Reylight Mini - Stuck Battery

Hoka · 2018-11-15T14:00:24.000Z

I got those low down stuck battery blues…….

I’ve been wanting a Pineapple Mini for awhile. Finally arrived yesterday. Popped in an Efest 10440. Seemed to be a little tight, but in my excitement, I put it in anyway.

Have I just created a 35.00 single use flashlight?

derfyled · 2018-11-15T14:19:32.000Z

WD40 (or any other penetrating oil) and long nose pliers. If your 10440 does not have a nipple, then it’s a bit harder. You’ll have to go outside, wear gloves and safety glasses and drill a small hole on your battery. Then, put a screw in this hole and you should now be able to pull it out with pliers. Of course, throw this battery in the garbage…

Henk4U2 · 2018-11-15T15:25:58.000Z

Maybe a quick remark before you start some irreversible research?

1/ Assuming it’s the alu Pineapple: rub your hands together for a minute and hold the light tight in your hand.
(if things go as they should, the light expands a little more than the battery).

2/ Do what OutKast sings: shake it, shake it like a Polariod picture (with the opening directed away from you).

If that does not work, resume your autopsy.

Sivy · 2018-11-15T15:50:40.000Z

Never had this problem , but remember previous posts on this subject and my favourite method was to tape the flashlight securely to the head of a hammer!

Then with the open end of the flashlight pointing down smash the hammer into your work bench , hitting the bench with the hammer shaft so the head overhangs the bench , the sudden stop of the hammer/flashlight causes the battery to fly out onto the floor

Do this at your own risk!!!

Muto · 2018-11-15T17:38:48.000Z

Get solder iron good and hot, put solder blob on battery end, then use wire which you have pre tinned and proceed to attach wire to solder blob.
Now pull battery out then remove solder with solder sucker.

HTH
Keith

bansuri · 2018-11-16T04:14:32.000Z

I’ve had fantastic luck duct taping lights to the end of a broomstick at a right-angle to the stick and smashing them against a surface that the end of the stick will clear, the battery will continue moving in the direction of the swing and, after a couple hits, exit the tube.

Hoka · 2018-11-16T15:58:10.000Z

Lots of whacking suggested. I like it! May actually give it a try. The suggestions by derfyled and Muto sound like good ideas if whacking doesn’t work.

Thanks for the suggestions. Sounds salvageable after all!

RobertB · 2018-11-16T16:47:34.000Z

That is strange. The Efest 10440 is very loose in my Pineapple Mini. Was there some sort of shipping wrapper on your battery that you didn’t take off first? I can’t imagine the machining of the battery tube was that far off.

Hoka · 2018-11-16T17:03:24.000Z

RobertB:

That is strange. The Efest 10440 is very loose in my Pineapple Mini. Was there some sort of shipping wrapper on your battery that you didn’t take off first? I can’t imagine the machining of the battery tube was that far off.

No, no wrapper. Only have a couple other 10440 lights, and fit is fine in those.

Lightbringer · 2018-11-16T18:12:42.000Z

derfyled:

WD40 (or any other penetrating oil) and long nose pliers. If your 10440 does not have a nipple, then it’s a bit harder. You’ll have to go outside, wear gloves and safety glasses and drill a small hole on your battery. Then, put a screw in this hole and you should now be able to pull it out with pliers. Of course, throw this battery in the garbage…

Nah, you can pack the stuff back in the hole, seal it up with some JB Weld, and reuse it just fine. :laughing:

Lightbringer · 2018-11-16T18:18:14.000Z

Hoka:

Lots of whacking suggested. I like it! May actually give it a try. The suggestions by derfyled and Muto sound like good ideas if whacking doesn’t work.

Only if it has a boost converter with nice heavy and fragile inductor, it might not like the hammer test.

Was thinking to Krazy-Gloo™ a nail-head to the bottom of the cell, and yank on the pointy end of the nail to pull it out.

Oh, and you can use AcMe to dissolve the Krazy-Gloo™ once you’re done and actually reuse the cell. And nail.

And if all the whacking doesn’t work, use Jerommel’s hand-job method.

RobertB · 2018-11-16T18:24:07.000Z

Hoka:

RobertB:

That is strange. The Efest 10440 is very loose in my Pineapple Mini. Was there some sort of shipping wrapper on your battery that you didn’t take off first? I can’t imagine the machining of the battery tube was that far off.

No, no wrapper. Only have a couple other 10440 lights, and fit is fine in those.

PM me when you get the battery out. We can compare the inside diameter. Mine is 10.8mm ID. I’m sure Rey would like to know of there are machining problems.

nokoff · 2018-11-16T18:44:14.000Z

There are sometimes big differences in the battery diameters too, maybe efest 10440 be fatties

Firelight2 · 2018-11-16T18:54:11.000Z

Muto:

Get solder iron good and hot, put solder blob on battery end, then use wire which you have pre tinned and proceed to attach wire to solder blob.
Now pull battery out then remove solder with solder sucker.

HTH
Keith

This sounds like a much better idea than drilling a hole in the back of a lithium ion battery.

Also double-check to see if the tailcap comes off on that model light. If the tailcap comes off, the easiest way to remove a stuck cell is to push it out from the other end.

RobertB · 2018-11-16T20:26:35.000Z

Another thing he could try is, remove the head and the o-ring, and heat the battery tube up a bit. It might shrink the shrink wrap on the battery enough for it to fall out.

Firelight2 · 2018-11-16T20:32:09.000Z

RobertB:

Another thing he could try is, remove the head and the o-ring, and heat the battery tube up a bit. It might shrink the shrink wrap on the battery enough for it to fall out.

Wouldn’t the opposite happen and the shrink wrap expand?

I had an 18650 get stuck in a first generation DQG 18650 mini once. This was the original twisty version of the light. The tube tapered as you got closer to the spring. If you stuck a fat cell in it would fall in and then get stuck.

I only managed to get it out when I drilled a tiny hole in the bottom of the tube and inserted a large paperclip to push the cell out. I don’t recommend this strategy unless you’re really frustrated as it caused permanent damage to the light including destroying the waterproofing.

RobertB · 2018-11-16T20:42:13.000Z

Firelight2:

RobertB:

Another thing he could try is, remove the head and the o-ring, and heat the battery tube up a bit. It might shrink the shrink wrap on the battery enough for it to fall out.

Wouldn’t the opposite happen and the shrink wrap expand?

I had an 18650 get stuck in a first generation DQG 18650 mini once. This was the original twisty version of the light. The tube tapered as you got closer to the spring. If you stuck a fat cell in it would fall in and then get stuck.

I only managed to get it out when I drilled a tiny hole in the bottom of the tube and inserted a large paperclip to push the cell out. I don’t recommend this strategy unless you’re really frustrated as it caused permanent damage to the light including destroying the waterproofing.

Well, shrink wrap shrinks when you heat it, but to what degree it changes the diameter? don’t know. Easy enough to test though.

RobertB · 2018-11-16T20:53:52.000Z

RobertB:

Firelight2:

RobertB:

Another thing he could try is, remove the head and the o-ring, and heat the battery tube up a bit. It might shrink the shrink wrap on the battery enough for it to fall out.

Wouldn’t the opposite happen and the shrink wrap expand?

I had an 18650 get stuck in a first generation DQG 18650 mini once. This was the original twisty version of the light. The tube tapered as you got closer to the spring. If you stuck a fat cell in it would fall in and then get stuck.

I only managed to get it out when I drilled a tiny hole in the bottom of the tube and inserted a large paperclip to push the cell out. I don’t recommend this strategy unless you’re really frustrated as it caused permanent damage to the light including destroying the waterproofing.

Well, shrink wrap shrinks when you heat it, but to what degree it changes the diameter? don’t know. Easy enough to test though.

I just tried it. peeled the wrap off and shrunk a new one on. Measured before and after with digital calipers. Size was unchanged. No smaller, and no bigger in diameter.