Pila's in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

A user asked Don in the Reviews section about using Pila's in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack. Don replied that they have to be pushed out from the tailcap end because the I.D. is a bit smaller.

I have ten Pila 168S and tried six from a brand new batch of seven that I bought. I don't have a Aleph 2x123 but have a 1x123 and just turned them end for end to test them.

One or two slid in without hardly touching the tube. Another two started in and then got snug. Most often it was a bulge at the positive end. One was so tight that I had to wiggle it to get it started and force it in!

I'm not sure if/how these tighter ones will work in a 2x123 tube. Will maintaining battery contact be a problem? The spring is supposed to keep pressure on the battery to make contact with the anode in the head. If you have a Mc2ES with a lighter spring it's going to be worse yet! The one battery that had to be forced in will never be moved by the spring even a SF spring.

I'm not sure if removing the tailcap and pushing the battery against the head first will overcome this problem?

If the batteries are that tight, would a sudden jar/tap on the tailcap move the battery rearward and stick?

So much for Pila's QC since they vary in O.D. so much!

Re: Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

Someone posted that they removed the outer wrapper from the Pilas to get them to fit better, and there is an inner wrapper that still keeps the battery protected. Of course I'm going from memory here so I could be wrong.

Re: Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

Bill,
Good questions! The few thatI have played with havenot presented any problem other than removal. I am bummed because I did my dimensioning without having the the Pilas for evaluation but other Li-Ion cells and the Copia all work great! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif I wanted max allowable wall thickness on the battery tubes due to strength as well as thermal mass considerations.
One thing I have not tried yet is some dry silicone lube (spray). None of my sampling have been overly tight but too snug for gravity to be certain!

Re: Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

[ QUOTE ]
McGizmo said:
Bill,
Good questions! The few thatI have played with havenot presented any problem other than removal. I am bummed because I did my dimensioning without having the the Pilas for evaluation but other Li-Ion cells and the Copia all work great! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif I wanted max allowable wall thickness on the battery tubes due to strength as well as thermal mass considerations.
One thing I have not tried yet is some dry silicone lube (spray). None of my sampling have been overly tight but too snug for gravity to be certain!

[/ QUOTE ]
Don:

Even if you used a Pila to get your dimentions, they vary in size so much, you could still have the same problem!

I wonder about the O.D. of the upcoming JSB123 Li-Ion rechargable? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif How about the BE(balrog) powerpack's I.D.? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

Re: Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

Re: Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

Don:

I just measured your Aleph powerpack and compared it to a SureFire. The SF is about .006 larger.

The tailcap thread is just under 11/16". Wonder if I could hold it with a 11/16" collet to open up the I.D.? Or make a adapter by cutting the thread in some other stock and holding that. Knowing that usally, it won't run true!

How do you hold your tubes to face off the ends?

Re: Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

Bill,
I have made a couple brass emergency collets for the tubes but for access to the head end, I use a 53/64" which stops at the knurl. A 27/32" will accept the knurl and allow you to digest more of the tube.

These battery thicknesses really caught me by surprise! The 150S Pila's I have fit in the 1x17500 tubes and slide in and out. In my samples, it is the 168S in the 2x123 tube where there is some resistance. It may be that the machine shop hit the lower end of the tolerance on the ID. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif I have both a Copia and WolfEyes 168S or whatever they call them and these both fit fine. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif

Re: Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

[ QUOTE ]
McGizmo said:
Bill,
I have made a couple brass emergency collets for the tubes but for access to the head end, I use a 53/64" which stops at the knurl. A 27/32" will accept the knurl and allow you to digest more of the tube.

These battery thicknesses really caught me by surprise! The 150S Pila's I have fit in the 1x17500 tubes and slide in and out. In my samples, it is the 168S in the 2x123 tube where there is some resistance. It may be that the machine shop hit the lower end of the tolerance on the ID. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif I have both a Copia and WolfEyes 168S or whatever they call them and these both fit fine. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Don:

Thanks! I've never tried useing a brass emergency collet. It was to late last night to pull my three jaw chuck off and try the 11/16" collet. It might work! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I'm waiting for the Shoppe to get the 2x123 in NAT-HA in stock so I can get the black also.

Re: Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

Fitz,

At Balrog's suggestion I peeled a Pila to put in my X0. There was another label underneath with a sliver of paper to ID the cell. Now it fits. You might give it a shot to see if it helps on the tight ones.

LT

Re: Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

Bill,
There is no plan to get any more of the Aleph parts anodized in HA-Nat. There are some 1x123 tubes in Ha-Nat and when they are gone, they are gone. The only part I will consider geting more of in HA-Nat is the tail cap. The Aleph system will be HA -Dark Gray only. Although I will do some builds and provide additional parts in raw Al subject to availability, the shoppe won't be offering the raw Al either.

LT,
Thanks for the tip on peeling the Pila! I will give that a try today! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Re: Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

[ QUOTE ]
McGizmo said:
Bill,
There is no plan to get any more of the Aleph parts anodized in HA-Nat. There are some 1x123 tubes in Ha-Nat and when they are gone, they are gone. The only part I will consider geting more of in HA-Nat is the tail cap. The Aleph system will be HA -Dark Gray only. Although I will do some builds and provide additional parts in raw Al subject to availability, the shoppe won't be offering the raw Al either.

LT,
Thanks for the tip on peeling the Pila! I will give that a try today! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Don:

Okay, I'll have to order a black Aleph 2x123 powerpack.

A while back when I ran into the problem of Pila's not making contact with the solder ball, I was going to remove the plastic skin and was told that Pila frowns on that, not that you can't do it!

Re: Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

Don:

Got my Aleph 2x123 Power Pack today. I took the tightest Pila 168S I ran into and peeled the Pila label off. It dropped right in! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif I wonder how they line up that little Pila 168S tag to line up in the clear window while wrapping it? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif Of the four that I peeled, I managed to catch the Copia label a bit when I started, probably the last one I did! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif I'll have to watch that next time.

BTW: I wonder how many Aleph 2x123 Power Packs were packaged with two tailcap end "O" rings instead of one of each? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif I emailed Wayne about the mistake.

Re: Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

Bill,
Good news on the Pila fit; oops on the battery tube O-rings! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/oops.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

Re: Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

[ QUOTE ]
McGizmo said:
Bill,
Good news on the Pila fit; oops on the battery tube O-rings! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/oops.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Don:

I peeled three more in my Pila collection! Used my fingernail to catch the plastic, safer than a sharp pointy knife and less dangerous! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nana.gif

Re: Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

Bill,
Are they all Copia's underneath or are you stripping some bare? I assume if there is only one label, the cell will fit the tube anyway?!?

Oh yeah, almost forgot! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nana.gif

Re: Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

[ QUOTE ]
McGizmo said:
Bill,
Are they all Copia's underneath or are you stripping some bare? I assume if there is only one label, the cell will fit the tube anyway?!?

Oh yeah, almost forgot! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nana.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Don:

All so far have Copia labels underneath. I have three more to strip.

Re: Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

[ QUOTE ]
McGizmo said:
Bill,
Good news on the Pila fit; oops on the battery tube O-rings! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/oops.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Don:

Hmmm! One email and one form at his site. No response from Wayne yet. Nobody home or what?

Re: Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

Bill,
I know Wayne is home and up to his ears in converter design, procuring and building, not to mention the rest of the stuff on the shop. I haven't done anything to lighten their load. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Gauging from the number of E-mails and PM's that I can get at times, I can only imagine how bogged the store can be from communications. Not an excuse here, just a statement of reality. If you want, send me an E-mail and I'll shoot you some extra O-rings in the mail, no charge. If I had been more organized at the time, I could have provided the tubes to the shoppe with O-rings installed. As it was, I was out at the time and left it to Wayne and Cindy to complete the picture. Mea Culpa /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

Re: Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

[ QUOTE ]
McGizmo said:
Bill,
I know Wayne is home and up to his ears in converter design, procuring and building, not to mention the rest of the stuff on the shop. I haven't done anything to lighten their load. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Gauging from the number of E-mails and PM's that I can get at times, I can only imagine how bogged the store can be from communications. Not an excuse here, just a statement of reality. If you want, send me an E-mail and I'll shoot you some extra O-rings in the mail, no charge. If I had been more organized at the time, I could have provided the tubes to the shoppe with O-rings installed. As it was, I was out at the time and left it to Wayne and Cindy to complete the picture. Mea Culpa /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Don:

Thanks! Email sent!

Re: Pila\'s in a Aleph 2x123 powerpack

Bill,
O-rings on the way. Could you go over to the Resistor Value Thread and possibly shed some light on your findings using the Pila's? TIA. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif