Give any part a durable rubberized finish!

[Colonel]

You can give any battery, cone, carto a nice durable rubberized coating. Available in many colors. Red. Green. Blue. Yellow. Black.
Best of all, it's removeable.

Just go to home depot. Or maybe radio shack. Get yourself some heat shrinking tubes. Typically used for electrical repair.

I used some on my Riva. I laughed because now it looks exacty like an ego.

But seriously. This stuff is awesome. It conforms to the shape of what you put it on. So it even works on cones and stuff.

Just thought I'd share.

 

[PoliticallyIncorrect]

The military type would be M23053/5-1XX-0 (XX=size identifier; 05 is 3/16", 06 is 1/4", 07 is 3/8", etc.)

0=black, but the stuff is made in several colors (0 thru 9, if you know your color codes).

Just make sure whatever you're shrinking the stuff to can stand the heat.

 

[michaelcly]

What a great idea. Is it difficult to apply? Wonder if you can coat a battery. How would you deal with the ends?

 

[Colonel]

The tubing is not difficult to apply. But it is a tube (no ends). So it will not cover the end of the battery. But I now have a very soft to the touch Riva with a durable coating.

 

[meems]

How do you heat it to apply it?

 

[Colonel]

The best way is probably a Hair drier.

I put an old atty on my battery to hold it.

 

[meems]

Thanks! I love this idea, I have a 3 week old 1100 mah ego battery that already looks like it's been through a war!

 

[guido61]

How do you heat it to apply it?

I use an hot air gun, but if you do not have one, with a little more patience you can use an hair dryer

 

[jangofett]

Just in case anyone else is as ignorant as I am, this was found with a very small amount of googling YouTube - ‪Heat shrink tubing‬‏

 

[meems]

I finally found the size I needed, .750 for eGo..1.99 2 pack at home depot, just did it w/ the hair dryer, took a good 15 or so mins & I was nervous about the heat on the battery, but it worked fine. OMG, I LOVE it! That poor weeks old battery looked like it was years old..thanks for this!

 

[MadHatter]

I use the tubing to label cartos sometimes. I cut a small ring of ⅜ tubing of whichever color and shrink it around the middle.

If you want to find the tubing real cheap go to a computer parts store. I get mine at my local Altex for around $1.50 for a 4 foot length. Granted, I use the stuff for other computer/electrical tinkering, so I have many different color/sizes laying around already. Also, having a variable temperature heat gun makes it much easier. I takes seconds to shrink as apposed to minutes.

As a warning, I would say to be very careful doing this with batteries. With heat guns you are getting anywhere from 250 to 1000 degree air. You want to use the lowest setting and direct the air to blow on just the edge of the tubing and not at the battery itself. Also remember the tubing will act as an insulator, so a battery used heavily will hold the heat longer and could increase the chance of critical failure.

 

[meems]

Even with a blow dryer the battery was getting hot...made me nervous enough to keep it pointed away from my face, I'd be afraid to use something more powerful than that. My first try was auto parts stores, but nobody had them as big as I needed in stock, but they can order & it might be a cheaper way to go...

 

[JWebb]

Or there is a product called Sugru, google it, it conforms to any shape, is flexible but withstands tempuratures up to 180 degrees.

 

[RedneckHippy]

I wrapped my MAP Tank in blue shrink wrap earlier this week. Was wanting to put a computer printed sticker on it, but didnt want to have all mess of trying to get the adhesive off later. So I shrink wrapped tank then put sticker on the wrap. I got the wrap at FRY's electronics. They have blue,red,yellow, green, white and black. Sizes all the way up to 1" in color, 1 1/2" in black.

I'm at work now but I can post some pics of my tank and the wrap when I get home.

 

[BuzzKilla]

most RC hobby stores carry transparent colored/clear heat shrink. used to build multiple cell battery packs for boats planes and cars. the clear stuff can be used as a re-applicable protector for your batteries, or as something to hold a pre-printed label for cartos.

ive thought about it, but never followed through.... Love the shine on my blue ego, need to get the clear stuff for myself.

FYI battery shring is not like conventional heat shrink. it is thinner, so you may melt a hole right through it when heating it. it also has a glossy finish to it as apposed to conventional heat shrink.

 

[meems]

Just a heads up..I think this killed my new battery, I hit it again with the blow dryer yesterday to tighten it up just a tad, today I cannot get it to charge..? It flashes like crazy, but I put it on the charger & it just stays green..

 

[Colonel]

I hope not.
But also check your charger may be the problem. Sounds like symptoms of a bad connection. Just like when you have a bum atty on the battery.

I used a mini torch to do mine. It seems more risky, but the heat is much more pinpoint. So it's easy to stay clear of hot spots.

 

[meems]

Both chargers work fine on my 650's..won't charge my 1100, it's the newest battery too..

 

[Critter Man]

The cooler your heat source, the longer it must be applied. The longer it is applied, the hotter the battery gets. Do a bit, let it cool, repeat. Using heat with your batteries is your own risk and you can't blame anyone else for losses or poor results, even if you followed their instructions exactly.

 

[meems]

I only blame me..just wanted to warn others, the quick touch up I did wasn't long at all, but I may have done most of the damage the first go round...I can wiggle & jiggle this one off & it's pre-shrunk for the new battery, LOL!