Battery Tube Anti Rattle Sleeving - DIY Tutorial

I don’t know about you guys but i personally do not like battery rattle at all in my lights so i thought i would share what i do with pretty much all my torches.

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I use thin sticky back plastic that is available in sheets (or rolls :wink: ),
I usually use a carbon fibre wrap as the imprinted pattern helps alleviate too much suction on tight fits and also has the added benefit of being very stylish :slight_smile:

I’ll use my X2R shorty here for demonstrating the technique.

In the first picture you can see the extra space around the cell, creating rattle

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So first i measure the diameter of the tube and roughly using pi to 3.14 gives the inner circumference of the tube.

Next i set the digital calipers to this measurement and lock in place, knocking a tiny bit off the measurement to take into consideration the thickness of the material.
You can measure this precisely but i’ve done this lots of times so just judge it now.

On the backing of the wrap holding one edge of the calipers on the outside edge i score a line making sure to keep the caliper against the wrap edge as this is the guide for the cutting line.
You will need to also hold the material firmly down in place.

I don’t normally but i have marked this one with a pen for you.
This is the circumference of the tube, next mark the length of the tube and add a bit extra

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This part can be a little tricky.

Roll the plastic into an overlapping tube so the stickyness is on the outside but try to keep it loose as you will need to separate the join while it is inside the tube.

A very good idea is to clean the inside of the tube with isp alcohol or similar degreasing agent before doing this.

Insert roll into battery tube till it reaches the bottom and then press the outside overlap against the tube with some kind of thin tool, i use a darning needle.
Once in place you need to separate the join keeping the first outer part stuck to the tube and gently going round pressing the plastic to the inside of the tube,keeping it level & even. Takes a little practice :wink:

Once you’re happy with that firmly press the sleeve in place with your finger and then using a razor blade or scalpel etc at an angle, trim around the top of the battery tube

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Now sometimes this is not enough for a cozy cell fit, it wasn’t on the X2R tube as this is wider than usual so there are three ways to remedy it.

You can add a layer or two of heat shrink tubing to the cell for very wide tubes

You can make the length of the circumference measurement longer so that there is an overlap of the carbon fibre wrap when it is expanded out inside the tube but this is very awkward to do so i just cut a strip or two of the material and place it in the tube with the darning needle and press into place.

It can take a few attempts to get the right thickness of strips but here i have placed two in opposing positions in the battery tube for a very snug fit, the cell needs to be gently tapped out.

Using this method is also good for protedted cells as it leaves a groove for the PCB power strip that runs down the side of the cell.
Note - It may cause problems though if you swap out slightly different diameter cells but i always use the same cells with the same lights

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Something else i also use in my pocket rockets where i can is felt strip.
This is much thicker and helps to insulate the cell a little bit more from the battery tube. I use two or three strips of this running the length of the tube or part of either opposing or equally spaced.

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Any other techniques, methods, opinions or ideas are welcome to be posted :+1:

great tutorial, many thanks.

Wow now this is a neat solution
And permanent , silly me just grabs two orings from the box with all sorts of sizes :wink:

Nice! Thanks for your always thoughtful ideas.