Excalibur Alkaline pod

[kered]

Anyone tell me the actual diference in construction of the alkaline pod vs the nicad one,(not the bateries or internal holder) or are they the same?

 

[pistolpete]

The alkaline pod has a smaller inside diameter.

 

[Steve from Ohio]

The alkaline pod has a smaller inside diameter.

It does?

I have been using the same Ikelite connectors from the Nicad pod and it fits exactly into the alkaline pod. I did measure with an inside micrometer and I found no difference.

The only difference I have been able to determine is that the alkaline pod does not come with the plastic black collar that is on the nicad pod. That collar is sealed with some type of adhesive to waterproof the cap/pod connection point. Maybe the plastic collar is the reason why they say it is good to 200 feet and the alkaline pod is not recommended over 10 feet.

I would recommend getting the 1400 MAH batteries that are all over the internet for the Excalibur. I have gone over 18 hours on a charge and they are a true 12 volt......10 1.2 volt cells. They fit in the alkaline pod perfectly and are a no brainer as far as a good upgrade goes. Highly recommended.

 

[pistolpete]

I removed the nicad battery assembly from the rechargeable pod and it would not fit into the alkaline pod. Mine is smaller.

 

[kered]

the reason i ask is the original nicad pod is cracked and may leak soon, the new price of a complete pod is ridiculous, i got some new ni-mh ones that apparently fit the alkaline pot which is still expensive for a bit of plastic but cheaper

 

[pistolpete]

I know for certain that if you got your nihm battery pack from onlybatteries.com, they will fit into your alkaline pod and the original nicad pod and the old excalibur battery pod with the sword decal.

 

[Willee - Texas]

The black rubber "o" ring is what seals the pod and keeps it water tight.
I do not know why the Alkaline pack is not rated for depth like the rechargeable pods are.
Getting water into either of them is very undesirable.
Perhaps the components that fail quality inspection are used as the alkaline packs.

To the best of my knowledge the black ring around the cap of the pod on the outside is there for decoration ... not function.

Willee

 

[pistolpete]

I believe that because the alkaline pod is opened more frequently to change batteries that maybe Minelab put a conservative rating on them because of the wear to the O ring. chance of sand damage to the seals, possible stripping of the threads from the set screws. All of these things would become much more magnified under diving conditions. Just my opinion....

 

[JoeSWFLA]

I can't see any difference between the two.I think the only reason that they don't rate
the alkaline pod for underwater is the human component.The factory ones are sealed
by pros and the alkaline ones are sealed by individuals,and thus have room for
error in the sealing process.I know people who dive with the alk.pods and have
not had problems.Just make sure the o-ring is seated correctly.HH Joe

 

[kered]

Thanks for the replies, i think your right its probably just the human error side of it that makes them conservative.
Yes i got the batteries fron onlybatteries.com, got the charger etc too

One more thing, my new excalibur 11 has the nimh battery but the charger is identical to the nicd one and has nicd written on it, are they all the same for both the excalibur 1000 and Excalibur 11?
thanks

 

[pistolpete]

Yes, same charger.

 

[Barry NY]

i bought the NiMh charger from only batteries for my new excal II - you get a green light when fully charged.
make sure you buy the excal adapter.

 

[GaBeachsweeper]

Could that NiCad pod be larger than the alkaline?