Whites TDI Classroom

I have been told that one can put AA Lithium ion batteries in the AA Alkaline battery pack for the SL. I have not tried it, but would be interested in the pros and cons.

The li Ion batteries I know of are 3.2V each. If these are the ones you are referring to, then no, don't do it. The voltage will be to high and most likely smoke something if you use 8 of them. The AA size Li Ion batteries are also much lower current so they wouldn't last long if work at all even if you were to use fewer of them.

Reg

Thanks Reg.

Well that is good to know. I will pass that info on to the source who will remain nameless..........

Well now that gets me thinking, same source said I could also put rechargeable nickel metal hydride AA batteries in the AA Alkaline pack....that should work OK right?

Yes, you can use Ni Mh batteries in your alkaline battery pack housing but you should get a different charger that is slow or one that has a thermocouple rather than try to use the one that is normally used for the rechargeable pack.. The batteries will get very hot if there isn't a thermocouple monitoring the temperature. So, you need a slow charger or an intelligent charger that has a thermocouple that can be placed on the batteries.

So, in a nutshell, you can fill a regular battery pack with NiMh type batteries but you do have to be careful on the charging to assure the battery temperature doesn't overtemp and ruin the batteries.

When in doubt, it probably should be best to simply buy another factory NiMh pack . You may pay a little more but you will get a battery pack that will work with your charger.

Reg

You could use these...they are 1.5 V

Hi dblue,

Yes, any 1.5v AA battery should be ok including the energizer lithium types. However, people need to be very careful when selecting lithium batteries because the rechargeable Li Ion types I know about are a 3.6V Lithium battery and they shouldn't be used.

Thanks for the information about the energizer batteries. They do appear to be more expensive but should last longer. Maybe I will try some and see how they hold up.

Reg

This might be a bit pricey but could be what some of you are looking for. Lithium-ion pack for White's detectors including the charger. http://www.findmall.com/read.php?31,1543155,1543155#msg-1543155

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Bells and whistles are nice, but nothing will substitute for the basic understanding of the hobby.

CTX 3030, V3i, Pro XL M6 W/Bigfoot coil, Cibola/modified

I would love to find out about the results from any tests with these batteries in the SL.

Hi Larry,

I wasn't aware that anyone made a Li Ion pack for the White's. Three batteries will work fine and will be within the allowed voltage, so a specially designed pack such as that in the video should work just fine.

My statement about not using li Ion rechargeable batteries was referring to directly substituting regular AA batteries with Li Ion types that are rechargeable. Since they do make AA size rechargeable, it would be very easy to make this mistake.

The batteries used in the pack in the video are larger so they require a special housing as shown in the video.

The key is to make sure whatever pack or module one uses or builds doesn't exceed the maximum rated voltage. So, if a person tries to build their own, they should keep this in mind and check with the factory when in doubt.

Reg

I have a Whites TDI that I baught about a year and half ago that came with the two 14.4 volt batterys and charger. I now see that they have a AA battery pack for ther newer model. Question: does anyone know if that AA battery pack will work in my detector. It would be nice to have on hand on some camping /detecting trips that I don't have the use of the charger..Thanks Bill

No, the TDI SL AA battery pack will not work or fit in your TDI.

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Bells and whistles are nice, but nothing will substitute for the basic understanding of the hobby.

CTX 3030, V3i, Pro XL M6 W/Bigfoot coil, Cibola/modified