Question about the Kick

[Xaiver]

It runs perfectly on a fresh battery, no issues for a good while. Once the battery gets down to about 3.8, it'll start stuttering and require adjustment of the SB head, sometimes a quick removal/replacement of the battery/kick. Not that I mind futzing with it every now and again, but I'm wondering if this is a normal thing, or if there's anything that I can do to stabilize it.

Silver-Vein Silver Bullet, Chrome Extender, Kick, AW IMR 18650 2000mAh, DCT(6ml and 3.5ml).

-X

 

[cddz]

I know that the kick is very sensative to ground. I think that the connection may be ever so slightly oxidizing. With the battery at 3.8 volts, adding the resistance of the oxidized connection, the kick may detect the battery below the low voltage cutoff and shut it down. By moving the head, you are reseting the contact point and the kick. I will get in touch with Brandon and ask his opinion on this as well.

 

[aziffel]

I know that the kick is very sensative to ground. I think that the connection may be ever so slightly oxidizing. With the battery at 3.8 volts, adding the resistance of the oxidized connection, the kick may detect the battery below the low voltage cutoff and shut it down. By moving the head, you are reseting the contact point and the kick. I will get in touch with Brandon and ask his opinion on this as well.

exactly,the battery @3.7,no load=low voltage cutoff under load,recharge time.

 

[Waho]

I went from using a single AW IC 18650 2200mah to needing a 3rd AW IMR 2000 mah for a single day using the kick.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[Dougiestyle]

Yeah. 3.7-3.8 unloaded is about right for the Kick to cut-out. It cuts out at LOADED voltage below 3.5. I'm building a mod specifically for the Kick, so I don't have to carry batts all day. I wish the modder's board was available already. Hmph!

 

[Xaiver]

Thanks for the replies, maybe Chad can figure something out. We've got a lot of faith in him.

It does do it now and again before it hits 3.8 unloaded, but a quick twist of the head remedies the problem, where-as under 3.8 it does it consistantly every hit or two. Would it matter that the batteries are less than a week old? They haven't been through more than half a dozen charge cycles.

Otherwise, I'll just continue charging batteries every few hours. I've also been carrying around a spare mod just incase it gets finicky when I'm busy and don't have time to mess with it.

Like I said though, other than that, this thing is rockin.

-X

 

[Groundswell17]

i'm having problems with this too, on my omega though. Lots of misfires, delayed fires, sometimes i have to rotate the pv in my hand and push the cap from the other side to get it to fire.

I've sanded the inside of the battery tube with 2000 grit sandpaper. sanded both contacts on the kick with the same. applied oxgard grease (noalox equivalent) to the ground of the kick, center post connection, and battery connection, to no avail. Works great on a fresh battery, but after a short time, symptoms persist.

to be honest the omega always had a problem with hitting weak sometimes, and then turning around and hitting strong, I think this is the symptoms of the pv being brought to light by the kick. On the bright side, i'm using the 18490 batteries, and i carry one in the pv and one in my pocket, and i'm good for the day for sure, only relying on the backup towards the end of my day if not late into the evening. I used to carry 2 AW IMR 18650's just so i could keep that 4.2+ feel, so i'm carrying the same amount, in smaller form factor, with that 4.2 feel throughout the whole day instead of just an hour or so.

 

[cddz]

i'm having problems with this too, on my omega though. Lots of misfires, delayed fires, sometimes i have to rotate the pv in my hand and push the cap from the other side to get it to fire.

I've sanded the inside of the battery tube with 2000 grit sandpaper. sanded both contacts on the kick with the same. applied oxgard grease (noalox equivalent) to the ground of the kick, center post connection, and battery connection, to no avail. Works great on a fresh battery, but after a short time, symptoms persist.

to be honest the omega always had a problem with hitting weak sometimes, and then turning around and hitting strong, I think this is the symptoms of the pv being brought to light by the kick. On the bright side, i'm using the 18490 batteries, and i carry one in the pv and one in my pocket, and i'm good for the day for sure, only relying on the backup towards the end of my day if not late into the evening. I used to carry 2 AW IMR 18650's just so i could keep that 4.2+ feel, so i'm carrying the same amount, in smaller form factor, with that 4.2 feel throughout the whole day instead of just an hour or so.

When was the last time you pulled your battery spring out of the Omega? The high copper content of the spring will cause it ti oxidize. When you pull the spring out be sure to clean the inside of the tube as well. Also, old NOALOX will add resistance as well. Remove all of the old NOALOX and re-apply a small amount on the threads. If you continue to have iissues, submit a ticket at Altsmoke.com and I will take a look at it for you. I clean my Omega every other week to keep it performing like new.

 

[cddz]

Something else I want to mention. I have noticed lately that all batteries have been using a slightly different material for the positive terminal. It will form a black spot(carbon) where the fire pin makes contact. I have had great luck with sanding or scraping the spot clean. If you notice the buildup, that could be a good reason for the delay in fire and having to raotate the top while pressing down and standing on your head while rubing your belly talking to the dog.

 

[Groundswell17]

thats exactly what i did, pull the battery spring I always do it decently regularly, and sand it with 2000 grit, however i've neglected the bottom of the battery tube. i cleaned it up with a paper towel and rubbing alcohol, and it seems to function much better now. I had been focusing on the kick's ground so much i kinda forgot that the battery needs good ground too

It's still occurring now and again when the battery is well used, but maybe this will help xaiver too. I know the silver bullet prob gets less dirty in there, because of no bottom vent holes, but it very well could be part of the problem. Gonna sit down and do a full clean on my omega (i've been neglecting it) when i get some time. i think that should solve my problems.

and thanks for the offer to take a look at it, but i can't part with it

 

[Xaiver]

It seems to be working better now, so long as I change batteries when it starts cutting out. That's usually after a few hours of use, and it meters at 3.8.

I also noticed that I wasn't tightening the DCTs down all the way, probably for fear of shoving the center pin down (again). Now that I'm giving them a good snug, I think it's keeping a more solid contact. Same goes for the head cap, when I got the extender, I snugged the bottom part onto the SB body pretty nice, so that it wouldn't accidently come lose. I never did that for the top though, so the head may have been floating a tiny bit... Could that, combined with the carto maybe being a touch loose, be enough to trip the kick's protection?

-X

 

[Groundswell17]

hey x, i may have gotten mine to work, I'll get right to it.

run some 2000 grit or similar over the spring on the kick, just lightly, and see how that helps.

After cleaning my omega to the degree that you'd clean a carburetor, sanding all contacts, even the bottom of the tube and recessed spring seating on the head, I still found i was getting the symptoms you describe. Only after the battery was slightly used, couple hours or so. I had already sanded the hot terminals on the kick, to no avail. just now lightly ran some sand paper over that little spring, and it seems to be great now, same battery that was misfiring or delay firing a minute ago, is working great. Seemed silly, because it looks clean, but give it a shot. Also sand the inside of the tube where the spring makes contact to ensure good connection. I'll post back if this works through the day or not. could still be a fluke

 

[Groundswell17]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

fits his take on it

I know that the kick is very sensative to ground. I think that the connection may be ever so slightly oxidizing. With the battery at 3.8 volts, adding the resistance of the oxidized connection, the kick may detect the battery below the low voltage cutoff and shut it down. By moving the head, you are reseting the contact point and the kick. I will get in touch with Brandon and ask his opinion on this as well.

 

[Sleddie]

Lots of great suggestions here. I basically sand everything in the chain. Lightly sand all of the connections on the kick as well as the kick sleeve (or tube), the connection in the SB head and the top and bottom of the hot spring as well as the side of the bottom rung. If the SB is old there may be carbon build-up in the bottom of the tube as well. And of course NOALOX (but everyone knows that, right...)

Xaiver, does your kick fit snuggly in the kick sleeve? or does it fall out with little hesitation? Reason I ask is the kick I received last week has a ground spring that was recessed more compared to my first and I needed to adjust it to keep it from falling out. Until I did that it would stutter early or cut off completely. My 18650's usually meter 3.4- 3.45v at change time, although that's at 8 watt usage.

 

[Groundswell17]

mine was a bit short of perfect today, but much much better. Gonna give sleddie's advice a shot, however, since i'm on the omega, i have no sleave yet.. i hope. So the kick comes out with every battery change regardless.

 

[Groundswell17]

o and i forgot, my atty came loose during the day at one point, thought i lost on the whole sanding the spring thing, but a little snug up fixed it. so you're lose atty/carto/whatever could def attribute to your pain

 

[Xaiver]

Lots of great suggestions here. I basically sand everything in the chain. Lightly sand all of the connections on the kick as well as the kick sleeve (or tube), the connection in the SB head and the top and bottom of the hot spring as well as the side of the bottom rung. If the SB is old there may be carbon build-up in the bottom of the tube as well. And of course NOALOX (but everyone knows that, right...)

Xaiver, does your kick fit snuggly in the kick sleeve? or does it fall out with little hesitation? Reason I ask is the kick I received last week has a ground spring that was recessed more compared to my first and I needed to adjust it to keep it from falling out. Until I did that it would stutter early or cut off completely. My 18650's usually meter 3.4- 3.45v at change time, although that's at 8 watt usage.

It's pretty snug. I would go so far as to say maybe a hair too snug. The tension from the spring sometimes can make it pop out. There's a slight curvature on the extension that would explain that behavior though.

Also, I just got my SB back in February, so there shouldn't be much (if any) build up on the internal bits.

It's been working pretty steadily since I snugged everything up though. Haven't metered it when it died yet, since I just finished the long part of my week. Will have a bit more time to dedicate to this over the next couple days.

-X