EXPLODING Flashlight - Houston PD

[ThaLastLetter]

Anyone have any other information about this? How's the officer? What kind of flashlight did he have?

http://www.khou.com/topstories/stori...1e81746a5.html

HOUSTON—A Houston police officer was injured on the job Sunday night when his flashlight exploded.

Police said the officer was responding to a call at an apartment complex at Crescent Park and Southlake when the incident occurred.

Investigators said the officer was one of two policemen searching a darkened apartment when the flashlight he was holding blew up in his face.

He was rushed to Memorial Hermann in stable condition.

The second officer was hit in the arm by debris from the explosion, but he was not transported.

Police said the exploding flashlight was made of plastic, rather than metal like the older models. They believe the battery may have caused the malfunction, and the plastic wasn’t strong enough to contain it.

HPD officials said they plan to inspect all of their flashlights to see if any others could be dangerous.

[Till]

HPD officials said they plan to inspect all of their flashlights to see if any others could be dangerous.

Or just use reputable USA-made lithium batteries (Duracell, Surefire, etc).

I also know a guy who had a lithium-powered tactical flashlight explode on him. It wasn't the flashlight itself as it was a quality light, but he was using cheap and inferior Chinese-made batteries.

This explains all.


Glad he'll be alright... flying shards of polymer and glass/polycarbonate aren't good.

[OILMAN69]

Damn..........wow......

[VChopefull]

Might have been the Pelican 7060.......I have seen one go up in flames randomly while in the charger...

[Till]

Might have been the Pelican 7060.......I have seen one go up in flames randomly while in the charger...

I just assumed they were 123 lithium primaries.

I wish the article would have been more specific about the type of flashlight that exploded.

[VChopefull]

I just assumed they were 123 lithium primaries.

I wish the article would have been more specific about the type of flashlight that exploded.

We wont know for a while...because it seems that Houston PD dosent buy flashlights, the officers buy their own...So he could have had anything.

Can crappy 123 batteries really cause such an explosion that it would blow up a light and hurt someone so badly?

[TEX_DEPUTY]

We wont know for a while...because it seems that Houston PD dosent buy flashlights, the officers buy their own...So he could have had anything.

Can crappy 123 batteries really cause such an explosion that it would blow up a light and hurt someone so badly?

I believe they can, if you by the cheap dollar ones. Be sure you buy protected batteries.

[Till]

We wont know for a while...because it seems that Houston PD dosent buy flashlights, the officers buy their own...So he could have had anything.

Can crappy 123 batteries really cause such an explosion that it would blow up a light and hurt someone so badly?

Absolutely.

Cheap-o lithium batteries are very chemically unstable.

[VChopefull]

Absolutely.

Cheap-o lithium batteries are very chemically unstable.

Wow.....

Hey Till,

Since your a resident flashlight expert around here.......can you answer a few questions for me..

In my TK40 (AA battery light) is there a difference in the running regular (alkaline) AA batteries and rechargeables? Other than the obvious coast difference....If one better for the light or will i get more power out of one?


In my TK11 I use 18650's.......can those explode? How do I know if I have a crappy one that might be dangerous?


Thanks for the help!!

[beavo451]

Can crappy 123 batteries really cause such an explosion that it would blow up a light and hurt someone so badly?

Sure can. Some other past instances...

Bad batteries exploded in an officer's mounted M3 light while holstered. Destroyed the light, gun, and holster. Officer sent to hospital with minor injuries. Cheap batteries.

Bad batteries that were drained in a SF combat light. Officer left the tail cap twisted down and even though there was not enough power to light the bulb, the flash light was still draining the batteries. Batteries over discharged and exploded while the light was still on the belt. Destroyed light and holder. Again, cheap batteries were used.

I only use SF or USA made Battery Station batteries (all SF in my weaponlights). Over on CPF, a member made up some graphs from tests and showed that the SF batteries lasted the longest.

[Till]

Wow.....

Hey Till,

Since your a resident flashlight expert around here.......can you answer a few questions for me..

In my TK40 (AA battery light) is there a difference in the running regular (alkaline) AA batteries and rechargeables? Other than the obvious coast difference....If one better for the light or will i get more power out of one?


In my TK11 I use 18650's.......can those explode? How do I know if I have a crappy one that might be dangerous?


Thanks for the help!!

Your standard NiMH rechargeable AAs will be a lower voltage than the non-rechargeables. (1.2 volts vs. 1.5 volts)

I'm not really a 18650/rechargeable guy... I only use primary non-rechargeables in my lights. It's more expensive, but it's what I've become accustomed to. I'd ask your question on candlepowerforums.com. There's lots of folks over there that know a LOT more about rechargeable options than I do.

However, I know there are several kinds of higher-voltage rechargeable lithium AAs out there, like Energizer's Ultimate Lithium AA, which is 1.5V. I don't know if the TK40 is rated for the higher voltage, so I'd consult the owner's manual.

My Fenix PD20, which is a single-cell 123 lithium flashlight, advises ONLY non-rechargeable primaries. It plainly says do not use rechargeables in its manual.

[phillyrube]

WE had this happen to one of my guys: El Cheapo batteries:

[Till]

That's a Surefire G2Z, too.

And Surefire might void the warranty if they find out el-cheapo batteries were used.

[DAL]

The problem with cheap rechargeable batteries is that they often are not what they claim to be. They may be NiCd or NiMH instead of LIon. When used with a charger designed for LIon, they may overheat or explode.

It is important to use the original battery or, if you are dealing with standard (e.g., AA) batteries, ones from a reputable manufacturer purchased from a reputable dealer. In the case of cell phones, there are a lot of counterfeit replacement batteries that look identical to the real thing, down to the packaging and name of the manufacturer.

[TEX_DEPUTY]

Rechargeable batteries will drain faster thus lasting less. In time they'll last even less. Non rechargeables don't have that problems. Like I said, if you use CR123, be sure to have quality batteries, they tend to be the ones that are protected and won't blow up on you. I was once a flashaholic.