Dropped my first spring tonight

[ElConquistador]

I put a new coil in my Chalice III tonight, tested it at 1.1 ohms, put it on the reo, test fired it and worked out the hot legs, then wicked it and put the cap on. BAM, spring drops, battery falls out (door wasn't on yet). Noticed some nice little black arc marks on on of the posts. I know my biggest mistake was not testing it with the cap on before putting it on the mod. I even thought about that before I fired it but already had it all nicely indexed and tightened down, so I didn't bother.

When I wrapped the wires around the post, I left the tag ends sticking out towards the cap. I trimmed them up close and even tucked them in, obviously not enough. I feel like a nit-wit now, but fortunately I have a couple of extra springs. Battery seems to be OK, but I marked it so I'll remember which one it was.

The good news is the spring worked perfectly, it dropped immediately, the battery was just a little warm when it fell out.

 

[Jugband]

I haven't collapsed a spring yet, but I know my time is coming. Glad to know they work perfectly! Sorry you had a problem, glad it was minimal. Enjoy that Chalice... jealous

 

[dbrandt01]

Live and learn and mistakes can happen to anyone. Luckily I haven't collapsed one, but its one of those things I'm paranoid with shorts so I like triple check everything haha.

 

[kkay59]

I would throw that battery away. Glad you didn't get hurt!

 

[Mrs C]

Just keep an eye on the battery for a while meter it a bit to make sure it's not doing anything odd. Your spring did what it was designed to do, break the circuit when something isn't right. Glad you figured out the cause and had a replacement on hand.

 

[Brew1961]

I would definitely keep an eye on that battery but VERY much doubt it saw enough current flow to cause any significant damage. The IMRs are rated very high and that was an instantaneous load not a sustained short. I cannot tell you how quickly the spring drops but it has to be close to or less than one second. I have been using REOs since 2010 and dropped more than my fair share of springs with batteries that have lasted me years afterwards. Always worth verifying charge and discharge behavior after such an event but don't throw away a battery that has seen a momentary hit like this unless it changes behavior significantly. If that seems to be the case then recycle it like you would any type of battery or other household hazardous waste. These should not end up in the land-fill. Brew

 

[Papa_Lazarou]

Ah... you always remember your first.

Glad the gear worked as advertised. Those pesky leg tails have claimed more than one spring with the Chalice.

 

[unsure]

Ah... you always remember your first.

Glad the gear worked as advertised. Those pesky leg tails have claimed more than one spring with the Chalice.

......and not just the Chalice......

 

[Rule62]

Gotta be careful, especially with the smaller diameter attys. it's just a quick extra step to check your build out on an ohm reader device, with the cap on.

 

[ElConquistador]

I just KNEW I hadn't checked it with the cap on, but I was too lazy to take it back off and do it! My own stupid fault! I would say the battery dropped within a second or so, worked like a charm. Battery just warmed up a bit, atty was fairly hot. Looks like a miniature arc welder spot on the post, I forgot to look at the inside of the cap, but I'll bet it's bunged up.

 

[AllPepperS]

yeah, my Chalice schooled me. I was sure I was good to go. The spring drop was instant, Chalice looked fine inside in the aftermath though. I put a star on the battery and am keeping an eye on it but it is working well as far as I can tell. I do wrap the wire and finish the ends to the inside, but there was a tiny bit sticking out just far enough. I won't make that mistake again

 

[ElConquistador]

I've always hated the twist and pull method of trimming off the wires, but from now on that's how I'm going to roll with this atty.