rechargeable batteries for garmin 550t

[+cash king]

I know I read it somewhere but I cannot find it again. I just bought a Garmin 550t and I purchased 2300 mAh rechargeable batteries for it. They were the most mAh batteries I could find. My question are they big enough or should I stay with alkaline batteries?

Thank You

Cash King

[alandb]

Not sure what you mean by "big enough". I use 2700 mAh PowerEX batteries in my 550T and usually get 5 or 6 hours when geocaching with fairly continuous use. I always carry fully charged spare batteries in my pack ... you never know when you might need them when your batteries die and you need to find the way back to the car.

[+taybee]

hi

 

running a 62S and 60csx on 2300 mAh I get about 5 to 6 hours out of them now about 150 time recharge ( 2 year old batt's )

 

if you are runinng rechargeable set you GPS to rechargeable mod you get about 1 more hour use out of the Batts

 

I also use 600 mAh rechargeable as back up about 2 hours out of them now about 650 time recharge (come up to 7 year old )

 

hope this help

[+Viajero Perdido]

"2300 mAh" is a measure that affects the running time, like the size of your car's gas tank.

[+Mockingbird559]

I have been using Ansmann 2850 mah for a couple of years and they are pretty good, also just started using new model Sanyo XX 2400 (black) batteries and they are good too.

 

The older model Sanyo (white) were also good but the above is better for me.

 

Mt Oregon 550 came with 2000 Mah batteries. Rechargeable but they don't last nearly as long as above mentioned batteries. Never figured out why Garmin shipped such a low mah battery when the 550 is such a power hog.

 

I use a powerex 1000 charger which gives lots of options for recharging, rejuvenating, etc, which helps batteries last a little longer

 

Cache Happy.

[+Psychaesthetic]

"2300 mAh" is a measure that affects the running time, like the size of your car's gas tank.

 

Like he said.

 

Every device is rated in mA to reflect the amount of mA per hour of use. So if your unit uses 1000mA, then a set of 2300mAh batteries will run that device for 2.3 hours. If the device only used half that, you'll get 4.6 hours use. Of course there's more to it, and I'm no electrical engineer but basically if you just divide the batteries rating by the devices consumption (Battery mAh / Device mA) you get operating time.

Edited April 14, 2014 by Psychaesthetic

[+cash king]

"2300 mAh" is a measure that affects the running time, like the size of your car's gas tank.

 

Like he said.

 

Every device is rated in mA to reflect the amount of mA per hour of use. So if your unit uses 1000mA, then a set of 2300mAh batteries will run that device for 2.3 hours. If the device only used half that, you'll get 4.6 hours use. Of course there's more to it, and I'm no electrical engineer but basically if you just divide the batteries rating by the devices consumption (Battery mAh / Device mA) you get operating time.

 

Thanks guys. I just bought 2300 NIMH I will give them a try. I will also check the batteries that came with the unit maybe they are rechargeable.

Cash King

[dictum9]

Panasonic Eneloops give you the most recharge cycles and the best longevity.

 

Lithium AA cells will give you best runtime.

[+Viajero Perdido]

2300 is a good capacity for AAs; they should serve you well.

 

Note that some NiMH rechargeables slowly lose their charge over time, but the newer designs (typically marked "pre-charged", Eneloop is an example) don't have this problem.

[dictum9]

No, 2300 mah has been obsolete for a long time. They are up to 2900 mAh cells now. The problem is the reduced number of charge cycles vs. an Eneloop that's only at 2,000 mah. The other problem is higher capacity cells have a higher self-discharge rate but if you use it frequently, should not be an issue.

[+DonB]

I use Sanyo Eneloops in just about everything, the ones I have are 2500 mah and the newer models will keep a charge for up to a year and only lose about 18% of their charge. In my 76CSx the longest I have left it on is 11 or 12 hours and didn't have to replace them.

[dictum9]

Might be good to have both. high capacity 2500 mah that you plan to use immediately and don't care about higher self-discharge, and lots of backup 2,000 mah Eneloops.

[+Psychaesthetic]

Yeah I'll go out on a limb happily and recommend Eneloops. The XX's are i pressing me majorly.

 

The i portant thing it seems, is to not just grab Energizers because you know the brand, and *know* that all batteries are most definately *not* created equally. I have some Varta 2100mAh quick charge AA NiMhs that - even fully charged - on,y last 4-5 hours, which is just deplorable.. Useless.

 

I have found thst Energizer NiMh's are just as bad, they charge fast enough, but go flat just as fast, and I suspect there are plenty of 2500-3000mAh batteries that are just as rubbish.

 

Better off with 1800mAh of great battery, than 30,000mAh of garbage, and there's not even much difference in price, it's just a matter of locating the better brands, and resisting the urge to grab whatever's easiest.

[alandb]

Why are Eneloops so hard to find in local retail stores? I have looked in every big box store, electronics store and battery store in my area and none of them carry the Eneloops.

 

[39_Steps]

Why are Eneloops so hard to find in local retail stores? I have looked in every big box store, electronics store and battery store in my area and none of them carry the Eneloops.

If you live in California, USA, the reason may be related to Panasonic and Sanyo getting into a little dust-up/lawsuit/merger shortly after the original Eneloops were released. Or it could be just an agreement (wink, wink) between big box stores to throttle the availability of these popular rechargeable cells..

[+Viajero Perdido]

There are other brands of low-self-discharge (LSD) cells besides Eneloop, arguably just as good, and some arguably made in the same factory. (I just repeat what I've read on the internet, so go ahead and prove me wrong.)

 

I'm using PowerEx Imedion AAs, which are LSD cells that I consider equivalent; they came with a Maha (same company I believe) charger which is also excellent. I bought more of the cells for flashlights, etc.

 

Look for "pre-charged" on the packaging; that's the tip-off to LSD cells.

[+Psychaesthetic]

Why are Eneloops so hard to find in local retail stores? I have looked in every big box store, electronics store and battery store in my area and none of them carry the Eneloops.

 

I'd order them online if I couldn't get them locally. The Eneloop XX 2550mAh's I've just bought are still at approx. 50% charge in my Oregon after 17 hours on. Any other Eneloops would be perfectly fine too.

[sviking]

Panasonic Eneloops give you the most recharge cycles and the best longevity.

 

SANYO Eneloops.