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excal battery stuff, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, again

N

normdiver

New member
Need some advise, have 3 xcals and im getting tired of buying new batterys for them, I just bought new NIMH for one of my sons 800 detectors last week, The other sons is still an old NICAD that im sure will need to be replaced soon, Now my NIMH battery pack that I bought last year is bad and needs to be replaced now. I have an alkeline pod that works fine and I am wondering if I should just use alkeline batterys from now on and give up on all the expensive NIMH batterys and new chargers. I also bought a new NIMH last year for my brothers xcal 1000.,,,,,,,,,,,,,My other question is this, I know the standard pod has a taper to it and the 8 battery pack does not want to fit in there, Im thinking of putting the pod in a lathe and giving it a spin and about half way down the pod and to the end taking off some plastic to see if the pod will open up to recive the 8 cell battery pack. Do you think this will work or does anybody have any other ideas, I plan on doing this with a cnc machine and some good calipers, better than the lathe idea. Thanks in advance
 
If you use the alkaline battery pod make sure you use only alkaline batteries in it as it only holds 8 batteries while the factory pod holds 10 cells in it to get the 12 volts needed. Do not use rechargeables in the alkaline pack as they are only 1.2 volts each so you will need 10 cells and the alkaline pod only holds 8.
I wonder why your packs are going bad? are they factory rechargeable pod as those in my area some are over 5 years old and still working great.
 
why do you have to get a new charger. shouldm't the old one work with the new battery pack.
 
I reamed out a rechargable pod to accept the 8 alkaline pack. No problem but be careful not to crack it when machining. use plenty of coolant in the process. If I remember it was very little machining required and the "O" ring still had ample seal.
 
Have you checked to see if it would hold 9 or10 "AAA" NIMH's. The "AAA" NIMH's that they sell today have a 900mah rating which it more than the original NICAD Pack. I usually make my own battery packs and housings and all I use are the "AAA" Nimh's . But I have never tried to fit them in an Excalibur POD. Since they are considerable smaller than AA's they may fit. JMHO

HH

Beachcomber
 
Im working on reaming out my pods tomorrow on a cnc machine so they will accept the NIMH battery packs or the AA battery packs, The new NIMH battery I understand works great with the charger that is made for it, the minelab charger seemed to take forever to charge. I dont know why my NIMH pack from last season went bad and I may send it back to have them check it out. So with 3 xcals and 1 working NIMH pack and 1 new new battery charger for it im lacking, I have 1 bad NIMH, 1 fair old NICAD and 1 alkiline pod and my brothers NIMH seems to take a long time to charge on the minelab charger also. Let me see how I do with this project and ill let you know, I will say that the onlly battery guys are great and stand behind the products they sell.
 
I've bought several of those battery packs(I've re-built a lot for my friends too) and haven't had any problems with them, but there's always a bad apple in every barrel, I guess you got the one. Their charger is a fast charger and the Minelab one is a trickle charger. You can charge any of the Mindlab Excal batteries with their charger and vice-versa. Get the 1400mah(good) or 1500mah(better) battery packs. Re-build that Nicad pod with a Nimh. If you order today or Monday, you'll have them by Thurs. or Friday. Best thing I've done for my old Excal 800 and 1000. I'm still not sure why you are reaming the pods out. I put a Nimh pack in my Alkaline pod. Alky's just don't last very long and you are always taking the pod apart and putting in new batteries. And all of those go into the landfills!! I'm bettin' onlybatteries will replace your defective pack, can't hurt to ask!!
 
I was wondereing about the reaming too, mine went in but a bit tight till i put on a bit of silicon lube as recomended by them
 
If some of you would go online and buy a GOOD battery charger, not that Mickey Mouse trickle charger that comes with all the machines, you'd eliminate almost all the complaints registered above. The new smart chargers calculate how much of a charge is needed and then gives the batteries the charge. They charge at a faster rate initially and then slowly taper to the point where, if you left em in the charger for a week, it wouldn't hurt anything. They know the difference between a NiCad and a NiMh and charge accordingly. Nothing for you to do except put em in the machine. Even has a heat sensor to lay on the outside of the pack in case something goes wrong and the battery heats up, the sensor turns everything off.
Look at the MAHA C777PLUS. It'll charge NiMH, Nicads, and lithiums. It will totally discharge a pack, safely, and then recharge the pack for you. It will calculate how many mah it put back into your pack and display it on a read out. If you have a 1800mah hour pack and it will only take 1200 mah, that's a sure bet one cell is going kaput and it's time to replace that cell, if you are electrically handy, or get a new pack. By using the charger's discharge function, I have rejuvinated many NiCad packs thought to be dead by others. MAHA is just the one I know about and use. There are tons of other good ones out there and some of them start as low as $35.
Don't know what the MAHA costs now but I spent about $65 for mine a few years ago. Ham radio folks have used this technology for years as have the electric RC boat, car, plane, helicopter, hobbyists. They don't have near the problems with batteries as I see posted on the detector forums. If one learned as much about battery technology and its use for portable applications as they did researching sites to detect, they'd be in a lot better position to keep their detector operational. Jim
 
Good Information Jim, will check it out, Still happy now that I can use alkalines in any of my pods since opening them up on the lathe.. Am getting ready to order another NIMH pack now and carry a spare battery with me all the time now, lessons learned, I hate to walk back to the truck for a fresh pod.
 
Hey guys, Newbie here, not so new with batteries though, I remember back when I used R/C cars, the battery chargers back then were state of the art, the cool thing is this, that charger shown in the picture has a standard connector for R/C batteries, some even have gold plated connectors without the clip etc. The point I am trying to make is this, take the Minelab charger, snip the plug off, find positive and negative wires, solder the mating connector for an aftermarket R/C battery charging system, and use it to charge your battery with, they have lights, bells and whistles to aid you while charging your battery.
Batteries here. http://www.onlybatterypacks.com/items.asp?db=48
Chargers here. http://www.onlybatterypacks.com/items.asp?db=12
Adaptors here. http://www.onlybatterypacks.com/?cat1=31
battery dischargers here http://www.onlybatterypacks.com/?cat1=22

I hope this helps out, sorry I don't have details on the factory plugs for minelab charger otherwise i would have posted it.



cheers
aaron
 
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