I find it interesting that I don't see a whole lot of information in here about the fuel for our electronic callers. That is, the batteries. So here's a few things I have learned along the way with batteries, particularly NiMH rechargeable batteries.

First off is the rating system of batteries. For those not familiar with the power ratings of rechargeable batteries it's the mAh number. Typically it's in big numbers on the side of the battery as it is an advertising point. This is a measure of power a battery can provide before being depleted. To provide a simple example, a 2500 mAh could provide 2500 milliamps of power for one hour and a 1600 mAh rated battery could provide 1600 milliamps of power for one hour. In theory a flashlight that draws 1 amp per hour would last 1.6 hours on a 1600 mAh battery and 2.5 hours on the 2500 mAh battery. While the battery industry uses testing methods over multiple hours, this example serves simply to illustrate relative capacities.

So one would hope as not all batteries are created equal. Quit simply many batteries don't live up to their claims while others go beyond what they are rated at(see here for an example). So it isn't uncommon to see a quality 2100 mAh rated battery outperform a poor quality 2500 mAH rated battery. Also keep in mind that the ratings are based on room temperature use. Also, as a battery lives out its life, it will lose useful capacity.

Extreme hot or cold can drastically alter the performance of a battery. NiMH batteries can operate down to 0 degrees Celsius/32 degrees Fahrenheit. Below that temperature, you may want to consider looking at Lithium batteries that are capable of operating down to -40 degrees Celsius. Do not confuse these with Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) batteries as they are not the same.

Charged NiMH rechargeable batteries have a very short shelf life. Most NiMH batteries lose about 1% of their charge per day just sitting idle. Many people have learned this the hard way. They put some fully charged batteries in a device and use it for a short while and put it away. A month or two later they return to that device only to find a low or dead battery. Keep your rechargeable batteries topped off by placing them on a charger once a month if they aren't being used. When batteries are new, realize that it may take a few charge/discharge cycles before they begin operating at their stated capacity.

There are a couple of new NiMH batteries on the scene that are self-discharge resistant. The Sanyo Eneloop is probably the most popular. Others include the Uniross Hybrio and the Rayovac Hybrid. These batteries are sold in a charged state and they can be used out of the package without charging. The Eneloop claims to retain 85% of it's charge after one year of storage at room temperature. Independent tests seem to confirm this. The Eneloop AA is rated at 2000 mAh, with Sanyo claiming a minimum 1900 mAh rating. It's an excellent choice for devices that don't see a lot of regular use.

Be aware that NiMH are typically rated at 1.2 volts, where a comparable sized alkaline battery is rated at 1.5 volts. However, where alkaline batteries tend to lose their output voltage at a linear rate, NiMH cells will maintain their output voltage for a much longer period before quickly dropping off. Both battery types will show a rapid initial drop, but this is more pronounced with the alkaline and the NiMH actually run longer with a higher output voltage. This is also why many devices with battery strength gauges show NiMH batteries as being fully charged after a long period of use and then quickly dying. Where NiMH batteries shine is their ability to deliver more power than alkaline batteries. Click here for an illustrative chart.

Proper care and feeding of NiMH batteries will help ensure they live a long and productive life. There are two big enemies of rechargeable batteries: Heat and over-discharge.

Over discharging a rechargeable battery can cause the polarity on the batteries to reverse, also known as cell reversal. Essentially this kills the battery and it should be disposed of. Most electronic devices will shutdown long before this happens, but other devices like flashlights or devices that always maintain a slight draw, if allowed to completely run down, can cause polarity reversal.

Heat is probably the biggest killer of batteries. Most heat exposure comes from the charging of the batteries. While the batteries will heat up during discharge (use) this is typically not as great as that from charging. The faster a charger charges a battery, the hotter that battery will get. The more heat the battery is exposed to, the shorter its useful life. It's a matter of convenience (faster charging time) versus cost (reduced lifespan of batteries). The most important thing to avoid is overheating the battery. If charging on a rapid charger where the batteries build up a fair amount of heat, directing a fan across them can help limit damage.


When manufacturers claim their batteries can handle up to 1000 charge/discharge cycles, this is based on slow charging on chargers that run for hours. While the quick 15 minute chargers are convenient, they are very hard on the batteries. Expect a battery's useful life to be drastically reduced if it is frequently used on rapid chargers. A battery that otherwise has a useful life of 1000 cycles may not make it to 100 if constantly abused by a rapid charger.

When it comes to chargers, like many other things, you get what you pay for. Many of the chargers that come included with batteries, such as what Energizer offers, require batteries be charged in pairs. The charger simply will not charge a single battery. The problem with this design is that it can lead to under-charging one of the two batteries in the pair. So placing a 1600mAh rated battery alongside a 2500mAh isn't a good idea. But even placing a pair of 2500mAh cells together may caused one of the cells to get left with a less than full charge. The listed rating is a guide. Batteries can, and do, frequently vary +/- 50mAhs even amongst the same manufacturer and same lot. So you can easily have two identical 2500mAh cells, but one is a 2450mAh and the other is a 2550mAh.

You want a charger that charges each battery independently of the other batteries. These chargers are microprocessor controlled and feature more advanced charging capabilities, including thermal protection, and are able to recognize when each battery is fully charged. Also, because each battery is charged independently of the others, you can mix and match batteries on the charger. Many of these chargers also include the ability to "cycle" a battery. Cycling is a series of charge/discharge cycles that can restore poorly treated batteries to health, or in the case of new batteries, quickly bring them to optimal working conditions. Since new batteries typically do not hold a full charge until having been charged and discharged a few times, the charger can take care of this process automatically.

These "advanced" chargers typically start at the $40 range. The ability to charge more batteries at once and fancy displays will drive the price north. Also, there are chargers, such as the La Crosse BC-900 or Maha MH-C9000 that can analyze batteries and display their mAh rating, allowing you to build a closely matched set of batteries.

I use the Maha/Powerex MH-C801D charger. It accommodates 8 AA or AAA batteries, charging each independently. I've also started to switch over to the Eneloop batteries for many devices, particularly my daughter's toys. Since they hold their charge for a long time, the toys that get neglected for a while aren't dead or dying when she picks them up again.

For more information, a good resource is Steve's Digicams and for those that really want to see what's beneath the hood of NiMH technology, Energizer has published an in-depth NiMH application manual. A comparison of battery performance can be found here.

Alot of good information here! Thanks Bronco! Maybe one of the moderators here can pin this for reference to the top? MH

This deserves a "sticky" and hang from the top of this section!

Not to be picky about your excellent post, Glenn, but consumer battery ratings are never derived from a 1 hour discharge rate (or C1). Most often it's from a 20 hour or 10 hour (C20 or C10) discharge rate (meaning a resistive load equalling 1/20th or 1/10th of the total capacity), these being the ideal conditions under which to extract the highest number.

Manufacturer's would do well to standardize on testing and prominently explain all this on their product or packaging.

I would also offer that although you're correct that a 15-minute fast charger may indeed lead to premature failure of a certain percentage of NiMH cells, I find the economics and convenience factor quite worth the risk.

(Suppose I should qualify this by saying it's no big deal with loose AA cells to lose one now and then, though it would be a much more expensive proposition were I having to toss whole purpose-built welded packs as often, with perhaps 7 out of of 8 cells still being perfectly good.)

LionHo

Thanks. I was trying to keep things simple in explanation for most folks. I'll go back and clean it up, however.

The 15 minute chargers are convenient, but many folks may not be aware of the risks with them. Like anything else, as long as people know the risks beforehand they can make an informed decision.

I'm sure there are plenty of folks like me that will actually lose batteries by misplacing them long before they reach the end of their useful life, even with a 15 minute charger.

Thanks for the info we all need to know but can't stand to look for. Researching info like you've done would put me to sleep in a 4 lane freeway so its nice to have the meat and potato's version.

Added some more links above.

BroncoGlenn-- Excellent information and GREAT links. Thank you for taking the time to post this information!!!

BroncoGlen, Great post. I've been using rechargeable batteries in my trail camera. Recently built an e-caller, using the same batteries. I was out tonight and went through two sets of two AAA's in my MP3 player in less thantwo hours. Of course we had single digit temps.

BG, good info! Thanks. Here's a website with info on rechargeable batteries. MI VHNTR

http://rechargeablebatteryinfo.com/cat_index_21.php

Thought I would chime in with some personal experience regarding chargers. Many of us have a wide selection of batteries and packs that we need to maintain, and have a lot of money invested in them. I found a charger, built for the RC industry, that will charge any type of battery pack I own, plus lead-acid. It also cycles packs and reports the capacity. I've used it for a couple of years and it's top notch.

Triton computer charger

There is also a thermal probe that plugs in to the side of the charger to monitor the temperature of LiPo or Li-Ion batteries during charge, as these can represent a fire hazard. Since it uses an 11-15V DC input, you can use this charger from a vehicle battery to charge a pack at night or while you're in the field. It's expensive, but quite sophisticated, and I've had a great experience using it.


To power it, I used a $35 PC power supply +12 output, rated at 14A. I jury-rigged the wiring on the PC supply so that it runs without a motherboard connected, using the following instructions:

PC power supply

You will also need to short the green wire to any one of the black (ground) wires for the supply to start. (The guy didn't mention that little gem of knowledge in his instructions).

Thanks for the great write-up, it's very well written and informative.

Great write-up! Let's get this one pinned up to the top. I see a lot of complaints about e-callers that are due to lack of battery education.
GAJoe

I am glad I read this. I can say though that I am very happy that I bought the rechargable battery for the FX3 I bought it lasts a long time compared to regualr batteries.

I got some of the eneloop batteries in AA and AAA and they WERE fully charged when they arrived. Good tip on those quality batteries. I also got one of the La Crosse BC-900 chargers including 4 AA and 4 AAA batteries from Amazon and the whole deal only cost about $37. That is a real deal. I sure like the computer controlled charger. Way to go. Whish I had your information years ago. Thanks BroncoGlenn

Good Hunting... from Varmint Al

Great post and some great information B.G., much appreciated.......... I've copied and pasted this today from our other forum over at HuntingPA that I posted last week:

"I spoke to a major battery rep. yesterday in regard to getting updated information on maintenance for our lead acid batteries for the "off-season" (If you're not using your light to hunt yotes at night) This is the deal:

First, there are only three recognized major battery manufacturers left in the U.S. They are Exide, Deka, and Johnson Controls, and they private label for many, many companies, such as Cabelas, etc.

Lead acid batteries, no matter who the manufacturer is, are best served by maintaining a storage charge on them when not in use. Batteries will discharge after a time while sitting there, and need "topping off" every month if using a standard low amperage charger....

Most knowledgable retailers, however, have DISCONTINUED selling the devices known as 'Battery Tenders". Evidently there is some type of flaw that will burn out the batteries if left hooked up over long periods of time when used. A newer, smarter charger is now on the market, known as a "Battery Minder", which is made/provided by a company out of Englewood, N.J. known as VDC Electronics. They may be labeling them for retailers under different brands, but they must be "battery minders", NOT tenders. These battery minders are much smarter, will work with ANY battery, and will not burn out a battery due to overcharging. I am personally getting rid of my "battery tender" that I use for my Hog battery and picking up a "Battery Minder to keep my predator light batteries charged when not in use. Of course, you can always run the light a few times a month a month and then charge the battery according to specs, but for those of you that are going to put them away until fox starts in October here in Pa., the battery minder seems to be the way to go.......and these battery minders are for 12 Volt ONLY, although you can charge 2- 6 volt batteries by putting them in series. You can also charge up to 5- 12 volt batteries at a time with the battery minder.....all 5 hooked up in parallel, mind you......

Please be respectfully advised that I do not personally have anything to do with this company in the way of representation, stock, or any other financial involvement. I just figured you'd all want to know the latest.....I try to keep updated on this stuff because it's important....

Regards,

John

Dittos on the thank-you BroncoGlenn. As someone who is just now jumping up to a Foxpro, this information derived from your experience has undoubtedly saved me quite a bit on money that I can put in the gas tank instead. Thanks again,

MtnHermit

BroncoGlenn,
That was a very informational article!
After reading it a couple of times and doing a little bit of searching, I just ordered a charger and batteries.

Got everything from Thomas Distributing:
MAHA MH-C801D Charger
Powerx 2700mAH batteries - 8 pack.

Should be good to go for the "NEW" FX3 I just got last week.
(a mistake in labeling at a local retailer netted me a savings of $118 - out the door was $399).

What about the energizer recharagable battires are they good?

Just wondering about the difference in performance and life span between NIMH and NI-CD. Could you use the same charger for both types?

The NiMh batteries will go longer for you than the Ni-Cd. The MAHA MH-C801D Charger that I mention above will not charge Ni-Cd's.

Correction:
This charger will charge the Ni-Cd's.

Biggest thing with NiCd batteries is they have a lower self discharge rate than standard NiMH batteries. They can also be more tolerant of abuse and deep/rapid discharging such as when used in power tools.

I'm wondering the same thing here.I put my batteries on the charger last night before heading out his morning for my first time with my xr6 caller today,all pump and ready to see what my new caller will call in today.
Well went to first setup and called for a while then hit mute,Waited 15 min and hit caller again called for about 1 min then it all sudden shut off.Tried to send info again with no repsonse from caller Hmmmmmmmmmm.Finally got up and found my battery light was on,Dang it dead batteries.

"energizer recharagable battires are they good"

These are the batteries in using.It was also the first time using the batteries Should i recharge and will they last longer than a hour of calling or should i look at different batteries???
Any info will help out.Was kinda upset that i had to call it quites early due to dead batteries.
I also notice the caller had a charger spot to plug into to recharge,Can i use any recharger(car) or do i have to use a fox pro recharger and batteries??
Thanks for the help guiys.

Normally it takes 2 - 3 charges to get the batteries up to "max". But the ones you got should of went lots longer than 1 hr.

What you will probably need down the road is, a good "battery checker". You could have Just one battery that is weak (not taking a charge good or not holding a charge good) and that one battery could draw the rest of them down real fast.

I bought a battery checker here a couple weeks ago and after checking the pack of 8 Powerex 2700 mAmp batteries, I found one that draws down quicker than the other 7. This one battery is the last one to get fully charged also.

So You might want to check into a battery checker.

Thanks i will check them out on the battery checker never gave that much thought.
Thans again for the help.

We design and manufacture battery chargers. I have done extensive testing on Li-Ion and NiMH batteries and their charge capacities. I will give you a couple of tips:

1. Energizer rechargeable NiMH batteries - junk! don't waste your hard-earned money. Duracell are a little better. Good batteries are not cheap, cheap batteries are not good.

2. Cheap $20 chargers will almost never charge your batteries over 2000mAh capacity, even if they have 2500mAh batteries included in the package. We have tested most of the currently offered general retail chargers and this is the standard. It has to do with the charging ICs that they use to operate these circuits.

If you buy one of those low-dollar chargers (not bad by the way), just buy the 2000mAh batteries. WalMart has a good one that has Energizer's brand on it. Microprocessor controlled and all 4 slots charge independently. Thermal protection and overcharge protection are included.

3. Don't count on over 40-50 complete charge/discharge cycles with any of the AA NiMH batteries that you can buy at the grocery store or X-Mart.

4. Don't run them completely down, let them set and then charge them up the night before a hunt and expect them to hold a good charge. They need a couple of cycles to get the chemical reactions going. Try to get in the habit of charging them when you get through using them and then put them on the charger for an hour or two each month while you are not using them.

5. Occasionally you can find the Lithium batteries in bulk for a good price. These work well for the money and great to have as backups since they have long shelf lives. Energizer's lithium batteries are very good.

Where is a good source for a battery checker???

Batteries Plus.

Those only say they check voltage. I can do that with my voltmeter. Where can I find one that checks mah charge???

This is the one I picked up. It does check rechargeable battery's.
Battery checker.

Awsome thread!

BTW - there is a new MAHA charger MH-C800S, it's the same as teh C801D but is a 2 hour charger that costs about 10-15 bucks less.

Features
8 battery slots
Charges all batt's seperately
Has a conditioning cycle
Fast charge or soft charge button
LCD pannel that tells you about each battery

Talisman

I just bought 8 Energizer rechargeables last night and just read that they are junk. What should I buy for my on order FoxPro Scorpion?

Thanks

454shooter-- Have you actually tried you Enegizers or are you just going by a report you read? I'm no expert, but I have had two sets of 2500 mAh AA size rechargeable Energizer Nickel Metal Hydride batteries for quite a while and they have worked just GREAT for me up here in NW North DaColder. First, I used them in my FX3 and now I am using them in my FX5. No failures, they run all day in my FX5 and seem flawless for me.

I've use the Energizers for some time and they work well.

I've started using the Sanyo Eneloop batteries for most everything that eats up batteries, from my e-caller to digicams, to my daughter's toys. Since the Eneloops can sit for some time and hold a charge ok, it's nice to be able to pick something up and have it work and not need to replace batteries.

Lots of really brilliant information here, coincided with my purchase of a SCORPION.

I have now bought a BC-900 charger and 8 Uniross Rechargeable 2500mah batteries. On purchase put them into the charger, on a charge cycle - after using them in my caller for 5 hours, what cycle should I put them on to maintain their charge and keep them topped up?

I am thinking I should keep popping them on a discharge/charge cycle is this correct??

Cheers

I did a quick read on the 900. I would run charger at the slowest charge that it puts out. Remember: heat is very damaging to batteries, so the slower you can charge them the longer they will last.

The discharge/recharge mode, is going to be primary for "reconditioning" the batteries and this doesn't need to be done until probably after 8-10 full cycles. I would think your instructions would show this.

Thanks Coyote Control, I have done that (full charge on slowest setting).

The instructions do not really explain at what stage in the batteries life you should charge at the different mode settings...

Cheers

Some good rechargeable 9volts to look at.
9v NiMH
Chargers for the 9v

Good call on the Lacrosse charger. I have had one for a couple years. By far the best charger I have owned. As for batteries, I have the best lifespan using Rayovac hybrids. They also can be had for under $10 for a 4 pack of AA's.

anyone know where i can get replace batteries for a lohman 2555 CD caller. it is the one that has 2 speakers? The batteries are CB640 6V 4.0 Ah.

thanks Brmosh

FYI
Sanyo Eneloop are at Costco right now and have a $8-10 instant rebate. You get 8 AAs, 4-6 AAA's, 4unit charger and 2 C and 2 D shells that the AA's fit into.

Wow- even after all this time- this post rocks! Thanks BG!
Got tired of my batteries not doing what they should so read up on this sticky and BAM! decided to get some better stuff. Looked around and finaly decided on the Maha MH-C800S. Picked up an 8 pack of the Powerex 2700mh batteries to go with it.
Found the charger for $47 here Maha MH-800s charger

Batteried ran $13 a 4 pack here 2700mh batteries

Thanks for the ton a good info!

+1 on Energizer NiMH rechargeable batteries being junk. Have a pile of them (bought all at once) with their 15 min charger. Have only been recharged 6-8 times. Won't even power my cordless mouse for more than 3-5 days after fully charging. Maybe some are good & some are bad? I know a few guys said they have had good luck with them. I believe them to be a very small minority. Just bought a MAHA MH-C801D, a MAHA MHC9000, 20 AA Sanyo Eneloops, and 4 AAA Sanyo Eneloops. Tired of fooling around with batteries when I should be concentrating on coyote hunting. When the MAHA MH-C801D arrives, I'll use it to analyze the Energizers. Should prove interesting.

Good stuff, thank you !

Now I just wish i would have read this before I spent almost 60 bucks on 16 batteries today....

Stay away from the engergizers. Junk batteries. I read a bunch of reviews over on the candlepower forums before buying my batteries. They do some pretty in-depth reviews. The Sanyo Enelopes are suppose to be really good. Maha chargers and powerex batteries are suppose to be some of the best. Not cheap though. I bought (2) T2299 chargers and 16 of the Tenergy R2U slow discharge AA NIMH batteries for servicing my Fox Pro Fury over the weekend for 68.00 delivered from All Battery.com I'll post a review after I get a chance to use them. The charger I bought is computer controlled and charges AAA, AA, C,D, and 9 volt. If money wasn't a little tight I'd have bought the Maha charger and Powerex batteries from Thomas Distributing.

I saw where Walmart is carrying the Precharged Duracell AA NiMh batteries. They claim to hold a charge longer.

They were more expensive than the Energizer AA NiMh batteries at the same Walmart Store.

I have 3 sets of 8 AA batteries but they are all the Energizers. only 16 of them are 2500 mAh types while the others are 1850 mAh types.

I am using a PM4 and a Fox Pro FX3 so I need at least 20 good fully charged AA NiMh batteries for a hunt.

After reading all the posts in this tread I guess I need a better battery charger. I am thinking about buying some of the newer Duracell Precharged AA NiMh batteries but wanted to check in here first to get some other opinions on these new Duracell AA's

i bought 60 rayovac AA at home depot today they had a lot left. what deal .16 ea. good until 2016,four years after the world ends

Any suggestions for aa batteries for cold climate like Alaska. Most of my calling is in temps from 0-15 below. The cold really zaps them. Is there a Lithium aa rechargable out there?

I am not aware of any AA Lithium re-chargeables, but check these batteries out - Sanyo

Also click on "features" to read more about them.

Just picked up the Maha MH-808D Charger and a dozen of the Powerex 2700mAh batteries. The batteries will be in addition to the dozen or so Energizers and 8 of the FoxPro AA's that I have already been using for a bit in the charger.

So far, the charger is fast and seems to be working well but the Energizers still seem inconsistant on their charge.

Full review after I get the new batteries and run them through a couple cycles.

I did a google search on a Duracell Mobile Battery Charger and found some thing on the net. It was a review where this engineer type guy had tested the Duracell Precharged Batteries.

He suggested that the Duracells were just like the Sanyo eneloops. These Duracells Precharged are 2000 mAh and are suppose to retain their charge for one year.

I got two Duracell Battery Chargers at the Boonville, IN Walmart but I can't find those models on the Duracell Web Site now. Perhaps they have updated their web site and those were older models? I don't know. Model CEF 23 is what I got. They charge at 500 milliamps. So they are not FAST chargers and will not overheat the batteries. And they will stop charging each cell individually when the battery is fully charged. He said that they will trickle charge the batteries also. Not a bad deal for $20. I picked up two of them so that I can charge 8 batteries at one time in these two chargers.

$40 for two chargers and 4 AA and 4 AAA batteries.

These chargers can be used in a wall outlet or with a cigarette lighter plug. And they can also be used to charge up a USB device. There is a button that lets you switch from charging the batteries to charging a usb device. You can't do both at the same time.

Put in 4 fully charged batteries and then use the charger to power your usb device while on the go.

On the www.duracell.com web site they sell a mobile charger but it's a one hour charger and not the one that I have now. They have put a new mobile charger on their web site.

NOTE: A few weeks after I posted this I went out and found two of the newer type Duracell Mobile Chargers. These are model CEF26NA. There are the new Duracell GoMobile 1 hour chargers.

So now I have two of the CEF26NA's and two of the Model CEF23.

I still have two of the Energizer Portable Chargers that work on a cigarette lighter or household current. Model CH15MN. There will charge up 4 AA/AAA NiMH batteries in 15 minutes.

I have one other Energizer Battery Charger that I have had for many years now. It's the Eveready Model CH1HR unit. Along with these Energizer I must have about 36 Energizers AA'a and 8 Foxpro 2500 mAh AA and about 16 of the New Duracell Precharged 2000 mAh AA's. I don't really need all the Energizers anymore. There work as designed and they are in good working order. I just charge them up before I use them for hunting.

I am going to be buying new rechargeable aa's for my e-caller. The highest mAh rated Sanyo Eneloop aa batteries I can find are 2000 mAh. Are these to be preferred in an e-caller over Sanyo 2500 or 2700 mAh batteries?

The 2500/2700 amp are good for longer use per charge, where as the great thing about the Eneloop battery is, they will hold a charge longer while sitting idle in the drawer or on the shelf.

I have both types and they have been working just fine for the last 2 1/2 yrs now.

Thanks for the fast reply CC. I'll be getting Eneloops.

Hi Everyone,

Great post and appreciate all the great information. I have been looking for more products that we can offer our customers and will try some of them listed here, thanks.

We have found the Tenergy battery to work extremely well. Tenergy has a charger and 8 AA batteries that we are selling for $39.99.

Check it out http://www.paysonoutfitters.com/servlet/the-664/tenergy-rechargable-battery-AA/Detail

Thanks, Eric

I've been using powerex with maha charger for a year now in Fury and just started with 2700 mah sanyos and they will call all weekend without recharging. That is good enough for me. The callers are still going strong at the end of the weekend I just recharge them when I am done andi am ready for the next couple of days of calling.

Here is some information for those of you trying to figure out the "time" to charge rate.

Charging time depends on battery pack capacity.
Estimate time as follows:
Charger time (Hours) = 1.2 x (mAh of battery pack/mA rating of your DC power supply)

For example, if a battery pack is 1800 mAh, then the charging time will be 7.2 hours with a 300mA power supply which is really no more than a wall wart.

It is best to be 11% higher voltage (at a minimum) of your battery. so if you have a 10VDC battery charge it with a minimum of 11.1VDC. You can charge a 9Volt Battery Pack with a 12Volt battery, but other precautions have to be taken for overcharging, which can be done either electronically or by just buying a plug-in timer for your outlet you charge your battery in. By doing the math above you can set your charger to a few minutes past your optimum charge and it will shut down your charger, which can be a simple wall-wart.

I use a 1300mA 12Volt "universal" power supply from walmart and I charge batteries in the range of 6volt, 7.2Volt, 8.4 Volt and 9Volt and 9.6Volts. You cannot however charge a 12Volt battery with this set-up you would need a 15Volt supply to do this.

Currently I am repairing several of the venerable Wester Rivers PREDATION callers and have seen the major problem with these callers was the battery pack and the charging circuit. Currently I am bypassing the on-board charging circuit, and using such a charger for charging the battery, I am afraid the standard 8.4Volt NIMH batteries are toast, as I know they drained themselves to 0 which is a definite no-no when it comes to these types of batteries as they can reverse polarity if they fall below .06volts.

My current test is to charge the 2300mah 8.4Volt battery for 2.3hours and see what the capacity of the battery will be. if this does not work, then most likely the battery will have to be replaced.


Note: This 12V adaptor can not charger 12V battery packs which must be charged by 15V DC adaptor

If this is true then why is the output of the foxpro charger 12v at 300ma

I know this thread started in 2007 so I was wondering if I could get a current consensus on which rechargeable batteries everyone is using. These are my choices so I was hoping for some help in deciding which ones to purchase.
Do you prefer a higher mah battery or a hybrid battery that seems to last longer? I very seldom if ever will not be able to charge my batteries after one day of hunting. I will be using them in a Foxpro CS-24 caller.

Powerx batteries 2700 mAH

Tenergy batteries 2600 mAH but so so reviews on Amazon.com

Eneloop 2000 mAH hybrid with 1000 recharges

"New" Eneloop 1900 mAH hybrid with 1500 recharges

Any other brand someone has excellent experience using.

Here's what I've found for batteries:
Powerx 2700 work pretty good.
Sanyo 2500 seem to hold a charge a little longer while setting (some of them that have been setting for 3 mo's are still at 100%)


I also have Imedion 2000 "low discharge" and Imedion 2400 "low discharge" These are also very good for holding a charge.

I have some 2 yr old Powerx that are down to 2300 mAh, this is from the 2700 mAh rating. But, it may be a lot of other batteries may act this way also.

Soooo, which do I like? Well I am more in favor of the Sanyo 2500 as of now.
For the "low discharge" types, the Imedion 2400's gets my vote.

These are the only ones that I have been using and I think my last count was around 60 that I have.

I have read through this and do not see any mention of the Foxpro batteries and chargers.I bought the one that plugs directly into my firestorm and the first time I charged them they seemed to get really hot. I have since ordered the table top charger from them that charges 1-8 at a time.
Does anyone have any thoughts on these?

Guys,

What's the main difference between the Maha MH-C801D and MH-C800S chargers? From the descriptions of each one on Amazon they seem to be the same thing. Just curious what the advantage of one over the other may be. Thanks.

About the only difference that I see is; the 801 has a slow charge of 2 hrs (which is about a 1amp charge rate). The 800 has a 4 hr charge time I believe, which would then charge at probably around 1/2 amp.

Maha, recommends charging battery's at the slowest rate in order to get a good "full" charge and to help maintain longer battery life.

Just ordered the LaCrosse 9009 off Amazon. I hope these are as good as you guys say. I had my FX5 out yesterday after I had all the batteries charged for two days "Energizers" and it worked for 20 min. When I got home I went to use it in the driveway and it would not turn on and the battery light was blinking. Tired of wondering if it is the batteries or the caller. I have had nothing but problems with this FX5 since I bought it from a board member here.

Zorro
What you may need to get along the way is one of these - Battery tester then you can see if maybe a couple of the battery's might not be charging properly or holding a charge.

It's the batteries, guaranteed. I have used the same batteries in my FX5. I'll tell you whats going on, one or 2 of your batteries in the group are dead. I noticed the same thing a couple times with mine, got out my tester and 7 was good 1 was dead as could be, happened twice.

t/c223encore.

I have heard that the Sony CycleEnery batteries are the same as the Enloop, Has anyone else heard this? if not does anyone else use the sony?

i purchased some of these and the charger actually takes 7 hours to charge, could i still use the Maha or the lacross charger?

I've read they are identical except for the wrapper. You should be able toe use the Lacross or the Maha no problems. - I've got the Maha C-9000 and just ordered the C800S

I have a question though for one of you more experience guys. Is it better to run the batteries for a full discharge or is it o.k. to top them off after you run for a day?
Thanks
Mike

It should be just fine to "top" them off when needed. I usually will never let mine get below 50%.

It's probably a good idea to drain them down all the way, maybe after every 10 charges or so.

Thanks Control

Just pickup my first E- caller, used from this site. Can;t wait for it to arrive. It's a FX3. I am looking for recommendations for rechargeable batteries, along with a charger. From the Foxpro site, it looks like a takes 8 AA batteries to run on...is that correct. What type of battery for the remote, and should that be a rechargeable as well. Thanks in advance for your help,

AA is correct - 9v for the remote. Really no need to have the 9v rechargeable, but if you want to have a good 9v, then look into getting a Primary Lithium battery, although it's not necessary.

There are lots of brands of rechargeable battery's, but the higher the mAh, the better the performance. Like 2400 - 2700 mAh would be good if in really cold climate. In warm climate, you could get by using the Low Discharge battery's - 2000/2400 mAh.

Maha 801 charger
This one will work very good for ya...
There are also others there too, if not sure which one, just come back ask.

I bought one of the new Maha -MH-C801D AA == AAA Battery Chargers. chargers. It will charge up to 8 AA or 8 AAA at one time. There is a soft charge mode that lowers the charge amperage by 1/2. Then there's a mode that charges, discharges and then recharges the batteries up to recondition them back into good shape. There is a rest period in between the discharge and recharge cycle to allow the batteries to cool down. Each battery is independant of the others and the recharge won't start until each of the batteries in the compartment is fully discharged. This ensures that all batteries are charged up to the same point I guess.

I used this charger to cycle all my energizer, duracell, foxpro and some new Rayovac Precharged batteries. It took me a week or more to get all my batteries conditioned.

I also purchased two of the 4 channel Maha battery chargers Model MH-C204W as they can Rejuvenate old batteries sometimes when the 8 channel charger can't. So the literature said. But I found that the 8 channel was doing a really good job on all my old batteries.

I have many of the energizer AA's that are several years old. They range in millamp hr ratings from 1850 to 2100 to 2500.

Make sure that when you charge these batteries you make sure that all of the batteries in the charger are the same Millamp/hr rating. Don't mix the 1850 mAh rated batteries with the 2400 mAh batteries in the charge at the same time. Match the batteries together in the same power range and then charge all the same time at the same time.

The Mh-C204W will charge two AA at 2.0 A or four AA's at 1.0 A.

1.0 amps is the same at 1000 milliamps.

Now that I have all my batteries rejuvenated and fully charged up and tested I need to test them in my Foxpro FX3 Digital Caller and see how far away the Foxpro can be place from the Remote and still work well. My last hunting trip I put the Fx3 out about 30 yards and still had trouble getting it to work with the remote. I had the FX3 sitting on the ground in plain sight of my stand and had a hard time getting it to turn on. And the volume was lower than I expected it to be when it was that close to me. It was early morning in Oct but it was cold outside. I was up all night hunting and scouting and was very tired that morning. So I may need to repeat that setup to see if things work better now that I have fixed up all my rechargeable batteries.

Just remember that the regular AA NiMH batteries that are not low discharge must be charged up every month. The worst thing you can do with these batteries is to let the sit idle for long periods of time. That may ruin them from what I have read.

The newer type of low discharge can sit for a year and only lose about 80% of their charge so the literature states. Most all my newer purchases are the low discharge types. Duracell and Rayovac call them PreCharged NiMH batteries.

The Foxpro that come with the FX3 are not the low discharge type as far as I know. But I am not sure about this. But they don't claim to be low discharge so I guess they would say that on the box if they were low discharge type.

http://www.thomasdistributing.com/MAHA-MH-C801D-AA--AAA-Battery-Charger_p_166.html

Coyotehunter,
Snowcamoman here on the forum, mention in a thread once about a charger he had - Look Here, and so I bought one and like it very well.
It will give you the actual mAh rating of the battery after charging - which this is something none of the other chargers will do that I know of.

So after 2 yrs on a set of 8 batteries, that started out @2700mAh, they are now down to 2300mAh + or -.

The solid black batteries that Foxpro is selling now are a superior,low discharge battery, and therefore you get better shelf life. I haven't heard a single negative thing about them.

I have a new foxpro fire storm, and just bought a 12 v 600mah charger that plugs into the foxpro, will the green light that is on the foxpro go off when the batterys are fully charged?
Thanks Dirt napper

I also have an fx5- just bought the fox pro black rechargable batt's came with the wall charger.I would also like know if the charger in the foxpro would be fine or no.yes they got alittle warm before but didnt know if fox pro made the batt's go bad or not?these say low dicharge

thanks in advance

I have always liked a "stand along" charger over the one's that are direct plug in. I can't say anything about the Foxpro charger, for mine didn't come with one.

Dirt Napper
It's really hard to say if the green light will go off, but if in doubt, then you might want to look into getting a "battery tester". You could have one battery in the group that may not be getting a full charge and that might have an effect on whether the green light will go off.

Im waiting for my fx3 as well........cold climate calling, gonna grab the 2500-2700 batteries myself

Great info. I was just going to start a new thread on this topic when I found this one.

Maybe I should have posted here instead




dumb question? I already have all this stuff just wondering if I could use it for this application.

the caller uses 10AA batteries, alkaline 10x1.5 = 15v
it preferes nimh due to the high load so 10x1.2 = 12v

seems the caller would handle anything from 12v to 15v?

the batteries have velcro, so it'd be too easy to velcro them to the base on the cs24b

??

Even in cold weather? Iv had poor luck with duracells in cold climates

Anybody use this charger
Tenergy TN160 12-Bay AA/AAA NIMH/NICD LCD Smart Battery Charger

http://www.all-battery.com/tn160_nimh_nicdbatterycharger-01160.aspx

And how about the tenergy 2600ah anyone use those batteries ?

Yes I've seen them. If they would charge 8 batteries at one time I'd get one of those. They should do the job well. At least you will know what the battery is doing though out it's life.

Humm, ever think of getting two of them? I did and now I can charge 8 batteries at a time - problem solved.

There is a "break in" mode on these and using that mode on "new" batteries will really help in the longevity of the battery.

I just bought one of those chargers from All Battery, had it for 3 days now. Seems to be a good charger for the money. It provides information as to the status of each battery. I've already found 2 bad AAA batteries with it that weren't taking a charge. My other charger was showing them to be charging. I just got 10 of the white and blue 2500ahm Tenergy AA's today for my Hellfire, they're charging right now.

That is a good set up you have Whack Master. Rated high.

I don't use any battery with the Tenergy name, they are not my "cup of tea" as one would say.

If I want a good AA or AAA NiMh battery, then I go with Sanyo XX (LSD) or Powerx. Same when using the 18650 Lithium battery's for the L.E.D. flashlights, no Tenergy for these lights either, I like the battery's that have the cells that are made in Japan and not China.

There's something to be said for this. Most of the reviews I've seen of people posting test results for Chinese vs. Japanese made cells are that the Chinese made tend to be across the board in terms of rated capacity. The Japanese made cells tend to be much more consistent with each other. This holds true not just with different brands, but within the same brands.

Like anything else, you aren't going to get higher quality by paying less.

don't know where the foxpro batteries are made, but they do seem to be high quality.

I picked up a maha mh-c9000 and have been using it regularly with the powerex 2700 batteries.

What would those of you in the know suggest for something of similar capabilities for charging 9 volt batteries?

I called up Maha today. They, at least, don't carry anything like the c-9000 for 9v. Their c490f and c1090f models both charge the batteries independently. The first is four stations; the second has 10 stations.

Just picked up the Foxpro Fusion yesterday now looking at batteries and chargers. After reading through this it looks like I'll be getting the maha mh-c9000 charger and some 2700ahm batteries. I plan on buying and extra set to keep fully charged and with me in the field.

My question is, in general how long will this call last on these batterys before I need to replace them? I will be doing most of my calling in cold temperatures this winter. Will they last for 4-5hrs of calling?

Depends on the volume you use, how cold and how much you call on a stand.

I usually do 20-35 minute stands with the caller on about 70-80% of the time. I run the volume up and down. I can get 12-20 stands on a fully charged NIMH batteries and most of the time in cold weather 12-15. In hours I would say 3 in cold and 5 in milder weather.

With Lithium rechargeable batteries I can easily get double that. They weigh half as much as NIMH and last twice as long-----and cost about twice as much. Cry once buy once.

Keep your caller and remote out of the cold between sets if at all possible. Carry them in your pocket or under your coat if your walking. It's good that you are going to carry an extra set of batteries with you. That has come in handy for me more than once. Be sure to carry back up batteries for your REMOTE also. The Fusion was also a great choice.

Yote Yoda - What Lithium rechargeable AA batteries are you using?

Yote Yoda - What Lithium rechargeable AA batteries are you using? [/quote]

In my Shockwave and CS24C I use the Lithium Battery Pack from FoxPro.

I also use the NIMH welded Battery Pack from FoxPro and it also outlast the individual batteries that most use.

I have tried every battery combo on callers and decoys known to mankind over the past 30 years. I haven't used anything that will give your more running time than the two welded battery packs that FoxPro has listed on their website.

As far as chargers go, I use a nitecore i4. No problems after two seasons. I'll be trying lithiums with my new fusion also.

Looked at that one, but my game cams use 8 AA batteries each, and I was tired of using two chargers to charge batteries for those one at a time. Went with a 16 bay smart charger found on Amazon instead.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005UNPM3M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Then I picked up 2-16 packs of EBL 2800 mAh AA bateries.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DNPT1AO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Haven't had a chance to test them and don't know a thing about EBL as a brand. Charger is fantastic! LOVE IT!! The EBL AA batteries are supposedly the hottest available, but like many things on the net, they receive mixed reviews.

Per the pic on foxpro's site their batteries appear to be Tenergy. I'm gonna get some of those new eneloop pro AA for my fusion. I use the Nitecore i4 charger. Only 4 bays but can charge anything including 18650's. Charger was $25 on eBay.

Just a quick note.
Sony's new battery.

Does anyone know of a source for the right connections so that you can use these for a CS24C:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/390800142206?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.com/itm/390954234249?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Hi...i am a new user here. As per my knowledge most often it's from a 20 hour or 10 hour discharge rate, these being the ideal conditions under which to extract the highest number.Manufacturer's would do well to standardize on testing and prominently explain all this on their product or packaging.I would also offer that although you're correct that a 15-minute fast charger may indeed lead to premature failure of a certain percentage of NiMH cells, I find the economics and convenience factor quite worth the risk.

pcb assembly

Just put 16 tenergy AA batteries on the charger, 7 of them would not take a charge. So I did a search on youtube and this is what I found, I tried it and it worked, batteries are now taking a charge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICne0ZyZ3IA

wybob,
I don't know what charger you are using, but it probably is similar to the one in the video, in that case you could just get yourself a regular charger and it will do the same thing for you.
I use a Maha C9000 (AA/AAA) and when the batteries don't take a charge I then throw them into my Maha C808M and leave them for about 2 min. They are then ready to charge on the C9000. Been doing it this way for the last 4 yrs now.

Most of my AA Powerx batteries have been going for 7 yrs now and the C9000 charger has been doing a great job in reconditioning the batteries.

I ran 16 of the AA Powerx on a Maha charger and never lost even one in about 4 years.
The Maha is money well spent!

I'm getting some eneloops (2100) and I read about chargers being used BUT can't I just use the built in charger in my Foxpro unit ?

Great post here. Going to hijack with a question. I had to have some repair done to my foxpro caller and the tech replaced the battery pack and wrote on it when the pack/caller was returned that batteries should not be mixed. I was using foxpro and top end NiMH batteries. Is their a rule against this?

The tech is right, keep the batteries all the same, such as brand and mAh rating.

Muskrat - sure, you can use the charger in the caller, it should work just fine for you.

I recently upgraded my Fury to a Shockwave. I have the Foxpro charger that plugged into the front of my Fury and it seems to plug into the shockwave just fine. Can anyone confirm that the 8 cell charger will work ok with the 10 cell shockwave? I bought 10 new NiMh batteries and I'd rather not spend another $50 to replace the charger.
Thanks!

the fury uses 8 batteries and the shockwave uses 10. seems to me a charger made to charge 8 batteries would not have the required output to charge 10 batteries.

a call to FoxPro would be best.

I'm not an electrical guy at all. Wouldn't it just take longer with the 8 cell charger?
Edit: I could call foxpro of course, but I assumed that whoever answered the phone would give the stock answer of buy a new charger when that may not actually be needed. There are some knowledgeable folks here, so that's why I asked.

I have not been out hunting for the last 5 yrs now, heart problems have force me to slow down.

But thought I would just post a comment about some of the batteries that I have been using in my L.E.D. flashlights.

I have 2 lights that take 4 AA batteries, output for one is 1800 lumens and one is 1030 lumens. I have now moved to using the Panasonic Pro battery, they are the "black" ones and 2400mAh and called "LSD"
meaning "low self discharge".

I was looking through them a few days ago and I see that several are at the 7 year mark now. Which I think that is great, for the standard rechargeables that I was using, were dying at the 7 year mark.

But, I am also using the Maha 9000 charger, which I believe has really helped in the longevity of the batteries.

Just a few wandering thoughts.....

I have noticed that the new Foxpro rechargeable batteries are white instead of black. Did they upgrade the quality or just a different color?