Can anyone recommend a superior brand of rechargeable AA batteries?

el padron

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el padron

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Sandman

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I am not sure if this still applies but manufactures did not recommend rechargeable batteries.
 

airscapes

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Well Enveloopes are what everyone claims to be the best.. google "Best Rechargable Batteries" The Best Rechargeable Batteries and Chargers Of 2014 - MetaEfficient. I however just stopped at a Batteries and bulbs to see about getting a whites batery pack rebuilt. It would be $25 for 1100 Mah batteries so I opted for the the biggest AA rechargeables they had which were Powerex 2700Mah. $30 for 8. After getting home I googled and found mixed review, most of the bad ones were from 2008-9 so hoping they got better with time. Most of the tests done were on camera flashes which are much harder on them than a MD. I have a smart charger on the way for my other Duracell rechargabls used for LED lighting in the house so figured the AA would be better than a dedicate pack using a wallwart charger. If they do not hold up well I can use them in other less power hungry device. Have my fingers crossed these hold up for a couple of seasons..
 

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el padron

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Well Enveloopes are what everyone claims to be the best.. google "Best Rechargable Batteries" The Best Rechargeable Batteries and Chargers Of 2014 - MetaEfficient. I however just stopped at a Batteries and bulbs to see about getting a whites batery pack rebuilt. It would be $25 for 1100 Mah batteries so I opted for the the biggest AA rechargeables they had which were Powerex 2700Mah. $30 for 8. After getting home I googled and found mixed review, most of the bad ones were from 2008-9 so hoping they got better with time. Most of the tests done were on camera flashes which are much harder on them than a MD. I have a smart charger on the way for my other Duracell rechargabls used for LED lighting in the house so figured the AA would be better than a dedicate pack using a wallwart charger. If they do not hold up well I can use them in other less power hungry device. Have my fingers crossed these hold up for a couple of seasons..

Noted, thx for the update.
 

Detector Wars

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Nov 26, 2008
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Eneloops, slow discharge ones. (I'm not sure if Eneloop make fast discharge). If you want to try something else, most should be good as long as they are slow discharge. I have been using the same Eneloops for over 6 years.
 

Molemann

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I gave up on rechargeable batteries a long time ago. Not reliable.
Now I just go to the Dollar Tree store and buy batteries for a buck. Don't laugh until u try it.
I was a doubter at first but after using them they are far less expensive to use than any other battery I have found for the money.
 

SouthFLdigger

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Eneloop, make sure you get the 2100 cycle low discharge new variants !!!
 

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Hello,

I use the RnB innovation 3100 mAh rechargeable packs for the White's V3i, DFX and Minelab Explorer SE. Now, for a detector that uses standard 8-AA batteries (combined total terminal voltage 12.0 volts), using 8-AA rechargeable batteries (combined total terminal voltage 9.6 volts) the voltage regulation circuitry will "take" some for operation. This leaves less than "ideal" voltage for circuit operation with less room for depletion deviation with detector operation. The question is will it work? Well many people made replacement battery packs with success. These appear to be the large packs of 8 – 1.2 volt batteries.

For detectors with 4 rechargeable AA batteries (terminal voltage of 4.8 V) this is 1.2 volts less than the recommended value. Again the regulator “takes” a bit to operate, therefore lowering in output voltage (under low regulator input conditions) to the operating circuit. At a certain level (depends on the regulator) output voltage will become unreliable and not provide the required circuit with the needed supply, causing erratic performance of the detector. This is when the microprocessor receives an under voltage condition, sometimes called a brownout and cannot execute the instruction set as designed. I watched a detecting video and the V3i detector starting acting ”funny” and sure enough the battery voltage on a White’s machine was around 4.8 volts, well below the recommended value.

This post just addresses the voltage, its amp-hour rating and operating conditions are not discussed, but are also of importance in the calculations.

I’m interested in performing a test on a 4-AA rechargeable battery set on a 4 four battery machine. Perhaps someone has done this test; I’d enjoy reading your results.

Sorry for being long winded!

Regards,
 

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el padron

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Thank you all....
 

lookindown

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Ive got two sets of 4 Energizers that I use in my AT pro...they are four years old and still working fine...Ive never ran them all the way down in a days hunt...I have a fully recharged set every day I hunt...I use a Duracell 1 hour charger...they charge up in about thirty minutes when half way down...those eight batteries are the only batteries Ive bought for my AT pro in four years and Ive never had to worry about dead batteries.
 

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gianetics

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May 29, 2014
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eneloops for sure. if you dont want to buy online you can buy the duracells at wallgreens just make sure they have a white top. these are rebranded eneloops. professor im running the xterra 705 it uses four AA's. the manual states that its regulated so you get full detection until the battery is depleted. so im guessing its a boost circuit of some kind. if thats the case the 1.3 volt eneloops should be just fine. i tested a high powered flashlight with a boost circuit. an alkaline could only deliver 1.2amps while the eneloops could provide over 2 amps. the eneloops were able to provide more watts that the alkalines. i have no idea how metal detector circuits work. i would love to hook up a dmm to my xterra but unfortunately its an internal battery carrier and i dont know how i would get the leads down there. i have the exact same depth with the eneloops as i do the alkalines.
 

gianetics

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May 29, 2014
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just do not use 14500's they look like AA's but will have a voltage of 3.7-4.3 volts. no good md'er goes poof!
 

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