Rechargeable Batteries?

[utahshovelhead]

I know this topic comes up every 6 months or so but after all the reading of posts I have found I am still unsure weather or not any given BRAND or MAKE of AAs is better in my Explorer II and will not cause problems or give less power to my witchin stick when I'm in the DEEP depths of mother earth!. I have always favored the Alkaline but the price is adding up. What say you folks? Please name the brand you use the mah and any characteristic's you may have encountered when using rechargeable. Also if you have modified your older slimline pack to hold rechargeable will they all charge evenly with the minelab charger?
Stuff I gotta know...I'm a battery doof!

 

[Elton]

I just use Quick charge Everreadies... charge 4 at a time, in minutes and install in pack..Work for about 12 to 14 hours usually.Less in trashed out parks.

 

[mgtmadness]

I dont own a Minelab, but for my white's rechargeable and my 2500 Mah rechargable pack I use my RC Car charger. using the 2500 mah pack I charge it at 2.5 amps. my stock Nicad white's battery I usually charge at around 1 amp, depending how fast I want it charged. There are chargers out there that will be able to Charge 2 packs at a time, some will charge 2 Lipo 4s and 6s packs at a time, which takes ALOT of power.like a 400 watt charger.

 

[Critterhunter]

You want to know everything you NEVER wanted to know about chargers, nimhs, nicads, and so on? Also, how about a $25 computerized charger with display screen that will do any cell under the sun and has more features than chargers costing well over $100? Read this thread below and the other it links to. A bunch of myths about rechargables or "more power to get a detector deeper" are also discussed and shattered.

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?21,1162011

 

[utahshovelhead]

Thank you for your advice and the link.
I am very interested in the new battery technology and you helped alot thanks.

 

[abephroeman]

Hi Utah,

I'm very new to the forum, but have used a metal detector before and I'm now getting back to the hobby again - thankfully!! That being said, I'm really a nut for new and extremely good techno advances in many areas. PLEASE take a look at the eneloop rechargeable batteries made by Sanyo. They're better than any others I've tried. They come ready to go and the shelf life is second to none!! I purchase them in quantity on Amazon and though not the cheapest, the price on Amazon is the best I've found and not all that much higher than some other "name brand" batteries that simply can't compare. What's truly great, is that if you have a good number of them, you can have them charged well in advance and even if on the shelf for a year, they will retain up to 85% of the charge, depending on if they were store properly. I belief around 70 degrees is about right (22 or so Celsius). The number of charges you get is simply amazing. They easily surpass any other brand of rechargeables I have ever tried. They are well worth the look and hopefully others on the forum that don't know about them will do themselves a huge favor and make the switch. Much better for the environment, as the need for disposing all of those alkalines isn't necessary and you get what is the supreme rechargeable on the market. I don't work for Sanyo and have no other type of connection. I'm simply a long-time user of the eneloop's and know the performance.

All The Best,
Dom in Jersey

 

[Critterhunter]

Keep in mind that all companies are constantly tweaking their nimh and nicad battery chemistry to address things such as charge bleed off while being stored on the shelf. I'd say my newer Energizers 2200ma nimhs (about a year old) will hold their charge on the shelf much better than the 2500ma Energizers I had bought about five or six years ago. Even when they were new they didn't like holding a charge sitting on the shelf for more than a few days. The newer ones seem to go for a long time without significant loss of charge. I haven't tried to see just how long they can do that, but I know several weeks later they are still holding good voltage.

Sanyo along with Energizer and a few other companies has always been on the leading edge in rechargeable technology. What they come out with the competition usually mimics within a year.

 

[Beeter]

I use on my Explorer II Vanson NI-Mh 2700mAh accus and

Vanson charger
I bought 16 pc. of accus, so i always have a backup and i even sold original Minelab Ni-Mh battery pack, because i dont need it anymore. Just using alkaline battery pack only.

 

[mickfin]

Thanks Beeter I tryed to go to that Link but i think its from China I cant follow it???????????? Mickfin

 

[digginrebel]

I found that going over a 2500mah battery really crowds the the battery holder. I tried 2800's and they were hard to get out. I don't have that problem now b/c I can leave them in the holder while charging. I use the Maha 777 Plus II battery charger. It lets me recharge the whole pack at once. You can even recondition the batteries with this charger. I love it. I don't think they make them anymore though.

 

[mickfin]

So whats the atvantag of going to chargeabl batterys, Is it Longer filed time???? What dos NI-MH stand for is this the type of batterys your going to??

Are NI-CD batterys old stuff???? Mickfin, Thank You

 

[EZrider]

LaCross charger and powerex 2700 batteres.

 

[Beeter]

I use on my Explorer II Vanson NI-Mh 2700mAh accus and

Vanson charger
I bought 16 pc. of accus, so i always have a backup and i even sold original Minelab Ni-Mh battery pack, because i dont need it anymore. Just using alkaline battery pack only.

Link is working now!

 

[utahshovelhead]

Great information. Thanks guys.
Mickfin,
to answer your post. I am loosing life in my older used Minlab rechargeable pack and don't want to spend 80-90 on a new Minlab slimline when I can use rechargeable in my alkaline batt pack for less than half and, Yes I believe they will last longer than the Slimline 1600 Mah.

Does any one know if the E trac comes with a 1800 Mah? or is that just a rumor?

Also, I am trying to drain and charge a Slimline pack 3 times in a row just using my detector to discharge it and regular charge. Critterhunter, Do yo think that will give it more life?

I appreciate all you information.

Thanks,
utahshovelhead

 

[mickfin]

Thanks Utah, Is NI-MH stand for Lipo Batterys, Are NI-CD old Tec ????

 

[utahshovelhead]

Hi Micfin,
Nickle metal hydrate = nimh nickle cadmium=nicad Don't know if I am even close in the spelling. Lipo is the newest technology that I am aware of but the post earlier by critterhunter is excellent at giving more detail.

Good luck
utahshovelhead

 

[EZrider]

NiCads hold memory and need to be drained then recharged. NiMh can be toped off without discharging first.

 

[Critterhunter]

To try to recover a bad pack: Drain the pack dead using a car light bulb or something. Blast charge it at say 2 to 5 amps for like 5 minutes then take it off. You are trying to break down crystals that form which cause resistance. Very risky! Watch it. Wear goggles and gloves when getting near it. Blast it at something in the 2 to 5 amp range but not very long, or just charge it at a rate that will take about one hour from dead to fully charged (but I don't think this will do as good of job of recovering a bad pack as blasting really high for a few minutes). Again, keep and eye on it! Then fully charge it in say a rate of about an hour's time or slightly less. After that drain it dead again and then re-charge it using a nice slow mellow charge rate that will take about 10 to 14 hours to fully charge. Once done you can slow drain/charge it another 2 or 3 times if you feel it still isn't holding enough capacity. That's what having a good charger like the Turnigy ($25) allows you to do- cycle it and also show capacity to see if you are making progress. By draining a pack completely dead and then slow charging it you are also insuring that none of the cells are in a different state of charge than others, as well as "excercising" the muscles of the pack allowing it to hold higher capacity.

Don't waste your money on these chargers that only hold certain battery types. You are limiting your versatility greatly doing that. Buy the Turnigy from Hobby City and pick up holders at Radio Shack for whatever size cells you are charging. They're cheap. Like I've told others, this charger will do things other "brand" name chargers do that cost $100 to $150. You can't beat the value and all the features this charger has. It also includes future battery types that are just emerging on the market. Keep your eye on A123 cells.

 

[Critterhunter]

Nicads don't suffer memory problems these days like they used to. While it's "older" technology they are constantly tweaking the chemistry of them just like Nimhs. Nicads and nimhs are pretty much neck and neck in ability these days, but nicads will cost you less. Nimhs I think tend to be a little lighter for the same size cell. Nicads just be blast charged more often than nimhs and not suffer as much, though nimhs are getting very good at that as well. It's pretty much a wash these days between them. I say find the highest capacity at the cheapest price you can in either, but I'd still lean towards the nimhs if you can. Nicads also tend to hold their charge on the shelf longer. That's why a lot of cordless tools use them, but again nimhs are getting very good at this as well.

 

[ALdigger]

Energizer 15 Minute Charger
Energizer Charges 4 AA in 15 min in your car with the included car adaptor or at home with the AC wall adaptor. 8 AA 30 min and your up and swining for 12 hours. And 16AA in about 70min.

HH. ALdigger