[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Surefire light catches fire (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 4/11/2011 7:49:06 PM EDT
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Out with the kids when an incandescent light pops and starts to burn. The body of the flashlight was to hot to hold. It was enough to blow the lens out of the body, and the rubber off the push button end.
Blue battery was at the tail end. The other burnt battery was at the bulb end. 
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mismatched lithium batteries. Nope, same batteries. sorry..should have clarified.. one of the batteries had a different voltage than the other for any number of reasons such as different discharge rates. and yeah, that sucks man, at least it was a g2 nitrolon, not a more expensive one. |
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Were the batteries Energizer, Duracell or Surefire brand?
Are you completely certain they are from the same package? Are you certain neither battery saw slight use in another device prior to its service in the Surefire? Contact SF, ask if they'll cover it under warranty. TR85. |
......I have that same flashlight! It would be real interesting to see what SureFire says about that......
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Were the batteries Energizer, Duracell or Surefire brand? Are you completely certain they are from the same package? Are you certain neither battery saw slight use in another device prior to its service in the Surefire? Contact SF, ask if they'll cover it under warranty. TR85. 
Tenergy brand. Positive it was from same package/lot. Bought 100 of them. I put two new batteries in when I swap them out of any light. Don't know if SF will cover. I'll see. |
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Same thing happened to me. It was a incandesent Surefire G2.
It was in the center console also and exploded pretty much the same way. My batteries were USA Energizers. I sent it to surefire and they blamed the batteries, but sent me a new flashlight and 12 surefire batteries anyway. |
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I am a surefire addict and CR123A battery whore, a dirty,nasty disease ridden slut at that... But this is why I have a AA adapter on my autogated MUM NODS. Hate it TI, let us know if SF warranties it. Are you using Lithium AAs? Alkali AAs can ruin shit too. TR85. |
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surefire batteries arent blue, thats your problem. Even my cheapass only buys surefires and i dont mix and match old and new ones. Didn't mix old and new. Two new batteries from the same make/model/lot were installed at the same time, same place. If SF won't warranty it, try the battery maker. Their battery went all Jihad. The dead Surefire is their fault. TR85. |
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surefire batteries arent blue, thats your problem. Even my cheapass only buys surefires and i dont mix and match old and new ones. Wow, not only does Surefire rape you on the flashlight now you have to buy their batteries too? Surefire, Energizer and Duracell are all acceptable. Buying cheap bulk packs direct from China is a bad idea. TR85. |
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surefire batteries arent blue, thats your problem. Even my cheapass only buys surefires and i dont mix and match old and new ones. Wow, not only does Surefire rape you on the flashlight now you have to buy their batteries too? Surefire, Energizer and Duracell are all acceptable. Buying cheap bulk packs direct from China is a bad idea. TR85. Except my surefire G2 blew up with brand new USA energizers. I think the center console traps too much heat and thats what did it in. Battery station brand batteries are made in the USA and are good to go also. If you are a member of candle power forums they have a deal for 50 batteries for $65 shipped. |
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surefire batteries arent blue, thats your problem. Even my cheapass only buys surefires and i dont mix and match old and new ones. Wow, not only does Surefire rape you on the flashlight now you have to buy their batteries too? Surefire, Energizer and Duracell are all acceptable. Buying cheap bulk packs direct from China is a bad idea. TR85. I think the "bulk" part is more of an issue a lot of times, it gives them a chance to sit around longer and become a problem. |
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Are you using Lithium AAs? Alkali AAs can ruin shit too. TR85. Lithium, not as much of a chance of leakage as Alkali. Yup. I've never seen a lithium AA have an issue... Never even heard of a problem. I've seen Alkali's ruin a shitload of gear, though. I won't even allow the things in my home... My TV remote doesn't even have one. 
If you use good 123s, though, I doubt you'd have any problems. TR85. |
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Quoted: surefire batteries arent blue, thats your problem. Even my cheapass only buys surefires and i dont mix and match old and new ones. Thanks for playing, but the last time something like this was posted it was SUREFIRE brand batteries. And the explosion was worse. |
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surefire batteries arent blue, thats your problem. Even my cheapass only buys surefires and i dont mix and match old and new ones. Thanks for playing, but the last time something like this was posted it was SUREFIRE brand batteries. And the explosion was worse. really old surefires iirc. |
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surefire batteries arent blue, thats your problem. Even my cheapass only buys surefires and i dont mix and match old and new ones. Wow, not only does Surefire rape you on the flashlight now you have to buy their batteries too? Surefire, Energizer and Duracell are all acceptable. Buying cheap bulk packs direct from China is a bad idea. TR85. I think the "bulk" part is more of an issue a lot of times, it gives them a chance to sit around longer and become a problem. streamlight 123's are GTG also |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: surefire batteries arent blue, thats your problem. Even my cheapass only buys surefires and i dont mix and match old and new ones. Thanks for playing, but the last time something like this was posted it was SUREFIRE brand batteries. And the explosion was worse. really old surefires iirc. Were the other high quality name brand batteries mentioned in this thread "really old"? FACT IS, any time you connect more than one lithium primary in series you run the risk of this happening. That's one reason why I run a single 18650 in my lights. |
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surefire batteries arent blue, thats your problem. Even my cheapass only buys surefires and i dont mix and match old and new ones. Wow, not only does Surefire rape you on the flashlight now you have to buy their batteries too? Surefire, Energizer and Duracell are all acceptable. Buying cheap bulk packs direct from China is a bad idea. TR85. Except my surefire G2 blew up with brand new USA energizers. I would bet that Energizer would cover it, if you contacted them. I think the center console traps too much heat and thats what did it in.
I think in my daily driver has a dozen or more CR123 powered lights scattered in every storage compartment. Not had an issue yet, despite the Texas heat. When one blows up, I'll post about it as support for this theory. It wouldn't shock me... That's why I keep a literal pile of them scattered in there... One is none. Sixteen is at least two.
The battery should take the heat, though. If it doesn't, it's due to shoddy quality on the battery makers part. If you are a member of candle power forums they have a deal for 50 batteries for $65 shipped.
I am, thanks for the heads up, that's a good price. TR85. |
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surefire batteries arent blue, thats your problem. Even my cheapass only buys surefires and i dont mix and match old and new ones. Wow, not only does Surefire rape you on the flashlight now you have to buy their batteries too? Surefire, Energizer and Duracell are all acceptable. Buying cheap bulk packs direct from China is a bad idea. TR85. Read this twice OP. Your batteries are shit. Buy some good ones. |
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What is it about CR123s that make them seem more susceptible to exploding and fires? I know there are cheap knockoffs but tenergys are not bad batteries. Their main ingredient - lithium. The real answer is three things: Lithium batteries have a very high energy density and high internal cell resistance. Add those two with the heat that comes from pulling high current along with the heat created by the lamp in the light and no way to vent that heat in a waterproof body and you have cells that explode. This is why regulated LED lights are better-the bottom line is that while CR123's are pretty good flashlight batteries, they aren't particularly safe in that application. I can't think of any other consumer product on the market that would be thought of as "safe" if it exploded or burned in your back pocket when accidentally turned on. I'm not picking on Surefire here, I've had another brand of CR123 light turn itself on due to a seat adjuster motor in a car seat-it got hot enough to burn my ass. The cells had started to smoke when I got the body of the light wrapped in a shirt to undo the body and throw the cells out of the window. There is a real good reason my EDC light is a protected AA powered light..... |
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I recently sent an x200b weaponlight in to Surefire for repair. It needed a new lens because I cracked it running drills(don't ask how, it's an embarrassment ). I was expecting to shell out some cash for my mistake, but they fixed it for free! Even payed the return shipping. No questions asked.
Bottom line... If Surefire didn't have my money for life, they do now. I'm sure they will replace your light. |
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Quoted: The real answer is three things: Lithium batteries have a very high energy density and high internal cell resistance. Add those two with the heat that comes from pulling high current along with the heat created by the lamp in the light and no way to vent that heat in a waterproof body and you have cells that explode. Unpossible. The experts here tell me it's the fault of the cheap batteries. |
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Quoted: Does anyone have a link to that video of the security guards KB of his light with the tail cap blowing out the front window of the hotel? I think I am recalling it correctly. I remember that I thought it was a cop at his station and it dented a door frame but I might be thinking of another video/incident |
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mismatched lithium batteries. Nope, same batteries. sorry..should have clarified.. one of the batteries had a different voltage than the other for any number of reasons such as different discharge rates. and yeah, that sucks man, at least it was a g2 nitrolon, not a more expensive one. Yep, more than likely. Sucks tho, maybe talk to the battery manufacturer and kindly explain what happened to them? They might be willing to replace it for ya. |
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There was a video of a SF in a belt holster or pocket (whatever) starting to get hot and he dropped it in his kitchen and the fucking thing rocketed out the glass door (denting it) and was caught on his security camera. I'm pretty sure it was his private residence.
Lithium is a very reactive metal. It's not necessarily a matter of "cheap" but it's just a problem they're susceptible to. (Runaway exothermic reactions.) |