Rechargeable Batteries Vs. Regular Batteries

[+zoly]

I am planning to buy rechargeable batteries with charger. Does anyone have any experience or advice on this issue? Could those rechargeable batteries damage the GPSr? How about the lifetime of those rechargeable batteries?

[+Renegade Knight]

They won't hurt the GPS. Not all NiMH's are the same, Eveready makes a good one right now.

 

When it comes to chargers get one that uses intelligent charging. They will extend the useful life of your batteries.

 

Intelligent charging will sence when your Batteries are "full" and drop the charging to a level that keeps the battery 'topped off' but which won't harm the battery.

[+Keeper of Maps]

I am planning to buy rechargeable batteries with charger. Does anyone have any experience or advice on this issue? Could those rechargeable batteries damage the GPSr? How about the lifetime of those rechargeable batteries?

If you change battery types, be sure to set your GPSr accordingly. Garmin GPSrs have a setting for the different types of batteries.

 

Cheers!

[+PDOP's]

I use the Energizer NiMH rechargeables and are very happy with them. Look for batteries with a mAh (milliAmphour) rating of 2500 and you'll get about the same battery life as alkalines. Super Store and Walmart usually have them for about $15 for a four pack.

 

Here's a couple of links with more information

 

The Great Battery Shootout!

 

www.batteryuniversity.com

[+Team JSAM]

I always use lithium batteries will all portable electronics they cost a bit more but they are the safest and logest lasting batteries you can buy.

Edited March 27, 2006 by jsamfam

[BC Tripper]

I got a recharger just for geocaching. Now I'm totally hooked. So much so that I've got a 15min charger with a car adaptor *just in case*. It seemed like every week i was throwing away batteries because I cache so much, which isn't actuallly a lot in some people's books. I'd say go for it, they wont damage the GPSr, but disposable ones will damage the earth more. Plus you can use them for other things as well, like digital cameras which are always a fixture on any caching expedition.

 

BC Tripper

Edited March 27, 2006 by BC Tripper

[+Amazon Annie]

I don't know if it's just my imagination or not but I found the rechargeable batteries didn't last as long in the winter as the regular alkaline ones.

 

I've been using the 48 pack that I got in my 'stocking' at Xmas so I have a big pile of flat rechargeables sitting and waiting for me. I read somewhere that it isn't a good idea to let them discharge on their own. The rechargeables were starting to lose their charge faster than when they started out - that "Great Battery Shootout" site was a great place for this info - looks like time for a refresher!

[+Keith Watson]

Rechargeable batteries will lose their charge in the cold, so they will not last as long in the cold, where as alkaline batteries will come back to life after being warmed back up again. The slower you charge a battery, the more charges you will get out of them. Charging them quickly will cause them to heat up and wear out faster.

 

A rechargeable battery only charges up to 1.2 volts instead of the 1.5 volts of an alkaline. This may cause your GPS to misread the power left in the battery. Another thing you may see is with alkaline batteries, the GPS will last for a while after the low battery alarm goes off. With NiMH, I have found you may only have seconds before the unit powers down after a low battery warning.

 

NiMH may not last as long as one time use alkaline, but it is sure cheaper in the long runs with the amount of batteries I go through.

[+chris-mouse]

In the long run, rechargable batteries are the way to go. I find I get 12+ hours out of a set of alkaline batteries, as compared to 8 hours or so on a set of rechargables. The difference is that the alkaline batteries get tossed in the garbage at the end of that time, while the rechargables go into the charger to get another 8 hours of use. After three or four charging cycles, the rechargables are paid for. Everything after that is a freebie.

 

Rechargable batteries do have a couple of drawbacks.

All batteries lose the ability to deliver power when they're cold, and regain it when they warm back up. Rechargables suffer from this much more than alkaline batteries. I've had a set of rechargables completely 'die' in a couple of hours at -15c, yet after they'd spent the night warming up on the table, they were still more than 50% charged.

Rechargable batteries also have slightly different characteristics that can fool battery monitoring software. The lower voltage of the rechargables makes the my Magellan think that a freshly charged rechargable battery has already lost about 25% of it's life. The rechargable holds that voltage better than the alkaline battery, so when the battery is almost dead, the Magellan still thinks there's more than half of it left. The "low battery" warning is a joke with rechargables. With alkaline batteries, a low battery warning means you've got 5-10 minutes to get a new set of batteries in place. With rechargables, a "low battery" warning means you've got 5-10 seconds before the unit shuts down.

 

Go with the smart charger for the batteries. A smart charger will shut down the charging when the battery is charged. This prevents overcharging, which kills more batteries than all other causes combined.

 

Overall, go with rechargable batteries, but make sure you have a second set of charged batteries with you all the time. A third set wouldn't hurt either, especially in cold weather. Keep the spare batteries someplace warm, like an inside pocket, and they'll be ready when you need them.

[+Renegade Knight]

I don't know if it's just my imagination or not but I found the rechargeable batteries didn't last as long in the winter as the regular alkaline ones....

 

For use in the cold, you are absolutly right. Where it's an issue the Lithium Ion batteries are the best performers in the cold. They just happen to cost one heck of a lot.

[+zoly]

Thanks for the help. How often do you have to dispose the old rechargeable batteries and buy new ones?

[+PDOP's]

I have never had a set actually go dead. My first set were 1600 mAh and I still have them as spares after 5 years. I upgraded as new higher capacity batteries became available and prices dropped. From a cost perspective NiMH are by far the most economical option and friendly to the environment too.

[+Red90]

In my experience, the new 2500 mAh NiMH last as long as a high quality Alkalines. The charge indicator on the Vista does not read as well with them, but time from fressh to the low battery warnings are the same

 

They say you should get 500 to 1000 charges on the batteries. I use three pair for the GPS, one in the unit, one spare to carry and one in the charger. I've been running this set for 2 years and the life is still as good as when new.

[+Amazon Annie]

With regard to disposing of old batteries:

 

- I give Rogue Monkey all my "spent" alkaline batteries. He has some magic attachment for his flashlight that will use up the last juice. I gave him a big box of them and I have another one waiting...

 

- I dispose of them in recognized 'Hazardous Waste' places. We have one in the Hamilton area.

 

- I have found a site that lists drop off areas for batteries to be recycled:

 

http://www.rbrc.org/call2recycle/dropoff/index.php

 

In this area - the armpit of Lake Ontario - they list places such as Bell World, Home Depot, The Source and Zellers. I've seen the boxes around - you may have noticed them too.

 

Hope that helps to keep them out of the landfill!

[+PDOP's]

In this area - the armpit of Lake Ontario

 

Is that the slogan used by the local tourist bureau??

[+Stonebreaker73]

I consistently get more life out of rechargeables than alkalines and they save you a bundle as well. I still carry a set of alkalines for back up for my GPSr or flashlight. One way to help prolong the battery life is to give it what is called a "deep clean" by completely draining about once a month or so. The newer generation of rechargeables do not have a "memory" like the old ones (when you recharged them when they were half drained they would never take a full charge again). But, according to several rechargeable sites and articles I have read this complete draining of the newer rechargeables helps prolong them. Still, they are rated for 1000 charges and if they only worked for 500 they more than pay for themselves.

[+Couparangus]

There is a lot of misinformation about batteries in this thread. Here are some highlights:

 

One way to help prolong the battery life is to give it what is called a "deep clean" by completely draining about once a month or so

This is not the case with Nimh or SLA.

 

I've been running this set for 2 years and the life is still as good as when new.

 

I no believe. Nimh have a limited cycle-life that is determined by the depth of each discharge. Trust me, they don't have the capacity they had when new.

 

They say you should get 500 to 1000 charges on the batteries.

Run thos Nimh flat everytime and I bet you won't get 50 charges out of them.

 

I have never had a set actually go dead. .... I upgraded as new higher capacity batteries

If they never went dead, why upgrade?

 

Charging them quickly will cause them to heat up and wear out faster.

This is true of Nicads. I don't believe its true of Nimh though as they have such a high internal resistance that some heating is necessary to fully charge them.

 

I always use lithium batteries will all portable electronics t

Hmmm...but the voltage is different. How does that work?

 

Cheers!

C-A

[+Red90]

There is a lot of misinformation about batteries in this thread. Here are some highlights:

 

I've been running this set for 2 years and the life is still as good as when new.

 

I no believe. Nimh have a limited cycle-life that is determined by the depth of each discharge. Trust me, they don't have the capacity they had when new.

 

Believe what you will. I know how long the GPS will last on a set of batteries. Life is still within the accuracy of the measurement.

 

They say you should get 500 to 1000 charges on the batteries.

Run thos Nimh flat everytime and I bet you won't get 50 charges out of them.

 

But you do not run them "flat" in a GPS. You run them to the low battery indicator, which is still way up on the voltage curve.

 

[+Keith Watson]

Some good information here on the different types of batteries.

 

http://www.ibatterystore.com/help/faq.asp

 

Both LITHIUM ION and NICKEL METAL HYDRIDE (NIMH) can be dammaged by heat. Another instersting thing to note is NIMH batteries have a shorter life cycle then NICAD's.

[+PDOP's]

There is a lot of misinformation about batteries in this thread. Here are some highlights:

 

I have never had a set actually go dead. .... I upgraded as new higher capacity batteries

If they never went dead, why upgrade?

For the same reason I bought a new GPSr even though the old one works fine

 

I always use lithium batteries will all portable electronics t

Hmmm...but the voltage is different. How does that work?

Isn't this causing problems with some of the new Garmin cx models? High voltage is causing them to shut off.

[danoshimano]

I use a MAHA MH-C401FS charger. It has intelligent charging circuits, and all four slots act independently. It also features a slow/fast switch. I always charge on slow, and the final 20% takes about half the charging time.

 

Everything I have read indicates that NiMh batteries will have their life shortened by fast charging. The slower the charging, the longer the cell lasts.

 

Many chargers advertise how fast they charge the batteries as a feature, but I think it is actually a drawback. Just get more cells, and carry a pack of spares.

[+JDandDD]

Lots of interesting comments in this thread. I can only give what I have experienced this winter. I have used rechargables exclusively in my Platinum and my wife has used alkalines exclusively in her Magellan Gold. My rechargables have consistently outlasted the alkalines in cold weather. Don't know why that goes what should be expected but its been consistenly so since November.

 

Where my experience is identical is with the low battery indication. When you get the first warning you have to replace the rechargeables within about 2 minutes while the alkalines may have up to 30 minutes left in them.

 

JDandDD

[danoshimano]

I have used rechargables exclusively in my Platinum and my wife has used alkalines exclusively in her Magellan Gold. My rechargables have consistently outlasted the alkalines in cold weather. Don't know why ...

 

Maybe your unit (not sure what that is) has better power management than your wife's unit. I know that my Garmin Legend C gets longer life from rechargeables in winter than my Legend does on alkalines. If the two units were compared head-to-head with the same batteries, the C would last twice as long.

[+JDandDD]

I have used rechargables exclusively in my Platinum and my wife has used alkalines exclusively in her Magellan Gold. My rechargables have consistently outlasted the alkalines in cold weather. Don't know why ...

 

Maybe your unit (not sure what that is) has better power management than your wife's unit. I know that my Garmin Legend C gets longer life from rechargeables in winter than my Legend does on alkalines. If the two units were compared head-to-head with the same batteries, the C would last twice as long.

Mine's the Magellan Platinum and should require more power than the Magellan Gold. The two are the same except the Platinum adds electronic compass, temperature and barometer.

 

I should add, that when the temp gets below about 15C then lithiums seem to take over but then I'm not out caching in that very often.

JDandDD