Battery question

[Dragonscout]

OK, so the Mighty Mo is on the way blazin' across America at a blistering 62 mph on USPS contracted transportation. So my question for the afficianados is: does any one type of 9 volt provide preferred battery life/performance or shouldn't be used. Alkaline, Ni-cad, L-ion or rechargables and any demonstrated difference of one brand over another? or is it all hype??

 

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[IowaRelic]

OK, so the Mighty Mo is on the way blazin' across America at a blistering 62 mph on USPS contracted transportation. So my question for the afficianados is: does any one type of 9 volt provide preferred battery life/performance or shouldn't be used. Alkaline, Ni-cad, L-ion or rechargables and any demonstrated difference of one brand over another? or is it all hype??

I’ve done some tests with my vaquero because it seems to destroy batteries sometimes and then just sip on them other times. So what I’ve found is predictable. Oh and I only use alkaline because it’s what Tesoro specifies. But the Panasonic 9v alkaline that Tesoro sends with a new machine are excellent. They last good in my experience. Other than that rayovac didn’t work well, but energizers and Duracell’s do good for me. Mainly use industrial Duracell orange colored 9v because I get them free at work, but the copper tops are great too. So yeah my experience is you get what you pay for with batteries. There is a Duracell max or something it’s red and gold and come in two packs. They are outstanding. But I change my batteries at around 8v. That may be too soon but the vaquero really does need full batteries to behave it’s best.

 

[Stoof2010]

I usually go with Duracell. Either industrial or copper top. I can get them in 12 packs from battery warehouse for a good price. I can't find the Panasonic's they give with the machine from factory.
One thing to keep in mind is 9v aren't all the same size. Many are taller in total height. It's not as standardized as other battery sizes.
I also like Duracell because they are the same overall height as the Panasonic's that ship with the Tesoro.
If you use some off brand that are taller, you will permanently deform the contacts.
One of my Tesoros I got used must have used taller cells because to use a normal Duracell or Panasonic I have to fold a piece of paper to shim under the battery or it won't keep contact in the battery compartment and will cause the machine to cycle on and off as the machine moves.
So to me when choosing alkaline cells I go more by overall height from bottom of calls to top of contacts more so than by name brand.
But as I said that's just me. And I have found that Duracell are the best fit without distorting the contacts.

I have tried the link in 600mah ones but they don't fit well. I've tried the Lowe's brand but they are also too tall.
Sunbeam were tall too if I recall correctly.
You can just keep a dead cell that fits to hold up to ones you're thinking about buying and most times it's very visible with the overall size difference.

 

[Peter67]

I use rechargables in the Vaquero, Cibola and Bandido Umax without any problems. But after a days hunt i recharge them every time. Only in wintertime when it's really cold i use alkalines. Duracell industrial gives a good value for money, i also use these in my pinpointers.

 

[pinenut]

If you’re in the States, packs of Duracell from Costco seem pretty decent. I probably could shop around - but I hit Costco on a regular basis anyway.

 

[jmaryt]

OK, so the Mighty Mo is on the way blazin' across America at a blistering 62 mph on USPS contracted transportation. So my question for the afficianados is: does any one type of 9 volt provide preferred battery life/performance or shouldn't be used. Alkaline, Ni-cad, L-ion or rechargables and any demonstrated difference of one brand over another? or is it all hype??

it's all hype! (in my experience) i use whatever i can get my hands on,usually at a "buck a pop"
i make sure i got 9 volts when i crack open the package,then GENERALLY get around 20 to 25 hours
on everything (any brand) i feed the "mojave!"..you can use "rechargeable" batteries but understand
that they don't gradually lose power, they "crap" quickly,and generally don't last as long as alkalines.

(h.h.!)
j.t.

 

[Picketwire]

For me, it is rechargeable all the way--EBL lithium 9V and either of the two top envelop AAs. Jmaryt is right in that they just quit, period! However I always have another battery or batteries fully charged to replace them. At one time I had some Duracell AAAs in my pickup bouncing around in the door compartment and when I went to use them, they were leaking even though they were unused. I left some rechargeable 9V lithiums in my F2 which I was not using for over a year (shame on me) but they were just dead, did not leak (I've never had a rechargeable leak), and recharged like new.

 

[jmaryt]

yup! same here! i have used rechargeables in the past,but always carry "back up" alkalines with me
in case they '"croaked" while hunting. i don't trust them,they die too quickly,and can let you down
in the middle of a hunt..i'm just sayin'

(h.h.!)
j.t.

 

[IowaRelic]

Today I went out at sun up. 17 degrees. Used a new orange Duracell and taped a hand warmer to my battery compartment!!! Talk about tough diggin. I think my seasons over.... any way, after 5 hours of run time I had 4 beeps on the battery test on the vaquero. So half gone. Ran super tuned all day

 

[jmaryt]

Today I went out at sun up. 17 degrees. Used a new orange Duracell and taped a hand warmer to my battery compartment!!! Talk about tough diggin. I think my seasons over.... any way, after 5 hours of run time I had 4 beeps on the battery test on the vaquero. So half gone. Ran super tuned all day

cold air what's done it! they "spit the bit" faster in the cold,
and "super tuning" a big drain too!

(h.h.!)
j.t.

 

[doggoneitdignit]

What it ships with, Panasonic, and get them at the $ store.

 

[Stoof2010]

I can't find Panasonic's :-(
All my dollar stores have is Sunbeam and they are way too tall.
And iowarelic, I know what you mean. It's mid 20s here in the mitten. No more hunting until it at least hits 40s. :-/

 

[IowaRelic]

I can't find Panasonic's :-(
All my dollar stores have is Sunbeam and they are way too tall.
And iowarelic, I know what you mean. It's mid 20s here in the mitten. No more hunting until it at least hits 40s. :-/

Been in the 40s here now for a few days! I will be diggin Sunday morning for sure
My wife grabbed 2 packs of sunbeams from dollar tree. Haven’t tried them yet, but the Eldorado I just bought had a sunbeam in it when I got it.

 

[Stoof2010]

I hope what I've said isn't confusing anyone or that I was telling you that only certain ones will work.
All 9v will fit. I just wanted to warn that if you use the taller ones you run the risk of permanently bending the contacts like one of mine did.
Still not that big of an issue, just put a folded paper "shim" under the bottom of the shorter normal cells like Duracell or Panasonic to push it toward the contact so it keeps contact.
By all means and batteries that work, use them.
But if you run into the issue I did, just know it's not the end of the world and you can "shim" shorter cells.
I just prefer not to do it to any more of my machines lol