AeroPod, PowerPod and Newton

Is there any way to replace rubber seal on bottom of Newton (charging port). Mine was always really tight when I tried to put it on the mount, but today it tore off. Thanks

GWPOS wrote:Is there any way to replace rubber seal on bottom of Newton (charging port). Mine was always really tight when I tried to put it on the mount, but today it tore off. Thanks

Same here, though just the end got torn off on mine. What a bad design!

John noted in another thread that the rubber cover is not needed - the seal to the bike mount does a good enough job so that water ingress is not an issue. (He may have also mentioned that they had contemplated ripping them off before shipping.)

Anyway - I think a bunch of us have done just that - ripped them off - intentionally or accidentally.

Tom

Indeed I think I ripped mine off the second time I put it on the mount. Haven't had much rain here in MI until recently. But I did wind up in a down pour last week that blocked the wind port and I did not have any other issues with water ingress.

Clydeone wrote:Indeed I think I ripped mine off the second time I put it on the mount. Haven't had much rain here in MI until recently. But I did wind up in a down pour last week that blocked the wind port and I did not have any other issues with water ingress.

I once had a leaky faceplate and was in a drenching downpour. It took a few weeks before my iAero started acting funny. It turned out the circuit board became badly corroded. Velocomp quickly gave me a replacement unit. I'm just suggesting that you keep a close eye on the unit's performance over the next few weeks.

dtrousdale wrote:

Clydeone wrote:Indeed I think I ripped mine off the second time I put it on the mount. Haven't had much rain here in MI until recently. But I did wind up in a down pour last week that blocked the wind port and I did not have any other issues with water ingress.

I once had a leaky faceplate and was in a drenching downpour. It took a few weeks before my iAero started acting funny. It turned out the circuit board became badly corroded. Velocomp quickly gave me a replacement unit. I'm just suggesting that you keep a close eye on the unit's performance over the next few weeks.

The rubber seal was designed primarily to prevent water from entering the case when the Newton is not attached to the mount. For example, if you're not on your bike but are walking around with your Newton in the rain, then the rubber seal would keep water from entering the USB port.

The metal bracket and bolt are an important part of the water-sealing system; together they form a water-tight barrier. How do we know? We actually have floated a Newton in water, for hours, with nothing other than the metal bracket and bolt fastened to the bottom, forming a barrier around the seal.

Whenever your Newton is firmly attached to the bike mount, water ingress through the USB port should not be a problem--whether or not you have the rubber seal.

If you want the security of the rubber seal while you're riding, try this: Use a nail clipper with flat (rather than curved) blades to snip off the little stub-tab on the seal. This is the part that interferes with the mount channel. Of course, it'll now be a bit trickier to pop open when you want to access the USB port, but use a small screwdriver blade if your fingernails won't do the job. Good luck!

- Steve