The Simplest Fix

[Dr. Witty]

I've been detecting with a guy I met out in the field lately. He's been using a borrowed Ace 250 since his Tecknetics Delta 4000 died on him a few weeks ago. He was bummed cause he had to return the Ace. I told him I'd look at his detector to see if I could fix it. I turned the detector on and it immediately turned itself off. The battery he said was new, and upon opening the battery door I found a new 9 volt Sunshine dollar store battery. I tongue tested the battery and found it good, but replaced it with a new Energizer battery anyway. Sure enough the detector came to life and began detecting like a champ.
Make sure you don't skimp on your batteries. it's the simplest fix but is often overlooked. All batteries are not created equal and I think 9 volt batteries are more susceptible to these types of problems than Double A's. I use nothing but Energizer 9 volts in my carrot. Even the Carrot that came with a new EverReady 9 Volt from the manufacturer died after 20 minutes of use. Hopefully this advice will save a detector or the sanity of a detectorist.

-Dr. Witty

 

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[bigfoot1]

I may buy generic groceries...but I buy lithiums for my machines...cheap batteries suck.

 

[TheHunterGT]

New fresh batteries are a must. I love Li-Ion batteries that hold no memory and stay charged when stored.

I'm going to copy/paste a post I made in the Deteknix Brand forums.......

I'm all for Li-ion and Li-poly batteries since they do not hold a memory and stay charged when stored. We bought 8X EBL brand 600mAh 9V batteries and a 4 bay charger for $30. We use them in the Garrett pointer...the BH pointer....and all 3 of our BH detectors.

SS2 = 2...LSP = 1...BHGD = 2...Garrett PP = 1...BH pointer = 1....so 7 of 8 9v batteries in use if everything is being used. Probably will buy 4 more soon they are so cheap and I need more than 1 backup.

My wife and I detect roughly 10-15 hours a week each using 5 of 8 batteries. We charge them each trip so no worries. But if we bought akalines we would be replacing five 9V's every 2 weeks at the 20-30 hour mark.

So assume $1 per 9v.....that is $10 per month.....$120 per year. Let's also assume the average person keeps a detector for 5 years....that is $600 in batteries. The cost of this Quest detector.

So if this Li-Poly battery lasts 5 years...it is beyond awesome. Not only it is paying for itself with each find...it is paying for itself with battery savings.

Also...doing quick math...if you were to charge this 2000mAh battery the Quest uses from 0 to 100%......daily.....it would cost less than $3 a year. Pretty good stuff.

Looking at the EBL 9V's I use.....it would cost me less than $10 a year if I were to charge all 8 daily from 0-100%.

If you buy alkalines and detect 10-15 hours a week.....you are basically paying for a new detector every 5 years.

 

[SusanMN]

Sometimes the cheap I batteries are just a hair shorter that name brands. Just enough that the connectors don't hit properly and the item either doesn't work at all or works intermittently. Was an issue with my Propointer so I always use major Brands in it.

 

[Clay Slayer]

If y'all are interested in an in-depth 9V battery test, scroll down to my reply near the bottom of Page 1 of the thread linked below. I have the hardware & software at my disposal so I did a fairly extensive test involving a few 9V batteries. It's a long read for the casual user, but if you've got some technical background, you might find it interesting.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/g...eed-input-true-9v-rechargeable-batteries.html

 

[TheHunterGT]

Good read Clay....thank you for taking the time to do those tests and write that up.

The EBLs were a very tight fit in my Garrett Scorpion. However, they do fit fine in all the items under my avatar no problem. Even fit in my smoke alarms for a few days to stop them from beeping when the other batteries got low. I would assume they fit in "most" 9V items on the market...but if the tolerances are tight you would be wise to check first as they are very slightly larger than a standard alkaline from Duracell/Energizer etc.

I personally love them and will buy another 4 pack soon as my daughter is getting a BH Jr. from Santa that takes 2 9V....that will be 12 total. First 8 have worked flawlessly...so they have my business again.

 

[Clay Slayer]

Cool, I'm glad someone picked up some useful info from the tests.