Flashlight In Mouth Explodes
A Colorado handyman / remodeler had a run in with a LED flashlight.
He put it in his mouth so he could have two hands free to look for a tool in his SUV.
It was in his mouth for 30 seconds before the explosion. That's an important clue.
I think a bunch of his saliva got into the inside of the hand torch and shorted out the battery.
From the looks of the photo at the USA Today website, it appears you're looking at two lithium-ion battery casings. Those things do explode violently when shorted out.
You can AVOID this by just using the right tool for the job.
In his case, he should have been wearing a headlamp like I use. A headlamp allows you to have great light, keeps your saliva where it belongs, and you have two hands free to do what you want.
There are all sorts of models and brands, but my Energizer headlamp with the white and RED LEDs for night vision preservation has NEVER let me down. I love it.
Wait until you see the difference walking around at night using RED light instead of white light that robs you of your night vision!
CLICK HERE for the full story about the unlucky handyman.
Tim
Flashlights - ouch. I've been following the LED light developments for a few years, and the notable issue that comes up is light color. Incandescents are yellowish, but LEDs tend to be more blue. The problem with bluish light is there is more glare, making things harder to look at, more spots on the eyes. So while your headlamp has red and white LEDs, maybe the better color would be a white LED with less blue content -- less glare. I buy the 'warmer' color LED lights for my fixtures (check the color temperature on the box). They are much easier to look at.
Nick Radonic, Maryland
I had a Lithium battery flashlight in my pocket that exploded and started my pants on fire. I was not injured, but my jeans were toast. This was not a cheap flashlight either. I believe what happened is that while in my pocket the light on button was being continuously pressed until it exploded. I now only use alkaline flashlights.
I work in hazardous waste management on a Navy base, and a big part of my job is awareness training. Most people don't know that lithium ion batteries are water reactive and will explode/catch fire on contact with water (just google "alkali metals in water"). The same goes for your cell phones. So keep that in mind next time it's mid-summer and you're sweating with your phone in your pocket.
Because the saliva shorted out someting is a stretch. The voltage is not high enough. It more likely is a LITHIUM battery. any water coming in direct contact with metallic lithium can cause fire. Treat lithium batteries with respect, the same way you would do with a book of matches, cans of gasoline, propane, spray cans, etc.
Saliva is a likely cause. My Mini-Maglight has a rubber O-ring seal at both ends. We did have some problems with our full-size Maglights overheating to a dangerous temperature a few times while I was on active duty with the police department. The NiCad battery sticks, which got recharged over and over, would finally overheat and might have exploded if we hadn't noticed the aluminum tube flashlight was too hot to hold. The best lights have the newer filament instead of LEDs. It looks like a little copper or brass square instead of an LED bulb, when you look at the light source. Much brighter than LEDs and claim to be "lifetime"; will never burn out. Haven't had one burn out yet.
I can vouch for the Energizer headlamp - I use it all the time around the house, in fact, I almost go to bed with it on... don't have to worry about tripping and falling on the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night!
You are speculating that the light was shorted out by saliva without having any experience with the particular light.
While SolarForce isn't a top name in the quality department, that light should have been waterproof to at least a depth of 1 metre.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkaazuFJzVM
There's more to the story that did not make the evening news.
Don't speculate without all the facts. That particular light might have gone off had he been hand-holding it or mounted it to his head.
Feel better now?
Ken, I'm not an investigative reporter. I don't get paid like they do to dig for the facts around an incident like that. It's up to people who are interested in the topic to continue to investigate what might have happened as more facts become available. I introduce them to the news and then weigh in on occasion if I feel I have a plausible explanation.
I speculate all the time about what happens at peoples' homes and more often than not am correct. You better watch about about your zero-tolerance policy of "NO speculation without ALL the facts". My father-in-law had a saying about people like you: The mills of the gods grind slowly but thoroughly. One day you'll be crushed under your own millstone.
Accidently ran a Convoy S2 18650 light thru full washing machine cyclye, worked immediately after, still does.