aa Battery's Race To 0.8v How Much Interest Is There?

[MarkCZ]

A friend, acquired.... an Electroscope, and after being left on for 1 year, hitting battery test showed an almost full charge. It never did point to the several pounds of silver a few feet away.
(This is one of the early pioneers of detecting that has published a significant number of detector tests/general articles and even had a column or two
in some magazines, now in his 80's.)

LoL! this reminds me of a detecting hunt me and my brother Ron went on back in the mid 80's.
He had gotten a new Teknetics 9000/B and so off we go, well after a little bit he comes over and say's the
detector is BROKEN and so he fiddles and fiddles with, and was getting pretty upset seeing how the hunt was planned
with high hopes of some good finds, 40 miles from home, a new $1,000 detector. His wife was with us and so she was
fuming about the dud hunt. So, FINELY Ron notices that the battery test select knob (A-pack & B-pack) was on battery test
so the LCD display was only displaying a battery pack charge level LoL!!!!!

Mark

 

[vlad]

Those Tek units worked as advertised.
The ONLY circuit on an Electroscope that uses battery power.........is the battery test!
(On at least one detector site you will be given a posting "time out" for being critical of LRL?????)

 

[Monte]

As we learn, some of the 'Big Names' in the battery business can be manufactured in different places, to include different countries, and often we can see some differences in performance, even from the same brand name.

We also know that some 'other' batteries are made by a name-brand manufacturer yet can provide comparable performance, be cost a lot less. I am always on the watch for a 'Sale Price' on alkaline batteries just to give them a try. Some have worked out quite well and provided very decent 'run-time' in my detectors, where as some just don't last very long. I us AA in most of my detectors, currently having 8 under my roof, currently, that use AA alkaline batteries. I also have a lot of flashlight in my house, in each room of my house, plus extras in the den, some new flashlights in my battery tote, and I have flashlights in an emergency tote, in my vehicle, and ??? Anyway, I have a lot of flashlights and most of them use AA alkaline batteries.

Then there are other things we have around the house that make use of an AA battery such as a wall clock, remote controls, blood pressure monitors, radios, FRS radios, and more. So, I make sure I have ample batteries on-hand, and when a store as a 30-Pack, 40-Pack or 48-Pack of AA alkaline batteries On Sale for $5.00, I snap it up. Cheap enough to give them a try, and handy to have a pack when I travel, too. I can't begin to tell you how many times I have been on a Welcome-to-Hunt Outing or a club outing or Competition Hunt or just out with some folks having fun and somebody needs batteries. They forgot them, their detector died, etc.

Prices change in different areas or we might have a source not found elsewhere around the country.

Mark, I'll be digging into my Accessory Tote with Batteries and Flashlights and such to package up 4-each of each brand of AA battery I'm going to mail off to you. I hope to get them in the mail today or tomorrow, Tuesday, testing 4 each of a brand will give us an average time that should be helpful. Individual run-times of each battery, then an 'average' of 4 batteries ought to be of interest to a lot of folks.

I'll include information with each brand I send you to test that shows their 'Use-By' date and also how much the batteries cost me.

I used to make it to Costco to buy their house brand of Kirkland AA alkaline and remember when they were $10.?? for a 48 pack, but prices rose over the years. the last ones I bought we about $12.?? for a 48 pack. I will be sending you 4 batteries from Tractor Supply that cost me $6.00 for a 48 pack. That's just 12½¢ for 1 AA, letting me fill my Nokta / Makro Core or Relic or Racer 2 for 50¢ for 4 batteries, my White's IDX Pro's 8 AA pack costs me $1.00 to fill, and my 2-AA Fisher F-44 only costs 25¢ to go out and have some fun. At that price I bought a LOT of batteries and, so far, detectors and flashlights have been working OK. Possibly a little shorter run-time' than some high-dollar 'Bunny Brand', but a lot of detecting and finding my way around in the dark at an affordable price.

I'll also open up a new pack of 60 AA's I bought at Albertson's grocery store for $10.97. I'll try to find out who makes those for Albertsons, but at that price, each AA cost me only 18¼¢ each. That would up my cost to fill those detectors to: 36½¢ for the F44, 73¢ for the Core, Relic or racer 2, and $1.46 for my modified IDX Pro.

I'll post what battery brands I send you way with my coast and info, probably later this afternoon.

Money Miser Monte

 

[MarkCZ]

Okay, here is where I'm at with moving forward with the 4 battery group test.
I modified one drainer by added a second aa battery holder and I added a second resistor to it.
I built another drainer (a third one) with two directly wired aa battery holders to the resistors.
The terminal strips are new and the same brand, meaning they match.
The battery holders are new and the same brand, so they match.
The wire connectors are all new from the same box and they match.
The resistors are new and came in a package of 10, I went through them with a ohm's meter and found
4 of them that had the same exact ohm's reading (4.8ohm's) so they match.
I'm buying four matching stop watches.
I've checked ALL the connection with an ohm's meter from contact point to contact point and everything
came out 0.000 ohm's (that was testing just my wiring connection to the resistors)

I've got a good start with some batteries on hand and "Monte" is working on sending me some additional batteries
that he has on hand, he sending me batteries in groups of 4 so we can get an average of 4 of the same cells.
Here is how we worked out this battery donation. I sent him a PM with a list of batteries I had so he wouldn't be sending
me batteries I already had, next he's going to PM me what he's sending so if I'm out and pick up some more batteries
I won't be buying some that's coming in the mail.
That being said, if anyone else has a battery (at lest 4 of them NEW) that they would like to add to the test (donate) then just
PM me and I can reply with what I got and what's coming and I will include my mailing address.

Here is the setup I've put together for the test.

 

[MarkCZ]

Okay, I'm going to go ahead and post my battery test chart showing the test I've done so far, I'll be using the
same format for the 4 battery group test so, the upcoming test will provide an overall 4-cell group average.
The chart below also is a complete list of the batteries I have on hand.
Mark

 

[Monte]

I am going through all the battery supply I have this evening and I'll mail off the batteries to Mark first thing in the morning.

I have quite a few batteries that might be different from readers. Later tonight, after I have gathered them up, I will post here in this thread a list of the batteries so everyone will be aware of what Mark is testing.

I will sending him 4 AA alkaline batteries of each brand, and I will also be posting the following:

► Brand [size=small](and model if a brand has different models)[/size]
► 'Use-By' Date
► My Cost-per-Battery [size=small](I watch or sales on Alkaline batteries to use them and figure out how long they last. Will I get my $$$ worth?)[/size]

So, if you are interested in this battery testing process, check back later when I list the brands of batteries I am sending Mark, and see what Mark also lists that he has 'on-hand.' If you have 4 new batteries that are different, why not let Mark know and send him a set of 4 to test.

Knowing the battery run-time per battery and the 'average' for a set of 4-batteries and the cost of those batteries just might be useful information. Especially if we get an early spring arrival and get out there hunting hard and putting a drain on our own batteries!

Monte

 

[MarkCZ]

I feel like this is a NASA equipment test!
I hooked up my better multi-meter and selected the 200ma setting,
inserted a FRESH aa battery into the drainer and took a picture
of the meter. My cheaper little pocket meter displays 142ma in the same test.

Mark

 

[Monte]

I am going to be mailing the following 4-piece 'sets' of AA Alkaline Batteries to Mark this morning.

Here is the information I have on these batteries, and if anyone has anything different, gather up 4 new batteries and get them to mark. The 'Made in' information came from what was on the battery or the battery box I took them out of. The Cost per AA is what MY cost was. I am alert for sales, and since some family and friends know I have a lot of detectors, flashlights and other AA powered things I get some as a gift and don't know the cost ... other than 'free' to me. Oh, I live in Eastern Oregon and Oregon doesn't have Sales tax, so the prices I show are the sell-for price only.

Here's what I am sending off:

DURACELL 'Duralock' ... Made in the USA .... Use by: Dec. 2023 ... My Cost $17.99 for a '40' pack making each battery cost 45¢ each.

DURACELL 'Duralock' ... Made in the China .... Use by: Mar.. 2026 ... My Cost $18.99 for a '24' pack making each battery cost 79¢ each.

SIGNATURE 'house brand of Albertsons' ... Made in the USA .... Use by: 12- 2026 ... My Cost $10.99 for a '60' pack making each battery cost 18[size=small]1/3[/size]¢ each.

JOBSMART 'from Tractor Supply' ... Made in the China .... Use by: 9 - 2023 ... Reg. $9.99, on sale so My Cost $5.00 for a '48' pack making each battery cost 10½¢ each.

THUNDERBOLT 'Magnum' from Harbor Freight ... Made in the China .... Use by: 12 - 2022 ... My Cost $7.99 for a '24' pack making each battery cost 33[size=small]1/3[/size]¢ each.

PT 'Power' performancetools.com ... Made in the China .... Use by: 11 - 2021 ... My Cost $3.00 for '15' [size=small](dealer had non-functioning work lights)[/size] making each battery cost 20¢ each.


I thought I still had some NUON or VARTA or PANASONIC Alkaline batteries left in my tote but it looks like I used them when I changed out my flashlights when we changed from Daylight back to Standard time. Also, I was out of the Costco KIRKLAND batteries and this is the first Christmas in recent years I recall when I wasn't given any. That used to be a 'regular' gift I would plan on. If I come across any other new batteries, when I check my Hunting & Camping gear closet, I'll list them and mail them off to Mark. He will likely post the 4-sets of Batteries he has on-hand now, then if you have any that he or I haven't listed, just get a 4-battery set off to him.

Monte

 

[still looking 52]

It's good to have friends like this, thanks guys for all the hard work.

 

[MarkCZ]

I am going to be mailing the following 4-piece 'sets' of AA Alkaline Batteries to Mark this morning.

Here is the information I have on these batteries, and if anyone has anything different, gather up 4 new batteries and get them to mark. The 'Made in' information came from what was on the battery or the battery box I took them out of. The Cost per AA is what MY cost was. I am alert for sales, and since some family and friends know I have a lot of detectors, flashlights and other AA powered things I get some as a gift and don't know the cost ... other than 'free' to me. Oh, I live in Eastern Oregon and Oregon doesn't have Sales tax, so the prices I show are the sell-for price only.

Here's what I am sending off:

DURACELL 'Duralock' ... Made in the USA .... Use by: Dec. 2023 ... My Cost $17.99 for a '40' pack making each battery cost 45¢ each.

DURACELL 'Duralock' ... Made in the China .... Use by: Mar.. 2026 ... My Cost $18.99 for a '24' pack making each battery cost 79¢ each.

SIGNATURE 'house brand of Albertsons' ... Made in the USA .... Use by: 12- 2026 ... My Cost $10.99 for a '60' pack making each battery cost 18[size=small]1/3[/size]¢ each.

JOBSMART 'from Tractor Supply' ... Made in the China .... Use by: 9 - 2023 ... Reg. $9.99, on sale so My Cost $5.00 for a '48' pack making each battery cost 10½¢ each.

THUNDERBOLT 'Magnum' from Harbor Freight ... Made in the China .... Use by: 12 - 2022 ... My Cost $7.99 for a '24' pack making each battery cost 33[size=small]1/3[/size]¢ each.

PT 'Power' performancetools.com ... Made in the China .... Use by: 11 - 2021 ... My Cost $3.00 for '15' [size=small](dealer had non-functioning work lights)[/size] making each battery cost 20¢ each.


I thought I still had some NUON or VARTA or PANASONIC Alkaline batteries left in my tote but it looks like I used them when I changed out my flashlights when we changed from Daylight back to Standard time. Also, I was out of the Costco KIRKLAND batteries and this is the first Christmas in recent years I recall when I wasn't given any. That used to be a 'regular' gift I would plan on. If I come across any other new batteries, when I check my Hunting & Camping gear closet, I'll list them and mail them off to Mark. He will likely post the 4-sets of Batteries he has on-hand now, then if you have any that he or I haven't listed, just get a 4-battery set off to him.

Monte

Wow! this could get interesting, and another thing that's becoming clear is that MOST of all the house brands are made in China!! and I know that in past years China has the ability to build some decent stuff, but LOTS of times
the house brands are about COST! or to say low cost purchase (cheap). But, at this point I think most of us are getting the idea that lots of the house brands are very likely pretty much the same battery with a different wrapper.

One thing to point out while I'm here is that I really liked Monte's input on the 4-battery group test and getting these on the F-Series sub-forum because my F-70 uses 4-AA's and so does the F-75 and they could be other
models in the F-series line that uses a 4-battery group, so the 4-battery group just makes
good sense!

I'm still testing the battery drainers, and confirming numbers and matching values, I thought my amp reading test was off because the value just seems high to me, but a third meter (a cheap one) did show the same value. I'm
going to try and get a hold of my brother Ron today and try to get another amp reading with his multi-meter, I think he has a Fluke and whatever that reading is I'll call it the final say in the matter, its just 860-ma seems really HIGH
to me for an aa battery to take near 8-hrs to drain!!
I've labeled the battery holder locations #1-2-3-and 4 and when I get the other three stop watches I'm going to label them with corresponding numbers. and all four stop watches are a brand and style match.
I've sent brother Ron the spreadsheet for revisions to include the 4-battery group data (he's the family spreadsheet guy)
I think I'm going to notebook the results (on paper) and then plug the data into the spreadsheet afterwords, and I do mean to complete both before setting up another test set.
Now keep in mind that I don't have a electronics lab, nor do I have bunches of electronic test equipment, and MATH was never a academic score card keeper for me, for sure!

More later.

 

[vlad]

than being in a high drain device that really pulls it out fast? Batteries do recover some-sometimes an appreciable amount: is it better with some types, and worse
with others? The best example is a lead acid car battery that runs down cranking a car-and later gains back.. (Rechargables once below a point do not beyond the trivial.)
It would be interesting to check alkaline batteries hours (or longer) to see if recovery is momentous or inconsequential after they have bottomed out. (Even more interesting to stop
at the 50% discharged level, let the gases // products that build up dissipate, and see if one type-set has a longer life than some not stopped: but you are
really getting into a labor approaching drudgery. (Another challenge: has anyone ever tested charge length of NiMh batteries at the end of their life to determine if its about the same
as at the start of use or considerably shorter?)
Its simply amazing that detectors especially Fisher, as they have gotten lighter, surface mount or chips, take fewer batteries...4 AA, as opposed to 8 in the 1260. (The original Baron used.....16?)
(China and batteries: that place is set up in such a way they can and do sell products, dump, below cost. Once competitors are out of business, they can raise them again-a normal trade practice there.
It seems the battery makers there share something with drug makers here too. A few companies may make generic, and name brand drugs both-same exact ingredients-vastly different pricing.
Its simply cheaper using established production lines. But Chinese standards in batteries vary widely.)uke:
Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020 from the Philippines.
https://display.crystalscomments.com/1/med_9759502521698e20027f.gif
And many 'Hunting Returns.'

 

[MarkCZ]

Okay, like I said this could get interesting, and I promise I'm not likely to have ALL the answers but I'll do the best I can with the understanding I have.
Car batteries are what is called lead/acid "Flooded Cell" batteries where the lead plates are completed flooded with a battery acid solution, which isn't pure acid.
Lets include a little bit about what is called "AGM" batteries. AGM actually stands for "Absorbed Glass Matt". these are still a lead/acid battery but they are what is
referred to as "Starved Cell". Between the lead plates is a glass fiber that is soaked to about 90% of its total absorption, so the acid fluid is suspended in place by
the mat.
All these batteries work the same way in that they not actually store energy, its more of a reaction process (think of it like a factory) of the lead and the acid.
The sulfuric acid is drawn into the pours of the lead and in that process electric is produced, as the lead becomes saturated the acidic content of the flood around
the cell lower and less is drawn into the lead, so at that point the battery is going dead!! the recharge cycle forces electric back through the plates and pushes the acidic
properties out of the lead and back into the flooding fluid and the process starts over again. The down falls of all this! Lots of corrosion flakes off from the lead and builds
up at the bottom of lead plates and over time it can lead to a short between the cells and then the battery starts self-discharging. Next thing that happens is in the process
of the plates being saturated and de-saturated is that some of the acidic compounds get permanently trapped in the lead and NEVER goes back to the flooded fluid.
So, over time! enough is build up in the lead that the entire process of what it was designed to do gets so insufficient that its not able to be a usable battery!
Now, there is also what is called Gel-Cell, this is still lead-acid its just gel acid. The big thing about Gel-Cell's is they have to be charged at a much slower rate due to the fact
of the bubbles created in the charge process are MUCH slower to rise to the surface, so over charging them (to high of a rate of charge) can cause to many bubbles to be in the
gel at one time, leading to an over expansion of the gel and damaging the battery.

I have more knowledge of lead-acid batteries and the type of batteries (home electronic batteries). So, if anytime someone would like to drop in and gave us some more input
please do so!!

More Later.

 

[miserman]

Interesting article. I use a Fisher pinpointer and have been noticing lately that the batteries seem to run down quicker than normal. I have always used the Energizer Max AA battery. Your article prompted me to take a closer look at where they are made. In my mixed stock of batteries I read on the side of them that some were made in Thailand and some in Singapore. I went to several home improvement stores today in search of USA made Energizers. The first place had all Singapore made Energizers. The second store, a big trade name Home Improvement Center ,had a few packs of 48 that were made in USA and the rest were made in Singapore. I purchased the USA made pack and I put them in my pinpointer and also in the F75. I have heard Energizers are also made in China. I would think Energizer has strict quality control at all of its manufacturing plants. It will be interesting to see if I notice any difference. Also as a side note, Energizer changed the label on their batteries this year and this year is when I noticed shorter battery life on the pinpointer. There may not be any overall difference but I may stick with the USA made ones even if they prove to show no difference. Thanks for posting your article.

 

[MarkCZ]

Interesting article. I use a Fisher pinpointer and have been noticing lately that the batteries seem to run down quicker than normal. I have always used the Energizer Max AA battery. Your article prompted me to take a closer look at where they are made. In my mixed stock of batteries I read on the side of them that some were made in Thailand and some in Singapore. I went to several home improvement stores today in search of USA made Energizers. The first place had all Singapore made Energizers. The second store, a big trade name Home Improvement Center ,had a few packs of 48 that were made in USA and the rest were made in Singapore. I purchased the USA made pack and I put them in my pinpointer and also in the F75. I have heard Energizers are also made in China. I would think Energizer has strict quality control at all of its manufacturing plants. It will be interesting to see if I notice any difference. Also as a side note, Energizer changed the label on their batteries this year and this year is when I noticed shorter battery life on the pinpointer. There may not be any overall difference but I may stick with the USA made ones even if they prove to show no difference. Thanks for posting your article.

Thanks for your post!
It will be sometime after Friday before I start any of the 4-cell group test because I'm on hold waiting on three stop watches that I ordered that's supposed to arrive sometime Friday. I may go back to Family Dollar and pick up another 4 pack of the Poland made ones and include them in with the 4-cell group test. Now, I'm not asking for donation, but I am excepting them but only for these test!! so, if you have a batch of GOOD DATED ones (4 of them) and you'd like to just see how they do then you can send them to me and I'll not buy anymore and I can include yours in the test results.
So, if you want to contribute just send me a PM tell me what you got, I'll reply with my mailing address and you drop them off in the mail. That's how Monte and I did it. When I bought the Poland made ones I only bought a 4 pack and I've drained two of those so I don't have enough for a 4-cell group test.
And my brother Ron (also a Find's forum member) is hard at work doing revisions of the spreadsheet to include the NEW 4-cell test. If you do send them and you put them in a small bubble wrap mailer, take them to a post office, tell them CHEAP but you would like a tracking # it should cost much money, as a box become a partial and it will probably cost $6.00 to $8.00 to mail them, so go cheap.
So, stay tune, more information is coming!

 

[MarkCZ]

I know the F70 and the F75 does, are there any others?

Mark

 

[Monte]

The Fisher F-Point and Teknetics Tek-Point handheld Pinpointers are also powered by AA batteries.

PS: All the test AA's are on the way to you.

Monte

 

[still looking 52]

My brother Mark knows batteries like nobody else in the world, that's why he loves doing test like this, it's fun for him to test all these batteries. This project is like a kid in a candy store for him.

 

[WV62]

Well another round of the spread sheet is out for brother Mark's review.

Brother Ron in WV

 

[MarkCZ]

I worked for 35 years in a grocery warehouse, which shut down in may of 2014 (yep! lost my job) well, during that 35 years I often filled in as a mechanic in the forklift shop, and most of all the equipment was electric battery powered.
This wasn't small business, the front of the building had 44 tractor trailer bays.
So, in Feb. 2007 I took a full time position as a forklift mechanic (& all their pallet jacks) by the time the warehouse closed I was the only shop mechanic left, at one time that had five of them working three shifts.
One item that dominated the shop was forklift and pallet jack batteries, we had TONS of them (really) and all day EVERYDAY one of the job assignments was to change the ran down batteries in the equipment, most pallet jacks could make a full shift
on a single battery, but not the forklifts, so of those would get two battery changes during one 8 hour shift. The heaviest of these were for the setdown lifts (they had an operator seat to actually sit on) and the batteries for them could go towards 2,500lbs (each)
the standup lifts (the operator had to actually stand on them to operate them) took smaller batteries and they weighed around the 1,700lb range!
Towards the end we didn't have very many of the setdown lifts in operation, the company had switched over to primarily standups.
Two LARGE walls of the shop was completely lined with spare batteries and above them were the chargers. I had to also maintain ALL the batteries, they were ALL flooded cell lead/acid type that had to be filled with water, that's to say they vent system didn't recycle
the water, so they were NOT the maintenance free like the modern automotive batteries. The shop was equipped with an 2-ton overhead hoist to change out the setdown lift batteries, the batteries for other lifts slide in from the side, and bottom's of the battery compatments
were equipped roller bars, and drop in steel side plates to retain the batteries after they were in place.

The two pictures below were taken during the time the warehouse was closing down and most of all the equipment had already been dispersed to other warehouse. The one guy in the photo was a co-worker, not me.
The battery I let him change so I could take the picture weighed around 1,700lbs. The other picture is a few of the batteries that were lift as spares, in the top lift above the spare batteries you can see where the electrician
had already started removing some of the chargers. The forklift that battery is going into was what we called a "Docker's Lift" its a pretty small lift and the overhead guard was low enough to allow it to go in and out of truck trailer, they were not used for any other purpose, also they didn't have very much lifting height so that limited them to the loading/unloading docks.
Around the time of close the cost of those batteries was just a little over One Dollar A Pound for a new one! Sometime they bought reconditioned ones but they were garbage for the most part.

Happy New Years Everyone!

P.S I forgot to mention that before I went to work at the warehouse in Jan of 1979 I worked for three years as a mechanic at a Firestone service center.

 

[Monte]

Batteries, we all NEED them, and then we get to the WANTS and DON'T WANTS.

We all WANT:

• Batteries that provide us with a long run-time
• Properly designed batteries to 'fit' the battery holder or compartment and not be loose, and not be over-sized and not fit or allow easy closure of a battery door.
• Batteries that don't leak and cause damage.


We all DON'T WANT:

• Batteries that are too expensive.
• Batteries with inferior performance.

In short, we want to buy batteries that are reasonably-priced, that are a value and provide us with ample run-time for the cost. I've paid attention to both the cost or value of batteries since I started uint more of the 1½-V AA and 9-V batteries in detectors in the mid-to-late 1970s. Earlier I use a lot of detectors that called for round 9V or over-size rectangular high-voltage batteries that are hardly ever seen or mentioned these days. From '83 until about '92 many manufacturers didn't tell us to use Alkalines, but some did suggest Heavy Duty or Alkaline but not a Standard battery. During that span of time I found several brands of Heavy Duty or Super Heavy Duty batteries that were providing me detector 'run-time' that was comparable with big brand Alkaline batteries and, in some cases, out-lasting 'budget' Alkalines.

In the last 25 years or so we have seen almost all manufacturers suggest we use only Alkaline batteries and not Standard or Heavy Duty batteries, so when I saw Mark's project to test individual batteries evenly for all manufacturers, I figured that just might provide us all some useful information, thus I was willing to do what I could to help. I use a lot of AA batteries so I have a good supply on-hand and I'm always keeping watch for a sale, especially of something I know to be a reliable-performance brand. We have all seen power supply moves in more recent years, also, that are worth noting. One is that many detectors have been moving away from using the 9-Volt battery and going to a AA Alkaline battery system. Another product that has been using 9-V batteries has been most of our Pinpointing devices.

I just finished evaluating a lot of hand-held Pinpointers this past month and see they fell into one of three power-source categories:

• Most are using one 9-Volt battery.
• The FTP pinpointers from Fisher and Teknetics use 2- AA alkaline batteries.
• Some, like my XP MI6 and Nokta / Makro Pulse-Dive Pinpointers, have a built-in Lithium battery and are rechargeable.

I think the future trend is to either rechargeable lithium or AA batteries and moving away from 9-Volt batteries.

Many detectors that were popular, and used a 9-V battery, are either out-of-business, like Tesoro Electronics, which mainly use 9-V powered devices, or some of the lower-cost models in their line-up. So many budget or low-cost detectors have used a 9V battery, like the Teknetics Alpha, Delta, Gamma and Omega, the G2 and G2+, and many others from Fisher, Teknetics and Bounty Hunter, but , like my Fisher F-44, we see a change with it being powered by only 2-AA alkaline batteries. Then we can't forget the reent offerings like the XP Deus and ORX, Minelab Equinox 600 and 800, or the Nokta / Makro Kruzer series, Anfibio series, and newest Simplex[size=medium][sup]+[/sup][/size], all of which use an internal Lithium battery that we only need to recharge.

With all of the rechargeable detector systems we are limited to only being able to rely on their system design, the battery used, and how long the device might run IF we start out with a fully-changed system. Personally, while I now have three of the models with a built-in Lithium battery, I am going to fully charge and monitor their run-times this year, and I'll also keep track of the replaceable AA Alkaline batteries and compare the performance I get in detector operating time with the results we are going to see from Mark's battery testing. Then factor in the operating cost based on the battery life and my cost for them.

But we still are left to wonder Where do they come from? Who is making the batteries? I know I sent Mark two different sets of Duracell batteries. Both were Duracell 'Duralock' and looked almost identical. One was a brand new pack I opened yesterday that I've had for a year or so that have a Use By date of Dec. 2023 and it states: Made in the USA. The other identical Duracell batteries are out of a newer package that say Use By March of 2026. But the difference is that on the battery housing they say Made in China. So far this past half-dozen years I have enjoyed very good 'run-time' from my detectors using the Costco Kirkland house brand AA's, that came in a 48 pack, and those from Albertson's grocery where a 60-pack of 'Signature' batteries cost me $10.99.

That means I can put two brand new batteries in my F-44 and round them up to 37¢ for two batteries. Or someone can put 4 brand new Signature batteries in one of FTP's F75, F70, T2 or Patriot, or 4 new AA's in a Nokta / Makro CoRe, Relic, Racer, Racer 2 or Impact and have them filled up for 74¢ per detector. Even those models from White's, who are still making detectors that use a slide-in tray of 8 AA batteries, can be fueled-up for only $1.48. Now, that is very affordable, and with a decent quality Alkaline battery that can be a lot of operating search time for a very small cost.

So I think this winter-season battery testing is going to be interesting to many who might find a more affordable battery to help out with all their detecting time come spring and summer and fall.

Note the brands above that I provided 4 batteries from each package so Mark can evaluate the 'run-time' of each individual battery as well as the 'Average Run-Tome' for 4-AA's. If you have any new battery packs and would like to donate 4 new batteries that are different from what Mark & I have now, feel welcome to contact him and let's add to our knowledge.

Monte