AW-2200 Battery for Whites Spectra/E Series Detectors - a review

[Dirty Money]

I promised BigBoar I'D post impressions of the AW-2200 after having a chance to use it for a while. I hunt with a White's DFX. Love the machine. Hate the way it eats batteries - both the factor rechargeables and AA's. A's last 8-10 hours (just over a days hunt) in my machine. The factory rechargeable will last about 6 hours. For me, that's just not enough.

So...I broke down and ordered the Lith-Ion battery NED was promoting. First off, at 2200 mAH, the battery meets factory specs. Second, it's less expensive than buying the White's system - and I'm cheap. Third, I was promised easier installation and removal - I'm lazy, too. And, fourth, I was told two hour charging time.

Well...about a week ago I came home from a shortened hunt (damn battery pack crapped out after six hours again) and found the package from NED. Finally, something went right for the day. I set up the charger, plugged the battery in and went to work on things around the house. (Honey do projects are the price I pay for my detecting addiction.) At just under two hours, I walked by the charging battery and the thing was fully charged! Like any new toy, I had to see what I really had. I opened my DFX and quickly and easily put the new battery in. Turned the machine on, and 12.9 Volts. That's 0.1 volts under factory max spec. Perfect! I notified BigBoar that the battery had arrived and took care of some other projects.

Next morning I was out for a four hour hunt. When I finished, the battery was at 12.7 volts. Next day, another four hours with the battery finishing at 12.5 volts. Then a job came in and it was two days before i could get out again. That scared me, because, with my old packs, it would be recharge time. Not this time. I've run two more four hour hunts plus a hour and a half hunt this afternoon. Present voltage: 11.9. At this rate, the battery will go for another two and a half to three weeks before needing a recharge!

Happy? You bet! How impressive is this system? If I had to choose between the AW-2200 battery and, say, my SEF coil( which I love and stays on the detector all the time)...I would give up the coil! Being able to hunt without time restrictions is awesome. And, when this first charge wears out, two hours on the charger(that's coffee, breakfast, checking the news and weather) and I'm ready to go at sunrise.

For anyone using the Spectra Series (V3i and VX3) or the E-Series (DFX/DFX 300, MXT/MXT Pro, and M6), this battery and charger system upgrade deserves serious consideration. On top of that, Andrew and BigBoar are a first class act.

HH

Dave
Dirty Money

[John in NC]

Looked it up on youtube. Looks like a real nice system.

[Nitelord]

I've been back and forth with this battery for my xlt. Thanks for the review. Maybe an early Christmas present.

[Dirty Money]

Had to believe that I wasn't the only person looking for more hunting time.

Ergonomics of the battery are great. Easy in. Easy out. No more standing the machine on it's head to get the factory packs out. I had some doubts, but this has turned into the best upgrade I've made on the DFX.

HH

[SMPress]

Thanks for the review Dirty Money,

I was holding off on ordering until I heard some field reports. Saw your post this morning and decided to order. I have two of the orange label rechargeable from Whites, and burned through one that was fully charged in about 3 hours of use this past weekend. VERY FRUSTRATING. I use the V3i. To be fair, I think this is the original battery that came with the machine 2 years ago, but still, I need more life from a battery! I am going out for a 16 hour hunt this coming weekend, 8 hours on Saturday and Sunday each. I can’t stop midway through to charge batteries...

Anyway, I ordered one this morning from Andrew at New England Metal Detectors. I ordered from the web site, and paid online. I got a canned e-mail from him, and decided to write him a short note about seeing people discuss it here at FMDF. I was alarmed when I got a refund e-mail, thinking the order had been cancelled for some reason. Turns out they were just refunding me 30 bucks for being a new customer. That was cool, and unexpected! Confirmation just came through while typing this that the package is ready for the post, and I should likely even have it before my weekend hunt! YAY!!!

Anyway, just thought I would post a thanks to Dirty Money for helping me pull the trigger, and to Andrew for great customer service!

Andy

[bigboar]

Nice review DM!!! I knew you were gonna like it. It is nice to see someones personal review of it. It is a great battery system! Also, Thanks for the kind words! We appreciate the support and without customers like you, we wouldnt be here!!!

[SMPress]

Hello Bigboar, my appologies, I did not realize that you were selling these, and had supplied Dirty Money with his. My post much look like poor form now!

I saw where he said he owed Big Boar a review, but I thought you were just an interested party. There were no links int he post, and I just googled the battery info, and New England Detectors came up in the search.

My appologies!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Andy

OK, never mind, Just realized you are also at New England Detectors! OK, I need to go back to work and see what I can screw up there, I dont have the mental capacity to continue posting on the forums this morning...

[bigboar]

thats ok SM,!

Originally Posted by SMPress

Hello Bigboar, my appologies, I did not realize that you were selling these, and had supplied Dirty Money with his. My post much look like poor form now!

I saw where he said he owed Big Boar a review, but I thought you were just an interested party. There were no links int he post, and I just googled the battery info, and New England Detectors came up in the search.

My appologies!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Andy

OK, never mind, Just realized you are also at New England Detectors! OK, I need to go back to work and see what I can screw up there, I dont have the mental capacity to continue posting on the forums this morning...

[Dirty Money]

Andy, I think you'll be thrilled with the battery system. Charge it up, pop it in, and go hunting. I got another 2 1/2 hours in today at a soccer field (gives my pup someplace to run), and I think the battery was at 11.5 volts. The life on this thing is impressive.

Have a great hunt, and post lots of pictures.

Dave
Dirty Money

[mgtmadness]

Can we get a review of this pack in a V3i?

[brocifus]

After about a week of use, I can give you my assessment of the new battery pack.

The very first thing I noted was the lighter weight of your pack ... a great advantage to those of us with aging arm and shoulder joints. Makes my Whites V3i feel like a whole different unit.

My outing today was a great test of the new battery pack. Being a dark and dreary day I had to have the back light on my V3i turned all the way bright. After 7 hours my battery still showed 11.3 volts (my original rechargeable pack would only give me 4 to 4.5 hours without the back light on).

Charging time seems to be slightly shorter utilizing the 12v car charger. Many times my battery pack is fully recharged by the time I get home from the hunt.

Bottom line ... if anyone is vacillating about whether or not to spend the bucks on this accessory for your V3i, or any other unit that it fits, quit thinking about it and BUY IT. It's one of those things that you'll wonder why you didn't buy it sooner.

DAVE

[mgtmadness]

What is the total time on the DFX and the V3i before needing a recharge?

[brocifus]

With My MXT PRO I would go about 40 to 45 hours and then recharge and it still had juice. The good thing is you can recharge anytime without hurting the battery no memory and in about 2 hrs or less.

[Dirty Money]

On my DFX, I have yet to recharge. Still have 11.5 volts left. The last few days have bee tough to get out, since we've had rain both days - starting within 1o minutes of when I would start hunting. What I can tell you is that my factory pack would have ben on the charger at least 5 times by now and the AW-2200 hasn't been out yet.

To quote Brocifus, "Bottom line ... if anyone is vacillating about whether or not to spend the bucks on this accessory for your V3i, or any other unit that it fits, quit thinking about it and BUY IT. It's one of those things that you'll wonder why you didn't buy it sooner."

HH

[SMPress]

My battery arrived on Friday, just before I was leaving for my hunt.

It is lighter than the standard orange label NIMH battery. I dont think I noticed a difference when I was out swinging with it, but side my side in my hands, it was notably lighter.

Mine sounds like it has somethign broken in it, when I turn it around, you can hear something in there. that being said though, it seems to be functioning just fine...

I charged it up, took less than 2 hours to take a full charge. Popped it in the V3i on Saturday, and went hunting. Reading when I started was 12.59
I hunted for 7.5 hours on Saturday, and it read 11.62 at the end of the day. I didnt bother to hook it up to the charger when I got in, and went back out on Sunday mornign for another 3 hours, with a reading of 11.54 at the end of the hunt. Not bad at all, still seems to be holding a good charge after 10 and a half hours of use. That would have been 3 full charges on my NIMH battery!!!!

I highly recomend this battery!

Andy

[RNB]

Originally Posted by SMPress

My battery arrived on Friday, just before I was leaving for my hunt.

It is lighter than the standard orange label NIMH battery. I dont think I noticed a difference when I was out swinging with it, but side my side in my hands, it was notably lighter.

Mine sounds like it has somethign broken in it, when I turn it around, you can hear something in there. that being said though, it seems to be functioning just fine...

I charged it up, took less than 2 hours to take a full charge. Popped it in the V3i on Saturday, and went hunting. Reading when I started was 12.59
I hunted for 7.5 hours on Saturday, and it read 11.62 at the end of the day. I didnt bother to hook it up to the charger when I got in, and went back out on Sunday mornign for another 3 hours, with a reading of 11.54 at the end of the hunt. Not bad at all, still seems to be holding a good charge after 10 and a half hours of use. That would have been 3 full charges on my NIMH battery!!!!

I highly recomend this battery!

Andy

Hi Andy,
Sorry about the rattling around inside your new AW2200.
It's a peice of small plastic left over from the injection mould process.
I promise you it will not hurt anything using your Batt Pack!

Best Regards
Rocky@RNB

[SMPress]

No worries rocky, like i said, I used it, and it worked out great, much better than the standard battery packs I was using before. Great product!!!

Andy

[Dirty Money]

Finally wore the first charge off the battery. That's three weeks of service at 12-16 hours per week. Total usage on one charge is between 36 and 48 hours! Incredible, considering that 3 to 4 hours were with the screen back lit. Put it back on the charger and 2 hours later it's fully charged an ready to go.

For any one using a Spectra or E series White's, this battery pack is a must have.

Dave

[Martin_V3i]

Originally Posted by mgtmadness

What is the total time on the DFX and the V3i before needing a recharge?

Ditto. What was the total run time and ending voltage on a spent battery when using the V3i. Martin