That video was from Simon…Convoy. He’s always been a light enthusiast just like us. I don’t believe he has ever faked anything and gosh, it’s almost insulting to suggest that with him. (and that old model light had a lightweight body, 18650, no built in thermal protection back then, and dual springs…which may or may not have helped any upon impact…just depends how it happens to hit the surface, as you discovered).
As I read your first post, that was my first thought/fear about the battery going into runaway. That’s a mighty high drop for any flashlight to withstand, and it’s a good reminder of the power density that we enjoy but are holding in our hands. If “they” were to incorporate some kind of safety venting for rare situations like this, we’d either have to give up water resistance or perhaps deal with a little more costs if machining time is extended (with something like a rupture point and/or additional materials to incorporate…similar to the foil on cell + ends or the grooved can bottom on some Lishen cells, etc). We’ve seen with some of those old stories how a rubber switch cover or the lens turned out to be the weak point where pressure finally vented, but of course that was after pressure had already been able to build up to high levels - runaway happens FAST and I don’t know that anything but an already decent sized open gaping hole would totally prevent this. Many lights are airtight enough that there will be little if any ability for pressure to vent up through the driver/mcpcb/reflector to get out the lens, and usb charging ports or side switches can be awfully resistant to it as well, through construction or from glue sticking them in place.
Can plants even take up lithium from soil? We know they can with many minerals and some metals, some in enough quantity (selenium, for example) to make it a caution. I don’t know about lithium and I would doubt that copper would be an issue here…aluminum certainly isn’t. I wouldn’t worry about it, personally…just clean up what you can…remember the sharp glass bits or small aluminum shards that may be around before going barefoot over the next couple years. The amounts of “pollution” we’re talking about here are very small and not particularly harmful (out in the open like this) to begin with, so I don’t think sifting or soil remediation is even remotely necessary…maybe if you were selling as certified organic products or something. If there’s anything leafy-green at the moment, maybe give those a good once-over and wash more thoroughly before using. Maybe a chemist can say what goes on with these ingredients once they’ve undergone high temps and oxidation, followed by environmental and uv exposure…really think this is nothing to be concerned about, though, in all honesty.
I do not like the move to solid + contacts on many driver boards…strongly believe that good springs are much better, but the solid contacts have a couple advantages. One big disadvantage is the potential for driver board/component/cell damage just like this, although frankly an 8m drop leaves you holding a very small bag of Luck as to whether the light survives and/or the cell isn’t made to be angry like this. You already mentioned a lanyard, but yes…any professional tradesman will have most or all tools on safety lanyards (for regulated requirements, if not just convenience)…never a bad idea. Glad you’re safe and hadn’t picked up the light or had it close to your face for inspection when it blew out!
A few grams of Lithium salts in the ground are nothing to worry about. The main dangers are the flames/explosion and breathing in any of the fumes.
Lithium is even used as an antimanic drug.
Cooking a flashlight should be no issue for the electronics EXCEPT for the battery. At 100°C it's well outside the safe range (usually 80°C).
@Correllux
Thank you for the explanation. I do not know Simon and it is never my intention to insult him.
I’ve seen many “artist” videos with surprising deep fakes, but this one, if so, would be even an easy one. The thermal runaway problem with the boiled light led me to the idea it can not be true. Otherwise it was a very dangerous experient. Imagine the hot water splashing around with hot metal shards and the chemical reaction and fumes. Definitely a “Don’t try”.
Missing overheat protection should now be well a thing of the past, but this experiment was a proof it does not exist in this light. May it be left to the viewer to judge.
Anyway, thank you for helping me calm down the poison fear.
“insult” was a little tongue-in-cheek…because it’s almost funny. Simon is one of our good guys, trustworthy and been around a very long time.
You won’t ever catch me boiling a light, but that probably isn’t the most dangerous situation really - not compared to hard impacts, right. 80C isn’t some hard cutoff of safety, it’s just a point where the cell will really start to suffer and will also suffer some permanent losses in electrical qualities (IR, capacity, cycle life, etc). Might be possible that the cell itself wasn’t hitting 100C in that situation…but surely pushing limits. We used to see these kind of abuse tests all the time…ice sure was popular, as well as submerged lights in fishbowls and whatever. lol. Lights being tossed or run over. We sort of take that basic durability for granted these days I guess.
Lots of people don’t bother with thermal regulation or even disable it…have to use the light wisely of course, but it allows enthusiasts to push the boundaries of current and light output (for fun…not for practical use). I think we’ve seen a little regression across the industry in recent years where things like low voltage cutoff and thermal regulation aren’t really standard at all (the former certainly should be but often it’s not there or it’s only a warning…and then you just hope that overdischarge by uninformed users doesn’t kill the cell or make it potentially unsafe to charge up later). I don’t know if some manufacturers truly aren’t aware of these safety failsafes or if it’s just cost cutting or getting lazy, but I feel like now it’s kind of buyer-be-informed just like it was many years ago. Still a ton of well designed and safe lights, though, especially among our better manufacturers.
