Rechargeable batteries in alkaline pod? :shrug:

[ZOFCHAK]

Does anyone know why the Excalibur AA battery packs are labeled 'Not to be used with rechargeable batteries" ?? I tested one of the packs I have with a set of rechargeable AA batteries and it seemed to perform properly.

 

[excalme]

Maybe because rechargables are only 1.2volts and not 1.5 like Alkies.
So you'd not get the correct voltage?

 

[ZOFCHAK]

Thanks, I had not considered the slight difference in voltage between the 2. That would make sense as it seemed to work, but I was probably not getting the same output (Or Depth) as I would with the full voltage. John,

 

[erikk]

U get the packs with the short AA rechargable 1.2 batteries there are 10 in the pack thus giving you 12V Been using them for years

 

[larzam]

I have a KODIAC alk. battery holder i bought when Excal first came out. i recentlly put in the 1450 lipo kerred, critterhunter and others suggested for the sov and it fits well and i am very pleased[i can still use regular batts,if needed] . I just wish i could find a slightly thinner lipo pack to put in my other standard batt holder- the original batteries are long dead. sam in ms

 

[mr007s]

I had tried the 1.2 volt batteries in my pod and found the power too low. A search reveled a 1.6 volt AA in Nickel-Zinc . They are the same size as the 1.5 v. I have used these for over a year and have had nothing but great performance. Good price, easy charge and last for a very long time. I also use them in my Sovereign.

 

[Critterhunter]

kered or synthnut...speak up for me here. and less voltage does not lesson performance!

 

[erikk]

Use these end of problem

 

[Ron from Michigan]

John,about 3 years ago I tried using AA rechargeable batteries in the alkaline pack on my Sovereign.Again 8 x 1.2 = 9.6 volts not enough horsepower to operate the Sovereign very long.This is actual field use.( not air testing and going a couple of trips to my coin garden).My experiment gone bad gave me about 8 hours my first time before charging.On my second recharge about 4 hours before the death squaw and the third and fourth recharge under 2 hours not worth the effort so back to the drawing board.The 10 batteries@ 1.2 will start you out at 12 volts which is 2.4 volts more than the alkaline pack and a lot further away from the shut down phase.The Nickle Zinc 1.6V may work 8 x 1.6 = 12.8V which looks good on paper,but there is probably a plus or minus rating of the 1.6V and could this overload your electronics?Be careful a hit or miss isn't a good idea you may damage your equipment. Good Luck Ron

 

[tomcatpl]

ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/1500mA-NIMH-BATTERY-FITS-MINELAB-EXCALIBUR-800-1000-/380194837961?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588560d5c9

 

[ZOFCHAK]

Thanks everyone for all the info and insight on the battery pack!

 

[Finderskeeper]

I use those batteries exclusively and I can go a whole day detecting in the water and not have to worry about running out of juice.

Highly recommended.

 

[synthnut]

Is there anyone out there that can give me ACTUAL SCIENTIFIC PROOF that their detector can perform better, and read targets deeper with a higher voltage battery ? .........I will agree that once a voltage drops to a certain point , that the detector will give off a warning , and will eventually stop working , but it is designed to work optimally at many power ( volatge ) levels ....Your battery dropping in power does NOT mean that your detector is dropping in power .....This is like saying that your car will run faster because it has a full tank of gas !!...... There are some rechargeables out there that drop in power very quickly , hense the warning of not using rechargeables ....BUT there are other rechargeables out there that will hold a charge for a much longer period of time that will work fine .....Eneloops are one particular brand that work find and if you look at the power rating , they are rated LOWER than most !!..... Your detector will only take in a certain amount of voltage .....As long as the minimum amount of voltage required to run your detector is present , it will continue to run optimally .....Sure it's nice to have all kinds of power , but just because it's there , doen't mean that it's being utilized ...... Jim

 

[tomcatpl]

i'm not sure for the xcal but my sea hunter does lose depth when the battery gets low

 

[synthnut]

I have hunted with the annoying "BEEP" that goes off every so often on the Sovereign when the battery is getting low ..... I dug a Buffalo Nickel at about 11 inches in an area that was full of trash .... If that's loosing depth , I'll take more of it !!...... It was then that I switched my Sovereigns over to Lipo's .....More power, longer, and lighter ......Not everyone likes Lipo's and that's fine ....They work for me ....Jim

 

[kered]

Put 2 6volt tractor batteries to make 12v, or a huge 12v truck battery on the excal and you won't get any more depth(only a bad back carrying them) most detectors take what they need from the battery pack to work properly, once the voltage drops to the preset level you get an alarm, there is still sufficient voltage to perform properly but not for long, once the minimum is reached some detectors switch off (etrac/explorer)so as not to damage circuits through undervoltage others just go haywire like the sovereign and excalibur when the threshold becomes uncontrolable, i have fired up the sovereign and excalibur on a 9v transistor rechargable that gave 10.7v, being only 280mah didn't last long but they worked, i have used and still do use AA rechargables in all my detectors and have not noticed any performance deterioration until the low battery alarm starts to sound, nor have i seen any improvement in using higher voltage either (the excal battery charges to over 14 volts and the 9.6v etrac to 11 and a bit)

should this daft theory that using rechargables loses depth because of their 1.2v, i would take it the other way and use 12 to get 14.4v to get more depth, but i know from experienc that this would probably destroy the detector as when charged they total arround 16.5v depending on the quality.

What i will say is that poor quality rechargables do not last long and may give the low battery alarm after a very short time or even imediately after charge, puting 10 to the $ rechargables into a $1000 detector is like trying to run a dragster on crude oil.

i won't comment any more on the topic, use them if you wish, or waste your money on alkalines or cheap rechargables i'm easy either way, i use them and they work for me thats what counts, regardles of what anyone else says or does, same with my lipos.

HH

edit
Most of the rumours about rechargables are old wifes tales from the early days of nicad technology, things have come a long way since then.

 

[synthnut]

Tomcatpl ,
I spoke to Brad Keel today about your machine ....The only time your machine should loose depth is when it goes down to "1 beep" ......"2 beeps" and higher you loose no performance on the Sea Hunter ...... Straignt from Garrett .... I'm assuming that when you get to 1 beep on your detector it is similar in function to the Sovereign's crazy loud noise that it makes when the battery is extremely low and ready to stop the machine altogether ..... Jim