Cheapo Fleabay ?watertight? battery case:
Some pretty important stuff happening in the thread right now so this is pretty weak by comparison. Still, in case it's of any use to anyone, a few pics.
Watertight?:
Long side latches work fairly well; end latches kinda' soft on latching and too stiff so I figured: "Watertight? Yeah, right." Threw it in a bucket of water with a weight on it for a half hour. Imagine my surprise when it didn't leak a drop. The design is such that I figure mass production probably makes quite a few leakers - if not immediately, then soon after?
I could be wrong; after all, I was sure it would leak right away and it didn't do that.
Here's what it looks like in my large Ryot Packrat case with the array of supporting equipment:
Below is with the battery case open and 2 batteries in it:
Below is with only 1 battery in the case and 2 Haze cans in the other side. With the battery out, the support bars or cradles separate the side into 4 slots. 2 cans fits a bit too tightly in one slot. So I think without forcing things, I can store 2 cans in 2 slots, 1 can in the remaining 2. That is, I think 6 will fit easily. 8 may be a force fit. I can't confirm since I currently only have 6 cans on hand and some of those are soaking in EC190.
The latches are stiff enough, I think some will break off in time. While I'm not thrilled about that, at this pretty cheap price point, I'm ok with it. Come to think of it, this may be minimized by not bending the latches far out when unsnapping the lid.
Regarding Haze cans:
I'm very glad that the origin of the aluminum cans has been tracked down and is no doubt being corrected.
Alloy - definition often misused:
This isn't meant to hate anyone; it's come up several times in this thread and thousands of times in any auto forum.
The words alloy and aluminum have become essentially interchangeable on the web.
THIS IS A MISNOMER.
We could accept the misuse of the word as a popular colloquialism - after all, it kind of looks like an abbreviated form of the word aluminum, doesn't it? But then, what do we call all other metal mixes? After all, almost all metals listed on the
Periodic Table are alloyed when used in production.
For clarity, almost every metal used in modern manufacturing is an alloy. That is to say, alloy does not mean aluminum - although like most mfg metals, almost all aluminum used in production IS an alloy of one variety or another.
In manufacturing, all stainless steel, titanium, and even some types of iron are in actual fact alloys. Steel itself is an alloy; it is
iron alloyed with other metals, etc.
Below is one publisher's definition of alloy.
Please note that alloy is not defined as aluminum.
In fact, the usage of the word alloy predates the times when bauxite ore could feasibly be refined into aluminum. That is: Alloyed metal used in manufacturing long predates when the first aluminum came to be. I believe the first alloys may predate the Bronze Age. Bronze itself being an alloy, obviously.
Iron (and steel) is/are often alloyed with other metals such as manganese, chromium, nickel, carbon, cobalt, etc. In fact, aluminum can be added to steel typically making so-called "aluminum killed steel". This alloy is useful where severe bending in production is necessary such as with exhaust pipe, etc. Anyway, back to the definition; please note that aluminum isn't required in the definition of the word alloy.
This definition is a bit heavy on reduction of value. That aspect is commonly present in coins - such as adding a small amount of copper for gold bullion coins, etc. Whereas, in manufacturing, an alloy often adds value through performance attributes. Anyway, below is fwiw:
alloy
Pronunciation: (
—
n.al'oi,
u-loi';
—
v.u-loi'),
[key]
—
n.
1. a substance composed of two or more metals, or of a metal or metals with a nonmetal, intimately mixed, as by fusion or electrodeposition.
2. a less costly metal mixed with a more valuable one.
3. standard; quality; fineness.
4. admixture, as of good with evil.
5. anything added that serves to reduce quality or purity.
—
v.t.
1. to mix (metals or metal with nonmetal) so as to form an alloy.
2. to reduce in value by an admixture of a less costly metal.
3. to debase, impair, or reduce by admixture; adulterate.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc.
Some time ago in this thread, there were reports that Haze was considering switching from their first
stainless steel ALLOY to a different
alloy of stainless. It appears that hasn't happened yet and may not happen which is fine with me.
From recent info posted, it appears that somehow whomever was doing the stamping substituted an
aluminum alloy without Haze's consent. Because of Haze's stellar support and responsiveness, I believe this will be fixed and quickly.
For anyone who believes I may have focused above on unimportant minutia, I apologize in advance. Maybe just mark it down as a pet peeve. Did some industry tech teaching long ago and it rears its ugly head
sometimes.