Looks Like I have Taken Rechargeable Batteries Up To A New Level

[John-Edmonton]

I had always wanted to get off the grid and run my life with solar energy. That has not happened, however, after some research and a peak into Garrett's website "COUNTERMINE / ERW DIVISIONR ECON-PRO AML-1000" section, I can use solar power for a small part. I purchased a solar panel and a battery charger, put them together and wanted to see how well these worked. I originally set it up in my backyard in the sunlight, hooked up a voltmeter and got a reading of 14.9 volts.



I attached my battery charger and added 4 x dead "AA" Ni-MH 2700 mAh for a trial run.



I had some disadvantages working against me. The angle of the sun up north where I live is such that there is some energy loss at this time of year. Also, the cold temperature of below zero might limit the potential of charge and the forecast was for it to cloud over at noon, which unfortunately it did. To compensate, I raised the solar cells on a couple boards and angled them towards the sun. I also wrapped the charger with a dark garbage bag, hoping to get some radiant heat on those batteries, which should allow them to get a better charge.



I headed out for the afternoon for a relic hunt close to home, and when I returned, the solar panel had been on for about 5 hours. Unfortunately, it clouded over for most of that time, and the batteries felt quite cold when I brought them into the house.

On the plus side.....they did take on a charge, and that was validated by 3 out of 4 bars on the battery indicator. Success!!!!



The 12 watt solar panel I used folds up nicely into a map sized piece. Some of it's features include:

-Durable and weatherproof, yet only 200g
-Complete with cable set for wide ranging connectivity
-Works well even under poor light conditions.
-Can be mounted to curved surfaces; built-in Corner grommets allow it to be strapped to anything ie backpacks, tents
-Built-in discharge protection
-Voltage limited at 15.6 to help protect your appliances; max operating current 433mA.
-UV resistant

The battery charger will charge up to 8 "AA"s or 8 "AAA"s

Both can be purchased from the "COUNTERMINE" Division http://www.garrett.com/cmerwsite/recon_contact_us.aspx

I am looking forward to some nice trips away from home, in Gods country this summer. Battery issues should definitely not be an issue this year.

[maipenrai]

So exactly are you going to be charging them batteries while you are camping? Are you going to leave them at the camp, while you go out detecting? That would be a nice little present for someone that is passing by. Or you could attach the charger to your pack, and find out that you are not facing the right direction and your batteries will not be fully charged. I think you better bring a few extra batteries along, that is if you want to metal detect. Even batteries that are fully charged at home, dont seem to last too long in a detector, so I doubt that out in Gods country, you will have enough power. Better stick to the grid for powering your detector.

[Tigger]

Very cool! How much was the solar panel?
As long as you have enough rechargables, or some back up batteries for cloudy days, I don't see the problem.
Will you let us know how it works out for you on an extended trip?

[John-Edmonton]

Very cool! How much was the solar panel?
As long as you have enough rechargables, or some back up batteries for cloudy days, I don't see the problem.
Will you let us know how it works out for you on an extended trip?

It wasn't cheap. It was about $200.00, but it is also a trickle charger for my car and battery packs for the computer and cell phone.

[U.K. Brian]

The British "Solar Pinnacle" detector of twenty years back had a solar panel and low power drain which kept the batteries topped up without the need for seperate equipment. The "Splice" mine detector went one better as demining operations often had to be carried out in dense jungle which was to dark for solar power so a pendulum device on the shaft generated current by the fact you were swinging the coil back and forth.

[liftloop]

So exactly are you going to be charging them batteries while you are camping? Are you going to leave them at the camp, while you go out detecting? That would be a nice little present for someone that is passing by. Or you could attach the charger to your pack, and find out that you are not facing the right direction and your batteries will not be fully charged. I think you better bring a few extra batteries along, that is if you want to metal detect. Even batteries that are fully charged at home, dont seem to last too long in a detector, so I doubt that out in Gods country, you will have enough power. Better stick to the grid for powering your detector.

stick to the grid....that's funny