Battery Pack Charging

Bigdob

Full Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2016
Messages
145
Reaction score
185
Golden Thread
0
Location
IL
Detector(s) used
CTX 3030
Minelab Safari
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Got my Safari today and got it assembled and started charging the NiMH battery pack with the 110 charger. Does the red indicator light turn green when the pack is charged ?
Where is the Best Buy on another 1600 battery pack?
Will be bench testing tomorrow .
Still reading everything I can 😳
Bigdob
 

Howdy! :)
Glad to see it arrived. There is no indicator for the battery, just plug it in and let it charge overnight.

And we we can help you with a new battery when you are ready... But before you spend the money on another give this one a try. I think you will see that it will last longer than you want to hunt in a day. 8-) You may find with some time you don't really need a second battery and be able to put that money toward something else.
 

RNB [emoji106]
 

That sounds reasonable , will give it a try with one.
 

Check the Safari manual on charging the battery. The E-TRAC manual recommends an 18 hour initial charge before using the battery pack. It also recommends 18 hours for all recharging cycles.
 

It should of come with a alkaline battery holder, just take that with you. I have only used it once when I didn't charge my pack up, that was before I lost it....
 

I read the manual and it does say 18 hrs. Just wondered if the charger LED turned green on full charge.
I do have the extra battery pack to load up for and extra and will just go with the one rechargeable for now.
Most likely will be enough for these old bones;-)
Bigdob
 

On the factory Minelab charger, the light on the charger just shows that 110V is getting to it. It does not change color. The charger is low in output and the pack has a current limiter to avoid over charging. So yes, it is best to plan and charge them overnight before a hunt.

Jeff
 

Last edited:
Rnb battery 2 hours to charge, charger light goes from red to green when done, 40 hours of hunting on a charge.
 

Like Rob said...RNB. Check eBay. That's where I got mine. WELL worth the extra cost, IMO.
 

I just got mine too cold for detecting much longer than an hour. I will keep the alkaline holder full and ready should I need it so I can't see getting another chargeable now tho by the time 2017
Season gets really going I will pick up
The RNB
 

Hello Bigdob,

A nice solution is the RnB Innovations, ML-3100 Li-ion battery. I have purchased many of their battery pack (Whites, Minelab and AT Pro) products. They easily last 30+ hours on both of the "power hogs"; Minelab Explorer series and Whites V3i. They work equally well on the Etrac and Safari detectors.

GL & HH

Doc
 

Another option is Duracell rechargeables, the green colored ones. They come with a charger as well. I got 8 of them for Christmas last year and they work well. They last all day and take about 2 hours to charge. The rnb can't be beat in terms of performance but this is a cheaper alternative.

Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk
 

I've never used anything beyond Eneloops after an initial run of alkalines to set a baseline. Got a MAHA smart charger and use Eneloops for all my AA needs. Versatility. (the Eneloops give way more hours than I can swing a Safari)
 

I use a Maha AA/AAA charger with Imedion batteries. The Imedions are similar to Eneloops as they come with a charge and retain the charge long term. Regular high power NiMH batteries can also be used, but when not in use i recommend putting a charge to them every month or two as they lose their charge while sitting much faster. These batteries are available in higher current ratings than for those from Minelab and will last much longer and with a quality fast charger you can be up and running in just a few hours. I don't recommend you operating the detector with rechargeable NiCD or NiMH batteries where the batteries are allowed to run down too low, like 1v per cell. This is apt to occur very quickly as the batteries are used near depleted or the single bar on a Safari battery indicator. I haven't any experience with the lithium ion types, but I do know they store a great deal of power for their size.

Edit to add; I paid about $24 for an 8 pack of 2400ma Imedion batteries and the charger I bought was $60 for the Maha C800S8AA27 with 8 2700ma Powerx AA batteries from B & H Photo. The charger can be bought alone at $39 so this is way cheaper than going with Minelab. Mods-If this isn't allowed, please edit.
 

Last edited:

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom