fire to bin lorries. 

 

 

Anyone tried it ?

 

 

No but can we have a video when you try it?

 

[booke23]

No, Have you tried these?

[Hudds Lad]

or perhaps..

 

[Ken X]

Bit off topic but we used to light fires using a PP9 and a ball of wire wool.  Works a treat. No runaway required. 🙂

[magnetman]

I think the thermal runaway could help accelerate the process. 

 

Despite living on boats for 29 yars and 7 months with coal or wood fires I am still really bad at lighting them.

 

Always need diesel, veg oil, chainsaw oil or some other form of accelerant so these vapes seemed an interesting option. 

 

A five minute walk around the inner city slum revealed half a dozen of these things just thrown away. Each of them has a tiny little 3.6v NMC lithium battery in it.  measures the voltage and its still 3.6. 

 

My main concern is the thin wires. I think they would probably go before thermal runaway could be achieved. 

 

To be honest I had been considering this as a remote control fire lighting option using cell phones. 

 

 

I'm in the wrong job. 

 

 

[Hudds Lad]

4 minutes ago, magnetman said:

To be honest I had been considering this as a remote control fire lighting option using cell phones. 

 

 

I'm in the wrong job.

You're gonna get yourself on a terrorist watchlist if you're not careful, remote incendiary devices etc.  

 

Have you thought of a use for the other slum bounty of empty NOS cannisters yet? Those yoof sure do like their whipped cream  

[magnetman]

8 minutes ago, Hudds Lad said:

You're gonna get yourself on a terrorist watchlist if you're not careful, remote incendiary devices etc.  

 

Have you thought of a use for the other slum bounty of empty NOS cannisters yet? Those yoof sure do like their whipped cream  

Yes I have reused the large cannisters as beer can holders (beer can fits inside very nicely and the small bottles are great for putting really powerful magnets into. 

 

 

I actually sold quite a number of magnets made with these to Canal Boat magazine a number of yars ago. 16mmx16mm neo magnets easily powerful enough to get your windlass back out with a thin nylon rope attached using a number plate bolt through the neck of the bottle. 

 

 

[BWM]

I placed a dead smart phone battery on top of our squirrel stove during the summer and quickly forgot about the flat, matt black item. On lighting it, and up to temperature, a puff of smoke was soon followed by a magnesium type white glow - I used a stove tool to pick it up for a swift burial at sea!

[Wanderer Vagabond]

1 hour ago, magnetman said:

Yes I have reused the large cannisters as beer can holders (beer can fits inside very nicely and the small bottles are great for putting really powerful magnets into. 

 

 

I actually sold quite a number of magnets made with these to Canal Boat magazine a number of yars ago. 16mmx16mm neo magnets easily powerful enough to get your windlass back out with a thin nylon rope attached using a number plate bolt through the neck of the bottle. 

 

 

Mind you I bought one of those 'sea searcher' magnets many years back that was supposed to lift 60Kg, never seems to recover my windlass though. Am I doing something wrong? or is it just because my windlass is aluminium?

[Alan de Enfield]

1 hour ago, Ken X said:

Bit off topic but we used to light fires using a PP9 and a ball of wire wool.  Works a treat. No runaway required. 🙂

 

Thats is what we used when camping - no problem with wet matches.

 

You can tell if there is any power in the battery by putting your tongue across the terminals - bit of a tickle but not too bad.

[magnetman]

24 minutes ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

Mind you I bought one of those 'sea searcher' magnets many years back that was supposed to lift 60Kg, never seems to recover my windlass though. Am I doing something wrong? or is it just because my windlass is aluminium?

No its because Sea Searcher uses a Strontium Ferrite magnet. Neo (NdFeB) magnets are ten times more powerful and far more suitable for lifting irregular shaped items like windlasses. 

 

Sea Searchers are rubbish. 

 

 

24 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Thats is what we used when camping - no problem with wet matches.

 

You can tell if there is any power in the battery by putting your tongue across the terminals - bit of a tickle but not too bad.

Yes I remember licking the PP3 batteries. I have declined to attempt this with lithium batteries as they have a high C rating.

 

[Ewan123]

Someone on Reddit once told me about setting up their fire to light automatically on a timer (something to do with firework timers I think??) They confessed it to be a silly idea but I sort of wish I could find the post now to have a go...

Edited November 9, 2023 by Ewan123

[magnetman]

29 minutes ago, Ewan123 said:

Someone on Reddit once told me about setting up their fire to light automatically on a timer (something to do with firework timers I think??) They confessed it to be a silly idea but I sort of wish I could find the post now to have a go...

 

Its easy enough with a bit of nichrome wire or a hobby rocket/firework igniter but I was thinking that these little dangerous NMC lithium batteries with the cobalt in them could be used as extra accelerant making it more likely the fire would get going properly.

 

I have been told that due to oxidation the ash product may be intolerably toxic. 

 

 

[Paul C]

Do you not have a girlfriend or even just a normal other person to talk to and spend time with in the evenings, as the nights draw in?

[rusty69]

40 minutes ago, Paul C said:

Do you not have a girlfriend or even just a normal other person to talk to and spend time with in the evenings, as the nights draw in?

Of course he doesn't. That's why he's here. Oh ang on,i'm here too. 

[magnetman]

6 hours ago, Paul C said:

Do you not have a girlfriend or even just a normal other person to talk to and spend time with in the evenings, as the nights draw in?

 

Why would this make a difference?

[manxmike]

Those NiCad batteries start fires extremely well, I rather think someone did it recently on a boat - oh yes it was somewhere near Holland, a boat carrying cars and an electric one burst into flames, destroyed all the other cars, wrote off the boat and resulted in a lot of ferry companies refusing to carry electric cars.

I'm with Tree Monkey - can we have a video of it please - especially of the initial explosion

[IanD]

1 hour ago, manxmike said:

Those NiCad batteries start fires extremely well, I rather think someone did it recently on a boat - oh yes it was somewhere near Holland, a boat carrying cars and an electric one burst into flames, destroyed all the other cars, wrote off the boat and resulted in a lot of ferry companies refusing to carry electric cars.

I'm with Tree Monkey - can we have a video of it please - especially of the initial explosion

https://www.electrive.com/2023/08/14/it-wasnt-an-ev-that-caused-the-fremantle-highway-to-catch-fire/

[blackrose]

On 09/11/2023 at 23:00, magnetman said:

Always need diesel, veg oil, chainsaw oil or some other form of accelerant so these vapes seemed an interesting option. 

 

I use waste paper scrunched up into balls along with ripped up cardboard from eBay and Amazon deliveries with kindling on top. Occasionally it goes out so I chuck a firelighter in and try again.

 

Seems like people are coming up with novel solutions to a problem that doesn't exist.

Edited November 23, 2023 by blackrose

[magnetman]

Just trying to make things more interesting. 

 

The problem of remotely lighting a fire. which is what the topic is about, does exist. 

 

 

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

3 hours ago, blackrose said:

 

I use waste paper scrunched up into balls along with ripped up cardboard from eBay and Amazon deliveries with kindling on top. Occasionally it goes out so I chuck a firelighter in and try again.

 

Seems like people are coming up with novel solutions to a problem that doesn't exist.

Towpath Telegraph works well.

[robtheplod]

When i was a lad i wasn't closely supervised which was great for experimenting. I made a fire lighter with a match with thin wire wrapped around going to mains (yes it was mains!) controlled with what i think was a 12v switch. worked a treat. I then found you could use lighter fluid to make a run of fire across the garden and it didn't even burn the grass!  its quite amazing im still alive!  ah the fun of being a kid in the 70s!

Edited November 23, 2023 by robtheplod

[magnetman]

40 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

When i was a lad i wasn't closely supervised which was great for experimenting. I made a fire lighter with a match with thin wire wrapped around going to mains (yes it was mains!) controlled with what i think was a 12v switch. worked a treat. I then found you could use lighter fluid to make a run of fire across the garden and it didn't even burn the grass!  its quite amazing im still alive!  ah the fun of being a kid in the 70s!

Or the 80s and early 90s! 

 

A friend and I did a lot of experimental petrol burning activities in my garden. My mum was alright with me getting petrol for the Boat and mixing it with two smoke oil but boating got too boring (riverside garden) so we used to do various experiments with the fuel. I will always remember the rower who came past after I had set fire to the petrol can accidentally and then thrown it in the River. He was shouting 'It is going to explode!' but I managed to calm him by pointing out that a 25:1 petrol/oil mix can not explode and we had already established this. 

 

He departed. 

 

I suppose he thought we were playing with neat petrol. Who'd do a thing like that ? 

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, robtheplod said:

 I then found you could use lighter fluid to make a run of fire across the garden and it didn't even burn the grass!  its quite amazing im still alive!  ah the fun of being a kid in the 70s!

If I remember correctly hair lacquer was good for that, made great flame throwers