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Racer 2 Rechargeable Batteries

Just wondering how people are finding the battery drain?

I use Duracell Duralock 2500mah batteries in mine and done 16 hours hunting since I last charged them and STILL the battery indicator says full bars.....awesome!!

How's your battery drain?

What batteries do you use?

Matt
 
I also use the Duracell Duralock's.

I have 2 sets charged at all times.

I can't believe how long they last. About 20 hours for me.

The only small issue I have is that once they start showing a decline in their charge, they go kind of fast.
 
I've noticed that even with Alkalines, once the battery meter drops one segment, the detector will stop working very quickly afterwards. I haven't used rechargeables in the Racer although I use them in most of my other detectors.
 
Tom Slick said:
I've noticed that even with Alkalines, once the battery meter drops one segment, the detector will stop working very quickly afterwards. I haven't used rechargeables in the Racer although I use them in most of my other detectors.

Not really when I drop a bar on alkaline it lasts a long time. But my rechargeables die within like 10 minutes of dropping a bar. Just poof dead. But that's how they are. I'm using the Makro provided rechargeable batteries. Which are pretty good. I've had good luck with then.

As to Alkalines I use Duracell. Longest lasting I've found in a detector. And surprisingly the Costco kirkland batteries are decent. I've also had pretty good luck with dollar store sunbeam batteries.
 
I found the Kirkland batteries last about as long as the Duracell as the're made by the same company but the Kirkland are more apt to leak when exposed to our Arizona heat.
 
Tom Slick said:
I found the Kirkland batteries last about as long as the Duracell as the're made by the same company but the Kirkland are more apt to leak when exposed to our Arizona heat.

Yeah also a lot cheaper than brand name Duracell tried energizer and Panasonic and they don't last worth a damn. Half as long.
 
Most detectors I have used for decades have relied on AA batteries.

Through the years I have tried NiCad and NiMH Rechargeable batteries from different manufacturers. I have also used a wide-range of Alkaline batteries from different makers/labels, as well as quite a few Super Heavy Duty batteries, and on several occasions I have done somewhat controlled testing to compare constant-use battery run-time. From this testing I wanted to use batteries that provided sufficient operating life for the cost of the battery, in short, battery 'fuel efficiency.'

My conclusions in general:

I am not, and have never been, very excited about using rechargeable batteries. usually their operating time is shorter than that of alkaline batteries. Their expense is high, even though they can be recharged. Over time their run-time seems to get shorter, and when they start to die off, they go too quickly. Aldo, I often have gone out on 2 to 7 day detecting trips where I am camped away from stores for battery supply, and also way from AC power for charging. Yes, we can do more of that now from our vehicles, but that also adds to the cost.

Back in the mid-to-late '80s I did find several foreign brands of Heavy Duty batteries that lasted quite a long time, but haven't found those, or any comparable HB offering for 20+ years.

Alkaline batteries have provided me the best overall performance, longest running time [size=small](with a quality battery)[/size], and the battery cost to fill a detector can be very affordable.

Are they all the same? No, they aren't.

Have I found some I don't like? Yes, most often it has been Ray-O-Vac alkalines so I don't buy those.

Do I have any preferences? Yes. I mainly use, or compare other battery brands to, the Duracell. The Energizer comes very close. The Kirkland [size=small](Costco label)[/size] is made for them by Proctor & Gamble, the Duracell maker. I have tested these side-by-side a few times and they have shown almost identical run-time performance. At Costco, a 48 pack of Kirkland AA alkaline batteries costs $12.[size=small]??[/size] the last time I checked, and that is very affordable. Even @ $13.[size=small]00[/size] or a 48 pack that comes to 27.[size=small]083[/size]¢ per battery, so it only costs $1.08⅓ to fill a 4-cell Makro Racer series of Nokta FORS series model. That means it costs very little to go have fun. :)

Other preferences? Yes, a couple of them, mainly based on cost and availability for me since I don't come across a Costco on all my travels. This year I have been using AA Alkaline batteries I bought at our local Thriftway grocery store here in Vale, Oregon that had a sale on a 24 pack for a few cents under $5. Run time has been satisfactory in my AA powered flashlights and other devices, as well as my detectors. These "Western Family" brand batteries are made in China, like so many of them are, and I'm not sure of the actual maker who wraps them in the brand label housing.

In the past I had adequate success with some UtiliTech alkaline batteries I bought on sale at Lowes. Not quite up to the Duracell, Kirkland or Energizer, but for the cost they were worth it. Recently I purchased some 24 and 48 pack batteries at Tractor Supply that are also foreign-made, but they have been working just fine. The first batch I bought were on-sale for $10 for a 48 pack, and last week they reduced the price to close out their special at $8.99 for 48 alkaline batteries. That makes them 18.[size=small]73[/size]¢ each, so I can power up my Racer's, and FORS CoRe, Gold + and Relic with 4 AA batteries for only 75¢! :hot:

Finding deals on good working alkaline batteries like I have at Costco, Tractor Supply and my local grocery store keeps me stocked up on batteries for all sorts of electronic equipment I have, especially my detectors, so there isn't anything about rechargeable batteries that really interests me. However, we each have our own reasons for picking the detectors we choose to hunt with and the same goes for what type of power source we like to power them with, so other might like rechargeable batteries, but I am quite comfortable with my preference for alkalines.

Monte
 
Monte said:
Most detectors I have used for decades have relied on AA batteries.

Through the years I have tried NiCad and NiMH Rechargeable batteries from different manufacturers. I have also used a wide-range of Alkaline batteries from different makers/labels, as well as quite a few Super Heavy Duty batteries, and on several occasions I have done somewhat controlled testing to compare constant-use battery run-time. From this testing I wanted to use batteries that provided sufficient operating life for the cost of the battery, in short, battery 'fuel efficiency.'

My conclusions in general:

I am not, and have never been, very excited about using rechargeable batteries. usually their operating time is shorter than that of alkaline batteries. Their expense is high, even though they can be recharged. Over time their run-time seems to get shorter, and when they start to die off, they go too quickly. Aldo, I often have gone out on 2 to 7 day detecting trips where I am camped away from stores for battery supply, and also way from AC power for charging. Yes, we can do more of that now from our vehicles, but that also adds to the cost.

Back in the mid-to-late '80s I did find several foreign brands of Heavy Duty batteries that lasted quite a long time, but haven't found those, or any comparable HB offering for 20+ years.

Alkaline batteries have provided me the best overall performance, longest running time [size=small](with a quality battery)[/size], and the battery cost to fill a detector can be very affordable.

Are they all the same? No, they aren't.

Have I found some I don't like? Yes, most often it has been Ray-O-Vac alkalines so I don't buy those.

Do I have any preferences? Yes. I mainly use, or compare other battery brands to, the Duracell. The Energizer comes very close. The Kirkland [size=small](Costco label)[/size] is made for them by Proctor & Gamble, the Duracell maker. I have tested these side-by-side a few times and they have shown almost identical run-time performance. At Costco, a 48 pack of Kirkland AA alkaline batteries costs $12.[size=small]??[/size] the last time I checked, and that is very affordable. Even @ $13.[size=small]00[/size] or a 48 pack that comes to 27.[size=small]083[/size]¢ per battery, so it only costs $1.08⅓ to fill a 4-cell Makro Racer series of Nokta FORS series model. That means it costs very little to go have fun. :)

Other preferences? Yes, a couple of them, mainly based on cost and availability for me since I don't come across a Costco on all my travels. This year I have been using AA Alkaline batteries I bought at our local Thriftway grocery store here in Vale, Oregon that had a sale on a 24 pack for a few cents under $5. Run time has been satisfactory in my AA powered flashlights and other devices, as well as my detectors. These "Western Family" brand batteries are made in China, like so many of them are, and I'm not sure of the actual maker who wraps them in the brand label housing.

In the past I had adequate success with some UtiliTech alkaline batteries I bought on sale at Lowes. Not quite up to the Duracell, Kirkland or Energizer, but for the cost they were worth it. Recently I purchased some 24 and 48 pack batteries at Tractor Supply that are also foreign-made, but they have been working just fine. The first batch I bought were on-sale for $10 for a 48 pack, and last week they reduced the price to close out their special at $8.99 for 48 alkaline batteries. That makes them 18.[size=small]73[/size]¢ each, so I can power up my Racer's, and FORS CoRe, Gold + and Relic with 4 AA batteries for only 75¢! :hot:

Finding deals on good working alkaline batteries like I have at Costco, Tractor Supply and my local grocery store keeps me stocked up on batteries for all sorts of electronic equipment I have, especially my detectors, so there isn't anything about rechargeable batteries that really interests me. However, we each have our own reasons for picking the detectors we choose to hunt with and the same goes for what type of power source we like to power them with, so other might like rechargeable batteries, but I am quite comfortable with my preference for alkalines.

Monte

Great post Monte, I just stick with Costco batteries as anything else is overpriced where l live, tried dollar tree batteries ended up getting according to my dfx 0.5 volts under 100% which isn't far off from full charge so they last good enough for the dollar you pay. 8 packs of Duracell are like 15.99 here. No joke. I stopped using rechargeables cause like you said they just drop dead happens to me with Excalibur NiMH pack all the time with no warning absolutely makes me so mad. Same thing goes for laptop batteries they die so fast from being used and if they sit around they die. Battery tech right now is garbage.
 
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