Highway robbery...
 

I've had a 3m Airmate for a number of years now, and my battery is
pretty much at the end of it's useful life. I pulled up the battery in
google and the price ranges from around $95 to over $175 or more.
Krappin' Krishna! I'm on my 2nd battery and some years ago I tore open
my first pack and it consists of three D-cell nicads wired together.
Three D-cells. It boggles the mind.

Worst part is, there's a metal strap that connects them all that is sort
of stapled into the top and bottom. It would be *so* easy to make that
pack such that you can pop the lid, and drop in three new batteries.
But nope. Not a chance.

Chalk it up to corporate greed or lawyers being involved. Or both.

Wonder if Batteries Plus could renew my old pack for a reasonable cost?

Sorry for the OT rant, but this urks me. Besides, we haven't had any
decent COC activity in ages...

....Kevin
--
Kevin Miller
Juneau, Alaska
http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
In a recent poll, seven out of ten hard drives preferred Linux.

Highway robbery...
 

Kevin Miller wrote:
I've had a 3m Airmate for a number of years now, and my battery is
pretty much at the end of it's useful life. I pulled up the battery in
google and the price ranges from around $95 to over $175 or more.
Krappin' Krishna! I'm on my 2nd battery and some years ago I tore open
my first pack and it consists of three D-cell nicads wired together.
Three D-cells. It boggles the mind.

Worst part is, there's a metal strap that connects them all that is sort
of stapled into the top and bottom. It would be *so* easy to make that
pack such that you can pop the lid, and drop in three new batteries. But
nope. Not a chance.

Chalk it up to corporate greed or lawyers being involved. Or both.

Wonder if Batteries Plus could renew my old pack for a reasonable cost?

Sorry for the OT rant, but this urks me. Besides, we haven't had any
decent COC activity in ages...

....Kevin

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

http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts/536...ugs-bh3dl.html

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

Highway robbery...
 

Kevin Miller wrote:
I've had a 3m Airmate for a number of years now, and my battery is
pretty much at the end of it's useful life. I pulled up the battery in
google and the price ranges from around $95 to over $175 or more.
Krappin' Krishna! I'm on my 2nd battery and some years ago I tore open
my first pack and it consists of three D-cell nicads wired together.
Three D-cells. It boggles the mind.

Worst part is, there's a metal strap that connects them all that is sort
of stapled into the top and bottom. It would be *so* easy to make that
pack such that you can pop the lid, and drop in three new batteries.
But nope. Not a chance.

Chalk it up to corporate greed or lawyers being involved. Or both.

Wonder if Batteries Plus could renew my old pack for a reasonable cost?

Sorry for the OT rant, but this urks me. Besides, we haven't had any
decent COC activity in ages...

...Kevin

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.

--
Gerald Ross
Cochran, GA

I think the world is run by 'C'
students. --Al McGuire

Highway robbery...
 

In message ications,
Kevin Miller writes
I've had a 3m Airmate for a number of years now, and my battery is
pretty much at the end of it's useful life. I pulled up the battery in
google and the price ranges from around $95 to over $175 or more.
Krappin' Krishna! I'm on my 2nd battery and some years ago I tore open
my first pack and it consists of three D-cell nicads wired together.
Three D-cells. It boggles the mind.

Worst part is, there's a metal strap that connects them all that is
sort of stapled into the top and bottom. It would be *so* easy to make
that pack such that you can pop the lid, and drop in three new
batteries. But nope. Not a chance.

Chalk it up to corporate greed or lawyers being involved. Or both.

Wonder if Batteries Plus could renew my old pack for a reasonable cost?

Sorry for the OT rant, but this urks me. Besides, we haven't had any
decent COC activity in ages...

...Kevin

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

--
John

Highway robbery...
 

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

I've had a 3m Airmate for a number of years now, and my battery is
pretty much at the end of it's useful life. I pulled up the battery in
google and the price ranges from around $95 to over $175 or more.
Krappin' Krishna! I'm on my 2nd battery and some years ago I tore open
my first pack and it consists of three D-cell nicads wired together.
Three D-cells. It boggles the mind.

Worst part is, there's a metal strap that connects them all that is sort
of stapled into the top and bottom. It would be *so* easy to make that
pack such that you can pop the lid, and drop in three new batteries.
But nope. Not a chance.

Chalk it up to corporate greed or lawyers being involved. Or both.

Wonder if Batteries Plus could renew my old pack for a reasonable cost?

Sorry for the OT rant, but this urks me. Besides, we haven't had any
decent COC activity in ages...

...Kevin


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 will find a way or make one.

Highway robbery...
 

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.

Highway robbery...
 

On 06/14/2010 04:15 PM, Leo Lichtman wrote:
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?

--
Kevin Miller - http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
Juneau, Alaska
In a recent survey, 7 out of 10 hard drives preferred Linux
Registered Linux User No: 307357, http://counter.li.org

Highway robbery...
 

On 06/14/2010 12:40 PM, tom koehler wrote:
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

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
--
Kevin Miller - http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
Juneau, Alaska
In a recent survey, 7 out of 10 hard drives preferred Linux
Registered Linux User No: 307357, http://counter.li.org

Highway robbery...
 

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

Martin

Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
"Our Republic and the Press will Rise or Fall Together": Joseph Pulitzer
TSRA: Endowed; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member. http://lufkinced.com/

On 6/14/2010 3:03 PM, Kevin Miller wrote:
I've had a 3m Airmate for a number of years now, and my battery is
pretty much at the end of it's useful life. I pulled up the battery in
google and the price ranges from around $95 to over $175 or more.
Krappin' Krishna! I'm on my 2nd battery and some years ago I tore open
my first pack and it consists of three D-cell nicads wired together.
Three D-cells. It boggles the mind.

Worst part is, there's a metal strap that connects them all that is sort
of stapled into the top and bottom. It would be *so* easy to make that
pack such that you can pop the lid, and drop in three new batteries. But
nope. Not a chance.

Chalk it up to corporate greed or lawyers being involved. Or both.

Wonder if Batteries Plus could renew my old pack for a reasonable cost?

Sorry for the OT rant, but this urks me. Besides, we haven't had any
decent COC activity in ages...

...Kevin

Highway robbery...
 

"Kevin Miller" wrote in message
...
On 06/14/2010 12:40 PM, tom koehler wrote:
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

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
--

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

Highway robbery...
 

"Kevin Miller" wrote in message
...
On 06/14/2010 04:15 PM, Leo Lichtman wrote:
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?

Silk sheets.

Highway robbery...
 

On Jun 14, 10:30*pm, "Bill Noble" wrote:

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

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

Highway robbery...
 

In message , Kevin Miller
writes
On 06/14/2010 04:15 PM, Leo Lichtman wrote:
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?

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 :)
--
John

Highway robbery...
 

Bill Noble wrote:


"Kevin Miller" wrote in message
...
On 06/14/2010 12:40 PM, tom koehler wrote:
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

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
--

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

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


--
Kevin Miller
Juneau, Alaska
http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
In a recent poll, seven out of ten hard drives preferred Linux.

Highway robbery...
 

Nova wrote:
Kevin Miller wrote:
I've had a 3m Airmate for a number of years now, and my battery is
pretty much at the end of it's useful life. I pulled up the battery
in google and the price ranges from around $95 to over $175 or more.
Krappin' Krishna! I'm on my 2nd battery and some years ago I tore
open my first pack and it consists of three D-cell nicads wired
together. Three D-cells. It boggles the mind.

Worst part is, there's a metal strap that connects them all that is
sort of stapled into the top and bottom. It would be *so* easy to
make that pack such that you can pop the lid, and drop in three new
batteries. But nope. Not a chance.

Chalk it up to corporate greed or lawyers being involved. Or both.

Wonder if Batteries Plus could renew my old pack for a reasonable cost?

Sorry for the OT rant, but this urks me. Besides, we haven't had any
decent COC activity in ages...

....Kevin

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

http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts/536...ugs-bh3dl.html


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
--
Kevin Miller
Juneau, Alaska
http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
In a recent poll, seven out of ten hard drives preferred Linux.

Highway robbery...
 

Chief COC, Sir,


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


Respectfully, Arch, COC 1st class

Highway robbery...
 

On Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:03:26 -0800, Kevin Miller wrote:

I've had a 3m Airmate for a number of years now, and my battery is
pretty much at the end of it's useful life. I pulled up the battery in
google and the price ranges from around $95 to over $175 or more.
Krappin' Krishna! I'm on my 2nd battery and some years ago I tore open
my first pack and it consists of three D-cell nicads wired together.

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.

Highway robbery...
 

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

Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
"Our Republic and the Press will Rise or Fall Together": Joseph Pulitzer
TSRA: Endowed; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member. http://lufkinced.com/

On 6/27/2010 9:46 PM, Joe Bramblett wrote:
On Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:03:26 -0800, Kevin Miller wrote:

I've had a 3m Airmate for a number of years now, and my battery is
pretty much at the end of it's useful life. I pulled up the battery in
google and the price ranges from around $95 to over $175 or more.
Krappin' Krishna! I'm on my 2nd battery and some years ago I tore open
my first pack and it consists of three D-cell nicads wired together.

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.

Highway robbery...
 

I posted the link to batteries at a reasonable price, the OP didn't want to
deal with that, so this discussion drags on.....

"Martin H. Eastburn" wrote in message
...
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

Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
"Our Republic and the Press will Rise or Fall Together": Joseph Pulitzer
TSRA: Endowed; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member. http://lufkinced.com/

On 6/27/2010 9:46 PM, Joe Bramblett wrote:
On Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:03:26 -0800, Kevin Miller wrote:

I've had a 3m Airmate for a number of years now, and my battery is
pretty much at the end of it's useful life. I pulled up the battery in
google and the price ranges from around $95 to over $175 or more.
Krappin' Krishna! I'm on my 2nd battery and some years ago I tore open
my first pack and it consists of three D-cell nicads wired together.

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.