Vapes get neater inside

Discarded vapes are not only an eyesore, and a sign that some vapers do not care about dropping litter, but are also a source of rechargeable Li-ion cells.

Note for the uninitiated
BEWARE: fire hazard, germ hazard and potentially harmful chemicals

I picked up one just recently and it has a much neater internal construction (right).

Gone is the rats nest of tiny thin wires, to be replaced by a central pcb and a radial Li-ion cell looking very much like an electrolytic capacitor.

A light pipe (white stripe stuck to the Li-ion cell) carries lets the led be in the middle of the vape and still shine out of one end. The pressure-reduction sensor that initiates heating and the control IC are also in the middle – very tidy.

Prior to this arrangement the pcb, sensor, control IC and led were all on a pcb at the end of the vape away from the mouthpiece, with long stringy wires to the battery ends and heater – the heater connection is now those two pins that plug into sockets on the heater.

These cells are unlikely to have short-circuit, over-charge or over-discharge protection – earlier types have no protection – and so need all of these things if that are to be used outside the vape.

Also, the older types are not made well, and there is no reason that the inside of this neat exterior should be any better, so do not store them in a flammable environment (I have had one swell spontaneously while laying on the bench, not connected to anything).

If the vape has been squashed – leave it alone.
If you are young – don’t start vaping.
If you are new to this scavenging, the excellent Big Clive has YouTube videos that might put you on the right track.