What kind of batteies are used in the XLT rechargeable battery pack

Ray S ECenFL

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GibH

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I opened up the case of my rechargeable pack for the Eagle Spectrum. I've ordered 3500mAH sub-c nimh with soldering tabs to replace the nicad. I'll let you know how it works out.
 

sniffer

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check your area for a battery outlet, they can usually rebuild a battery pack to match what you've got
 

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Ray S ECenFL

Ray S ECenFL

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Conchobar said:
I opened up the case of my rechargeable pack for the Eagle Spectrum. I've ordered 3500mAH sub-c nimh with soldering tabs to replace the nicad. I'll let you know how it works out.

When you opened the pack, is that what was inside? 3500mAH NiMH batteries?

Ray S
 

GibH

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No, I'm pretty sure they were nicad. Hard to say really, they were made in Mexico, but only had some numbers for identification. I decided to go with nimh because they don't suffer from "memory effect" and should last about twice as long as nicads.
 

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Ray S ECenFL

Ray S ECenFL

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Conchobar said:
No, I'm pretty sure they were nicad. Hard to say really, they were made in Mexico, but only had some numbers for identification. I decided to go with nimh because they don't suffer from "memory effect" and should last about twice as long as nicads.

I would be interested in knowing how the Whites Charger Unit works on the new batteries, so if you do manage to rpelace them please let me know if they charge up ok.

Thanks.

Ray S
 

ReidMan

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The easest thing to do is just use rechargeables in the standard battery pack. Keep an extra set charged and your good to go.
 

GibH

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ReidMan said:
The easest thing to do is just use rechargeables in the standard battery pack. Keep an extra set charged and your good to go.

It cost me less than $20 shipped for 4 c cell nimh batteries which should last longer than nicad. I ordered 3500 mAh and the place I ordered from sent 6000 mAh. They got here today, so I should have the pack rebuilt tomorrow.

I have been using rechargeables with the standard pack and they cost as much just for the batteries, I already had the charger.
 

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Ray S ECenFL

Ray S ECenFL

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Conchobar said:
ReidMan said:
The easest thing to do is just use rechargeables in the standard battery pack. Keep an extra set charged and your good to go.

It cost me less than $20 shipped for 4 c cell nimh batteries which should last longer than nicad. I ordered 3500 mAh and the place I ordered from sent 6000 mAh. They got here today, so I should have the pack rebuilt tomorrow.

The XLT uses AA size batteries, did you mean to say AA rather than C cell ?

Ray S
 

Reg

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Hi Ray,

You are correct about the AA's being the proper battery but this is when using the standard battery holder and this is not what is in the rechargeable pack. Whites does indicate AA rechargeable batteries can be use in the standard pack, though.

Now, I suspect the factory rechargeable pack does use the sub C. That would make sense. So, they use two different types of batteries, one for the regular pack and a different one for the rechargeable batteries. The use of sub C rechargeable is common for a lot of equipment from drills to metal detectors simply because they have high current rating yet are quite compact.

Now, as for rebuilding the rechargeable pack, one could use nicads or NiMh but it might be best to build up a new set using all the same batteries. If the original battery pack is not terribly old, chances are NiMh batteries were used. If it is an older pack, it is possible it could have NiCads. Maybe we could find out from Whites at some point when they changed.

It probably isn't a good idea to mix the two when building a pack if possible. I am not sure just what would happen because the charge rates could be a little different. It could work just fine or there could be problems. So, it is something to keep an eye on. Remember, when charging a 12V pack, all a charger generally does is provide a voltage greater than the pack voltage. The charger is limited to a maximum charge rate also to help protect the batteries. So, this will minimize problems.

Now, I do not know how many sub c's are used but assuming it is a 12V pack, there may be 10 since the typical voltage of a NiMh or a NiCad is 1.2V at normal operation. They charge to a little over 1.5V but quickly drop to 1.2V during operation.

Here is something to keep in mind, when charging NiMh or NiCad, when the battery starts to get hot, it is nearly fully charged. So, when the pack is getting hot and has been for a while, it is a good time to stop the charging cycle. Older batteries could suffer more from overcharging than the newer ones, but even the new ones don't like excessive charging. Over charging can lead to the battery venting gases which ultimately reduces the life of the battery.

Option C is to do what was also recommended and that is buy two sets of rechargeable AA batteries and keep both charged and use them in the regular holder. Rechargeable AA's will not last as long as the factory rechargeable pack but should work fine.

Now, there are rechargeable Alkalines also just to confuse things. One advantage of these batteries is the fact they don't discharge over time like the typical NiCad or NiMh. To further compound the issue, there is a newer special NiMh that is sort of a cross between the NiMh and the Alkaline and these don't lose their charge nearly as fast. It is almost act like they are regular batteries in terms of discharge but do reduce in voltage like typical NiMh's. Generally, the NiCads work well, but have less current capacity than a NiMh, so they do not last as long as a typical NiMh battery.

For those interested, here is a link to a brand of rechargeable alkalines. The link provides some interesting information you might want to know. As an example, the warmer a NiCad or NiMh is, the faster the self discharge rate. So, if you are going to be out for a few days, it might pay to toss them in a refrigerator or cooler but make sure they are kept dry.

http://aphnetworks.com/review/pure_energy_xl/xlaa_tds.pdf

An important bit of information for those of you who don't visit the site is the amp capacity of the battery at different discharge rates. What this simply tells us is the higher the current drawn the shorter the life because the actual amp capacity reduces. So, if using rechargeable alkalines it is a good idea to use headphones to extend the battery life. My guess is if you rely on the speaker, the battery life will be between 1/2 and 3/4 of what one might get using headphones.

Sorry to be so long winded.

Reg
 

Carl-NC

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The V3 is the first White's to have NiMH batteries. All other packs were NiCad, whether AA or C. Please don't charge a set of NiMH batteries off a charger made for NiCad, there is a risk of overheating and fire. NiMH require a special charger.

- Carl
 

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