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Solder man win!

(11 posts)

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  1. Dave
    Member

    My lights have done two full years' commuting and a few longer rides. Unfortunately, they have slowly degraded and this morning the flex went just where it comes out of the battery case.

    Well, figuring that I could do no harm other than possibly ignite the whole block in a crescendo of fiery li-pol death, I used a fine cutting disc to crack open the seam of the battery and get inside. Chopped the wires clean at the broken section, soldered together, wrapped in duct tape, and bob's your uncle!

    OK, I had just sawn the battery case in half, so required a liberal application of duct tape to seal... but half an hour's work, no fiery death, and saved myself £40.75 + shipping on a replacement!

    What a win. Goes to show you shouldn't believe everything it says on the tin (like 'DO NOT DISMANTLE'!) ;-)

    Unfortunately I'm concerned this un-breakage may have damaged my top-trumps AWESOME POWER rating?

    Posted 14 years ago #

  2. Smudge
    Member

    Nah, just +1 to your "bodge-ability" rating ;-)

    Posted 14 years ago #

  3. Min
    Member

    Tell us again after it rains. If you live. ;-)

    Posted 14 years ago #

  4. spitfire
    Member

    duct tape
    truly the jedi force that bind the universe together
    we should have a moments silence in honour of such a wondrous thing

    Posted 14 years ago #

  5. Arellcat
    Moderator

    Spytty, were you watching Mythbusters yesterday, too?

    Posted 14 years ago #

  6. spitfire
    Member

    @Arellcat - Nope. duct tape is always around. Keep at least one full roll spare on top of the roll I am using at any one time
    When the terrorists use a dirty bomb or gas I can seal up my windows and doors...

    Posted 14 years ago #

  7. Dave
    Member

    I've been disappointed with the actual brand "duck" tape which I'm currently using. Far less tacky than the generic no-name stuff I had before (which, of course, I couldn't identify!)

    Posted 14 years ago #

  8. spitfire
    Member

    @Dave - agreed, standard B&Q value duct tape is the way forward

    Posted 14 years ago #

  9. wingpig
    Member

    The best stuff I ever found was sold as 'Agritape' in a farming supplies shop back home in rurality when I was small. Much stronger and grippier than anything available today - Duck seems a bit unsticky (though it leaves plenty of tacky gloop on anything it's been stuck to) whilst the grippy cheap stuff's a bit thin, rippable and water-unresistant.

    Has anyone ever tried wiring a bunch of two-cell lights to run off a holder containing a few sets of cells in parallel? I always carry plenty of spares but it'd be more convenient to discharge/recharge en masse rather than two cells at a time every 20/40/50/100 hours...

    Posted 14 years ago #

  10. ruggtomcat
    Member

    A little warning about duck (or 'gaffer' as its known by those who are not Americanized) tape, its quite corrosive.

    As a tech we often use it for temporary cable runs and the like but never for fixed installations. the glue contains all kinda weird solvents including ammonia and this gradually melts the wires covered by it.

    Aside from that the best gaffa tape is the one with a mat canvas top layer, instead of the shiny plastic versions, this tape is much more expensive, but is easy to tear and manipulate, is non slip, non streach and has the least blobbly glue.

    Posted 14 years ago #

  11. steveo
    Member

    Oh thats a can of worms, think the h***** debate is bad. Duck/Duct/Gaffer. There is some real religious views.

    Posted 14 years ago #

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