Battery question for the DF users out there.....

[Gulf Hunter]

I was curious if any of you have discovered a commercially available rechargeable battery pack for the DF? This alkaline thing is driving me nuts. I just want to charge and hunt and not worry about monitoring my hours afield to make sure I'm not going to have to replace batteries at the water. Guess the Excal NiMH batteries have spoiled me. I'M ALL EARS.

 

[drmar]

I will be watching this thread, good question. I also have the JW Fishers Pulse 8X and love the rechargable built-in batteries. I do run Lithium AA's in my Dual Field and they do last a very long time, expensive Yes!

 

[LE.JAG]

Hi,

on my GoldQuest, I use a Lipo battery
11.1 volts gives 12.5 V voltage at full load
4000 Ah capacity

after 24 h of hunting the tension is still more than 11.5 V
superior to any alkaline by far

I hunt at low tide, the water should be to add a Pelican box ....

 

[lucar]

Hello,

as I already pointed out in another thread , Li-ion batteries may explode if short circuited or immersed in water.

A case flooding on a whites surfmaster is not a remote event.

Youtube is full of videos of the damage a Li-ion battery can make, I definitely would not use a li-po battery in a wet environment.

It's ok on the beach, it's a no no in the surf.



[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21IySOMmFU4&feature=player_embedded[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ypUVpwgcAA&feature=player_embedded[/video]

Cheers
Lucar

 

[LE.JAG]

Hi Lucar,

yes, I know
I took the risk because Lipo take loads much faster ...

to reduce the risk of a Dual
would use a NiMH pack more about
in a second sealed box, like this

the photo is from the forum, I do not know who ...

 

[Finderskeeper]

There has been a few postings about batteries for the White's Dual Field PI. I recently purchased one for my few months in Florida coming soon.

I do not want to use Lithium Ion batteries as they are explosive around water. I hate buying disposable batteries. Plus I like the idea of more capacity for longer sessions without having to recharge or replace batteries.

I have been looking at AA Nickle Zinc (NiZn) batteries. They are not as expensive as Lithium Ion or the Nicads or NiMh batteries. They have slightly more voltage than standard alkaline (1.6 volts) and a higher mah capacity ( up to 4000 mah) plus they are rechargeable. The NiZn batteries (1.6 volts) have more voltage than both alkaline batteries (1.5 volts) and NiMh rechargeable batteries (1.2 volts) and so here is my question.

Will the White's Surf Dual Field PI machine handle the 12.8 volts that are generated by the NiZn batteries? Not sure how the thing is engineered but I figure that an extra .8 volts would not be a problem. But I am not sure on that.

Anyone have any idea?

 

[Finderskeeper]

OK.
I contacted White's and Steve in tech support told me that some guys run up to 15 volts in their Surf Dual Field PI's. So the NiZn batteries at 12.8 total volts will work fine.

These batteries are cheaper than NiMh or Nicads, last longer, have higher amp ratings and have the voltage needed.

 

[Finderskeeper]

Here is a link that discusses the different types of batteries and the advantages and disadvantages of each type.

http://michaelbluejay.com/batteries/types.html#nizn

From the looks of it, the NiZn batteries have the edge as far as the best logical choice for batteries in the Dual Field.

 

[Gulf Hunter]

So, are these NiZn batteries available at Sam's, or Walmart and do they just fit in place of the OEM AA's in the DF carrier? How would you go about charging them? Would they have to be removed from the carrier each time to charge? Sorry, just have no clue.

OK.
I contacted White's and Steve in tech support told me that some guys run up to 15 volts in their Surf Dual Field PI's. So the NiZn batteries at 12.8 total volts will work fine.

These batteries are cheaper than NiMh or Nicads, last longer, have higher amp ratings and have the voltage needed.

 

[Finderskeeper]

They are of limited availability right now. Some are on E-bay and some are available HERE

They have to be removed from the carrier but they are the same size as the standard AA alkalines. They fully charge in about three or four hours. I have not seen a car charger available yet. Seeing how they are cheaper than any other type of rechargeable batteries, I am going to get three sets of batteries so a fully charged 3 sets should get me 3 full days of detecting. I want to get a couple more battery carriers for them.

Some guys do set up Lithium Ion batteries in separate waterproof carriers but it looks like more trouble than they are worth. If you travel with lithium ion batteries, there are some travel restrictions with those type batteries as they have a tendency to catch fire.

You do need a different charger for the NiZn batteries as they are not able to be charged by NiMh or Nicad chargers.

Europe is where the NiZn batteries have taken over from Nicads and NiMh batteries. The US has been slow to adopt these rechargeables as the battery companies want to get rid of their stock of Nicads and NiMh batteries before switching over to NiZn's.
(I was told this by a local battery dealer).

 

[Gulf Hunter]

Hey Finderskeeper,
Just got my set of NiZn batteries this week and charged those babies up and ran them yesterday in the DF on a hunt from 9a-3p and they did a fine job! Thanks for the advice and as far as I'm concerned there is NO issue running these in the White's DF. I'm just sorry I didn't know about them when I started using the unit. It is a nice feeling knowing that on every hunt I have a FULL charge and not depending on wondering how much time I have on alkalines! Thanks again!

 

[6666]

Just ordered a bunch of these to test

 

[fsa46]

I use the Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries in my Dual Field PI and really like them. I ran them for 61 documented hours and they still had 12.48 volts left in them. I replaced them with a fresh set batteries and put the used batteries in my MXT Pro. The fresh set had 14.54 volts.

When I used the "Copper Top" batteries, I would change them at 40 hours of use and they had around 10 volts left. Although the Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries aren't cheap, I will continue to use them with this type of performance. I will monitor this new set until I get down to 10 volts and see how many hours it takes to get to that point to really determine if they are in fact worth the extra money.