I MADE a battery case now :D

[Agent_Jaws]

Took a Pelican 1030 case, added some foam and viola! Made a battery case

I wanted a customized case for my specific bug-out battery needs, and this is what I came up with. I cut slots in the foam for the following:

Three slots for 2 x AA batteries each (seen in photo, powers my GPS)
Two slots for 3 x AAA batteries each (seen in photo, for headlamp power)
Two slots for 2 x 18500 Li-Ion rechargeable batteries (in the center where the 4 x CR123 batteries are sitting, put them there just to make sure batts fit, to power my frankenlight)
Three slots for 3 x CR123 batteries each (slots on the far right, backup batteries for my Surefires/frankenlight)

Final capacity comes to 6 x AA, 6 x AAA, 9 x CR123, and 4 x 18500s. That's more than enough power to be completely lighted up during a 4-day camping trip, which is what I am gearing for. The reason it's broken down like that is so that I can keep track of batteries that are new and which are used. All the devices I am packing will use the batteries in that order, except my Surefires which back up my frankenlight that only use 2 x CR123s at a time.

While not completely happy with the quality of my foam work, I am pleased that this case fits exactly what I wanted to carry, which is where customization comes in handy

Originally I just wanted to pick up a Surefire spares carrier but this is a more orderly/efficient way of packing my electrical needs. Three days of my wife calling me crazy have finally paid off, and I'm glad I ordered 2 of these cases because now she's trying to build one that's "better" (lol like a mad man).

Oh yeah, total cost? Case cost $11.49, and I had the foam left over from my Pelican gun case and another project. Since I bought two cases, with shipping it averaged out to about $16. Given that it's water tight, I feel it's worth the money to make sure my batteries will be there, nice and dry, when I need them. Except now I need to not be all ghetto and finally pick up the Li-Ions and spare batts I keep promising myself

Edit: Before anyone asks how I'll know which are used and which are new, I'll just put the used ones in upside-down

 

[VidPro]

if you need one more tip when working with FOAM
, there is a rubberizing spray one is called "grip-Guard" from rustoleum. it can be sprayed heavily on foam, to stiffen it up, and seal up stuff like punchout foam.

 

[HoopleHead]

sweet! so any hole making tips?

 

[Agent_Jaws]

Hole making tips from me are 1) get good quality foam (neoprene is good) and 2) go slow! I ended up jacking the lower layer of foam up a bit by getting too anxious and so it up a bit, and that's why I'm not totally happy with it. My wife is trying a technique where she is basically making a neoprene sandwich, which is what I had in mind originally but decided it was too time-consuming. Her glue is drying right now so she may wait till tomorrow to finish it off, so we'll see how that works out. I still have a lot of neoprene in a roll I got a few years ago, so if hers comes out good then I may have her make 2 lol. She's not bad with the crafty stuff.

Then again I didn't think about trying to coat it with anything. Now I'm thinking about giving it a dip in the rubber stuff for tool handles to seal and clean it up a bit better.

 

[purduephotog]

Hole making tips from me are 1) get good quality foam (neoprene is good) and 2) go slow! I ended up jacking the lower layer of foam up a bit by getting too anxious and so it up a bit, and that's why I'm not totally happy with it. My wife is trying a technique where she is basically making a neoprene sandwich, which is what I had in mind originally but decided it was too time-consuming. Her glue is drying right now so she may wait till tomorrow to finish it off, so we'll see how that works out. I still have a lot of neoprene in a roll I got a few years ago, so if hers comes out good then I may have her make 2 lol. She's not bad with the crafty stuff.

Then again I didn't think about trying to coat it with anything. Now I'm thinking about giving it a dip in the rubber stuff for tool handles to seal and clean it up a bit better.

I might have missed it in the thread due to sleep deprivation, but you did the freeze- trick first, right?

That's how we always made our custom cases back when there weren't alot of manufacturers to make stuff like that. Put the foam in the freezer for a couple of days and drill it out. If needed, soak it in water first (course, neoprene won't work that way)

Neoprene might need something colder, say, alcohol bath- or LN2 if you can get it (frozen CO2 blocks in acetone? Is neoprene rated for acetone contact (quick google didn't turn it up)

 

[TONY M]

Nice case!

 

[KowShak]

Neoprene might need something colder, say, alcohol bath- or LN2 if you can get it (frozen CO2 blocks in acetone? Is neoprene rated for acetone contact (quick google didn't turn it up)

You could try getting it wet before you freeze it, the water would freeze solid even if the neoprene itself remained soft.

 

[warx23]

For pelican case type foam its hard to beat hot wire cutting.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=4&t=292695&page=1