AW Battery Pitting

[jifjifjif]

Fellow REOnauts, please share your wisdom with me. My wife rocks a mini 18490 and has had trouble with pitting on the button top. Check out the attached picture. The clean one is my 18650 from 6 months ago and the pitted one is an 18490 from 3 weeks ago. My coil is .44 ohms and hers are 1.2ohm. Both using RM2s. I clean and deoxit all batteries and mods weekly.

What is the culprit?

 

[Rule62]

Just a thought: She might be slow and light with her button pushes. You may be more deliberate, which is why hers is pitted and yours isn't. Tell her she isn't pushing the button correctly...and then run like hell.

 

[Papa_Lazarou]

I'm thinking it's gotta be button depression technique - hers causing more arcing.

Maybe get her to use yours for a time and see if pitting shows up on yours.

 

[Joules_Verne]

^^^what they said, the longer the time interval between almost-contact and contact the more opportunity for a spark to jump the gap, especially the reverse action, contact to no-contact.
She must be releasing the button more slowly than you, more spark on breaking current flow.

 

[SteamStack]

Interesting thought guys.. prob dead on.

I bet she's never played video games to strengthen those thumbs.

 

[kkay59]

Maybe her skin is acidic, and she is touching the tip. I try not to touch either end of my batteries. Do you use alcohol, eraser, alcohol, and then noalox? That is what I do. So far my batteries all look good.

 

[Mooch]

Give the pitted battery a hit with emory cloth or fine sandpaper. Once pitting starts it becomes easier and easier, and more likely, to pit further since the pits have ever so slightly raised edges. These tiny edges are now the first thing that touches (instead of the broader surface of the button) and they get blown out by the concentrated current flow, causing a new pit to form.

[edit] Just take off the high points, you don't want to go through any plating that the button might have. I don't think it will hurt anything but the button's surface could oxidize faster.

 

[redeyedancer]

Inst this the same mod your wife was eating through batteries with . Once you mar up a battery its only gets worse as far as performance goes . Send that mod in anytime I am happy to go through it

 

[Swamper]

Inst this the same mod your wife was eating through batteries with . Once you mar up a battery its only gets worse as far as performance goes . Send that mod in anytime I am happy to go through it

And are these the same batteries that were in the mod that was misfiring, if so maybe try a newer battery and keep an eye out for further pitting, possible false alarm due to previous issues. Cross our fingers and hope it is a simple fix.

 

[jifjifjif]

Inst this the same mod your wife was eating through batteries with . Once you mar up a battery its only gets worse as far as performance goes . Send that mod in anytime I am happy to go through it

Indeed it is and I plan to s3nd it in to Rob's Spa once my handsome wenge/Birdseye maple burl Woodvil arrives. Thanks, Rob

And thanks to you all for your insight. Sure definitely vapes it differently than I do. I take 2 or 3 big Ole pulls and then set it down for 5 minutes. She keeps it in hand and averages 2 shorter pulls per minute for the entire time she's awake.

I ordered 4 more batteries for her and also a new charger just in case.

 

[jifjifjif]

Maybe her skin is acidic, and she is touching the tip. I try not to touch either end of my batteries. Do you use alcohol, eraser, alcohol, and then noalox? That is what I do. So far my batteries all look good.

Actually, I eraser, then deoxit gold. I haven't used alcohol on the mod or batteries yet.

 

[super_X_drifter]

Deoxit d100l (red) works excellent to remove any oxidation from batteries and contacts. Thank you Fuzzy Bruce for that tidbit. I actually use it on my batteries now in place of deoxit gold since deoxit gold is for gold plated contacts

 

[Rule62]

The problem with pitting is that the little black pits are non conductive. They are like tiny versions of slag. Once the pitting happens, it's likely to get worse, because the positive contact on the Reo will be searching around for a spot to make contact. Cleaning them won't help. The pits have to be removed, with fine sandpaper. Then you can apply your Deoxit or Noalox.

 

[jifjifjif]

200 grit sandpaper and then deoxit gold. That's my current method. Thanks!

 

[SteamStack]

Make them like new again with morror finish with a 1000/2000 grit metal sand paper. Can get that at any hardware store or meijers in the automotive department.

 

[kinggirl]

Question - are we suppose to be using deoxit or noalox regularly? I don't think I've ever actually used it. Ever. Is that bad?

 

[Rule62]

Question - are we suppose to be using deoxit or noalox regularly? I don't think I've ever actually used it. Ever. Is that bad?

Yes, you should. Most everyone, including Rob, recommends periodically cleaning your contacts, and applying either Noalox or Deoxit gold. Some folks go so far as to use Deoxit at every battery change. Probably a bit overkill. Personally, I put a bit of Deoxit on my battery terminals every third or fourth change, or so.

 

[SteamStack]

Question - are we suppose to be using deoxit or noalox regularly? I don't think I've ever actually used it. Ever. Is that bad?

Wow.. like pull ur battery out and push your button in on your reo and take a good look at your possitive contact. Using a good 10x loop will show you what's going on.

Also your battery top will also let you know.

 

[SteamStack]

Get out a white eraser and scrub that crud off the reo possitive contact and the battery if you see it. Wipe it clean with a qtip dipped in 99% isopropyl rubbing alcohol and place an order for deoxit gold on amazon. Get the pen or brush. Expensive but it will prob last you many decades hehe

 

[SteamStack]

If you have the old reo contacts you may need to sand thr possitive contact smooth again.. if it's the new gold contact possitive post do not sand it as you'll take the gold coating off. Only use an white eraser and alcohol on those.

The lower Ohms you go on your attys the more you'll need to maintaince the contacts.