Myers Depot Metal Detectors

Battery life

M

mws_1984

Elite Member
Joined
May 2, 2011
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1,104
Location
Massachusetts
So whats the correct response on this? When your battery light comes on should you change batteries or what? I know my detectors light comes on when the 9 volts are drained down to 7.35 volts.
I don't find much in the first place and don't want to use a detector that has low batteries if it is affecting the performance. But then there is also the fact batteries aren't cheap. So what is the general consensus on this? Use them til the detector doesn't turn on or use them when the battery indicator comes on?

To be honest, for a 9 volt to go only down to 7.35 and the light come on seems bad. May as well buy 1.65 volt batteries if it's gonna use that much and be out of juice lol.
 
Electronic devices can be either current sensitive or voltage sensitive. Why does the motor of a RC car run great on NiCad batteries? Because all it cares about is current. It will run until the battery is tapped of current giving capability. The reason your machine is telling you to replace your battery is because it is a voltage sensitive device as most detectors are that I know of. I run my MXT down to the point that it will give a battery warning. At that point I change them because the circuits require a certain voltage minimum.

Nope batteries aren't cheap.
 
Bentfork said:
Electronic devices can be either current sensitive or voltage sensitive. Why does the motor of a RC car run great on NiCad batteries? Because all it cares about is current. It will run until the battery is tapped of current giving capability. The reason your machine is telling you to replace your battery is because it is a voltage sensitive device as most detectors are that I know of. I run my MXT down to the point that it will give a battery warning. At that point I change them because the circuits require a certain voltage minimum.

Nope batteries aren't cheap.
Click to expand...

Wondering if I ought to go with the rechargeable? I do that for my Radio Scanner because that thing will kill regular AA's in a few hours.
 
Not if the voltage rating of the rechargeable is lower or almost as low as you "change battery" detection circuit is.

It sounds to me as if you are running down a 9 volt battery in a couple of hours. Is this the case? If so there is something wrong with your machine. Even Tesoros that are battery hogs can't run batteries down that quick. Maybe if you are detecting 6 hours a day, every day you might need to change the battery once every 2 weeks. Alkaline batteries are beefy and that is why they are still so popular. Because they maintain voltage despite possible heavy current use.
 
Bentfork said:
Not if the voltage rating of the rechargeable is lower or almost as low as you "change battery" detection circuit is.

It sounds to me as if you are running down a 9 volt battery in a couple of hours. Is this the case? If so there is something wrong with your machine. Even Tesoros that are battery hogs can't run batteries down that quick. Maybe if you are detecting 6 hours a day, every day you might need to change the battery once every 2 weeks. Alkaline batteries are beefy and that is why they are still so popular. Because they maintain voltage despite possible heavy current use.
Click to expand...

I hope there is nothing wrong with it. I really don't keep track of how long my hunts are so I can't figure anything off of "hunt length stats"
 
mws_1984 said:
I hope there is nothing wrong with it. I really don't keep track of how long my hunts are so I can't figure anything off of "hunt length stats"
Click to expand...

You might want to keep track of how much your machine is turned on from new battery until the time you get and indication that it needs to be changed. Be honest and I'll bet it isn't as often as you think.
 
Bentfork said:
You might want to keep track of how much your machine is turned on from new battery until the time you get and indication that it needs to be changed. Be honest and I'll bet it isn't as often as you think.
Click to expand...

I'd estimate I go for a couple hours at a time, maybe twice a week if I'm lucky. I just hope there is no internal issues. Then that would drive me nuts because I'd have no clue how to fix it.
 
Hmm..two 9 volt batteries. Have you tried swapping the batteries places when the indicator lits? Chances are one battery runs the audio and the other runs the detecting circuit and they drain unevenly. Might get some extra time this way.

Voriax
 
So you're saying you get approximately 8 hours of battery life an then you get a low battery warning. I think other BH 1100 users need to chime in on this one about their battery life. Seems way too low. Again you need to note the actual amount of on time your machine is on. Look up some of the users on this forum with the same machine and PM them. Call BH and ask what the life expectancy is. You manual might even tell you.
 
Bentfork said:
So you're saying you get approximately 8 hours of battery life an then you get a low battery warning. I think other BH 1100 users need to chime in on this one about their battery life. Seems way too low. Again you need to note the actual amount of on time your machine is on. Look up some of the users on this forum with the same machine and PM them. Call BH and ask what the life expectancy is. You manual might even tell you.
Click to expand...

Well I've had these batteries in for a couple months, but I don't get out for much more than 2 hours at a time. Sometimes a couple times a week, other times not. I guess I'll have to keep better track.
Maybe even try swapping the batteries spots as suggested. I know when I turn it on now it will probably be fine til I start detecting for a while then it will come on again. Almost as though it gains back strength being off and detecting lowers it down again.
 
Stop your worrying and start saving money. Get yourself some 9.6 volt rechargeable batteries. I use Maha Power True 9.6 volts rechargeable batteries. A freshly charged battery will last you around 10 hours. If I only use up 3 or 4 hours, I still recharge them again before I go back out. I never worry about not getting full power from my detector because of a weak battery.

beephead
 
beephead said:
Stop your worrying and start saving money. Get yourself some 9.6 volt rechargeable batteries. I use Maha Power True 9.6 volts rechargeable batteries. A freshly charged battery will last you around 10 hours. If I only use up 3 or 4 hours, I still recharge them again before I go back out. I never worry about not getting full power from my detector because of a weak battery.

beephead
Click to expand...

Yeah I'll have to get some rechargeables. I tried to switch the spots for the batteries as suggested and it still registered as low on the display. I put in fresh before my hunt today and it seemed to work better. Gonna have to get a battery tester to see how much juice really is left in these that registered as low.
 
Just wondering but do use Headphones or the speaker? The speaker will draw the battery down much faster the the Headphones will.

I Emailed Tesoro about the 9.5V NiMh rechargeable batteries as the charge to 9.9 - 10.1 volts. They replied that for my Vaquero the 9.9 would be OK. I would check with First Texas about your BH, just in case.

Only my 2 cents
 
Brittany-Guy said:
Just wondering but do use Headphones or the speaker? The speaker will draw the battery down much faster the the Headphones will.

I Emailed Tesoro about the 9.5V NiMh rechargeable batteries as the charge to 9.9 - 10.1 volts. They replied that for my Vaquero the 9.9 would be OK. I would check with First Texas about your BH, just in case.

Only my 2 cents
Click to expand...

I actually use headphones. I'm keeping track of my hunt times so maybe I'll have better #'s to look at when it comes time to change them.
 
Battery

I think there is a battery that is about to be lauched to the public that will give you 50 -60 hours per charge. Charge time is only 40min. 1 hour full. You cannot over charge these batteries as they stop charging after they are full. They have no memory , 50 % light then conventional batteries. They do not emit any heat during the charge process. You can plug it in and leave it on for a month it will not damage the (Smart battery) . It will be interesting to see them in action. :D
 
Minelabdealer said:
I think there is a battery that is about to be lauched to the public that will give you 50 -60 hours per charge. Charge time is only 40min. 1 hour full. You cannot over charge these batteries as they stop charging after they are full. They have no memory , 50 % light then conventional batteries. They do not emit any heat during the charge process. You can plug it in and leave it on for a month it will not damage the (Smart battery) . It will be interesting to see them in action. :D
Click to expand...

I'm sure it will be expensive though?
 
beephead said:
Stop your worrying and start saving money. Get yourself some 9.6 volt rechargeable batteries. I use Maha Power True 9.6 volts rechargeable batteries. A freshly charged battery will last you around 10 hours. If I only use up 3 or 4 hours, I still recharge them again before I go back out. I never worry about not getting full power from my detector because of a weak battery.

beephead
Click to expand...

Does your unit use 9v batteries?

My BH uses 2 9v and I was considering building, or buying some packs to convert it to AA rechargeables or possibly use the packs that RC cars use. I am not sure if I should risk 9.6v being .6 volts above norm..
It would be a huge jump in run time though compared to standard 9v battery.
 
Spikey911 said:
Does your unit use 9v batteries?

My BH uses 2 9v and I was considering building, or buying some packs to convert it to AA rechargeables or possibly use the packs that RC cars use. I am not sure if I should risk 9.6v being .6 volts above norm..
It would be a huge jump in run time though compared to standard 9v battery.
Click to expand...

Mine uses a single 9 volt battery. Why do you need the extra run-time? One single battery last me a full day. I re-charge to full before each use, regardless of how much power is remaining in the battery. The 9.6 volt is just fine to use in my detectors according to Tesoro. You can buy a 9 volt rechargeable battery that's will get less than 9 volts, but it won't work as well.

Make sure you get the 1.6 volt rechargeable AA batteries if you decide to go that route. Are your 2 9 volt batteries wire parallel or in series? You're going to need a bunch of AA batteries to get the same voltage.
beephead
 
beephead said:
Are your 2 9 volt batteries wire parallel or in series? You're going to need a bunch of AA batteries to get the same voltage.
beephead
Click to expand...

That is a good question...I need a schematic. I don't really understand why 2 9v are needed in these things unless the rf side of things needs the voltage which I don't believe is true...
Someone mentioned one 9v might go to the audio amp, the other to the detecting side, this makes more sense to me. If that's the case, then I could one battery by tapping off of the other. Using AA instead of the 9v would give me more amperage to run both sides off the same source while better standardizing the power source with easier to find and cheaper AA cells.

Problem I have is buying two 9 volt batteries at $10 - $12 a piece + $20 charger = $40 thats a good chunk of change for batteries..
 
I was reading the post and I use the Tenergy recharge batteries. They work well all day and if I WAS detecting for over 12 hours straight I would just bring extras.

I read somewhere about using just one 9 volt battery, but heck I want the thing to work and recharge are cheap, I paid for the batteries already.
Minelab, can you post an article about this battery when it comes out?
 
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