Vape Safety Features Explained: What Keeps Devices Safe

Common Vape Safety Features

The majority of vape devices aimed at the mass market will incorporate most, if not all, of the safety features here. That is, of course, if the devices come from reputable vaping brands such as Geekvape, Vaporesso, VooPoo, Innokin, OXVA, UWELL, etc.

One of the many reasons not to buy black-market vapes is that the makers of those devices don’t have to worry about safety testing. That cheap, unbranded vape you bought from some dodgy website could well be devoid of even the most basic features listed below.

Overheat Protection

Heat is one of the main triggers for battery failure, and any device that uses a battery can become unsafe if the heat builds up unchecked. Overheat protection is a system built into the chip (the brain) of almost every quality modern e-cigarette that constantly monitors how hot the device is getting during use. If a vape starts getting hotter than it should, due to overly intense use, a malfunctioning coil, or any other problem, Overheat Protection kicks in to shut the device down until it cools.

Short-circuit Protection

The electricity in your vape is supposed to flow in a controlled path, either from the USB port to the battery or from the battery to the heating element. If something along those paths breaks, gets wet, or is poorly made, power can suddenly and unexpectedly flow the wrong way, causing a surge. Power surges can quickly and disastrously overheat the battery. Short-circuit Protection is designed to detect any such surge and instantly shut down the system. In most cases, a short-circuit results from the coil or pod; replacing the coil/pod should fix the issue.

Overcharge and Over-discharge Protection

Batteries overcharging is likely the main culprit behind many of those news stories, online and in print, of vapes exploding in the middle of the night. Batteries don’t like being overfilled. Forcing extra charge into a full battery creates stress on the materials and builds up heat. Over an extended period, this stress and heat can cause a battery to fail dramatically (and potentially dangerously). Overcharge Protection has the relatively simple task of monitoring the battery level and shutting off power going to it when it is full. Even if the device remains plugged into the outlet.

An additional safety feature built into many quality e-cigarettes is Over-discharge Protection. Just as over-filling a battery can be bad, so too can letting it go completely flat. This can also stress the battery, making it less stable and potentially causing damage. With Over-discharge Protection, a vape will stop working and alert you when the battery is close to empty, not when it is completely dead. This is both safer for the user and better for overall battery health.

Auto Cut-off

Firing a vape creates heat from the battery, the coil, and other internal components. If a device is fired for too long, either accidentally in a pocket, bag, or purse, or deliberately by the user trying to take huge puffs, heat build-up is likely to damage components. At best, this will reduce the lifespan of the vape and the components; at worst, it can cause a dangerous failure. Auto Cut-off (sometimes called Firing Limit or Time Limit Firing) is a built-in timer that stops the coil firing after a set period. The duration is typically around 10 seconds, but varies slightly between devices.

High-Drain Lithium-ion Batteries

Many of the early newsworthy exploding vape incidents involved incorrect batteries, such as flashlight cells, being used in devices. These batteries were not designed to handle the high-drain requirements of a vape. Repeatedly draining and recharging a battery not designed for it quickly causes stress on the materials and builds the potential for failure. That is why every reputable e-cigarette brand now uses High-Drain Lithium-ion Batteries specifically designed for the task.

Battery Venting

Catastrophic battery failures in vapes are now relatively rare, thankfully. However, every battery has the potential for failure, and when that happens, gas can be released. If that gas pressure has no way to escape gradually, it can escape violently. Or, in other words, it becomes an explosion. Battery Venting is a system built into almost every good-quality Lithium-ion battery (like those in vapes) that uses pressure release valves or rupture points to safely release any built-up gas before it reaches the critical threshold.

Additional Vape Safety Features

Modern vapes will feature all or most of the safety features listed above. This is certainly true for pod devices manufactured by the big brands, but even the more “Pro” devices (except perhaps mechanical mods) will incorporate them. Many will also include additional but less obvious safety features, such as:

• Regulated Power Output: Voltage, current, and wattage are automatically controlled by the internal chip.
• USB Charging Protection: Monitors charging through USB-C or micro-USB to prevent unsafe current flow.
• Reverse Polarity Protection: Prevents damage if a removable battery is inserted into a mod backwards.

Tips to Help You Buy and Use a Vape Safely

• Check for Safety Markings: Before buying a vape, always check the packaging and device for CE, RoHS, or UL markings (or any other safety scheme markings appropriate for where you live) that confirm safety testing.
• Use Appropriate Devices: A new vaper trying to use a complex mechanical or battery mod is always going to be more likely to encounter safety problems than one using a mass-market, general-use pod device.
• Buy Reputable Brands from Reputable Retailers: Choosing to buy something like the OXVA XLIM Pro 2 from a popular vape website is almost always going to be a safer option than buying a non-branded device from some dark corner of the Internet.
• Look for Black Market Red Flags: Unusually low prices, low-quality packaging (spelling mistakes, faded colors, etc.), no verification panels, and dubious claims (e.g., 30,000 puffs from 6ml of liquid) are all things associated with counterfeit or black market devices.
• Don’t Test the Extremes: You don’t need to treat your vape like a delicate flower, but you should avoid treating it badly. Simple things like changing the coil before it burns out, using the appropriate charging cable, and not exposing it to extreme temperatures (like leaving it on the dashboard of a car in 100-degree heat) will all result in a safer vaping experience.
• React to Warning Signs: Some devices will display a warning on screen if there is a safety risk, or alert you by some other means, such as a flashing red light. You should also look for other warning signs, including but not limited to hot spots or melting on the case, unpleasant taste, power cutting out unexpectedly, and unusually fast battery drain. All can be signs that something is going wrong.

The Bottom Line

The safety features being built into modern vapes have come on in leaps and bounds from the early days. If we see a story in the news about a vape exploding on someone’s bedside table, it is more of an exception rather than the rule, and is most commonly traced back to black-market devices or improper use. If you use a modern, regulated device, use the correct charger and cable, and don’t tamper with your device or try to test the extremes, the risk of a vape exploding, catching fire, or malfunctioning in any other catastrophic way is extremely low.