Anyone ever use the 1.6 volt rechargeable AA batts?

[stevemc]

I heard about them, looked them up, and was thinking of using them. Anybody ever used them? If so, they should make things better.

 

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[surfshark]

Funny you should ask,my AA recharables are 1.2 volts@2000mAh. Now my AA alkline are rated @1.5 vlts., now my minelab Sovs says 12volt batt.pack 8x1.5 =12volts and my seahunterII uses 8AA but i just noted that they are 1.2 voltsx 8= 9.2 volts, now i cant find the specs. on the seahunter but all AAs are not created equal.I also noted that the recharables have differant mHa's Can anybody shine some light on this? Thanks Hal

 

[stevemc]

I did a search, and there is an Amazon reply that users give their review, and they all said they didnt like the fast discharge, quick time until not usable anymore, leaking and giving off Hydrogen gas, a fair amount of it, when used in series, like we do in a MD. Apparently this is not a new thing, and there is a lot of problems. That wont work in an underwater MD case that is sealed, it would eventually blow something up-like the seals, or the case. I think I will just go with a Nimh 3000 Mah rechargable. It would be nice if they could come up with a nihm AA that had a little more voltage. Yes most MDs are supposed to be 12 volt. But they start at 1.5 volt with a new charge or new batteries, and slowly go down. I feel if we could give it a little more voltage, it might just work that much better.

 

[DrJoePrime]

Steve .. I'm using some in my White's Surfmaster PI.

They were charged about 2 months ago and I just put them in 2 weeks ago. They lasted about 15 hours of detecting which is pretty good considering they sat around a couple months. I recharged them and put them back in about 6 hours worth of detecting...so we'll see.

I also used a pair in my digital camera and they lasted a fantastically long time as compared to the 5 year old worn outs that came with the camera ..1900 mah. But then this morning...without warning (yesterday it showed 100%full battery)..they went completely dead. So dead that they don't indicate being charged in the charger.

So that's my experience so far.

HH Joe

 

[stevemc]

Dr Joe, that is what I was thinking of using them in, a White's Surfmaster PI. Actually 2 of them. After hearing what happened to you, and reading the other reviews, I may not use them.

 

[DrJoePrime]

Steve,

That was 6 hours as of 2 days ago ...now it's up to 10 hours and the PI is still working.

The 2 from the camera have been plugged in but the charge light was unlit since yesterday. I checked the voltage and they are 1.6+ v both.

Put them in the camera and ..no go. Tried my 2 AA's and still no go. Arggh... eventually the 2 AA's work in the camera..so I'm thinking it's the camera and I try the Ni Z's again....absolutely no go...[Gets complicated here so read carefully] There's a single battery on my desk that was charged (I think a couple months ago) I sub this battery for one of the others..still no go. I sub for the other battery...still no go.

So I am scratching my head..and decide to check the voltages again. the 2 are close to 1.6-1.7...the single battery is 1.2. I scratch my head some more.

OK I try the 2 Ni-Z's in the camera again. THEY WORK!. I shut it off...try again...THEY WORK. I leave them in the camera (heck if they explode it'll be an excuse to get a new camera).

Hope this helps...

HH Joe

UPDATE: 5April - Up to about 18 hours on the PI and still going strong (I'm keeping the spare AA's in the car just in case)..I normally get about 30 - 40 hours out of the alk AA's is this your experience too? As far as the camera...I just now turned it on...it went on OK..I took 3 photos and reviewed them and the camera went blank. It shows a full charge but somehow the batteries are defective or something is wrong.

 

[DrJoePrime]

Hi Steve ...I'm back...it's 11April.

The Pi lasted just about 20 hours with the latest charge...so I'm pretty pleased. They went out maybe a little faster than my AA's normally do but otherwise worked well. My normal hunting is a bout 2 to 4 hours.

Good news (I hope) on the camera use. Last night I put the 2 batteries in the charger and the led did light. This morning they both have a full charge and seemingly work well in the camera.

HH Joe

PS: I have the older black charger with 2 led's...there's a newer white charger with red and green led's.

 

[stevemc]

Keep me informed. I really would think these would be better, so I would like to hear it. I am on the fence about it though, so if they continue to work for you, I will get them.

 

[WishfulThinker]

Most rechargeable batteries will go thru charge/discharge cycles about 500 times (for a useful lifetime of approx 2 to 3 years).
Check the battery under rated load (battery tester - Radioshack $10 or Centek Multimeter with battery test position - Harbor Freight $7 range) From info. looks like battery is weak (probably couple years old).

Use a good charger, about $25 range Harbor Freight; sort out working batteries from the bunch, get rid of the bad ones regularly and most problems will go away. Fully charge batteries, use detector for about 5 hours and then individually test the batteries. That should point out which ones are beginning to show signs of failure. It is not uncommon for one or two batteries of the set to go bad, and prematurely fail.

 

[DrJoePrime]

Interesting comments, Wishful,

Last recharge cycle did not go as well as first 2. Only got about 5 hours out of them.

Just took the batteries out and 3 are bad..discharged. One shows zero volts, 2 show under 1 volt. Got them charging . The other 3 were all 1.8volts+.

The 2 in the camera are still happy.

HH, Joe

 

[DrJoePrime]

It's 17 April,

From the three charging batteries ..2 came in at 1.8+ volts, one DEAD. I also checked my 2 camera batteries at the same time..they measure 1.8+ volts.

So now I will return the DEAD one and we shall see. So 1 DEAD out of 12. These are going to PowerGenix.

HH Joe

 

[DrJoePrime]

I'm in contact with PowerGenix.

Today after receiving a poor 2-1/2 hour session yesterday where I was getting the hoarse sound indicating low batteries I checked the pack's voltage at 10 volts. 2 of the batteries were completely discharged and 6 were still fully chargedTo be continued.

Hopefully these will be replaced (and quickly, I hope). I've asked the manufacturer if 3 bad batteries out of 12 was unusual. (I am still not giving up)

To be continued....

HH Joe

 

[Daedalus]

On the Nimh 3000 MAH rechargeable , you need to check the size of the batteries as some are larger than the standard . I have had some of these that would not fit in the battery case as they where just a little to large .

So far any one that I have got that was over 2700 MAH would not work in most of my equipment .

 

[DrJoePrime]

This is the response from the maker's of the Ni-Z 1.6v rechargeable batteries:


We have found the shelf life of our 1st Generation cells may not be performing at 100%.

Unfortunately our first generation stock levels are no longer available and we working on the next generation of products.

PowerGenix offers a limited 1 year guarantee against defects due to faulty materials or workmanship and guarantees the performance of each PowerGenix charger & batteries for 1 year from date of purchase. Per the receipt provided to us we will send you a gift certificate to cover the initial purchase.

We regret any inconvenience this may have caused.