Etrac and lithium ion rechargeables

[mh9162013]

No, it's likely just 8 NiMH cells wired in series. Re-reading your comment, I understand better -- I meant the etrac *detector* probably has a voltage regulator in it, not the battery pack.

Fresh off the charger 11/8 = 1.4V which is believable. They drop pretty quickly to 1.3V, then very slowly drop for the remainder of their useful charge...found a graph. Pink is alkaline, see how it starts higher but keeps dropping. Black and blue are both NiMHs -- they hold flatter

I use Eneloops in most of my electronic devices, including an R/C transmitter. It uses 8 nickel-based cells. I currently have 8 first generation Eneloops in it and when they're fully charged, the transmitter reads the pack at 11.1 volts. Only when it hits 8.4v does the low battery alarm come on, I think.

And yea, the Etrac probably has a voltage regulator of some sort to be able to handle the wide range of voltages that can come from 8 alkaline or nickel-based cells.

 

[randy]

that extra voltage may just get burned off by an old school voltage regulator inside the etrac

I have the RnB Li- Ion pack, and the E-Trac will give you an "Over Voltage" message once in a while. Maybe once every two months or so. So it seems it has a regulator to protect itself.

When this happens, just pop the battery pack and restart, and you are usually fine.

And it does last 18 hours on one charge, at least when new. It does fade fast tho, once you get to one bar, you are living on borrowed time and maybe have 30 to 60 minutes left, if that.

 

[slimpickens]

No, it's likely just 8 NiMH cells wired in series. Re-reading your comment, I understand better -- I meant the etrac *detector* probably has a voltage regulator in it, not the battery pack.

Fresh off the charger 11/8 = 1.4V which is believable. They drop pretty quickly to 1.3V, then very slowly drop for the remainder of their useful charge...found a graph. Pink is alkaline, see how it starts higher but keeps dropping. Black and blue are both NiMHs -- they hold flatter

Just a thought? ... the rechargeable NiMH pack that came with my E-Trac is on its way out. Would it be possible to replace the rechargeable NIMH in the pack to the NiMH cells like the LSD Panasonic's Eneloops, etc. with an equivalent mah or higher that offer a better low self discharge for a longer period of time just setting around? And also be able to recharge it using the pack recharging system that came with unit.

BTW thanks for taking the time to post to this matter. Even this SC is able to better understand from the information shared by the Forum. SP USAF 62-66

 

[mh9162013]

Just a thought? ... the rechargeable NiMH pack that came with my E-Trac is on its way out. Would it be possible to replace the rechargeable NIMH in the pack to the NiMH cells like the LSD Panasonic's Eneloops, etc. with an equivalent mah or higher that offer a better low self discharge for a longer period of time just setting around? And also be able to recharge it using the pack recharging system that came with unit.

BTW thanks for taking the time to post to this matter. Even this SC is able to better understand from the information shared by the Forum. SP USAF 62-66

Most likely, the answer to both questions is yes. But why go through all that trouble? Just buy an 8 pack of Eneloops (and a single channel charger) and insert them into the alkaline battery holder. Just plug and play.

Then, you not only have LSD rechargeable cells in your Etrac, but also have loose AA cells to use in other devices if you decide to do that.

 

[slimpickens]

Most likely, the answer to both questions is yes. But why go through all that trouble? Just buy an 8 pack of Eneloops (and a single channel charger) and insert them into the alkaline battery holder. Just plug and play.

Then, you not only have LSD rechargeable cells in your Etrac, but also have loose AA cells to use in other devices if you decide to do that.

Good idea and thoughts .... A couple of ??, if you will? I presume that the minelab alkaline holder does not have the recharging system like the rechargeable pack has built in for the NiMH?

With this ... all I would/maybe could do is to replace the NiMH with rechargeable NiMH Eneloops and use the recharging unit that minelab supplied? Yes ... this adventure is troubling. But all I should need to do is just plug in this rechargeable pack to the recharger, if that would be possible.

Like and will considering/looking into the LSD Eneloops & the single channel
charger system you mentioned. Thanks very much for sharing! SP

 

[mh9162013]

Good idea and thoughts .... A couple of ??, if you will? I presume that the minelab alkaline holder does not have the recharging system like the rechargeable pack has built in for the NiMH?

With this ... all I would/maybe could do is to replace the NiMH with rechargeable NiMH Eneloops and use the recharging unit that minelab supplied? Yes ... this adventure is troubling. But all I should need to do is just plug in this rechargeable pack to the recharger, if that would be possible.

Like and will considering/looking into the LSD Eneloops & the single channel
charger system you mentioned. Thanks very much for sharing! SP

I don't know for sure, but I would venture a guess that the Minleab NiMH rechargeable battery pack is simply a way of holding 8 NiMH cells together in a form that the Etrac can accept. I doubt there's any circuitry in that pack besides maybe some sort of emergency cut off due to overheating or something. Therefore, any charging "brains" would be in the charger itself. I could be wrong though.

Yes, if you can replace the Minelab NiMH AA cells with eneloops, most likely you can still use the Minelab charger. Eneloops can use just about any charger that is designed for NiMH cells.

But that approach would require some moderate soldering skills and tools, which not everyone has. It's basically a lot of extra work for little in return, in my opinion.

I still think the best approach to is get something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-BK...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

and this:

https://www.amazon.com/Tenergy-TN16...arger+aa/aaa+tenergy+12&qid=1615656313&sr=8-9

And call it a day. The good thing about this approach is that now you have high quality LSD cells you can use in many of your other devices, like smoke detectors, remotes, clocks, flashlights, etc.

 

[TorqueMaster]

Just a thought? ... the rechargeable NiMH pack that came with my E-Trac is on its way out. Would it be possible to replace the rechargeable NIMH in the pack to the NiMH cells like the LSD Panasonic's Eneloops, etc. with an equivalent mah or higher that offer a better low self discharge for a longer period of time just setting around? And also be able to recharge it using the pack recharging system that came with unit.

BTW thanks for taking the time to post to this matter. Even this SC is able to better understand from the information shared by the Forum. SP USAF 62-66

Yes, possible, but not sure it's worth the trouble. If you get the pack open without damaging it, you'll probably find AA sized cells soldered together, and possibly some other safety components. Remove just the cells. If there's room, install springs and off the shelf AA NiMH cells, or go shopping online for solder tab NiMH cells to replace the ones you removed. As far as the charger is concerned, a NiMH is a NiMH, it won't know the difference.

The downside is anytime you use a bunch of cells connected in series like that, the manufacturers try to "match" the cells, so they charge and discharge evenly. Even brand new cells vary some. You won't have the luxury of thousands of cells to sort and choose from. Odds are your pack will work just fine, but may not last quite as many charge and discharge cycles.

It's preferable to charge cells individually, each one is a little different. Charging a series of cells is a compromise for all of them. The better household chargers have individual charging circuits for each battery.

If it's economical to do, try to save the old rechargeable pack. If not, fill up the "alkaline" battery holder with high mAh LSD NiMHs and call it a day.

If you really want a project to recycle the old pack -- look into replacing the NiMHs with Li-Ion cells. You'll need to understand safety issues with Li-Ion, and a different charger, but you'll get lighter weight, and probably much longer runtimes. The RC car/airplane guys use them safely and know how to do it right. 3 cells at 3.7V each = 11.1V which is right in the sweet spot between the "12V" of alkalines and "9.6V" of NiMHs...

 

[TorqueMaster]

Good idea and thoughts .... A couple of ??, if you will? I presume that the minelab alkaline holder does not have the recharging system like the rechargeable pack has built in for the NiMH?

Without opening up both, it's hard to say if there are additional components inside the rechargeable pack. Probably not, but who knows what their lawyers and engineers came up with.

All I can say is it is likely they designed the "AA" battery holder such that it will NOT fit on the charger -- without deliberate modifications. Doing so puts all the risk on you, not them.