Highway robbery...

Could you buy a three D-Cell battery holder like the one below and wire it into the Airmate?

They can make it up, spot welding the leads to the batteries and you could fasten them together with masking tape. They just fixed me one up for something just a couple of weeks ago.

In message , Kevin Miller writes

Re-make it yourself, What appears to be staples are spot welds, You can buy cells with tags so just solder the tags together, though you may need an active flux. For the solder, but keep on time to a minimum to avoid the cell gassing off. Remember to neutralise the flux when finished.

Most D cells have no more current capacity than the average AA cell, its just extra padding. So Buy 3 NIMH cells (replacement for NiCd's) You may even get two sets of three in the same space, but watch for heating during discharge.

I recently had a similar issue but my device, 18V used 15 NiCd cells , approximately C size. Now sporting 16 tagged NIMH's. They take up less space, are lighter, and have 50% more current capacity. I got my cells from ebay. Saved about 80% on a new battery pack

On Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:03:26 -0500, Kevin Miller wrote (in message ):

hokey smokes! These batteries just run a blower fer pete's sake! Make up your own battery pack, for sure! I'd do it in a heartbeat! It is likely the case that you have some kind of charger associated with this outfit, that is made for charging this pre-connected pack. Well, it is a simple matter to get a ni-cd charger that accepts single cells. connecting the cells together for your respirator should be a straightforward task. uffda. tom koehler

I have soldered wires to AA's, C's and D's, and have never had a problem. I use D cells to power the LED on my guided hollowing tool with excellent results--the batteries last a really long time, even when I occasionally forget to turn off the light.

Thanks all for the replies. A friend and I tried the soldering route on the first pack I had. Didn't work very well, but I think I will try sending the unit to Batteries Plus and seeing if I can't get it done professionally for a reasonable price.

Using NIMH batteries would be a nice option.

How do these people sleep nights?

Yeah - it's a smart charger too. Hope it's compatible with NIMH. Think I'll see if I can't replace the nicads with those...

...Kevin

Greed yes - but hasmat yes yes. very dangerous stuff NiCad is -

Martin

Mart> I've had a 3m Airmate for a number of years now, and my battery is

there is no corporate greed involved here, this is the most reliable way to connect batteries. it is easy to rebuild, but decent NiCd batteries are about $12 each if I remember right - in fact here is an ebay link to exactly what you want for $9.50 with free shipping.

or ten of them here: However, you do know, don't you, that NiCd cells require occasional deep cycling, and that they develop slivers that affect life - a short high current reverse pulse can sometimes vaporize these slivers (15 to 50 amps for a few miliseconds). you can buy NiCd cells easily, see above, or you can add a battery holder If you cannot solder, order the stuff and have it shipped to me and I'll do it for you, (contact me first) this is easy.

no, don't do that - look up the charging profiles for the two types of cells - bad idea, actually dangerous

Silk sheets.

Not only that, but for the most part your chargers won't be interchangeable with different types of batteries. You might change batteries only to find your charger won't work with the new ones.

Robert

Part of the issue is the cost of any mould tool needed for the plastic parts, they have a finite life before going out of tolerance. Secondly its likely they make the packs in large numbers, with a nominal number for failures , and a quantity for spares. There is no guarantee the spares will sell so may end up on a shelf for a long period. Storage = cost, so it gets to a point where the storage cost out-weighs the sale value. So higher price allows for longer storage, and thus availability.

Remember, its not the managers, supervisors or even assembly staff making the decisions, they have common sense to see the need. Its usually the accountants making the decisions :)

Ah - thanks for the heads up. OK, nicad it is still...

$100 bucks for a battery pack? I have to disagree, someone's gouging. I'm sure it's a great way to connect batteries, but they could easily also build the pack such that the batteries could be dropped in place. They don't have to be soldered. Heck, look at the price of cordless drills. Many come with two battery packs and are less than $100. Heck, I could buy a couple dozen Radio Shack nicads for that I imagine, and always have a few charged and on hand. Might not last as long, but having charged replacements on hand would solve that problem.

I'm sure 3m isn't paying $9.50 per battery either.

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Not sure how one goes about hitting it w/15 to 50 amps for a few miliseconds. I have deep cycled it, if by that you mean letting it run waaaaaaay done to virtually nothing, then recharging. But it seems to be beyond that point now. It thinks it's fully charged after just a few minutes whereas normally it trickle charges over the course of eight hours or so.

On the Airmate, the battery pack is held inside a filter pack you wear on a belt. A HEPA filter covers it and I don't really want to be drilling any holes and such in the thing to adapt the battery pack.

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Yeah, but I don't really want to jury-rig it. Thanks though, appreciate it...

...Kevin

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Well, yeah, but I hate kludging things together. The battery pack is inside the belt pack/fan and is sealed on the inside by a HEPA filter. I kind of want to maintain the integrity of the seal. Breathing sawdust long term is not all that good for you...

...Kevin

Chief COC, Sir,

Breathing fire against poor ole 3M long term isn't all that good for you either.

Respectfully, Arch, COC 1st class

1) Does it have an external power connector? If so, make yourself a battery pack to clip on elsewhere and run from that. 2) If not, can you wire one up without compromising seals?

Either way, you could toss the existing charger and use whatever you want as long as it gives ~4.5V. NiMH with different charger, alkalines, AC adapter, hat with a bunch of solar cells, whatever.

Maybe Google is the issue. Try 3M or their dealer. NiCads with tabs can be bought at many hobby stores - RC-airplanes and Cars...

Martin

Mart> >