RNB Lithium ion Battery our MDF Auction

[trappa]

Anyone have any thoughts on this battery for the etrac/explorer range that is on the metal detecting auction page?
Im very tempted to buy one but know nothing about them apart from the write up thats on the advert. They sound like the dogs gonads even though they are a smidge dearer than original minelab merchandise.
Any thoughts?
Auction Listing here - RNB Lithium Battery for Minelabs

[Kmarsh]

lithium ion battery on auction, IMO. If ya have to replace ya battery pack at any time then this is the way I would go.... the no memory loss on this type of battery is brilliant... plus ya get 12v..
that in its self is a boost to ya detectors capabilities.......IMO...

[Allectus]

lithium ion battery on auction, IMO. If ya have to replace ya battery pack at any time then this is the way I would go.... the no memory loss on this type of battery is brilliant... plus ya get 12v..
that in its self is a boost to ya detectors capabilities.......IMO...

I'm with KM on this....Lithium batteries are the bizzo, the way forward.
.......I'm actually having my old,next to useless, takes forever to charge & runs down quick, alkaline pack converted to Lithium-ion now for the ET..... I'll let everyone now how I get on with it.

A

[pasttarg]

a battery is a a battery ,its not rocket science ,volts ,amphours ,and physical size needs to be right for your make

[slowsweep]

they do seem to be very good but at that price ill stick with the supplied bty and backup pod, besides im lucky if i get 3hrs before my back goes never mind the bty rl; saying that if i ever need one i might go for this

[Fusion]

They are good batteries, and do give long operating times.
There are alternatives, if you are "good with a soldering iron". The case of a duff battery pack can be opened and the cells inside replaced with new ones, which can be up to double the capacity of the original cells. Originals are usually 1300mAh to 1500mAh, and modern NiMH are now 2200 - 2500mAh. While this will still cost a bit (£15 - £20 probably) it's a reasonable investment.

[Allectus]

They are good batteries, and do give long operating times.
There are alternatives, if you are "good with a soldering iron". The case of a duff battery can be opened and the cells inside replaced with new ones, which can be up to double the capacity of the original cells. Originals are usually 1300mAh, modern NiMH are now 2200, 2400mAh. While this will still cost a bit (£15 - £20 probably) it's a reasonable investment.

Cheers Fusion,

A

[Smithfire]

I looked in to these batteries as a replacement the cassette of rechargeables I use at the mo to see if I could lower the weight a bit of the Explorer II I have. Turns out these are actually heavier the the one's I'm using!

If they had been half the weight say, I would have stumped up the near on ton that they're asking...but to add weight to my detector just so i dont have to recharge the batteries every third outing seems a bit pointless?

Clive

[Fusion]

Here's an example from a US forum from someone who has done the 8 x AA cell-change (cut and paste):
dankowskidetectors.com/discussions/read.php?2,39913

Tagged cells are not commonly available at a sensible price, Overlander sell Eneloop 2000mAh singly at about £3. But it may be worth buying two 4-cell (4.8V) packs or a 9.6V (8-cell) made for R/C model use, and splitting them carefully (cutting the tags so you can re-solder to them etc). There are many ready-made NiMH packs listed on eBay in the Radio Control category, price can work out less than £2 per cell. Search for "8 AA" or "4 AA".
Overlander Eneloop AA cells:
http://www.overlander.co.uk/batteries-c ... -1293.html

[Tony Hunt]

I am here and am loving this forum of yours. I have only recently discovered it because I have been so involved with helping in the running of the Minelabowners forum for so many years I didn't get time to go anywhere else.
As far as the new Battery pack is concerned yes I am a little biased obviously because I secured the sole distributorship of it throughout Europe for my daughter to add to her new webshop business. Thats two new products she has secured with sole distribution rights primarily because we took the trouble to follow up what looked like brilliant ideas while the dealers went to sleep and cogitated. Their loss our gain.
On to the battery, yes I guess you can make your own If your able to, wether it will have the same performance as Joe has got into his RNB one only the user can decide. Smithfire who stated in his post above that the RNB battery is heavier than the regular Minelab one hasn't got his facts right, this battery is several ounces lighter than the original Minelab one. And Cord who states above that the ETrac might not like this new battery has also got it wrong. All the FBS minelab machines love this battery pack. Its been used in the States extensively for some time now by some very well known detectorists and they are raving about its performance.

Having been an Explorer / Etrac owner myself over the last 12 years or so the moment I saw this battery pack on the Minelabowners website last year I immediately knew it had potential to be popular and a must have accessory. I won't get to try one out myself sadly because a few months ago I sold my ETrac and bought the CTX. I will leave it to other people to check it out and report how good it is. Yes its more expensive than other alternatives, do the other alternatives pack the same punch and performance, thats what folk have to decide. With something so important as this on your expensive detector does it pay to go cheap. I know what I would decide without question. Please check out the reports that will be floating around and then make a decision. I'm personally intrigued to find out wether the extra strength in this battery as it wears down will actually keep the detector performing at its peak ability right to the end of each charge. Its reported to still have more power left in it at the end of its charge than the original has to start with. We shall see.
We are now selling this battery on the MDF Auction....
Auction Listing here - RNB Lithium Battery for Minelabs

[mcbain]

Hi again Tony, glad you responded as I had read similar good reviews about this product as you have confirmed but didnt want to start a heresay thread causing more confusion.

Take care
Ger.

[Allectus]

Cheers for that Tony. If the conversion of my old battery pack(being done by someone who owes me a favour) doesn't work out, I'll be buying one of these.

Cheers

A

[Fusion]

I've just noticed on Overlanders webpage for the untagged Eneloop AA's, they have quantity reductions on the price. It may be possible to get the same prices for the tagged cells, It's worth asking.
http://www.overlander.co.uk/batteries-c ... l-x-1.html
Here's another online seller, listing GoldPeak (GP) 2200mAh cells at a reasonable price:
http://www.batteriesplus.co.uk/acatalog ... ttery.html
and Strikalite have regular Sanyo NiMH's 2500mAh at £3 ea. :
http://www.strikalite.co.uk/prodcat_typ ... eries.html

If you were considering making packs up from untagged cells (which are easy to get), I would not recommend it. The cells have heat-sensitive parts (plastic vent-valves, seals etc) and they can be easily damaged. I have done it myself, but you need the right equipment and surface preparation.

[Tony Hunt]

The special offer price on these Lithium Ion battery backs ends mid February so If you are sitting on the fence jump now and save 20 quid. We have been personally covering the 20% vat element ourselves so obviously cannot keep doing that. Dealers in the UK & Europe will shortly be stocking these through us so we will have to match their end retail price with our casual sales. You have been warned. Thanks for looking

[trappa]

Mine arrived yesterday. It certainly looks good. Not sure when i will be able to give it a proper test.