QUESTION FOR ERIC

[uk ninjafox]

The info i have for mine is that with the 2200mah nicd batteries you should get about 5 hours detecting, 440mah per hour. so what i was thinking was to buy a lipo 3000mah 15c battery, which should give me about 6.5-7 hours detecting, and shaft mount it, eliminating the need for a belt mounted battery pack, plus i could always charge it from my truck battery if needed.
The battery weighs about 11oz, so with the connectors and bigger box i'm going to need to mount it on the shaft, i think it will add at most an extra 1lb to it, i've not tried it yet but i'm hoping it should work.

I've been told that these batteries are good for about 300 charge cycles, does that sound right ?

Trev

 

[Eric Foster]

300 charge cycles sound a bit low?

Eric.

 

[kered]

Sounds low to me too, i think most are 500+

 

[UK Brian]

Used in remote control models after 50 cycles the Lipo's capacity can be as low as 50%. Should not be as bad with the slower draw and recharge of a detector but is it worth the risk of using them when you consider how dangerous they are ?

 

[kered]

no more dangerous than driving a car, as long as you follow the instructions, more people are killed on the roads, when you abuse anything accidents happen,

 

[uk ninjafox]

Millions and millions of people drive cars, But only thousands of people use Lipo batteries, so i think thats a bit of a dumb statement.

Percentage wise i would think you are far more likely to be injured or killed by a lipo battery, than you are by driving a car, if you use one that is,

 

[chaddy]

Come on now.
This is a PI Forum and off topic OK.
Supershaw didnt get the detector in the end, i did and have built myself a battery pack.
Works a treat.
Thanks for everyones help on this.

 

[kered]

one of my posts in the middle is missing were i refered to all mobiles/laptops etc use lipos anyway your right chaddy, anyone wishing not to use the lipos can do as they please, make the most of nicad/nimh while you can as thier future is limited

BTW i was bidding on that machine too as a something to fix machine but it went over the limit i set before i went out, there is another one on one of the forums in UK but much more expensive
Hope it works well, erics machines usually do and for years

 

[Eric Foster]

I remember reading somewhere that Lithium Ion and Lithium Polymer batteries are two different beasts, and that it was only the Li Polymer batteries that were hazardous. Does anyone have more information on this?

Eric.

 

[uk ninjafox]

I think it was kered that said Lipo batteries are in a lot of electronics.
Take a look at your laptop, camera, mobile and anything else you can find in your house or work, Li-ion, Li-ion, Li-ion, Li-ion, NO Lipo,

I think this says a lot for Lipo safety.

 

[kered]

Lipo is a general term for any battery using lithium , li-ion, LiFe, li-po,etc what changes is the eloctrolyte used, some are more dangerous than others, heres a couple of links with the basics but you can find many more on the net, also lookup A123 which is one of the latest and most safe supposedly

http://www.rchelicopterfun.com/rc-lipo-batteries.html
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209187

Any questions have probably been answered here
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/forumid_84/tt.htm

exploding vidios on youtube, all you want to see when abused

 

[uk ninjafox]

If you read the first link you have posted it says part way down the page, " Differences in Lithium Ion (Li-Ion).. Lithium Polymer (LiPo) batteries...

This means that Lipo stands for, Lithium Polymer, not Lithium batteries in general.

So i'll say it again, You dont find Lipo ( Lithium Polymer ) batteries in consumer electronics because there to dangerous.

 

[kered]

If YOU read the second link

2. Lithium What?
Lithium Polymer batteries are used in many electronic devices. Cell Phone, Laptops, PDA's, Hearing Aids just to name a few. Most, if not all, lithium polymer batteries are not designed for RC use, we use them in different applications than they were designed for. They are similar to Lithium Ion batteries in that they each have a nominal voltage of 3.6 volts, but dissimilar in that they do not have a hard metal casing but rather a flexible material encloses the chemicals inside. The "normal" lithium polymer batteries are thin rectangle shapes with two tabs on the top one positive one negative. The reason we use Lithium cells is that they are significantly lighter than comparable NiCad or NiMH batteries, which makes our planes fly longer and better.

What i said was " Lipo is a general term for any battery using lithium , li-ion, LiFe, li-po,etc"most people use it, I did not say it was the correct term
Li-ion is a lipo the proper full name is Lithium ion polymer. hence people cut it short to lipo/lipoly and even lion

End of topic for me, use if you wish, if not then don't, i'm easy

 

[chaddy]

BTW i was bidding on that machine too as a something to fix machine but it went over the limit i set before i went out, there is another one on one of the forums in UK but much more expensive
Hope it works well, erics machines usually do and for years

Yes it does and i have a steep learning curve ( I've used a Minelab Expl.SE for years ).
And Here is my first find with the Goldscan. A piece of a crashed Tornado Jet that crashed on the beach here in Blackpool in 1996.
Probably worth 20 or 30 grand 15 Mins. before it hit.

 

[kered]

Would have been worth a few bob if you got the blackbox part of it