Battery Replacement - Just Battery or Kit?

[Offroad]

Does everyone buy a kit when their Dive Computer needs a battery replacement? I've seen some comments that sound like some are just replacing the battery.

I know what the manual will say but, what does everyone do?

Thanks, Mark

 

[dkktsunami]

Does everyone buy a kit when their Dive Computer needs a battery replacement? I've seen some comments that sound like some are just replacing the battery.

I know what the manual will say but, what does everyone do?

Thanks, Mark

I would prefer to change o-ring with battery but the "kits" for my Suunto computers are not always readily available. I have, on occasion, changed the battery only and lubed the existing o-ring. Batteries are available in most battery displays but the rings are a little more difficult to find, and the so called kits are pricey.

 

[CAPT HOOK]

I have gotten by fine with just changing the battery.

 

[Footslogger]

How comfortable are you cleaning, handling and relubricating an O-ring ?

Personally ...I always have an extra O-ring on hand with me at home and on dive trips (actually one for each O-ring on most all my gear that uses them). When battery change over is necessary I remove, inspect, clean, relubricate and reinstall (replace if necessary) the O-ring.

In general though ...I end up reusing the existing O-ring several times (battery changes) before replacing it.

 

[Offroad]

If your going to just change the battery and re-lube the o-ring, are you just using a little lube left over from a kit or is the lube available somewhere else?

I have an Oceanic Versa Pro that takes CR2450 lithium batteries, I want to have a fresh battery in it before a planned summer dive vacation. Is there a particular brand I should look for?

Thanks.

 

[Charlie99]

If your going to just change the battery and re-lube the o-ring, are you just using a little lube left over from a kit or is the lube available somewhere else?

It's easy to put too much lube on an o-ring. It's just there to allow the cover to slide over it without pulling or pushing the o-ring out of place. If you have a bit of silicone grease around, use it. Just a tiny, tiny bit; then run the o-ring around and around between your thumb and finger, making sure that there aren't any bumps, grains of sand or salt, or pinched areas. As you run it around, you'll remove any excess grease, leaving just the tiniest bit of a little film on the o-ring.

Or just ignore it because there will be enough left over from the last time the batteries were changed. I still feel the o-ring to make sure their isn't any debris on the o-ring and to make sure the o-ring isn't damaged.

 

[bperrybap]

On my wife's and my Aeris AI, I just replaced the batteries.
I've replaced the batteries twice so far.
First time I didn't add any extra lube. Second time
I used a tiny bit of silicone grease that I use on my dive light o-rings and did the rubbing thing like charlie described.
O-rings are pretty tough if not abused. I mean how often
do you replace the batteries in your dive light and has it ever
flooded?

One thing to really look for and watch out for is salt crystals
along the edge of the o-ring or along the edge of the compartment.
Not sure how yours fits but some can have tiny salt crystals
along the edge of the oring if the unit wasn't fully cleaned
in fresh water.


There has been some discussion about batteries used in
the Oceanic/Aeris computers and their ability to properly detect
a low battery. You should be able to find a few of them by
searching using my login name.
Long story short each brand of battery has a different discharge
curve and it was never determined how any affect the low battery
circuit.

In the grand scheme of things I'm not sure if brand
and the differing discharge curve matters all that much
but I do know that Oceanic/Aeris ships them with Sony batteries.

The original batteries in ours were Sony and
I've used both Energizer as well as an off brand and didn't
have any issues in our Aeris AIs.

If you are really nervous about it, I'm sure a LDS would
replace it for you. ScubaToys right here usually doesn't even
charge to do it, if you buy the 2450 battery from them
(~$4.00) and its a simple replacement with no new o-ring.

--- bill