Surefire C3 – Battery Rattle

[Russianesq]

Just added a few incandescent lights to my growing collection.

The only light that has battery rattle is the Surefire C3. Is this common with the C3?

Did I get a dud?

What's the best way to fix the battery rattle?

 

[greenLED]

Wrap a piece of paper around the batts.

 

[flash_bang]

ditto greenLED.
Just wondering, does anyone take off those white stickers on the bezel of the led lights and stuff?
thanks,
Flash
PS, sorry to hijack

 

[Russianesq]

Wrap a piece of paper around the batts.

How about putting some tape on the batteries?

When the light gets hot will it melt the glue on the tape?

:thinking::thinking::thinking:

 

[ampdude]

They all rattle, even with protected 17500's. Don't complain about it or Surefire will tighten those up too. :sick2:

:laughing:

 

[mdocod]

SHUSH! don't give SF any reasons to make it smaller, LOL...

for now like mentioned, a piece of paper rolled into a tube shape dropped into the flashlight will fix it for now and leave the option open in the future of fitting 17500s comfortably with it removed.

 

[KentuckyMike]

Re: Surefire C3 – Battery Rattle

In the old days we used to wrap a pass (or two or three) of electical tape around the top and bottom of each D-cell in those 4, 5, and 6D Mags. I haven't had a Mag rattle too bad lately, but tolerances may be a little better now (then again I don't get them out of round by using them as an all-in-one hammer, club, doorstop, wheel block and prybar anymore either!)

With the high draw on some of these fancy new lights we have, the batteries can get warm. As you said Resq, I might worry about the gooey stuff migrating... Paper seems to work and I havent had anything catch on fire....yet.

If you really want to get fancy and you have some extra time on your hands, there is another way. You can buy a piece of PVC pipe with an inner diameter just a bit smaller than your battery. The inside and outside can be worked until it just fits in your light and the batteries just fit in the pipe. With a snug enough I.D., they can make nifty "speedloaders" for a spare set of batteries, too. Again, with a high-draw light, heat and expansion might be concerns, but worth a mention.

 

[Russianesq]

It would be nice if there was a plastic sleeve available that would dampen the rattle. :huh:

 

[KentuckyMike]

Re: Surefire C3 – Battery Rattle

It would be nice if there was a plastic sleeve available that would dampen the rattle. :huh:

Another option if you don't want to go the PVC route (which, admittedly, can be a LOT of work) might be tubing. The bix box home improvement stores carry rolls of flexible plastic tubing in all different inner diameters, thicknesses, material types, etc. Depending on how "bad" your light is, you *might* be able to find something to work for you. Some of those clear tubing materials are fairly thin and soft, they might fit if you find a very thin one, and would certainly deaden the rattle. You can slide the batteries in if they'll fit, or just slit it down the side with an Xacto knife and wrap it around the batteries. If the heat is still a concern, don't go with a really soft, tacky plastic, though. One time I did use semi-rigid plastic tubing designed to keep computer and A/V wiring from getting unruly. This stuff is usually pretty thin, and some of the better ones are heat resistant.

If we're not talking about a great deal of clearance, paper is by far the easiest, cleanest, cheapest, and most worry-free. Another option is rechargeables. Or...try a few different brands of primaries. They do vary a little in size, and sometimes one brand may very well be just big enough to stop the noise.

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

Just added a few incandescent lights to my growing collection.

The only light that has battery rattle is the Surefire C3. Is this common with the C3?

Did I get a dud?

What's the best way to fix the battery rattle?

Does it bother you that much??

 

[greenLED]

Battery rattle does bother me.

Putting tape does work (heat won't hurt electrical tape). I'd rather use paper, though because it saves me from having to wrap individual batts every time I change them. If you find a thick enough piece of paper, you can just leave it inside the battery tube permanently.

Machining a plastic insert would be a b~€@~# - you need a really thin layer surrounding the batts. But since you mention it, a piece of overhead transparency would work just as well as the paper.

 

[kosPap]

Re: Surefire C3 – Battery Rattle

If you really want to get fancy and you have some extra time on your hands, there is another way. You can buy a piece of PVC pipe with an inner diameter just a bit smaller than your battery. The inside and outside can be worked until it just fits in your light and the batteries just fit in the pipe. With a snug enough I.D., they can make nifty "speedloaders" for a spare set of batteries, too. Again, with a high-draw light, heat and expansion might be concerns, but worth a mention.

Now why go to that trouble. I ahve made a sleeve like that for a similar application by getting a tube a tab bigger and cutting of a strip end to end. that makes the OA diameter smalle to the amount you wish...

 

[Russianesq]

Battery rattle makes a high quality light feel like a baby rattle :thumbsdow

 

[imfrogman]

You can get shirnkwrap from Kevin at Battery Station that fits 123's, it's like .25 for a foot section & this will wrap 3 or 4 sets of 3 123's. This is what I use, not for battery rattle, which it does stop, but so I do not have to fumble for 3 batterys when the batterys die & for a quick change. I use my c3 for pig hunting which we do at night.

 

[ToeMoss]

The rattle bothered me too. I just slid a 2"x12" piece of paper in the tube and all it feels solid now, amazing how little it took to resolve the problem.

 

[Radio]

Re: Surefire C3 – Battery Rattle

Both of my C3's and both of my C2's rattle slightly, doesn't bother me but it is noticeable.:shrug:

 

[Illum]

Just wondering, does anyone take off those white stickers on the bezel of the led lights and stuff?

look here
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=179920

oh lord....Surefire uses huge dots now it used to be something the size of what a hole punch can give out

 

[Monocrom]

Both of my C3's and both of my C2's rattle slightly, doesn't bother me but it is noticeable.:shrug:

That seems odd.... My C2 doesn't rattle.