another Excal battery question-Suprise, Surprise!

[etracmick]

I just bought an excal II and the spare battery pack (which has after market nimhd batteries installed from the local MD shop.) The pod says not for rechargeable batteries. Any comments?? I figure that it is for the alkaline type but are any of you or is it ok to have the rechargeable batts in this pod?

 

[Sandpiper]

The pod is fine for the after market pack, I think what they are referring to is not put the rechargeable AA batteries in it as they would not supply the proper voltage. Your fine with that pack, just don't fry the batteries by overcharging.

 

[tomcatpl]

rechargeable AA batteries are 1.2 volt if you put 8 of them you not getting 12volt i have a xcal 1000 and i use rechargeable batteries they still work check out onlybatteriepacks.com

 

[mr007s]

In the never ending quest to discover the perfect battery I stumbled upon this. PowerGenix has 2500mhr-1.6 volt AA NIZI rechargerables.

This looks to answer the issue other brands have with 1.2 volts. Anyone think these are worth trying?


Copied from a website:

8 Pack NiZn High Voltage Rechargeable Batteries ZRPGX-AA8 AAc

Eco Friendly NiZn High Voltage 1.6v AA Offers improved performance for any high drain devices especially Digital Cameras
Approx 30% Higher Voltage vs ordinary rechargeables 1.6v NiZn vs 1.2v NiMH
Cycle life - The service life of the battery meets or beats that of most NiMH batteries in typical applications.
Long Shelf Life - Superior to lead-acid batteries which will sulfate over time limiting their shelf life, the PowerGenix NiZn battery has a significantly longer shelf life than ordinary batteries with approx 50% residual charge after one year.
Warranty = 1 year replacement -Free of Charge from Powergenix- San Diego, CA

 

[kered]

rechargeable AA batteries are 1.2 volt if you put 8 of them you not getting 12volt i have a xcal 1000 and i use rechargeable batteries they still work check out onlybatteriepacks.com

Have you ever metered one? at 1.2v they are almost flat, when fully charged they read about 1.40-1.48v and sometimes more and with high mAh they will most often outlast alkalines, you don't need 12v for the Excalibur to run, within minutes of putting in 8 new normal alkalines the voltage is below 12v try it and see

 

[Critterhunter]

I agree with Kared. I know this has been beat to death but a good high capacity nimh pack (2000ma or more) will hold it's voltage under load longer/better than even regular batteries most of the time. A freshly charged 8 pack normaly gives me around 14 volts or so. Once it sits for a while the resting voltage will be a little lower, but still around the 12V range. If the pack has sat for weeks it'll need a re-peak to freshen it up. I've yet to find any device that won't run properly and usualy longer (than regular batteries) on high capacity nimhs. For instance, I've got a pocket camcorder that requires two AAs. I'd say I get almost 3 times the run time out of the thing on 2500ma Energizers than I do using regular Energizers or Duracells. If what's been said on here before is right the Sovereign has a voltage regulator that requires around 10.5 volts input. So long as the capacity of the nimh pack is high enough it should be numerous hours before it hits the low voltage warning. I've got a computer transmitter for RC planes than I run 2500ma Nimhs in. It probably has very similar amp draw to the Sovereign (which is said to be around 50-60ma). The TX will run for hours with a displayed voltage on the screen of well over 11 volts.

 

[grumpyolman]

To help clarify some possible confusion it's good to know mah, milliamp hours, is the energy capacity of the battery. Think of it as the 'gas tank' on your electronics. If you have a gas tank that holds 1600mah (1600 gallons) which is about average for a lot of the packs that come with Minelab products, or you have a gas tank that holds 2300mah (2300 gallons), which one will take you farther? You can find NiMh AA batteries that have even a higher capacity than the 2300s.
The down side of the NiMh is they tend to discharge when sitting and need to be topped off, with no ill effects like on NiCads, before you use them. Sanyo makes a battery, the Eneloop (I think I spelled it correctly) that will maintain 80% of its charge after sitting on a shelf for a year. They are a little more expensive but if you are not the kind of person who will remember to top off your regular NiMhs then the Eneloops may be a better choice. Other companies make them besides Sanyo but from what I've read, the Sanyos are supposed to be a better battery. jim