Anyone know where to get the battery for the Aquapod 2 touchscreen remote? The manual says it’s non replaceable but I removed the 6 screws and it came right apart. Unlike the original Aquapod 1, this one just pops apart and the o rings remain intact.
Aquapod 2.0 Battery
- Thread starter johnw
- Start date
johnw
Were you able to replace the battery for your aquapod gen 2? I am in the same situation and unable to locate a replacement battery
Were you able to replace the battery for your aquapod gen 2? I am in the same situation and unable to locate a replacement battery
Hi Folks.
I tried this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TT99617/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Replacement for Infant Optics DXR-8 Video Monitor Unit Battery Sp 803048 1200mAh Li-ion 3.7V Rechargeable
iMah Brand
Let me say, it was iMeh. It's "puffed" as they say. Lasted a month or so and then went thermonuclear.
Something caused the batteries to go into thermal runaway, and the internal safety system shut down ion transport. My guess is that the controller was putting more current on the battery than the battery could handle. Probably, this means the battery was cheaper than the original VARTA 553450. I did not trust the German engineer, and now I suffer.
I'll admit I took a flyer on hooking the yellow to white. My best guess is it's a 2 cell battery, hooked in series, and the yellow attaches between the two. This would be to balance the cells.
It's entirely possible the iMah was sketch super-China junk, so I am going to try one more time:
I just bought this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EDQ6LZ0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Infant Optics DXR-8 Rechargeable Battery
One of a series of Chinese knock-offs for the DXR-8. List here:
https://www.amazon.com/sp-803048-battery/s?k=sp+803048+battery
You'll see this one is labeled 19C. That means, theoretically, this thing can discharge at 1.2A*19=22.8A. If it's really a 19C, then hey, this should be fine, as batteries can usually be charged at the same max current as they discharge at, and there is no way in heck this controller is charging anything at 23A.
That's if you believe our comrades in China. I have no reason to believe them. But hey, $9 experiment, second iteration.
I'll post a follow up. Hopefully it's not from the fire station. I might keep ye olde controller outdoors for a bit, just in case.
There is a solution to this problem. I am not sure what I'll end up with over the long haul, but there is a battery out there that will work. We just have to find it.
DISCLAIMER: I'm a mechanical engineer and have no idea what I'm doing. Don't confuse my sharing technical details with actual competence. Ideally, we'd have an electrical engineer or tech with battery experience chiming in here. Batteries are a dark art - they are not all the same. More like BBQ sauce.
I tried this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TT99617/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Replacement for Infant Optics DXR-8 Video Monitor Unit Battery Sp 803048 1200mAh Li-ion 3.7V Rechargeable
iMah Brand
Let me say, it was iMeh. It's "puffed" as they say. Lasted a month or so and then went thermonuclear.
Something caused the batteries to go into thermal runaway, and the internal safety system shut down ion transport. My guess is that the controller was putting more current on the battery than the battery could handle. Probably, this means the battery was cheaper than the original VARTA 553450. I did not trust the German engineer, and now I suffer.
I'll admit I took a flyer on hooking the yellow to white. My best guess is it's a 2 cell battery, hooked in series, and the yellow attaches between the two. This would be to balance the cells.
It's entirely possible the iMah was sketch super-China junk, so I am going to try one more time:
I just bought this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EDQ6LZ0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Infant Optics DXR-8 Rechargeable Battery
One of a series of Chinese knock-offs for the DXR-8. List here:
https://www.amazon.com/sp-803048-battery/s?k=sp+803048+battery
You'll see this one is labeled 19C. That means, theoretically, this thing can discharge at 1.2A*19=22.8A. If it's really a 19C, then hey, this should be fine, as batteries can usually be charged at the same max current as they discharge at, and there is no way in heck this controller is charging anything at 23A.
That's if you believe our comrades in China. I have no reason to believe them. But hey, $9 experiment, second iteration.
I'll post a follow up. Hopefully it's not from the fire station. I might keep ye olde controller outdoors for a bit, just in case.
There is a solution to this problem. I am not sure what I'll end up with over the long haul, but there is a battery out there that will work. We just have to find it.
DISCLAIMER: I'm a mechanical engineer and have no idea what I'm doing. Don't confuse my sharing technical details with actual competence. Ideally, we'd have an electrical engineer or tech with battery experience chiming in here. Batteries are a dark art - they are not all the same. More like BBQ sauce.
I’m often amazed that due to equal parts the fine thin line of safety and the over abundance of cheap outsourced batteries/chargers that there aren’t more failures like the Samsung phones and the hoverboards. Those two turned people/homes *into* BBQ sauce.
I’m going to dig into this more this weekend. It looks like the middle wire is a thermistor which measures the temperature of the battery.
I lied. I abandoned the DXR-8 baby monitor platform and went with a replacement for a Garmin GPS.
Amazon.com: ZZcell Battery for Garmin 361-00019-16, 361-00019-12, Garmin Nuvi 1300, 1340T Pro, 1350, 1350T, 1370, 1370T, 1375T, 1390, 1390T, 1490 (1): Home Audio & Theater
Based on a tiny, tiny bit of research, the non-red/black wire is either a state sensor (on/off) or a temp sensor, and probably the latter (saw your comment johnw ex post facto). I figure maybe if the baby monitor wasn’t it, the Garmin will be. I do remember the cell getting quite hot on its way to puffyland and the charger not turning off.
This cell has a slightly thinner package size. I used 3M VHB double sticky foam tape to attach it. I had to jam it in a bit because the post from the cover is right next door to the cell. But that's okay. I hope.
Put it in yesterday. So far, so good!
If I don't come back here in a month and post, "it didn't work", it worked.
Have fun with soldering tiny wires! Might I recommend the Hakko FX-888. It changed my soldering life. Then buy some super China shrink wrap, flux to dip the wires in, nice solder. You've reached a point in life were you can have nice things!
Amazon.com: ZZcell Battery for Garmin 361-00019-16, 361-00019-12, Garmin Nuvi 1300, 1340T Pro, 1350, 1350T, 1370, 1370T, 1375T, 1390, 1390T, 1490 (1): Home Audio & Theater
Based on a tiny, tiny bit of research, the non-red/black wire is either a state sensor (on/off) or a temp sensor, and probably the latter (saw your comment johnw ex post facto). I figure maybe if the baby monitor wasn’t it, the Garmin will be. I do remember the cell getting quite hot on its way to puffyland and the charger not turning off.
This cell has a slightly thinner package size. I used 3M VHB double sticky foam tape to attach it. I had to jam it in a bit because the post from the cover is right next door to the cell. But that's okay. I hope.
Put it in yesterday. So far, so good!
If I don't come back here in a month and post, "it didn't work", it worked.
Have fun with soldering tiny wires! Might I recommend the Hakko FX-888. It changed my soldering life. Then buy some super China shrink wrap, flux to dip the wires in, nice solder. You've reached a point in life were you can have nice things!
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I just tested my battery with a multimeter and the middle yellow wire is a thermistor that measures temperature. I get voltage between red and black just as suspected like any other battery. I read 10K ohm resistance between yellow and black at 70 deg F and resistance lowers when I heat the battery up and resistance raises when I cool it down (NTC or negative temperature coefficient). I’m pretty confident that any other battery with same specs and NTC 10K thermistor will work.
I bought the same Garmin battery that Isotfp bought, tested it, and the white wire is 10K ohm resistance between white and black and NTC just like the original.
Amazon.com: ZZcell Battery for Garmin 361-00019-16, 361-00019-12, Garmin Nuvi 1300, 1340T Pro, 1350, 1350T, 1370, 1370T, 1375T, 1390, 1390T, 1490 (1): Home Audio & Theater
I cut off the plug and soldered the original plug and it works great so far. It was a little tight getting in there but it fit. I had to put it in at a slight angle. I think this is the solution instead of spending $490 for a new Aquapod.
Amazon.com: ZZcell Battery for Garmin 361-00019-16, 361-00019-12, Garmin Nuvi 1300, 1340T Pro, 1350, 1350T, 1370, 1370T, 1375T, 1390, 1390T, 1490 (1): Home Audio & Theater
I cut off the plug and soldered the original plug and it works great so far. It was a little tight getting in there but it fit. I had to put it in at a slight angle. I think this is the solution instead of spending $490 for a new Aquapod.
I found the VARTA part number and the key point is the battery can be normally charged at 1/2C (565mA). The battery cell in the VARTA is a Samsung ICP553450 which has the dimensions of 5.5mm thick, 34mm wide, and 46mm long. There is a single cell protection device on the battery
Fun and Testing:
The aquapod draws about 420mA when charged and 480mA when battery is discharged. With no battery the current is 250mA so the power above that was going into the battery. The battery should not draw power when fully charged so the battery has failed.
One Note: I noticed that disconnecting the yellow thermistor wire did nothing. So that protection does not work. It may only work to prevent charging when cold. But for normal operation its is not needed. So I will use just two wire battery packs which are much easier to find.
Link: Data Sheet LIP 553450 WC (56441) (varta-microbattery.com)
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OK, so I had the same problem. Battery swollen and won't last once off the charger. I was totally surprised that no one could come up with a direct, drop-in replacement that didn't require modification. I was even more incredulous that Hayward would say that the battery is "not replaceable". Really? Six screws and a plug-in battery isn't replaceable? They expect us to pay almost $600 for a new remote every time our battery wears out? Disgusting... ANYWAY, after a couple of days of searching, I finally stumbled on a drop in exact replacement. Even the picture on the web site is obviously the interior of a AquaPod-2. The battery comes from China, but delivery time was only two weeks. Installation took about two minutes, it charged fine and seems to be a perfect replacement. The price was only $15.38, payable via Pay-Pal. Here is the link to the webpage I found it. Good luck!
www.aliexpress.com
11.45US $ 9% OFF|Battery For Varta 1/lip 553450 Remote New Li-po Polymer Rechargeable Accumulator Pack Replacement 3.7v - Digital Batteries - AliExpress
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
www.aliexpress.com
Random check-in. Controller's still working - working great! Glad JohnW weighed in as well. Neat there's an exact replacement, too. I swear I tried aliexpress, but my patience is often outpaced by my willingness to experiment.
My controller is also still working like new. Been over 5 months.
I did exactly what Isotfp posted with the same battery and it worked!!! The battery Firemedic138 posted is gone - he must have bought the last one!!! well anyway all works so far - just slightly concerned hope it does not cause a fire!!!
what is the purple crystal tube inside the device - johnw posted the picture
what is the purple crystal tube inside the device - johnw posted the picture
I think the purple tube is desiccant to absorb moisture like the packs in pill bottles.
10 months in, still running strong. House still not-burned-down. 
great to hear btw I live in katy, tx not far from you!10 months in, still running strong. House still not-burned-down.
10 months for me also and still works like new. And I live in Spring, TX by both of you.
Good news, the battery listed above at aliexpress.com is back in stock. Same price.