Has anyone replaced the battery in their Nitecore tube? Mine died, I was able to get it working again by soldering in a 100mah 3.7v lipo from a Cheerson CX-10 micro quadcopter, but the battery is too fat and the case won’t close. The dimensions of the original are 23.5mmx15mmx5mm
If anyone has a link to a battery that will fit, I’d be grateful.
Thanks
I think it’s an 80mAh lipo in there so searching for that will probably turn up some results that will fit.
Thanks for the response, yes it appears that would be a closer fit. The odd thing is that the 80mah batteries cost a bit more than the larger lipos and almost as much as a new Tube, so I guess this one will either become parts or e-waste.
Sealed batteries are always a problem
If i were you, i would buy another tube
But, RC li-po battery is designed for draining high current, so, their energy destiny is not high
2 pieces for $4.50 shipped from Milwaukee…
2 pc 3.7V 80mAh FB-651417 Lipo Rechargeable Battery
You’d have to compare sizes closely, as I don’t know what physical size battery will fit, and these come all different shapes/sizes, apparently.
…but I’d just buy a new tube, too - use the bits from the old one as parts
(edited: check physical size/shape)
Thanks for those responses,
I may get another Tube if I find one on a flash sale, but in the meantime I’m using an Olight i3E EOS with an Eneloop. I realize Tubes are intended to be disposable. I just like to tinker and see if I can fix things. It ran fine for about a year and a half before it died.
Raynman, the link you sent may fit, I have asked the seller to verify the thickness which was not mentioned. If they respond I’ll post here.
It looks like this will fit 301420 80MAH MP3 MP4 battery But it’s double the price and will probably take a month to receive.
- heck of a deal!
Perfect,
Thanks Paul, I just ordered one. At $6 shipped, I still feel bad about the e-waste, but not about the durability.
-Ezra
Ezra, I totally understand how you feel about e-waste. I’d feel the same way and would want to try to revive my Tube also. I’ve had mine for about 2 years without any issue, but I also don’t use it much. Any idea as to why yours went bad?
NaturalFan It was definitely the battery. It lived in my pocket for its entire year and a half. Often I’d pull my keys out and it would either be on or else it would have died. I think the lack of lockout was a contributing factor. As soon as I attached the new lipo it fired right up. Aside from that I don’t really know what killed it. I suspect that with as many of them as are floating around now, some enterprising person will start stocking the correct lipo.
For any of you following along wondering what happened, I ordered and received these batteries very quickly.
They didn’t have a protection circuit like the original and they are a few millimeters fatter.
I took the board off the old battery put it on the new one and soldered the new battery in
But the case doesn’t completely close.
I am willing to keep using the light, but not in my pocket where it may subject the battery to squeezing. I guess I’ll find some use for it that doesn’t require water-tight operation or I’ll seal the case with some silicone.
All in all, probably not worth the bother to fix one while they’re available for $6 new and an exact match replacement battery is not readily available for a couple of dollars.
Thanks for update zra.
The new battery looks very close in size to the original. It seems the case closes enough for the flashlight to be operational and most people wouldn’t even notice.
I’ve never had an issue with mine accidentally turning on. But now that you mentioned it, I recall my wife’s TUBE being dead several months ago so maybe it turned on in her purse. The switch is pretty stiff though.
Thanks for the great update with the photos, I’m sure mine will be going out soon!