What kind if batteries?

[cleatus]

I have a Teknetics Mark 1 that uses 14 aa 1.2volt batteries. I have lost the charger to my detecter and thought I would just buy new batteries with a charger that plugs into the wall, since my batteries I have are not very good anymore. I don't know what kind of batteries are the best ones to buy. The ones I have now are nicad. There is this new one out now that is Nimh rechargeables that are supposed to be better than the nicads. The Nimh batteries come anywhere from 1800 mah to 2300 mah. I guess the more mah that the battery has the longer it will last. Does anyone out there have any specific brand name and information on what batteries would be best for me to buy? Thankyou

 

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[Lasivian]

Just go with the highest mah (Stands for MilliAmp Hours), and yes it's how much of a charge a battery holds. Brands aren't terribly important, i've tried 4 different brands myself (even radio shack) and they all pretty much live up to their mah rating.

I think 2300 is the highest for AAs these days, they might go a little higher.

Nickel-Metal Hydride (Nimh) is superior to Nicad, and completely interchangable.

 

[KevGA]

Try to find a charger that has a discharge feature on it, recharging batteries that aren't fully dead shortens their life and also effects the mah in the future. If you fully discharge them it will save you in the long run.

Kevin

 

[Dougger]

I use "powerex" rechargeable batteries. I believe they go up to 2200 mah. I got them and the charger from thomasdistributing.com . Dougger

 

[Lasivian]

Needing to discharge was true in the Nicad days, but the Nimh are supposed to have no memory, or at least so little you need not worry about them.

Speaking from my personal experience the only rechargables I find unreliable are "Rechargable Alkalines", these things don;t hold a charge worth a damn.

 

[KevGA]

Lasivian, with the Nimh you are correct, they are excellent. Nicads fair much better with discharging. I used to collect Airsoft replicas which used rechargable Nicads, and for any reliable reuse the discharge was imperative. Those old rechargable alkalines.... UGH! Better off winding up a rubber band.

Kevin

 

[Lasivian]

Yeah, I got Rechargable alkaline D's for my detector, BIG mistake.. waiting till they totally croak then i'll buy a set of Nimhs :/

 

[lab rat]

One thing I do now that I use rechargeables is to leave the detector on once they go dead. I hunt until I can't anymore, then leave the detector on for the trip home to make sure they are drained as much as possible.

 

[cleatus]

Thanks for all the advise. I have been using nicads and I don't like having to leave my metal detector on overnight to completely discharge them. I always thought that this practise was unnecessary roughness on the machine. This is why, since my nicads are pooping out, that I was wanting to find out what the best batteries to invest in was. I have been reading about the Nimh batteries and they do have some memory, but very little, as compared to the nicads in which it was imperative to fully drain them each time before charging. The only downfall to these Nimh batteries, that I have found so far, is that they loose thier charge easily if you just let them set. Especially if the temperature is hot outside, this aids them in thier self draining process. They said as long as you charged them a few days before going out each time you would be ok, but if you charged them and waited a month before going out to use your detector then they might not be 100% for you. It sounds to me like I am going to buy the Sanyo 2300 mah batteries and I don't know what charger to get yet, but Sanyo should have one for thier batteries. I guess that Sanyo is the industry leader in batteries. They were the first to make nicads and the Nimh. I also believe that they are the makers of the Energizer batteries. Here is the link to the cheapest place I could find them. http://www.ripvan100.com/payment.htm

 

[Lasivian]

I use Nimh all over my house, and I have to say that they hold a charge for a month easy.

But, since they have almost no memory I just pop them back in the charger for a few hours if they've been sitting.

After roughly 5 years of using Nimhs i'm still on some of the same batteries I started with, and they're still holding a good charge.

They're not "perfect", but they're amazing compared to Nicads.

 

[Cladbag]

I have heard Panasonic really make most batteries out there and labels them for other brands. NiMh batteries are by far the ones to use. Get them, use them, forget battery problems.