Excal Battery Question

[adamBomb]

I notice that there are several variations of the Excal battery (ie different battery packs, 8 AA batteries, etc.)...

My question is, do any of these provide any advantage over another for detecting? I understand that they can be charged faster or hold their charge for longer but do they do anything like provide more power which translates to more depth or anything like that?

 

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[DeepseekerADS]

Good question!

I've read here that the AA pack isn't really worth the money.

But then yesterday my Excal was giving me fits at the first location. Then we went to a second location, and it didn't work at all. Noisy mess of sounds. So, I put it on the charger last night and charged it the 16 hours I've read supposed to be. I haven't been keeping track of hours of use. I'm going to start doing that.

For me, that's the first time I've run it that far.

 

[vferrari]

I did get the AA battery module as a backup to the NiMH module, but one thing that is not highly advertised is that the gasket for the AA battery module is not rated for greater than 10 ft. so it cannot be used for diving. I picked up a LiIon battery pack that slides into the AA module as my backup to the NiMH module but have not had enough run time with the LiIon battery to judge its performance yet.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

There is a new lithium polymer battery for excal available, 3000mah, comes with a smart charger, it is called EX3000, advertised good for 60 hours charge time, even half that would be great.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

RNB Innovations EX-3000 Battery System (Minelab Excalibur II) for Sale- Kellyco

Note that Kellyco states:

*Please Note: The RnB EX-3000 system will require a Minelab Alkaline Battery Pod part number 237-03110046 (sold separately) or the EX-3000 battery can be put into the supplied battery pod that came with your detector by simply removing the factory supplied NiMH rechargeable battery. When using the new EX-3000 Smart battery recharge system you will need to still use your Minelab Excalibur Recharge Adapter supplied with your detector and only use the EX-3000 Smart Charger to charge with. You will no longer use the Minelab supplied wall charger.

* Lithium Polymer Battery ONLY – POD NOT INCLUDED!

 

[birdman]

Ive used the aa pack for years along with the rechargeable. Always have both when I leave with no issues

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I just placed my order. Thanks for the tip TH

 

[adamBomb]

I just placed my order. Thanks for the tip TH

Let us know how it works. I don't mind charging the stock battery but 60 hrs is a huge improvement

 

[vferrari]

It's not clear to me how to disassemble the NiMH module and since the battery is still usable, I did not want to mess up the seal so I put the ex3000 into the AA module. Anyone have instructions on how to disassemble the NiMH module for battery replacement?

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Let us know how it works. I don't mind charging the stock battery but 60 hrs is a huge improvement

I had been in the water with my Excal only 7 times for about two hours each hunt. I purchased the beast used, so I have no idea how many times the NIMH battery had been charged. I charged it upon receipt. At 2 hours per hunt average, looks like I only got 14 - 16 hours per a charge. Rechargeables do develop a memory in my experience.

When I went to use it day before yesterday it was acting funny right from power on, stayed in the water there about a half hour and went to the other spot where it didn't work at all.

TH posted a tip sometime back about testing battery strength with a multi-meter prior to use to determine whether or not the battery had enough charge to use. I need to dive back through the threads to find that info, and I need to pick up yet another multi-meter to do that, as they tend to walk away into someone else's hands...

And, I will be keeping track of hours from now on. Seems it would be a good habit to check the charge on the battery regularly - to thus avoid my misadventure day before yesterday.

Am I the first here to purchase one of these?

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

It's not clear to me how to disassemble the NiMH module and since the battery is still usable, I did not want to mess up the seal so I put the ex3000 into the AA module. Anyone have instructions on how to disassemble the NiMH module for battery replacement?

To disassemble you pry the rubber boot off slowly so as not to tear.

Remove the two hex screws on end cap and pull top off.

Pull old battery out and insert new battery.

When you out the hex screws back in take care they are only screwed in till they are flush, don't counter sink them.

Using silicone caulking sealant, not glue, wipe a thin coat on inside of rubber boot and install boot. A heat gun or hair dryer helps make boot pliable while removing and replacing and helps dry the silicone after replacing the boot. The rubber boot is a cover and is not designed to be waterproof.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Voltage on wall charger should be 18 volts +/- few tenths before being plugged in to battery.

Fully charged battery is 13-15 volts depending on age after removing charger. Excal becomes erratic when voltage drops below 12 volts and starts affecting performance as it loses more voltage, not enough voltage to run all circuits.

Excal was released with different rating batteries over the years from 900 mah to 1200 mah, length of charge time after recharge depends on the rating. A 1200 mah lasted about 12-13 hours, the after market 1600 mah lasts about 16-18 hours new and has no memory. The mah of a battery will begin to drop as it ages both from age, number of charges and over charging.

Over charging battery affects the battery, 16 hours on stock battery with stock charger is the max it should be charged, over charging can damage or destroy both battery and battery housing.

There are smart chargers available that detect when battery is fully charged and switch to trickle charge once full charge is reached and battery can be left on charger with out damaging the battery...

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Voltage on wall charger should be 18 volts +/- few tenths before being plugged in to battery.

Thanks for reposting! Looks like you added a wee bit more of info and it all looks like fantastic information.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

To disassemble you pry the rubber boot off slowly so as not to tear..

Have you physically worked with the new RnB battery yet?

Hopefully it comes with instructions for installation in the AA battery pack.

I don't believe I'll be messing with the NiMH battery, my jittery hands might be doomed to failure on that one.

 

[vferrari]

To disassemble you pry the rubber boot off slowly so as not to tear.

Remove the two hex screws on end cap and pull top off.

Pull old battery out and insert new battery.

When you out the hex screws back in take care they are only screwed in till they are flush, don't counter sink them.

Using silicone caulking sealant, not glue, wipe a thin coat on inside of rubber boot and install boot. A heat gun or hair dryer helps make boot pliable while removing and replacing and helps dry the silicone after replacing the boot. The rubber boot is a cover and is not designed to be waterproof.

TH - thanks for this ^. When the NiMH finally gives up the ghost, I will attempt the changeout.

 

[vferrari]

Have you physically worked with the new RnB battery yet?

Hopefully it comes with instructions for installation in the AA battery pack.

I don't believe I'll be messing with the NiMH battery, my jittery hands might be doomed to failure on that one.

If you know how to disassemble the AA module, then simply replace the AA battery caddy with the RnB battery and hook up via the "9V" battery connector and you are good to go. The RnB moves around a little in the module, but not enough for me to be concerned. Don't want to wedge anything in the module to prevent this in case the battery runs hot. If anyone has any experience with this LiIon Excal battery, advice is welcome.

 

[cudamark]

Great info here! First, I've been using an RNB Lithium Ion battery in my E-trac and it works great. I get 3-4 times the hunt time over the stock rechargeable. Now, this RNB battery for the Excal is called a Lithium Polymer battery. Are there any restrictions in shipping or flying with these as there are with Lithium Ion batteries? Next question....I've heard horror fire stories about LiPo batteries in other applications....any problems with using one in a watertight (and airtight) environment? No need for venting when charging? Lastly, what is the difference in the actual construction of the Excal pods themselves. If it was just a different "O"ring, that would be an easy conversion. There must be something more to it than that. I suspect the chemical makeup of the plastic is different to handle the pressure at depth, right? I know I've had at least one alkaline pod that went bad just sitting in the closet. I grabbed it one day and found it had a bunch of cracks in it. I epoxied the heck out of it and use it for sand or surf only now. Just crappier plastic or did I just get a bad one? Anyone had a factory rechargeable pod do that? Thanks.

 

[vferrari]

The air travel restrictions do not explicitly address Li Poly batteries, but FAA probably treats them the same. The restrictions are based on total Watt-Hour capacity (100 w-h) max. No limit on number you can carry but they must all be either "in service" or spares. Airline approval for larger spare batteries between 100 and 160 w-h, 2 max. I think the RX-3000 is << 100 W-H, but don't have an explicit w-h capacity number.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Since seeing several bad reviews on the AA pack, I'd never purchased one. But, I had to in order to use the new battery.

An issue stated earlier in this thread mentioned the poor quality of the gasket/o-ring. Is there a solution to that?

 

[cudamark]

I've never had an issue with the "O" ring for either type of pod, but, "O" rings are cheap and available at just about any hardware store. The trick is getting one the correct size in the proper material.