UKH

A  fire caused by an exploding rechargeable head torch battery, has led to warnings for vigilance from Glenmore Lodge, Scotland's National Outdoor Training Centre. 

Read more

In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

Oof, looks like an 18650 rechargeable, which seem to be of variable provenance online. Similar stories in the MTB light world. We all like a bargain but it's definitely worth keeping an eye on any eBay/online specials whilst charging. 

In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

SE Asian manufacturers have access to the newest and most powerful LED's, as they are all made there. A disreputable supplier can easily throw a very powerful torch together without any product safety testing. You may get a very powerful torch for not much money......or you may get a dangerous fire hazard. The advice about looking for CE marks is good, but unfortunately there is also a history of some suppliers faking these. The obvious solution is to pay a bit more money and stick to an established brand, however this does make it difficult for newer or smaller brands to get off the ground.

In reply to Dan Middleton, BMC:

Not sure if it was a joke but iam sure i read somewhere, there is a torch that actually claims to be able to light fires in an emergency

In reply to Dan Middleton, BMC:

Hopefully the on/off button isn't as sensitive as on my headtorch which always seems to be on in my bag.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/flashtorch-mini-powerful-start-fires-burn-mat...

In reply to petegunn:

Samsung made a phone like that, I believe....

b

In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

If it's going to explode 3 meters across the room then to be fair unattended is exactly where I'd be leaving it, you don't want to be monitoring it when it goes off.

I charge most of my batteries in a powered cabinet outside, it still wouldn't be ideal if it goes up in flames but at least it wouldn't bring the house down with it. The only ones I charge inside are my phillips razor, drills and panasonic rechargable eneloops. Anything remotely cheap goes outside, it's really not worth the risk.

Glad no one was hurt, looks like it made a right mess.

In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

The brand doesn't seem to be mentioned so assume it was some cheap Chinese ebay job. They can be good, and I have one which I keep for emergencies but I never leave it plugged in unattended or attached to its battery in my bag. In three years no explosions so far. Hard to blame this person but just shows how dangerous this cheap crap really is. 

In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

It's not a bad idea to use a charging bag, it might warm them up a bit but it'll also contain any problems

I generally use good quality 18650s (panasonic) only 

In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

Wow, they really torched the place.

In reply to UKC/UKH Gear: Why does the account given by the lodge almost trip over itself in an attempt not to name the brand or manufacturer of the torch? Their client must know even if branding on the product has been damaged in the fire. This information would be very useful to potential purchasers and releasing it would be in no way controversial - it would merely be a factual report ( with the proviso that it might be a copy ). 

 

In reply to JohnHare05:

The logo on the headband in the photo from Glenmore Lodge resembles that on rechargeable head torches sold under the "Boruit" brand name (no, me neither). A quick search shows they are made in Guangdong, China (nothing wrong with that) and sold on third party sites like Amazon and ebay at (in my opinion) low prices. I don't know the provenance of the item that ignited, but my guess is that relatively unknown brands like this would be unlikely to be faked.

 

In reply to steveriley:

While I do not recommend this course of action to anyone else I find the best way to get really good 18650 cells very cheaply (sub £1 each) is to buy a replacement laptop battery and very carefully dismantle it.   Care and skill is needed but cells recovered are good uns from the type I use, more than can be said for the battery's internal circuit board that controls charging and discharging.

In reply to JohnHare05:

Almost identical torches are marketed under several different brand names, through both ebay and also heavily featured as commercial posts on Facebook. 

The one involved in the Glenmore fire was branded "Zonyee": Take the stars out and this links to an identical one. https://www.e**bay.co.uk/itm/Zonyee-Headlamp-Led-10000-Lumen-Headlight-Flas...

There are previous reports of similar exploding batteries involving very similar torches with different branding, hence the rather generic statement. 

http://www.cheshirefire.gov.uk/news-events/press-releases/head-torch-explod...