Rechargeable Batteries

[26cent]

I'm using Nickle Metal Hydride rechargeable batteries in the AT Pro and noticed they discharge a lot faster than regular batteries. Anyone else see this or do I have some bad batteries?

 

[John-Edmonton]

That's normal. They continue discharging even when sitting on a shelf. It's good to give them a quick charge prior to hunting.

 

[26cent]

Thanks, have you tried Lithium and are they any better

 

[vanner]

Hi 26cent. Im using the energizer 2450 milliamp rechargables and now getting fantastic life out of them. I say "now" because it wasnt always the case.With my previous smart, quick charger the batteries would drain pretty quick,, I would hazard a guess at around 6 or 7 hours . Not too bad I guess really as they would last my day detecting. But I always had the feeling they were not being charged as full as perhaps they should be so I bought another slower charge battery charger and what a difference.. I couldnt give you the exact hours but certainly way, way better. Hope this is of some help

 

[Johnho]

What charger are you using now?

 

[26cent]

So slow charging the Metal Hydrides makes them last longer? Wow, learn something everyday, that's why I like this site, lots of good people

 

[GoGoGopher]

The slower you charge, the less heat and stress you put on the batteries...You trade charge time for battery life and performance.

HH,

 

[William-NM]

Hey, 26cent,
I couldn't tell if you are using the new Low Self-Discharge (LSD) NI-MH batteries. I get 3-4 average hunts out of a charge. If you're interested, I've posted my experience them a few times. You can search on Sanyo Eneloop, Sony CycleEnergy, Tenergy. They hold about 75% of their charge for 3 years. I never worry about batteries anymore. (except that I need to get some for the ProPointer, it chomps those 9Vs!)

 

[TerraDigger]

I use the Eneloops also. Best (LSD) batteries you can buy for dependability/performance in my opinion. Read the reviews on Amazon.

 

[vanner]

Hey, 26cent,
I couldn't tell if you are using the new Low Self-Discharge (LSD) NI-MH batteries. I get 3-4 average hunts out of a charge. If you're interested, I've posted my experience them a few times. You can search on Sanyo Eneloop, Sony CycleEnergy, Tenergy. They hold about 75% of their charge for 3 years. I never worry about batteries anymore. (except that I need to get some for the ProPointer, it chomps those 9Vs!)

Ive got a battery charger that charges all non-rechargable alkaline batteries, including the 9v batteries . No need to throw them out because you can quite a few charges out of them all.Its called "Powerplus" , got it on e-bay .It also of course charges rechargable batteries. There is still lots of life in those alkaline batteries after the first drain

 

[vanner]

What charger are you using now?

Now using the Varta for rechargables. Reasonably priced at $30 ,comes with 4 batteries (also has car charger). Takes about 4 hours to charge batteries as apposed to 15-20 minutes for the fast charger

 

[26cent]

William, what charger are you using for your batteries? Found the batteries themselves on Amazon, bit they have several chargers

 

[William-NM]

26cent: After reading through the reviews on Amazon, an engineer mentioned that the Sanyo charger packaged with the Eneloops wasn't that great. He recommended the Sony one as the best low cost charger. So, I bought 4 Eneloops, and bought a pack of 4 Sony CycleEnergys with their charger (BCG-34HLD). It has 4 discrete circuits, so you can charge any combo of AAs and/or AAAs. I also bought 4 Tenergy (Chinese lower cost AA LSDs) to test. There's a more expensive charger (around $40??) that is very sophisticated, it can condition batteries, discharge and recharge, evaluate their condition, etc., but I was looking for the best bang for the buck, and the sony charger has done fine for me. I just rotate the three sets - when one gets down to one bar, I pop in the next set (I always have a set in my pocket).

The Eneloops are rated 2000 mah, min 1900mah, live expectancy 1500 charges. The Sony's are rated 2100 mah, min 2000 mah, life expectancy 1000 charges. I forget the stats on the Tenergys. I do notice that the Eneloops show 1 bar below fullly charged, wheras the Sonys show 4 bars when charged, but I haven't noticed a difference in running time. So, I think it depends on your budget. if cost is no issue, get the super charger and a few sets of Eneloops. Otherwise, take a look at the options I mentioned above. (There are also some higher rated Eneloops (2700 mah?), but they're rated 500 charges, I think - I'm happy with the running time I'm getting and as I end up charging each set less than once a week, so even if each got charged weekly, that's 19 - 28 years (is that right??) of use. Even if I got half that life out of them, I'd be thrilled.

Vanner: I'll take a look at the Powerplus! Thanks for the tip! (I had been planning to buy a 2 pack of Eneloop LSD 9Vs with the charger for ~$2

 

[Night Crawler]

Great information here people, thanks very much.

That's next on my buy list (rechargeable batteries).

NC

 

[Fishnmaine]

Has anybody tried this charger: La Crosse Technology BC-700 Alpha Power Battery Charger with the new Eneloop Pro 2500Mah. I see most people like the Eneloop plus which is 2000Mah plus more charging time....But for the battey hungry V3i I thought the Pro's might be better.

 

[GoGoGopher]

I have a slow charger that take about 24 hours to charge 4 AAs...I also have a quick 1 hr charger...I use the slow charger to discharge, then recharge the batteries slowly, and then as John stated, I use the quick charger the night before, or just prior to going out to hunt, to top them off...I usually get about 20 hours out of them this way, but when the meter starts flashing between 2 and 1 bars, I know I only have about an hour of hunting left before battery change...

HH,

 

[G(old) digger]

I recently converted my AT Pro to use Li-Po batteries. They can be recharged in under 1 hour and the voltage decay as apposed to NiHi and Nicad is minimal, plus the voltage is a nominal 7.4 where the other rechargeables 4.8 and standard AA is 6 volts. Garrett thought the regulating circuit could handle the higher voltage and so far seems to be true. I only have a few hours of use with the new LiPo's, so I am not promoting their use in any way. Also it may not be practicle if the only use is in detectors due to the fact an $80 to $100 minimum in charging and balancing equiptment is required and some knowledge of the peculiar characteristics of this type of battery is needed.



AT Pro, GTP 1350, Ace Freedom Plus, Pistol Probe, Vibraprobe

 

[Johnho]

For some great reviews on the Lacrosse chargers go here: http://www.amazon.com/La-Crosse-Technology-Battery-BC1000/dp/B004J6DLD4/ref=cm_rdp_product

Look for the review by NLee Engineer. He discusses the BC1000 more but does refer to some of the other Lacrosse chargers. I have the 1000 in my wish list at Amazon. Some day.