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Equinox 800. Any problem if it sits unused?

mws_1984

Elite Member
Joined
May 2, 2011
Messages
1,104
Location
Massachusetts
I got one a couple years ago and just haven't had the time to get out and actually use it. I know shame on me lol. Batteries are unplugged and all. There is no risk to it just sitting is there. I don't want to go actually use it one day and find stuff corroded. And is there software in it that might need to be updated at some point? I honestly didn't read all the literature with it.
 
Battery could be not up to par. Depends. If battery sit in depleted state - could have compromised battery. May need update of its software.
Minelab site will show latest version.
 
Battery could be not up to par. Depends. If battery sit in depleted state - could have compromised battery. May need update of its software.
Minelab site will show latest version.

Surprisingly I plugged it in and it has a full battery. I need to get out with it though.
 
Surprisingly I plugged it in and it has a full battery. I need to get out with it though.

All batteries naturally deplete if unused, and there is no way it has a full charge after a couple of years. Something is not right with that.

Before going out with it, I suggest you leave it on until the battery gets down to about 25%, then see if it charges ok.
 
All batteries naturally deplete if unused, and there is no way it has a full charge after a couple of years. Something is not right with that.

Before going out with it, I suggest you leave it on until the battery gets down to about 25%, then see if it charges ok.

Modern Li-On batteries are actually best recommended to be only 70% charged for longer periods of time. I quit "topping off" my batteries a while ago with this new technology.

I have a USB battery pack I bought brand new, more than two years ago, still sealed in the factory package and it tests the same now after the years as it did back then. I am kinda of a nerd so I test things like this. One of the worst things you can do with Li-On batteries is top them off all the time.
 
That battery pack didn't deplete while it wasn't in use and being charged?
 
I travel for work, I have left mine off charge for 80 days at a time and had no issues. Battery doesn't even run down and I've had no change to overall life.
 
My 600 sat for almost a year because I was tied up with my dad's estate. When I got it out I was surprised i still had a full charge. I hunted with it most of the day then charged it up been working great ever since. i
 
All batteries naturally deplete if unused, and there is no way it has a full charge after a couple of years. Something is not right with that.

Before going out with it, I suggest you leave it on until the battery gets down to about 25%, then see if it charges ok.

Just b/c a device's battery meter shows "full" doesn't mean the battery is at 100%.
 
I got one a couple years ago and just haven't had the time to get out and actually use it. I know shame on me lol. Batteries are unplugged and all. There is no risk to it just sitting is there. I don't want to go actually use it one day and find stuff corroded. And is there software in it that might need to be updated at some point? I honestly didn't read all the literature with it.

You don't even need to unplug the battery...not sure if it's worth the trouble, especially since you have to breach the water-right seal. Any parasitic draw will be very, very small.

Just store it with a charge that's around 30-60% and that's about all you can do.

Lithium batteries naturally degrade over time, even if they're not being used.
 
Just b/c a device's battery meter shows "full" doesn't mean the battery is at 100%.

Yes, after 2 years and still showing full was surprising to me. It hinted at a possible battery problem. That's why I suggested draining it down to 25% and then seeing if it recharges before going out with it.
 
Yes, after 2 years and still showing full was surprising to me. It hinted at a possible battery problem. That's why I suggested draining it down to 25% and then seeing if it recharges before going out with it.

A full bar on the Equinox means it has anywhere from 70-100% power.

Two years isn't that much time to get a lithium battery to below 70%.
 
Just b/c a device's battery meter shows "full" doesn't mean the battery is at 100%.

Exactly this. The total capacity of a Li battery will naturally deplete over time. The battery may still charge to “100%”, but it’s only charging to 100% of its exisiting capacity, not necessarily the rated capacity when it was new. For example, the Equinox battery is rated at 5000 mAh from the factory - a brand new, fully charged Equinox battery should be somewhere close to that. After a couple years, it may still charge to 100% and show full on the indicator, but the battery may only be capable of holding, say, 4100mAh depending how the battery was treated by the user and other variables…the reduced capacity manifests itself as a shorter total run time despite starting at “100%”. Eventually, the battery capacity depletes to the point that it can no longer deliver the required voltage for any amount of time. An example is my wife’s “ancient” iPhone 8, which recently died…it would charge to 100%, and do it fairly quickly - then as soon as it was unplugged, you could watch the battery percentage fall and phone would shut down within 10 or 15 minutes.

Here’s another example: I fly drones for my side business, and the pic below shows the battery status page for one of the Li-Po batteries that’s currently over 6 years old for one of my older drones. The original maximum capacity for the battery was 4900 mAh. As you can see, the current maximum capacity after 6 years of use is only 3816 mAh (3816 divided by the original 4900 equals 78%, the “battery life” shown in the display). Instead of the original 22 minutes of flight time I used to get, this battery only delivers about 12 minutes of flight time under ideal conditions, so I’ve retired it from service. But my point is, the battery still charges to “100%”…in the pic, the battery is charged to 3806 mAh of it’s 3816 mAh present capacity, and the battery meter shows 100% at the start of a flight. By way of comparison, the second pic shows a slightly newer example of the same battery type…that one is maybe 4 or 5 years old, but it’s maximum capacity is still pretty much at factory specs.
 

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