Least inconvenient place to mount a battery pack?

larkim

Son got bought a Solarstorm light with a 4x18650 battery pack over the Christmas period, and we took a look at the best mounting options for it over the weekend.

Lights are planned to go on the bar, and that seems straightforward enough. If it was my bike, I'd then mount the battery pack under the seat with some inner tube to protect it from the water etc. But his bike is a FS with a dropper, so that sounds like a less than ideal solution.

Is the least bad place to stick it just under the top tube attached with cable ties and inner tube (to stop the cable ties marking the paintwork and to make sure it doesn't side down towards the rear shock)? Bike is a Canyon Nerve.

He might also try helmet mounting, but obviously battery then goes in a pocket so that is much simpler.

lancew

Mine goes around the base of the seat collar, above the top tube. Works quite well there.

WindyG

I always mount mine under the top tube.

oodboo

I always strapped mine to the stem and if the stem wasn't long enough then under the top tube but found it would move around there. Last night I made a bottle battery to go in the bottle track.

The Rookie

Mine always goes under the stem, bottom of the holder pointing forward to reduce any mud splatter on the entrance to the battery compartment.

larkim

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19772251#p19772251]Lancew[/url] wrote:

Mine goes around the base of the seat collar, above the top tube. Works quite well there.

Thanks, thought of that but insufficient space on the frame I think as it has a triangle to strengthen the seat post / top tube. Had originally hoped that inside that triangle would work, but sadly not big enough.

larkim

Does inserting the battery pack inside a short section of inner tube sound a sensible option for waterproofing / mud splatter resistance? Or does this sound like a completely stupid idea?

Will try under the stem, I sort of presumed that extra cables there would get very messy.

oodboo

No need, batteries are pretty much waterproof/well sealed.

cooldad

No they're not, especially the Chinese Solarstorm type. Could just be four old laptop cells wrapped in paper.

Some are, some aren't. For wet use I would err on the side of caution.

The Rookie

The stock battery pack isn't waterproof, I smear silicon sealer on both ends to close up the gaps between the shrink wrap and then it is.

oodboo

The last cheapo Chinese pack I pulled apart didn't have any circuitry attached and submerging it in water wouldn't short it out so I'd be happy enough letting it get wet. How careful you want to be is up to you.

The Rookie

So it wouldn't short out from one end of the battery to the other?

oodboo

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19772806#p19772806]The Rookie[/url] wrote:

So it wouldn't short out from one end of the battery to the other?

No. Water isn't conductive enough to short a battery.

The Rookie

Contaminated water is.....

I did of course mean cell not battery!

oodboo

Well a battery is just a collection of cells configured to increase overall voltage or Ah. You'll probably find the water has to be very contaminated, beyond what you're going to experience riding in the rain or through some puddles. But hey, you can't be wrong so I'm just going to drop out of this as it's becoming pointless.

StinkinHippy

Got a cheap solar storm on the way.. Can I get away with completely wrapping the battery pack in a shrink wrap/duct tape combo or is that going to promote an explosion?

Very new to all this battery stuff, will be my first real set of lights.

The Rookie

As mentioned above, I use silicon sealer and smear it across each end to close the gap in the shrink wrap, that works well.

No, wrapping it will not make a fire or explosion more likely. The only way to avoid those issues is with a better quality charger.

arturo_belano

If you put in under the stem, which is a good spot IME, you might need to protect the headtube with helitape. If the pack is right on it then the steering motion can score your frame.

Giraffoto

I use a Deuter Energy bag - there are other brands available too. It can easily hold a battery pack, tools and a few rags to stop it all rattling.

bigmitch41

I have wrapped a battery pack inside a latex glove in the past, the cheap solarstorm light battery's dont fair well in the wet weather, you can also adapt a water drinks bottle to hold a battery pack. I always mount my'n under the down tube. Hope that helps.