LawrencetheMDer
Hero Member
- Feb 22, 2014
- 986
- 2,406
- 🏆 Honorable Mentions:
- 2
- Detector(s) used
- Minelab Manticore, Minelab CTX3030 w 11" and 17" DD coils,
Minelab Excalibur II w 10" coil, Equinox 800 (4) w 11" and 15" coils,
Troy Shadow x2 w 7" coil, Pointers; Garrett Carrot, Pro Find 35,
- Primary Interest:
- Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
Since the Excal doesn’t have a full-charge indicator, it is often a guessing game to fully charge the battery but not overcharge it and decrease battery life. For a while, I was charging my Excal 1hr per 1hr use (i.e., 1:1). After getting stuck with a low battery on a lonely stretch of beach, I started to charge my Excal 2hr per 1hr use (i.e., 2:1) which worked well (or at least as far as I could tell). In Pauln’s video on the sounds of the Excal(http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/b...calibur-2-metal-detector-sounds-settings.html) , he notes that voltage of the Excal battery's working range is from 14v, at full charge, to 11.2v.
To better estimate the required charge time for the Excal, w/o constantly measuring battery voltage with a voltmeter, I compared discharge of the battery with general beach use to voltage over time during charging. In a nutshell, the (3 yr old) Excal battery discharged at a rate of 0.3v/hr, suggesting a run time of about 10hrs; given a voltage range of about 3v. The Excal battery charged at a rate of about 0.2v/hr. Assuming that the Excal is fully charged at 14v; you should recharge the battery for 1 1/2hrs per 1 hour of use (i.e., 1.5:1) to maintain a full charge.
On a related topic, while looking at Excal voltage in other situations, I found that Excal battery voltage ranged up to 14.66v. This may reflect an overcharged battery, but also may lead to 2hrs of additional detecting. For my current 3 yr old Excal my best estimate of working battery life, on a single charge, is 12hrs.
One other tidbit of information is noteworthy; while gathering data on my Excal, I found that one hunt had a particularly long estimated battery life of 20hrs! The only thing that separated this hunt from that other 12 was that I set threshold volume to just below detection. I usually set threshold slightly above detection, where you hear the constant hum of the Excal. Could setting threshold below detection reduce battery drain and prolong battery life? (What about volume level?) Since this observation was seen only once and not investigated, I don’t know. It is possible, however, that individual Excal settings may affect battery life. Then again, the 20 hr estimate of battery life could just be an outlier – just like the Platinum ring I recently found in a sea of pull-tabs.
To better estimate the required charge time for the Excal, w/o constantly measuring battery voltage with a voltmeter, I compared discharge of the battery with general beach use to voltage over time during charging. In a nutshell, the (3 yr old) Excal battery discharged at a rate of 0.3v/hr, suggesting a run time of about 10hrs; given a voltage range of about 3v. The Excal battery charged at a rate of about 0.2v/hr. Assuming that the Excal is fully charged at 14v; you should recharge the battery for 1 1/2hrs per 1 hour of use (i.e., 1.5:1) to maintain a full charge.
On a related topic, while looking at Excal voltage in other situations, I found that Excal battery voltage ranged up to 14.66v. This may reflect an overcharged battery, but also may lead to 2hrs of additional detecting. For my current 3 yr old Excal my best estimate of working battery life, on a single charge, is 12hrs.
One other tidbit of information is noteworthy; while gathering data on my Excal, I found that one hunt had a particularly long estimated battery life of 20hrs! The only thing that separated this hunt from that other 12 was that I set threshold volume to just below detection. I usually set threshold slightly above detection, where you hear the constant hum of the Excal. Could setting threshold below detection reduce battery drain and prolong battery life? (What about volume level?) Since this observation was seen only once and not investigated, I don’t know. It is possible, however, that individual Excal settings may affect battery life. Then again, the 20 hr estimate of battery life could just be an outlier – just like the Platinum ring I recently found in a sea of pull-tabs.
Upvote
0
