Battery for Excal * Need Advice Please

[toy4runr]

Greetings and Salutations!

I just bought the detector of my dreams yesterday. It's an Excal 800, several years old. I am so excited I just can't wait til it gets here and Spring comes! Anyhoo, apparently the machine spent it's life in a closet and the owner said the battery will no longer take a charge. So I spent last night searching these forums and the internet looking for the best fix. I have not been able to nail down a consensus on what is the best route to go here, so I'm asking for your learned suggestions and advice. I know that the options are to get replacements from Minelab, get the NiMH batteries from eBay, get alkaline pods and use alkaline batteries or get alkaline pods and make my own NiMH pods using batteries from an online rechargeable battery store. But then depending on what choice I make, I will need an appropriate charger too, and confusion is setting in. So, I am hoping that you good folks can give me some direction/inspiration/instruction on which battery set-up will provide the best service on a machine that gets moderate use, and include the charger in the recipe. I really appreciate your help here, and all the great information I got last night while researching this forum and the beach hunting forum.
Best regards,
Wes

 

[Steve from Ohio]

Hello Wes.

It depends on what you are going to do with your Excalibur. I am new to the Excalibur but from what i have learned so far here is what I have found.

If you are going to use it diving or surf hunting, then you have two options.

Get a new waterproof battery pod with the new NIMH (nickle metal hydride) batteries or rebuild your old waterproof battery pod with the batteries available on E-bay or other places. They have instructions on how to replace the NICAD batteries with the new NIMH batteries and it is fairly simple and easy. You will save some bucks by replacing the nicads with NIMH instead of getting a new pod. And with the new NIMH batteries being 1600 MAH, you should see battery life almost double with the added benefit of having your batteries at full charge because of no fear of battery memory with the NICADS.

Your factory recharger will work fine with the new NIMH batteries but if you want a faster charge, the newer re chargers are quicker. I like having a recharger that can be plugged into my car for when I am out for a few days detecting. When I am driving around I know my batteries are being charged so when I get to where I am detecting I can be sure to have them at full charge.

The alkaline pods are not waterproof but water resistant. So if you plan on diving or surf hunting, then the waterproof pods are the only way to go.

I am not sure how water resistant the alkaline pods are but have heard that you should not submerse them in water because they are not water proof.

The alkaline water resistant pods are great if you plan on using your machine strictly on land. The water resistant pods are good for if you get caught in the rain.

Hope that helps.

 

[Eric from NC]

Congrats on your purchase.
My advise... buy both.

The NiMH battery for everyday use, keep it charged and go worry free. However just in case, buy the pod for use of Alkaline batteries for backup. Always good idea to have a back up and it is easy to replace the batteries if the NiMH goes out on you. If you are on a trip or away from home, may turn a potentially awful day into a great experience.
Good luck!
Eric

 

[BigCatDaddy]

Get the NiMh replacement batteries from onlybatterypacks and rebuild your pod!! Takes all of 10 minutes and you can still use your same charger or you can get another charger from the same source(don't forget the female adapter) that charges them in about 3 hrs.

 

[toy4runr]

Thanks for the helpful replies.

Kind regards,
Wes

 

[Rick(ND)]

If the Excallibur is a waterproof Sovereign then the battery pod has 10 cells in them and not 8 like you may think. The Sovereign needs 12 volts to operate correctly and the rechargeable packs have 10 of the batteries in them as each rechargeable cells are only 1.2 volts. If you put 8 rechargeable in the alkaline pod you will only have 9.6 volts and not the 12 volts needed. Only use alkaline in the alkaline packs as they are 1.5 volts each so you have your 12 volts needed.
Many may tell you it will work, but in most cases not very long as the low battery alert or may shut down just as you hit a good spot.
Now as was said is to get a new Nickle hydride rechargeable pack made for the Excalibur II as they will work also from any one of the Minelab dealers and have a alkaline pack with 8 of the alkaline batteries for a back up. Another option is taking the rechargeable pack to a place like Interstate battery or a place they can rebuild your pod with 10 cells so you have the 12 volts needed as AA batteries are too big so they have to be different cells to fit in the pack. I took a rechargeable pack for a DFX to Interstate battery and they put in Nickle Hydride for $28

 

[sandman256]

I think what is meant by the Excal being a waterproof Sov is the way it operates with the BSS technology. It natch has many more features so it needs different power requirements.