Something to consider = batteries... The expense thereof

[A2coins]

rehargables dont work on my Garrett pin pointer

 

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[haxor]

Real batteries? Are the others fake? You are talking about the standard dry cell type and the nominal rated voltage is at 1.5v. You are correct in your analogy of the lower voltages seen by some rechargeables as being too low for proper operation on some devices, but not all.

Dry cell? Do they even make those anymore? I only see alkaline, which are rather moist.

 

[No gold in NY]

I think batteries have taken a huge jump in price recently, but we still have a pretty inexpensive hobby. Just compare a day of detecting with going to the movies or a round of golf. When you are done for the day...your batteries are still good.

 

[Swaveab]

rehargables dont work on my Garrett pin pointer

Try a NiMH 9.6v battery as the others are too low in voltage, but rechargeables will work.

 

[Swaveab]

Here's the one I got and if the link offends the mods then please delete this post.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...vp_pre_charged_rechargeable_nimh_battery.html

 

[GeoW]

Here's the one I got and if the link offends the mods then please delete this post.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...vp_pre_charged_rechargeable_nimh_battery.html

These are 9.6v rechargeable as opposed to those that are 8.4v. These are the good ones that can be recharged many times.
My three Nautilus detectors alone use 10 9v batteries. Troy Shadow X5s use 1 each. Several Tesoros and pinpointers use them too.
All my detectors except my Nox use 9v.
$10 each shipped for these is money well spent.
Thanks for the heads up!
geo

 

[mh9162013]

I know this is an "old" thread, but an important one and on a topic that I have great interest in. Therefore, I'll add my opinion and thoughts.

First, when using nickel based rechargeables (probably NiMH this day and age), 1.2v is the nominal voltage. When fresh off the charger, my AA eneloops are around 1.35 volts per cell. So an 8 cell pack will be close to 11 volts when it's fully charged. Under load, things can change drastically. But most modern metal detectors do not have high current draws. So with an 8 cell NiMH pack of high quality cells (such as eneloop), getting 10.5 volts probably won't be a problem for metal detecting. As for how long an 8 cell pack would be able to provide at least 10 volts, that's hard to say. I will say this: based on my testing with a CBA III analyzer, at a 1 amp draw (which is MASSIVELY higher than what a metal detector will pull), a AA eneloop cell will drop from 1.38v to 1.2 volts for approximately the first 10% of its capacity. The cell will then hover between 1.2 and 1.1 volts for about 65% of its capacity. Then the final 25% will be roughly 1.1 to 0.9 volts. These are very conservative numbers because metal detectors are probably only pulling currents in the realm of hundreds of milliamps per hour (if that).

Second, ditching alkaline cells in our machines can save a lot of money. Charging a AA cell costs literally tenths of a cent per cell. Compare this to a new AA cell costing at least 15 cents per cell (probably closer to 20-50 cents,depending on the brand and bulk discount). For a heavy user, who uses say, 6 AA cells in their set up (F-Pulse + F75, for instance), this might amount to a buck or two in savings (or more) per month. It's not much, but think of that savings amount in the amount of clad you'd have to dig up and clean.

Third, another advantage of rechargeables is not having to worry about leakage. Alkaline cells are notorious for leaking and no one should ever store alkaline cells in a device for extended periods, especially when the device uses multiple cells.

Fourth, when using rechargeables, one thing to know is that they all like to be stored in different ways. For instance, lithium ions and polymer cells don't want to be stored at 100% or 0% capacity. Rules of thumb differ, but I've read any where from 30% to 60% or so is recommended. So if you want maximum life from your lithium rechargeables, don't store them fully charged. But what happens when you want to go metal detecting on a whim? You can, but maybe not for as long as you'd like. LSD (low self discharge) NiMH cells are different. They are designed to be stored for very long periods of time (1+ years) at 100% capacity. And they lose little charge over that time period (think 10-20% over the course of a year). So as long as your device doesn't have significant parasitic current draw, you can store your NiMH cells in your device and it'll be ready to go on a moment's notice for years to come.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

A SERIOUS LESSON LEARNED!

I have/had two phases of the hobby, with my first phase being March, '83 till the cold weather of '87 in Massachusetts - my last hunt a thin 10k ring.

At that time I owned the ADSIII, Tesoro Royal Sabre, and the Fisher 1260X (my only original detector).

When I returned to the hobby when I retired, I dug my old Royal Sabre out = OOPS!!! I'd left the batteries in it, she be gone, and I had to find another.

Got myself over here thinking about which of the detectors I have now still have batteries in them...... Best to pay attention!