# Battery wrap torn



## Riddle

Hey guys

I just seriously damaged the wrapping on my vtc4 battery.
Is there anywhere that I can get it re wrapped or should I scrap the battery?


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## zadiac

Just get some thin walled 20mm heat shrink and rewrap it yourself.

I ordered these for myself http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10004244/1140202-23mm-heat-shrink-wrap-1-meter

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## Riddle

zadiac said:


> Just get some thin walled 20mm heat shrink and rewrap it yourself.
> 
> I ordered these for myself http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10004244/1140202-23mm-heat-shrink-wrap-1-meter



Is there no place locally that I can get some heat shrink?


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## zadiac

Yes, electrical places should have, but I've never seen thin walled heat shrink that will fit over an 18650 locally. Could only find thick walled and they don't work. Don't know where you are at, but you can shop around. Don't discard the battery if it's only the wrapping that's damaged.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Ollie

Riddle said:


> Is there no place locally that I can get some heat shrink?



@Riddle you can get heat shrink from any electrical outlet, ive even seen it at builders warehouse, but im not sure if its the right stuff.... i wouldnt chance it!

Reactions: Like 2


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## Ollie

zadiac said:


> Yes, electrical places should have, but I've never seen thin walled heat shrink that will fit over an 18650 locally. Could only find thick walled and they don't work. Don't know where you are at, but you can shop around. Don't discard the battery if it's only the wrapping that's damaged.



What he said


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## zadiac

This guy bought his from Fasttech as well.

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## Riddle

zadiac said:


> This guy bought his from Fasttech as well.




The wait from fasttech just for shrink wrap will kill me. Will scout around for something local I'm the interim.


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## zadiac

This guy also has a good idea there




You can try this place as well http://www.illumn.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=shrink+wrap

Reactions: Like 2


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## Riddle

zadiac said:


> This guy also has a good idea there
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You can try this place as well http://www.illumn.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=shrink wrap




I've seen the blow dryer method before. I think it is a safer option also. As soon as I get my hands on some wrap ill be using that method.


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## Arthster

Look at communica in Midrand


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## Riddle

I found this:
http://shop.rabtron.co.za/catalog/heat-shrink-tubing-20mm-black-metre-p-5571.html

Not sure if that is right though.


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## abdul

This happened to me now as well. Lucky I have some spare batteries. Will check communica tomoro and post feedback

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## Arthster

Heatshrink is all the same. just don't warm the cell to much, but heatshrink is heatshrink is heatshrink.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Riddle

abdul said:


> This happened to me now as well. Lucky I have some spare batteries. Will check communica tomoro and post feedback



Thanks. Will really be appreciated. 
Really sucks as it was my only decent battery.


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## zadiac

Arthster said:


> Heatshrink is all the same. just don't warm the cell to much, but heatshrink is heatshrink is heatshrink.



Nope. Sorry. I bought lots of heat shrink from different places. It has to be very thin walled. If not, it won't work. Been there, done that. The type they have on Fasttech is the right stuff, but I'm sure it can be found locally.

Reactions: Like 1


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## zadiac

Riddle said:


> I found this:
> http://shop.rabtron.co.za/catalog/heat-shrink-tubing-20mm-black-metre-p-5571.html
> 
> Not sure if that is right though.



It looks ok, but it would be better to phone them and make sure. Don't be like me and buy lots of heat shrink just to find that it doesn't work for battery wrapping.


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## ET

also depends on what mod you are using it in. a wee bit of sellotape or insulation tape can work in a pinch sometimes

Reactions: Like 1


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## Derick

If you post this in the 'who has stock' forum, then the retailers can respond


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## Yiannaki

Moved it to who has stock for you @Riddle so the retailers can pitch in

Reactions: Thanks 2


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## Derick

Yiannaki said:


> Moved it to who has stock for you @Riddle so the retailers can pitch in


Thanks 

So, heh - @Riddle. we just ordered some battery wraps from Efest  - Same purple as the efest batteries and same material they use to wrap their batteries, they are going to be seriously cheap as we had to get 500 of them, should arrive early next week. They are already cut to length and should fit any 18650 battery, or you can cut them and fit shorter batteries too.

Haven't worked out exact pricing yet, but it should be in the region of R10 for a 5 pack, plus we will throw in a free one with every battery we sell

Reactions: Like 7 | Winner 2


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## abdul

awesome news @Derick... WIll def order a pack for me

@Riddle if you cannot wait, i see communica has some heat wrapping on their website. just not sure which size we would need


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## Derick

abdul said:


> awesome news @Derick... WIll def order a pack for me
> 
> @Riddle if you cannot wait, i see communica has some heat wrapping on their website. just not sure which size we would need



They generally shrink to a 2:1 ratio, So get ones up to almost twice the diameter of your battery - seeing as it is and 18650, diameter should be 18mm or thereabouts - so look for anything up to 30mm or so.

Besides Communica, my local hardware store also sells these in little 2 packs (in the electrical section) , cut to about 20cm each and you can also get them from Voltex 

Brand wise I would recommend Hellermann tyton, just be careful with thickness of the material, too thick and your battery might not fit in your device anymore

Reactions: Like 2


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## abdul

Derick said:


> They generally shrink to a 2:1 ratio, So get ones up to almost twice the diameter of your battery - seeing as it is and 18650, diameter should be 18mm or thereabouts - so look for anything up to 30mm or so.
> 
> Besides Communica, my local hardware store also sells these in little 2 packs (in the electrical section) , cut to about 20cm each and you can also get them from Voltex
> 
> Brand wise I would recommend Hellermann tyton, just be careful with thickness of the material, too thick and your battery might not fit in your device anymore



thanks for the info man. i think it will be safer to just wait till the efest wraps are in


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## Riddle

ET said:


> also depends on what mod you are using it in. a wee bit of sellotape or insulation tape can work in a pinch sometimes


I used to use the battery mainly in the nemesis with 0.2ohm builds. Was recently using in another electronic device and removing battery from there the whole time was what caused the wrapping to rip. 



Yiannaki said:


> Moved it to who has stock for you @Riddle so the retailers can pitch in



thanks



Derick said:


> Thanks
> 
> So, heh - @Riddle. we just ordered some battery wraps from Efest  - Same purple as the efest batteries and same material they use to wrap their batteries, they are going to be seriously cheap as we had to get 500 of them, should arrive early next week. They are already cut to length and should fit any 18650 battery, or you can cut them and fit shorter batteries too.
> 
> Haven't worked out exact pricing yet, but it should be in the region of R10 for a 5 pack, plus we will throw in a free one with every battery we sell



thanks @Derick. I definitely need to get a few more batteries. Like now I'm in a situation with barely a backup 18650. 



abdul said:


> awesome news @Derick... WIll def order a pack for me
> 
> @Riddle if you cannot wait, i see communica has some heat wrapping on their website. just not sure which size we would need



I have confidence that I can do the wrapping. The size on the stuff is what I'm really not sure of.


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## Derick

Riddle said:


> I used to use the battery mainly in the nemesis with 0.2ohm builds. Was recently using in another electronic device and removing battery from there the whole time was what caused the wrapping to rip.
> 
> 
> 
> thanks
> 
> 
> 
> thanks @Derick. I definitely need to get a few more batteries. Like now I'm in a situation with barely a backup 18650.
> 
> 
> 
> I have confidence that I can do the wrapping. The size on the stuff is what I'm really not sure of.


Cool, yeah because of the 2:1 ratio, you can go almost double the 18mm diameter of the battery, I say almost, because although it is a 2:1 shrink ratio, not all of them shrink exactly 2:1 - so anything from 20mm to around 30mm should do the job, generally the bigger they are the thicker the material, so get 20mm if you can - then just heat with a hairdryer - that should be enough to make it shrink and not too hot to damage the battery.

There's a video somewhere of how it is done, will see if I can find it


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## Riddle

Derick said:


> Cool, yeah because of the 2:1 ratio, you can go almost double the 18mm diameter of the battery, I say almost, because although it is a 2:1 shrink ratio, not all of them shrink exactly 2:1 - so anything from 20mm to around 30mm should do the job, generally the bigger they are the thicker the material, so get 20mm if you can - then just heat with a hairdryer - that should be enough to make it shrink and not too hot to damage the battery.
> 
> There's a video somewhere of how it is done, will see if I can find it



Thanks. @zadiac posted a video yesterday on how to do it as well. I'm going to scout around so long just because it's urgent. But if I don't come right by the time you have your stock in then I'm getting it from skyblue

Reactions: Like 1


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## Derick

Riddle said:


> Thanks. @zadiac posted a video yesterday on how to do it as well. I'm going to scout around so long just because it's urgent. But if I don't come right by the time you have your stock in then I'm getting it from skyblue


Cool, if you're in a bind, some electrical insulation tape will work in the short term

Reactions: Like 1


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## Riddle

Derick said:


> Cool, if you're in a bind, some electrical insulation tape will work in the short term



To be honest I'm too scared to take the chance with just tape .


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## Derick

Riddle said:


> To be honest I'm too scared to take the chance with just tape .


Heh, up to you - basically the whole outside of the battery is the negative post, and it is just separated from the positive post by a little rubber/plastic grommet around the positive side. So especially with mech mods, if the exposed side of the battery makes contact with the side of the mod it can cause shorts and heating. So as long as you prevent that from happening it should be ok.

Electrical insulation tape can't take as much heat as shrink wrap though, and batteries in sub ohm devices tend to heat up a bit, so that is why it is a short term solution only

Reactions: Like 1


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## Riddle

Derick said:


> Heh, up to you - basically the whole outside of the battery is the negative post, and it is just separated from the positive post by a little rubber/plastic grommet around the positive side. So especially with mech mods, if the exposed side of the battery makes contact with the side of the mod it can cause shorts and heating. So as long as you prevent that from happening it should be ok.
> 
> Electrical insulation tape can't take as much heat as shrink wrap though, and batteries in sub ohm devices tend to heat up a bit, so that is why it is a short term solution only



Gonna give it a go and just use the lemo with a higher build so long


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## TangoCharlie

Hey @Riddle, I have a piece of the FT wrap if you want to get buy, it is see through.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Derick

Riddle said:


> Gonna give it a go and just use the lemo with a higher build so long


Cool, just keep an eye on battery heat


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## Riddle

Derick said:


> Cool, just keep an eye on battery heat



Do I have to remove the old wrap before insulating it?


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## TangoCharlie

Depends on how badly damaged the old wrapping is and what device the battery will be going into to. If you double insulate it could be too tight for the device

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Derick

Riddle said:


> Do I have to remove the old wrap before insulating it?


It's going to depend, how bad is the old wrap?. 

You can generally just wrap some electrical tape around the exposed part, as long as all of it is covered and your battery will still fit in the device, you should be good


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## Riddle

Derick said:


> It's going to depend, how bad is the old wrap?.
> 
> You can generally just wrap some electrical tape around the exposed part, as long as all of it is covered and your battery will still fit in the device, you should be good



Only the top part is damaged. But if I overlap the old wrap it doesn't fit in the nemesis.


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## Derick

Riddle said:


> Only the top part is damaged. But if I overlap the old wrap it doesn't fit in the nemesis.


Yikes, well then you can remove the old wrap and cover the whole thing with electrical tape, but it would have to be done carefully so that you do not have any area exposed that could come into contact with the mod - I think it is probably easier to go with some heat shrink then

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## zadiac

Remove the old wrap.


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## baksteen8168

a Bit late to this convo, but I had one re-wrapped at Just Batteries in Benoni.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Ollie

baksteen8168 said:


> a Bit late to this convo, but I had one re-wrapped at Just Batteries in Benoni.



Good to know @baksteen8168, Thanks man!


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## baksteen8168

Oliver Barry said:


> Good to know @baksteen8168, Thanks man!



No problem.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Riddle

baksteen8168 said:


> a Bit late to this convo, but I had one re-wrapped at Just Batteries in Benoni.



Awesome. Do they have a branch any closer to the west rand?


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## baksteen8168

Riddle said:


> Awesome. Do they have a branch any closer to the west rand?


Not as far as I know. Only this one in Benoni that I am aware of.

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## Riddle

So didn't get a chance to look for any places for the wrap. Tried insulating it with electric tape but now it won't fit in the nemesis. 
I suppose I'll hang ten until @Derick gets stock


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## LandyMan

LOL, so was reading through the thread yesterday, and noticed a crack in the sleeve of one of my Efests this morning ... will have to get some from @Derick as well

Reactions: Like 2


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## Riddle

LandyMan said:


> LOL, so was reading through the thread yesterday, and noticed a crack in the sleeve of one of my Efests this morning ... will have to get some from @Derick as well



Buy more batteries from them. They going to throw some I with that.


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## LandyMan

Riddle said:


> Buy more batteries from them. They going to throw some I with that.


LOL, not a totally bad idea .. can never have too many batteries

Reactions: Agree 1


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## free3dom

LandyMan said:


> LOL, not a totally bad idea .. can never have too many batteries



And they will be getting some smurfs! Everyone needs some smurfs

Reactions: Like 1


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## Riddle

free3dom said:


> And they will be getting some smurfs! Everyone needs some smurfs



Definitely. Hopefully I can get my order in before "everyone" buys them out.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## free3dom

Riddle said:


> Definitely. Hopefully I can get my order in before "everyone" buys them out.



Haha, I do hope @Derick ordered many smurfs so there is plenty to go around. Seems we have a great need (want) for these


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## Derick

free3dom said:


> Haha, I do hope @Derick ordered many smurfs so there is plenty to go around. Seems we have a great need (want) for these


Ordered plenty, and we can get more if need be

Reactions: Winner 2


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## free3dom

Derick said:


> Ordered plenty, and we can get more if need be



Nice  
Or we can go raid the village if you run out

Reactions: Like 1


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## Riddle

free3dom said:


> Nice
> Or we can go raid the village if you run out



Gargamel!!

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1


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## free3dom

Riddle said:


> Gargamel!!



I can neither confirm or deny reports of being Gargamel - I just want smurfs

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1


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