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Heavy Duty, Alkaline, or Rechargeable Batteries???

B

BH-LandStar

New member
Here is a question that has gone through my mind a lot lately, as I have tried all 3 of these battery types in my Land Star.
This is what I have found so far....

1) Recharge-ables die off the fastest, as they are lower voltage than standard batteries - last about 5-6 hours without phones and about 6 hours with.

2) Heavy Duties last about 7 hours without headphones, and about 9 hours with headphones

3) Alkaline last about 8 hours without phones, and 10 hours with

Has anyone else had different experiences???

Happy Hunting,
 
Hi, I was also wondering about batteries for my 2 tracker IV's. The manual said to only use Alkaline batteries. Thats all well and good if you have lots of cash to throw around, but the Alkaline are worth $5.25 minimum each! If it's possible to use rechargables I would go with that option in a heartbeat. I have shopped around for Rechargable 9v Alkaline and charger and can't find them in the major stores. Maybe I'll do a google search for them and the charger and see what comes up. The Duracell's I use in my machines last a minimum of 20hrs, if swapped from one connector to the other at around 10hrs. It also depends on the amount of signals you are getting. I have had them last for 25hrs before erratic behaviour and blinking red light. I think I get longer use out of my batteries because I don't have the LCD screens etc. I trialled mine against the land-star that a bloke from the Brisbane metal detecting club owns, the depth was the same! I go by tone and although I dig a fair bit of junk, I pick up rings that other operators leave behind. I use tone disc, lowest setting, and sensitivity around the 4O'Clock position. I have found a platinum ring another operator detected over, most operators here discriminate out pull tabs and 5c (AU) pieces, this is where the platinum is situated on the explorer 2 conductivity and ferrous readout! I would sooner pick up 1000 ring pulls and 5c pieces than miss out on a small 22k gold or platinum ring with a 2ct Diamond sitting on top! The Platinum ring I found was a wedding band and only weighed 6.5 grams, I got $127.50c at scrap price for it. Any how talk again soon. God bless, Nugget.:detecting:
 
I imagine you would get double the running time on a Tracker IV than I get with my Land Star. I would think the LCD eats up the batts faster. I do not think it takes much juice to move a needle....Your right about the discrimination and the target ID...I have prolly passed up rings as I am listening for that double ping and passing up what I think may be junk...Maybe this is why I have not found any gold yet...:(
I do use all types of batteries, and YES...if you do a search on Google you will find dealers who sell 9V rechargeable batteries. I use a Energizer multi battery charger, and it takes about 16 hours to fully charge 2 9V with it...well worth the cost of the batteries...I think I got 8 - 2500mah 9Vs for about 25 bucks + S&H. I use them both in the Land Star and my cheapy Teknetics PinPointer (Man I need a Vibra Probe)...:))

Happy Hunting,

P.S. I think the site I used was:

http://stores.ebay.com/All-Batteries-Outlet
 
New Here!
when 9V is not 9V... i got a couple 9V nimh batterys from walmart this week and i can see why they run down so quickly in a detector...they are really 7.2 volts...
it says 9V size/format!!! most 9V detectors have 5V regulators and 5V regulators start acting fuzzy at abt 6V not much margin on rechargables...
[attachment 74704 11030001.JPG]
 
Hi from Europe !

Alkaline batteries will give both my Lone Star and QD II about 20 hours of power, while 250mah rechargeable will only power both units for 8 hours, sometimes less,.

I noticed that it also depends on the amount of signals you get while searching. For instance, searching" all metal"" and sweeping 30 times over a target to Id and pinpoint it will cause batts to furnish less autonomy than coinshooting with disc at 2 o'clock ant a limited amount of sweeps above targets;

Good hunting !
 
[quote Wv-Az-Snowbird]New Here!
when 9V is not 9V... i got a couple 9V nimh batterys from walmart this week and i can see why they run down so quickly in a detector...they are really 7.2 volts...
it says 9V size/format!!! most 9V detectors have 5V regulators and 5V regulators start acting fuzzy at abt 6V not much margin on rechargables...
[attachment 74704 11030001.JPG][/quote]

i have bought my rechargable from radio shack, and they have 8.4 vlts, and rated at 150 mAH. I HAVE LEARNED TO BE CAUTIOUS OF ANY THING BOUGHT AT THE MART.:ranting:
 
I have noticed alot of rechargeables on the NET that vary greatly in actual Voltage Capacity.There are alot that say 7.2 in fine print on the battery casing,so it pays to read and shop around.I have noticed some that said 6.4 Volts as well.I did see an outfit that says their 9Volts are 9.0V on the battery itself,I may try these........HappyHunting!
 
Although I have not measured the voltage under load, I have measured it after recharging the bateries, and my rechargeable measure 9.2 volts on average...After sitting for a few hours, this drops off to about 8.4 - 9.0 volts...I will have to do more testing...
 
Has anyone tested the voltage on a new 9volt rechargeable battery from Wal-Mart,You know the ones that say in small print that they are actually 7.2volts??.
 
you need to check out Thomas Battery. They have the new 500ma 9v rechargable lithium ion batteries for sale. These are true 9v and are just slightly; less than the best alkaline in capacity (normally 600-700 ma).


Glor
 
Hmmm...maybe this is why my batteries read higher than 9V after charge...I may have batteries simmilar to these:

http://www.thomas-distributing.com/mh-96v230.htm

Those give 9.6v on full charge. But mine are supposedly 2500mAH batteries

BH-LandStar
 
I take that back...my batteries are 250mAH batteries, and are like the ones in the link above...This explains a lot.
guess I got the good stuff...

BH-LandStar
 
I recently ordered a two cell 9volt charger,that comes with two 280mah batteries that are supposed to be true 9volt.I shiuld recieve by the end of the week.These were purchased from "BatteryMonster".com.,for $18.00,that includes the two bay charger.......HappyHunting!
 
hey everybody, ive always been partial to running duracells and energizers for predictable and pretty much dependable operation of my pioneer 202 w/ 10 in. coil and tracker 4. i just dont believe that science has progressed that far yet on the rechargeable battery thing. been several times in the field detecting and my hunting buddy would lose his batteries in the middle of the hunt, and gave them my spares i carry. my buddies finally gave up on the idea of using rechargables after a couple times of that. i go to lowes or home depot and get 6 packs of energizers for 9.99. i havent had any trouble at all in many years. heavy duty batteries are ok if you dont have any others to use, generally lower priced,dollar store stuff. when i plan out a hunt, i want to know that im getting max depth and performance for what i can afford.
 
I AGREE RECHARGABLES DONT LAST AS LONG..DURACELLS OR ENERGIZERS ARE THE ONLY WAY TO GO IN MY OPINION ..HH , BILL
 
Hi:
I have started using rechargeable NiH batteries in my Fast Tracker and I reckon they give slightly better depth that alkalines, tho expire in about 5 hours. I hunt only on beaches near where I live on the south coast of England, and the machine performs superbly and it must have paid for itself a couple of times over.
 
WOW!!!...I never thought this thread would get so much attention, but I am enjoying the reads. Interesting stuff...I also agree that the Alkalines are the way to go if you want a battery that has a full load, and will last the longest...How about Lithium batteries??? Has anyone tried those? I just thought of that as I am tying this...Will have to give those a go...I know they have to cost more...I use the rechargeables, and carry 3 sets with me...I normally do not hunt longer than about 3 hours straight, so discharge has not been a problem for me there...I do keep them in the machine till they die...This only for the fact that I like to charge them full, then drain them empty before recharging...This helps to fight the memory effects.
Also looks like I may be able to get a day or two of hunting in here as it is now raining here in NY and the snow is melting.


Happy Hunting,
 
Hi BH:

Thanks for the interesting reply. Where do you hunt by the way? NY? Is that New York?

I too run my rechargeables empty by leaving the machine switchged on, then recharge them from 'empty'. NiH's are not supposed to have a memory, but I am not taking any chances!

Remember, all that glitters is not gold, and all that does'nt ain't either!

Best regards

John H
 
Yes John, I hunt in and around Syracuse, NY...Tot lots, ball fields, Field Day sites, School Yards, beaches, anywhere I think folks could have gathered...My finds so far are not spectacular...I have found a Peace Dollar, some old Canadian cents and nickel, 1 Silver Washington Quarter, a couple Merc Dimes, 1 Rosie...So far, no gold or jewelry...I only hit one beach in 2007,and I did not find much...was still new with the detector and ignoring the pull tab and screwcap signals...SHAME ON ME...lol

HH,
 
Hi H:

I have hunted in the States along the Eastern Seaboard, from New Jersey down to Gettysburg, and found several silver coins with a buffalo on one side and Geronimo on the other. Another, dated 1927, shows a guy in a winged helmet, and another with a 'V' surrounded by what looks like a wreath of laurels. I am not sure what they are, or of their value, but they are are great and valued souvenirs for me.

My ambition is to hunt for gold nuggets, but whether or not I will ever realise this ambition remains to be seen. I made some great detecting friends in the US. I used to live near Oxford and hunted regularly for Roman coins on two farms that each had the remains of a Roman Villa dating from about 2AD, and from which me and my pal found hundreds of bronze coins, lead gaming dice, bronze brooches (on one, the fastening pin was still sharp). But the best find was a gold Stater from the Iron Age, a coin of an ancient British tribe, valued at $3,200 (
 
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