Solo battery disassembled , shell still usable

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I've seen posts about diy replacement battery but seems that everyone destroys the outer shell, a little bit of patience pays off. I was able to disassemble my battery and still use the shell to put a replacement battery in. Here's a quick run down.
Tools used:
Olfa razor knife
Putty knife
Torch or other heating device

If you turn the battery over label side up you will see the seam which is only glued in 3 places along each side. Start with razor knife slowly scoring into the seem heat the knife when you hit the 3 glue spots. Remember patience pays off so dont go wild and slice deeply shallow passes at the angle the seem is at and keep doing so till you get the sides done. It's pretty explainitory what your doing.

I've also found for my batteries that once taken apart if you disconnect the power and led board and the balance cable you can desolder the red positive wire and ground out the solder pad to the negative wire and will clear the memory of the smart battery then re solder it charge like you normally do and it fixes the problem of solo app showing a rapid discharge i.e. Going from 100% to 15% in 30 seconds only to take the battery out and check voltage with a multi meter and see its fully charged.

Hope this helps
 
I've seen posts about diy replacement battery but seems that everyone destroys the outer shell, a little bit of patience pays off. I was able to disassemble my battery and still use the shell to put a replacement battery in. Here's a quick run down.
Tools used:
Olfa razor knife
Putty knife
Torch or other heating device

If you turn the battery over label side up you will see the seam which is only glued in 3 places along each side. Start with razor knife slowly scoring into the seem heat the knife when you hit the 3 glue spots. Remember patience pays off so dont go wild and slice deeply shallow passes at the angle the seem is at and keep doing so till you get the sides done. It's pretty explainitory what your doing.

I've also found for my batteries that once taken apart if you disconnect the power and led board and the balance cable you can desolder the red positive wire and ground out the solder pad to the negative wire and will clear the memory of the smart battery then re solder it charge like you normally do and it fixes the problem of solo app showing a rapid discharge i.e. Going from 100% to 15% in 30 seconds only to take the battery out and check voltage with a multi meter and see its fully charged.

Hope this helps

Can I have a photo?
"If you turn the battery over label side up you will see the seam which is only glued in 3 places along each side."
 
I've seen posts about diy replacement battery but seems that everyone destroys the outer shell, a little bit of patience pays off. I was able to disassemble my battery and still use the shell to put a replacement battery in. Here's a quick run down.
Tools used:
Olfa razor knife
Putty knife
Torch or other heating device

If you turn the battery over label side up you will see the seam which is only glued in 3 places along each side. Start with razor knife slowly scoring into the seem heat the knife when you hit the 3 glue spots. Remember patience pays off so dont go wild and slice deeply shallow passes at the angle the seem is at and keep doing so till you get the sides done. It's pretty explainitory what your doing.

I've also found for my batteries that once taken apart if you disconnect the power and led board and the balance cable you can desolder the red positive wire and ground out the solder pad to the negative wire and will clear the memory of the smart battery then re solder it charge like you normally do and it fixes the problem of solo app showing a rapid discharge i.e. Going from 100% to 15% in 30 seconds only to take the battery out and check voltage with a multi meter and see its fully charged.

Hope this helps
Thanks Dan. Do you have any idea how to replace the cells or where to source them?
 
I've seen posts about diy replacement battery but seems that everyone destroys the outer shell, a little bit of patience pays off. I was able to disassemble my battery and still use the shell to put a replacement battery in. Here's a quick run down.
Tools used:
Olfa razor knife
Putty knife
Torch or other heating device

If you turn the battery over label side up you will see the seam which is only glued in 3 places along each side. Start with razor knife slowly scoring into the seem heat the knife when you hit the 3 glue spots. Remember patience pays off so dont go wild and slice deeply shallow passes at the angle the seem is at and keep doing so till you get the sides done. It's pretty explainitory what your doing.

I've also found for my batteries that once taken apart if you disconnect the power and led board and the balance cable you can desolder the red positive wire and ground out the solder pad to the negative wire and will clear the memory of the smart battery then re solder it charge like you normally do and it fixes the problem of solo app showing a rapid discharge i.e. Going from 100% to 15% in 30 seconds only to take the battery out and check voltage with a multi meter and see its fully charged.

Hope this helps
I am also interested in seeing pictures of the process. What you are describing does not match what I found - maybe the difference between the batteries with Chinese vs English text on the bottom of the battery, different manufacturing dates, or some other variable?

The battery that I disassembled has English text on the bottom and was manufactured 8/2015. Behind the visible seam in the battery is a ridge in the top half and valley in the lower half of the battery shell. This ridge/valley junction runs almost around the entire battery and is glued in this entire ridge/valley.

Based on my attempt, and others that I have seen, there is no way to pull apart a battery without damaging the upper shell - either with use of solvent or cutting/prying.
Battery Seam.PNG
 
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I am also interested in seeing pictures of the process. What you are describing does not match what I found - maybe the difference between the batteries with Chinese vs English text on the bottom of the battery, different manufacturing dates, or some other variable?

The battery that I disassembled has English text on the bottom and was manufactured 8/2015. Behind the visible seam in the battery is a ridge in the top half and valley in the lower half of the battery shell. This ridge/valley junction runs almost around the entire battery and is glued in this entire ridge/valley.

Based on my attempt, and others that I have seen, there is no way to pull apart a battery without damaging the upper shell - either with use of solvent or cutting/prying.
View attachment 9208
Jim- do you have any pics of the electronics or the cells?
 
Jim- do you have any pics of the electronics or the cells?
Found some possible replacement cells on-line.

Looks like a direct replacement:
Online Shop 2pcs HRB Lipo Battery Cell 10542126 3.7V 5200mah 50C For RC Plane Heliopter Airplane Quadcopter Drone | Aliexpress Mobile

Possible replacement, but slightly less mah:
Turnigy 5000mAh 1S 20C Lipoly (Single Cell)

I'm a little concerned about going any further with replacing the cells. The old cells are puffed and I don't really want to apply heat or accidentally pierce the covering.
 
REMINDER: messing with LiPo batteries is very dangerous - Google or YouTube "Drone LiPo Fire" or other something similar before considering messing with these batteries.

Still no photos or other evidence from anyone of a non-destructive method to open the Solo batteries. Solvents have been tried. Cutting and prying at the seam has been tried. Here's something a little different that with the proper tools just might work:
I cut the lower shell around three sides. I did nick a wire and came close to nicking one of the cells, but with this knowledge and the right tools, maybe this is a better way. Plastic epoxy could be used to put it back together.
Cut Open Left Side.jpgCut Open Right Side.jpg
 
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Found some possible replacement cells on-line.

Looks like a direct replacement:
Online Shop 2pcs HRB Lipo Battery Cell 10542126 3.7V 5200mah 50C For RC Plane Heliopter Airplane Quadcopter Drone | Aliexpress Mobile

Possible replacement, but slightly less mah:
Turnigy 5000mAh 1S 20C Lipoly (Single Cell)

I'm a little concerned about going any further with replacing the cells. The old cells are puffed and I don't really want to apply heat or accidentally pierce the covering.
So there are 4 of these cells inside the Solo battery?
 
REMINDER: messing with LiPo batteries is very dangerous - Google or YouTube "Drone LiPo Fire" or other something similar before considering messing with these batteries.

Still no photos or other evidence from anyone of a non-destructive method to open the Solo batteries. Solvents have been tried. Cutting and prying at the seam has been tried. Here's something a little different that with the proper tools just might work:
I cut the lower shell around three sides. I did nick a wire and came close to nicking one of the cells, but with this knowledge and the right tools, maybe this is a better way. Plastic epoxy could be used to put it back together.
View attachment 9224View attachment 9225
Clearly 3DR didn’t want anybody to ever open these.
 
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