Excal Battery overcharge

[DeepseekerADS]

My kids wanted my Xmas list, so I was skimming through Amazon for accessories for the CTX and the Excal II - and found this in the reviews for an Excal 'AA' battery pack:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BNBHS2I/?tag=treasurenet01-20

Insanely overpriced, but allows me to skip the whole "charge, but don't overcharge the batteries" fiasco. My wife left the original, rechargeable batteries plugged in for a month and according to the owner's manual there is no charge controller, so the original batteries may be destroyed or may have a little life left, but by purchasing alkaline (non rechargeable) batteries from Costco I can enjoy my hobby without worrying about the hassle of uncontrolled recharging. (It is entirely unacceptable for such an expensive detector to come with an uncontrolled charger, by the way, and I would definitely never have bought it if I had known!)

Anyone with experience in this?

 

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[DeepseekerADS]

I should have searched here first prior to posting:

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/minelab/415151-excalibur-2-battery-charging-question.html

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/beach-shallow-water/385536-excal-ii-battery-explodes.html

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/b...86-problem-my-excal-powering-up-charging.html

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/beach-shallow-water/74448-excal-rechargeable-batteries.html

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

The Alkaline battery pack is nice as backup although limited to wading only..... You can give it an over night charge and it will last over 12 hours..... Warning, on the rechargable battery I have seen multiple battery pods that were over charged and caused the battery to expand and the pod to crack. A new rechargeable battery pod with battery is $165.

You can buy a smart charger for $29.95 that will fully charge a 1600Mah NiMh battery in 2.5 hours and then automatically switch over to trickle charge to keep it charged and no danger of over charging your battery..




Kellyco NiMH / NiCad Peak Charger
For Use with the Minelab Pro 1600 Excalibur Rechargeable Battery
NiMH/Nicad Peak Charger for the Pro 1600 Excalibur rechargeable battery. This is the perfect companion for the Pro 1600 battery and will fully charge the battery in 2.5 hours then switch to automatic trickle charge mode. (The standard factory supplied charger will take up to 30 hours). The battery charger to battery Pod adapter that came with your Excalibur will still be used.
Kellyco NiMH / NiCad Peak Charger Metal Detector for Sale- Kellyco

The stock Excal battery is 1200 mah NiMh, the after market ones sold are 1600 mah so the charge lasts longer.....

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Thanks TH !!!

That's the direction I'll go.

So, all those things were true......

 

[treasure diver ct]

Repack cells if you have the electronics know how, my battery died in a few months due to a faulty charger, second faulty charger, I tried to contact minelab about their excalibur chargers and have yet to hear back from them

 

[firemac]

Good info to know! Thanks

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Repack cells if you have the electronics know how, my battery died in a few months due to a faulty charger, second faulty charger, I tried to contact minelab about their excalibur chargers and have yet to hear back from them

How did you try to contact them.....? You can reach them at 888-949-6522 Ex 165

 

[Mach1Pilot]

Yes, there is an alkaline pod option... the link you found is just a couple of buck higher than going through a dealer.

Minelab Excalibur Alkaline Battery Holder

Some of our customers will get the AA battery pack and use off the shelf rechargeable batteries....

 

[ChampFerguson/TN]

I used my Excal factory charger exactly once to make sure it worked when I first got my machine. Since then I have used a Battery Tender Jr smart charger that I got at Walmart and have never worried about overcharging.


I also have the AA holder as a backup. Recommend the highest mah Eneloops + a MAHA smart charger for them.

 

[myrtlesandman]

I have just bought the battery pod for my machine. I was wondering if you have used it yet and what kind of battery life you get using the 8 AA batteries?
Thank you

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

FYI, there is a new battery available for the Minelab Excal that will give you 50-60 hours on a full charge. It is a Lithium Polymer long life battery and comes with it's own smart charger... $69.99 for both battery and charger, does not come in a pod you have to install it in your own pod..... the charger is only for Lithium Polymer batteries......