factory rechargeable battery pack :shrug:

[adam in cal]

anybody have an idea what the lifespan of the factory rechargeable pack is ?? I would imagine it would depend on how much you use it. It seems i used to get more time from a fully charged pack then I do now. I seem to be only getting between 5 1/2 to six hours before I hear the death squeal. This seems like an awfully short amount of time compared to what I used to get . Any input would be great .......And by the way it always a good idea to keep some band-: aids in your car or truck .......I learned that today after a bloody finger, the blood stops once it gets dirty enough, but a band-aid would have probally been a better idea ...

 

[Rick(ND)]

Adam,

If it is the older pack for the XS series before the Elite and GT they are Ni cads and will build up a memory, the ones for the Elite and GT are the nickle hydride that is not suppose to build up a memory. On the Ni cads it does happen and they have to be discharged to a safe level and recharged to the safe level too. I have one of the Sun Rays SR- 12 chargers that will do just that. I just put it on and fully charge then hit the discharge and it will go to a safe level and recharge and go to a pulse trickle charge. I have restored many of pack this way to normal or close to it. Many up here still have the packs on the first Sovereigns I sold in 1996 and still going strong.
I try to use this same charger on all the new packs for the GT and the Explorers too to begin with so they will hold a full charge right away as the Nickle hydride have to be charged and discharged a few time to "wake it up" some call it, but it will then hold a full charge.

Rick

 

[adam in cal]

n/t

 

[Neil]

Adam I would let it discharge fully overnight, then charge it up for the full time which is like 14hours I believe. Do that a few times and see if that brings it back to life. I spoke a while back to a minelab tech and they told me repeated short chargings will also develop memories in nimh packs, meaning charging when its not fully discharged.
HH
Neil

 

[adam in cal]

thanks , I will give it a go ......

 

[madaboutmike]

I pretty much keep a journal of how many hunts and duration. My Elite I bought two years ago only ran out of charge once - that was good because I wasn't sure how long the battery would last. A journal helps keep trach of how many hours between charges and I always bring my AA pack, especially when I'm driving to the beach. With the price of gas, who wants to go on a long drive with the potential of a discharged battery? mike

 

[adam in cal]

I checked it after fully charging it and the volt meter says it was fine, It wears out within three hours and the volt meter says its way below 10 volts , this is a problem, I ran my akaline pack and its still strong after 5 hours....I have scored a new rechargeable pack and all is well in the North-state .......thanks for your post, I must have hunted it to death . (at least 20 hours a week for 2 1/2 years)