Thermacell pad replacement experiment

Jeetdawg

Senior Member
I have been looking for an economical way to refill my spent pads (yes I know the cut the pad in half trick) I ran across some information on the web and am currently trying it out. Here are the first hours results and how I did it (on the deck as I type this):
1. Leave a spent pad on the thermacell. I found a real old one in my bag so to ensure it was used up.
2. Went to walmart and bought the coleman mosquito coils. There are 10 in a pack for $1.99.
3. Take one of the coils and break them into pieces such that one piece fits into one of the grates of the thermacell. Fill all the grates up with a piece of coil.
4. In real world application, you tie a piece of cotton cloth around the grates of the thermacell to keep the pieces from falling out if you tipped it over. For my experiment, I just put it on the chair beside me. I will use the cotton if this works.
5. Fire up the thermacell and see what happens.
Initial observations: no visible smoke like a new pad but does have the same "pad" smell as it warms, though not as strong. I came out earlier to see if mosquitos were out and got hit three times in about a minute. Have been out for about 45 minutes now and not a bug around since thermacell was warm. I am convinced these coils will work in this application, but I am gonna keep it running another couple of hours to see if it lasts. If it does, this will be a very cheap pad replacement. I will update later to let you know the results

Jarrett
 

Jeetdawg

Senior Member
Second hour observations: A little smoke in the second hour and still no bugs. Still want to see how long it holds up but so far, the results look promising.
 

Kendallbearden

Big spider lover
Second hour observations: A little smoke in the second hour and still no bugs. Still want to see how long it holds up but so far, the results look promising.

so how'd it turn out? Sounds like a good idea for a cheap replacement.
 

Allen Waters

Senior Member
The trick would be to find out what the pads are soaked in to start with. Buy that in bulk and reactivate your old pads. But it sounds like what you got there might be a great idea. Now if someone can figure out how to refill the butane that runs the thermocell!:bounce:
 

Jeetdawg

Senior Member
Sorry for the delayed results guys. I ended my test around 2 hours and 45 minutes into it. I definitely need to get a piece of cotton fabric for the face because wouldn't you know it, I knocked it over. Anyway, when I knocked it over, it kicked the thermacell off as well. I was bitten by a mosquito and thought that the chemical had been spent......stupid me....got have the thing on to work. I fired it back up and never got hit by anything else. I was extremely pleased with the results and will start using this method when I run out of pads. For those who wanted to know, both the mosquito coils and the regular thermacell pads have the same ingredient (Allethrin)....just different concentrations. However, I never noticed anything different about it. I should get at least 5 uses out of each coil by breaking them into pieces......10 coils a pack......50 equivalent pads for $1.99.......I can deal with that price. I will post a picture of the front of my thermacell to get a better visual.

Jarrett
 

Jeetdawg

Senior Member
For folks (like myself) who need to see visually what I did, here you go. I literally just broke the coils into pieces and stuck one in each grate. The bottom left one is left open so you see the spent pad I used. This acts more like a "backer" board to keep the pieces from falling out the side. Not sure how many heat cycles a pad can go through, but I am willing to try it out since that I know this works :banana:
 

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Luke0927

Senior Member
Thanks, probably could get a small piece of metal screen wire and put them in it like a sandwich and slid them in that....I been needing to try and refill my tanks and I'll try this too.
 

frankwright

Senior Member
I resoak the pads in 10% permithrin that I got from a pet supply place. I put in a little blue food color. I let them soak up the solution and then let them dry and put them in a little zip lock bag that a pad just fits in.
I used them all last turkey season and they seemed to work fine or else the mosquitoes just stayed away.
I will do more testing this bow season.
I also water down the 10% permethrin to the same 0.5% that is in the spray cans. I add a little Primos Silver XP Earth Scent to it.
I have not had a chigger or tick on me in the two years I have been spraying my clothes with it and I expect the $20 bottle of permethrin will probably last about 6 more years.
 

Jeetdawg

Senior Member
Could you grind the coils up to almost a powder and then put it into something that resembles a "tea bag"?

I am sure you could. It is probably more work than you would want to mess with though....Worth a try if you want to get more out of the coils. For 1.99, I won't put much effort in it.
 

Eyeluv2hunt

Senior Member
The trick would be to find out what the pads are soaked in to start with. Buy that in bulk and reactivate your old pads. But it sounds like what you got there might be a great idea. Now if someone can figure out how to refill the butane that runs the thermocell!:bounce:

Ask and ye' shall receive :D

First I need to give PublicLandProwler props for this. A few years ago he was kind enough to send me this, so I am now able to pass it along :)

Here's the whole project.


With an empty cylinder take your pliers and pull the tip out.It will take a good bit of pulling.Is the big teeth on your pliers to minimize damage.

2PIC.jpg

1PIC.jpg



take a needle and poke a hole in here..


3PIC.jpg


4PIC.jpg


5PIC.jpg


There will be a little resistance,keep pushing,and it will poke all the way through

5PIC.jpg


put the tip back in

6PIC.jpg


push it against a table or wall to seat it back,and that one is done.You don't have to do it again.

PART 2

King butane

7PIC.jpg


Unversal tips made in the lid pull the one out that fits the refill

8PIC.jpg


cut a very small v notch in the tip of it

9PIC.jpg


put it in and fill it up

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And thats it. Works like a charm if done exactly this way :)

Good Luck Hunting This Year To All!
 

blueheron

Member
Thermacell

Why don't you just take a small metal can like a tuna can and light the mosquito coil put it in the can and use it rather than the thermacell ??
 

Early Riser1

Senior Member
I have one thing to add to the photo demo above. Before using pliers to remove the brass insert, take a tooth pic and remove the rubber O-ring so that it will not get damaged. You can replace the O-ring after you re-insert the brass fitting.
 

Back_40

Senior Member
I resoak the pads in 10% permithrin that I got from a pet supply place. I put in a little blue food color. I let them soak up the solution and then let them dry and put them in a little zip lock bag that a pad just fits in.
I used them all last turkey season and they seemed to work fine or else the mosquitoes just stayed away.
I will do more testing this bow season.
I also water down the 10% permethrin to the same 0.5% that is in the spray cans. I add a little Primos Silver XP Earth Scent to it.
I have not had a chigger or tick on me in the two years I have been spraying my clothes with it and I expect the $20 bottle of permethrin will probably last about 6 more years.

X2^^1 8oz bottle of 38% Hi Yield 38 plus permethrin makes several gallons for spraying down my clothes as well as Thermacell pads.
 

Eyeluv2hunt

Senior Member
I however have felt the effects of the recession and try to save a .01 where I can. For those of you who are finacially well off, good for you. I will continue to try to cut corners where I can and if I think anyone out there will benefit from it, I will share the info. :)
 
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