After about a 18 months of use, my Mug 2 stopped holding a charge at all, dying as soon as it was lifted off the base.
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After about a 18 months of use, my Mug 2 stopped holding a charge at all, dying as soon as it was lifted off the base. After contacting support, the best Ember could do was offer to sell me a replacement mug for $99 dollars.
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Not wanting to just buy a new mug which would likely face the same fate eventually, I figured I would at least try to repair my mug myself.
Thanks to the tips in this thread, I was able to get my Mug 2 apart using a couple of [link|https://www.amazon.com/VALUEMAX-2-piece-Strap-Wrench-set/dp/B08K2Y8JPP/|strap wrenches|new_window=true]: one wrench wrapped around the main body of the mug and the other wrapped as best I could around the base. This allowed me to get enough friction and torque to turn the base the 15 degrees that Propeller Head mentioned. I was then able to carefully pry apart the base from the mug without damaging the ribon cable connecting the two pieces.
As others have mentioned, the 18650 batteries in the battery pack can be replaced if you have the tools and expertise/confidence to weld new batteries to the existing, proprietary BMS board.
I don't have a spot welder so what I ended up doing instead was using 2 high capacity/high discharge [link|https://illumn.com/14500-vapcell-inr14500-h10-1000mah-10a-high-discharge-button-top-li-ion-battery.html|14500 batteries|new_window=true] ($9) in a [link|https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V7Z4MT7|AA battery holder|new_window=true] ($5) soldered to the old BMS like so:
[image|3264164]
The BMS seems to handle the 14500 batteries just fine as long as everything is connected correctly.
With the BMS tucked between the bottom board and the battery holder (with some electrical/conformal tape to prevent any shorts), everything fits snugly underneath the shield and the mug can be reassembled using the strap wrenches.
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Even with the highest capacity 14500 batteries, this does reduce the battery life of the mug by about 20-30% (compared to new 18650 batteries) but does allow you to (somewhat) easily replace the batteries if they ever start to degrade.
+
Even with the highest capacity 14500 batteries, this mod does reduce the battery life of the mug by about 20-30% (compared to new 18650 batteries) but does allow you to (somewhat) easily replace the batteries if they ever start to degrade.
After about a 18 months of use, my Mug 2 stopped holding a charge at all, dying as soon as it was lifted off the base.
Thanks to the tips in this thread, I was able to get my Mug 2 apart using a couple of [link|https://www.amazon.com/VALUEMAX-2-piece-Strap-Wrench-set/dp/B08K2Y8JPP/|strap wrenches|new_window=true]: one wrench wrapped around the main body of the mug and the other wrapped as best I could around the base. This allowed me to get enough friction and torque to turn the base the 15 degrees that Propeller Head mentioned. I was then able to carefully pry apart the base from the mug without damaging the ribon cable connecting the two pieces.
As others have mentioned, the 18650 batteries in the battery pack can be replaced if you have the tools and expertise/confidence to weld new batteries to the existing, proprietary BMS board.
-
I don't have a spot welder so what I ended up doing instead was using 2 high capacity/high discharge 14500 batteries in a [link|https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V7Z4MT7|AA battery holder|new_window=true] soldered to the old BMS like so:
+
I don't have a spot welder so what I ended up doing instead was using 2 high capacity/high discharge [link|https://illumn.com/14500-vapcell-inr14500-h10-1000mah-10a-high-discharge-button-top-li-ion-battery.html|14500 batteries|new_window=true] ($9) in a [link|https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V7Z4MT7|AA battery holder|new_window=true] ($5) soldered to the old BMS like so:
[image|3264164]
The BMS seems to handle the 14500 batteries just fine as long as everything is connected correctly.
With the BMS tucked between the bottom board and the battery holder (with some electrical/conformal tape to prevent any shorts), everything fits snugly underneath the shield and the mug can be reassembled using the strap wrenches.
Even with the highest capacity 14500 batteries, this does reduce the battery life of the mug by about 20-30% (compared to new 18650 batteries) but does allow you to (somewhat) easily replace the batteries if they ever start to degrade.
After about a 18 months of use, my Mug 2 stopped holding a charge at all, dying as soon as it was lifted off the base.
Thanks to the tips in this thread, I was able to get my Mug 2 apart using a couple of [link|https://www.amazon.com/VALUEMAX-2-piece-Strap-Wrench-set/dp/B08K2Y8JPP/|strap wrenches|new_window=true]: one wrench wrapped around the main body of the mug and the other wrapped as best I could around the base. This allowed me to get enough friction and torque to turn the base the 15 degrees that Propeller Head mentioned. I was then able to carefully pry apart the base from the mug without damaging the ribon cable connecting the two pieces.
As others have mentioned, the 18650 batteries in the battery pack can be replaced if you have the tools and expertise/confidence to weld new batteries to the existing, proprietary BMS board.
-
I don't have a spot welder so what I ended up doing instead was using 2 high capacity/high discharge 14500 batteries in a [link|https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V7Z4MT7|AA battery holder|new_window=true] to replace the old 18650 batteries like so:
+
I don't have a spot welder so what I ended up doing instead was using 2 high capacity/high discharge 14500 batteries in a [link|https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V7Z4MT7|AA battery holder|new_window=true] soldered to the old BMS like so:
[image|3264164]
The BMS seems to handle the 14500 batteries just fine as long as everything is connected correctly.
With the BMS tucked between the bottom board and the battery holder (with some electrical/conformal tape to prevent any shorts), everything fits snugly underneath the shield and the mug can be reassembled using the strap wrenches.
Even with the highest capacity 14500 batteries, this does reduce the battery life of the mug by about 20-30% (compared to new 18650 batteries) but does allow you to (somewhat) easily replace the batteries if they ever start to degrade.
After about a 18 months of use, my Mug 2 stopped holding a charge at all, dying as soon as it was lifted off the base.
Thanks to the tips in this thread, I was able to get my Mug 2 apart using a couple of [link|https://www.amazon.com/VALUEMAX-2-piece-Strap-Wrench-set/dp/B08K2Y8JPP/|strap wrenches|new_window=true]: one wrench wrapped around the main body of the mug and the other wrapped as best I could around the base. This allowed me to get enough friction and torque to turn the base the 15 degrees that Propeller Head mentioned. I was then able to carefully pry apart the base from the mug without damaging the ribon cable connecting the two pieces.
As others have mentioned, the 18650 batteries in the battery pack can be replaced if you have the tools and expertise/confidence to weld new batteries to the existing, proprietary BMS board.
-
I don't have a spot welder so what I ended up doing instead was using 2 high capacity/high discharge 14500 batteries in a [link|https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V7Z4MT7|AA battery holder|new_window=true] to replace the old 18650 batteries: [link|https://imgur.com/a/bdZIWAd|https://imgur.com/a/bdZIWAd|new_window=true]
+
I don't have a spot welder so what I ended up doing instead was using 2 high capacity/high discharge 14500 batteries in a [link|https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V7Z4MT7|AA battery holder|new_window=true] to replace the old 18650 batteries like so:
+
+
[image|3264164]
The BMS seems to handle the 14500 batteries just fine as long as everything is connected correctly.
With the BMS tucked between the bottom board and the battery holder (with some electrical/conformal tape to prevent any shorts), everything fits snugly underneath the shield and the mug can be reassembled using the strap wrenches.
Even with the highest capacity 14500 batteries, this does reduce the battery life of the mug by about 20-30% (compared to new 18650 batteries) but does allow you to (somewhat) easily replace the batteries if they ever start to degrade.
After about a 18 months of use, my Mug 2 stopped holding a charge at all, dying as soon as it was lifted off the base.
Thanks to the tips in this thread, I was able to get my Mug 2 apart using a couple of [link|https://www.amazon.com/VALUEMAX-2-piece-Strap-Wrench-set/dp/B08K2Y8JPP/|strap wrenches|new_window=true]: one wrench wrapped around the main body of the mug and the other wrapped as best I could around the base. This allowed me to get enough friction and torque to turn the base the 15 degrees that Propeller Head mentioned. I was then able to carefully pry apart the base from the mug without damaging the ribon cable connecting the two pieces.
As others have mentioned, the 18650 batteries in the battery pack can be replaced if you have the tools and expertise/confidence to weld new batteries to the existing, proprietary BMS board.
I don't have a spot welder so what I ended up doing instead was using 2 high capacity/high discharge 14500 batteries in a [link|https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V7Z4MT7|AA battery holder|new_window=true] to replace the old 18650 batteries: [link|https://imgur.com/a/bdZIWAd|https://imgur.com/a/bdZIWAd|new_window=true]
The BMS seems to handle the 14500 batteries just fine as long as everything is connected correctly.
With the BMS tucked between the bottom board and the battery holder (with some electrical/conformal tape to prevent any shorts), everything fits snugly underneath the shield and the mug can be reassembled using the strap wrenches.
Even with the highest capacity 14500 batteries, this does reduce the battery life of the mug by about 20-30% (compared to new 18650 batteries) but does allow you to (somewhat) easily replace the batteries if they ever start to degrade.