• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Rechargable batteries actually all AA batteries

sdonx

sdonx

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2018
Messages
1,368
Location
SE MASS
Im starting to run alot of trail cams in three different states. I run energizer AA’s. Not the max’s.
I dont think the cams run great with the rechargables. I remember reading this. Regular AA batteries are 1.5v- rechargeable are only 1.2.
My eyes blured over on the Energizer website. Can anyone point me to a thread or a summary?
I run Browning Dark Ops, spypoint cells, Cuddlelink Infra J’s


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
sdonx said:
Im starting to run alot of trail cams in three different states. I run energizer AA’s. Not the max’s.
I dont think the cams run great with the rechargables. I remember reading this. Regular AA batteries are 1.5v- rechargeable are only 1.2.
My eyes blured over on the Energizer website. Can anyone point me to a thread or a summary?
I run Browning Dark Ops, spypoint cells, Cuddlelink Infra J’s


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Long story short, most rechargeables are Ni-MH, they start low and stay low for a long time. Bad for trail cams. Li-Ion has high voltage, holds way more than alkaline, and works in the cold. Sam's or Costco giant pack of Li-Ion is the way to go.
 
BCHunter said:
Long story short, most rechargeables are Ni-MH, they start low and stay low for a long time. Bad for trail cams. Li-Ion has high voltage, holds way more than alkaline, and works in the cold. Sam's or Costco giant pack of Li-Ion is the way to go.
Click to expand...
Same as above............mine last all year. Cheaper than the tank of gas to get to some of them
 
use lithium in my cell cameras and they last about 5-6 months. tried alkaline and rechargeable just to see n it was 3-4 weeks!
 
Be careful buying batteries on Amazon. Been hearing about a lot of knockoffs disguised as the real thing. Especially be very wary of bulk batteries packaged in unmarked boxes.
 
Dewey said:
Be careful buying batteries on Amazon. Been hearing about a lot of knockoffs disguised as the real thing. Especially be very wary of bulk batteries packaged in unmarked boxes.
Click to expand...

Will inspect carefully- Thanks Dewey
 
i run browning camera's. They have 6 batteries. I use duracell, right out of the package at walmart. I am at + a year and am at 65-70 battery strength. I wont buy batteries on line, because when i meter them..they are old and lost their power or close to dead.
If you have a camera that has a cell phone..expect to replace alot of batteries.
 
I run very cheap batteries and just replace them when they get to below 50%. Lithiums fire far better/more consistently (alkaline gets less and less effective as they lose charge) - but no way in crap I am spending that kind of money to get 4000 blowing grass pics and 100 deer pics. If I was running cameras in sub freezing temps or for an all season soak - then i would consider lithiums.
 
Last edited:
I run exclusively Energizer Lithium batteries in my trail cameras. I do this for a few reasons.

1. They stay at max charge voltages SIGNIFICANTLY longer throughout their discharge cycle, dropping off sharply at the end.
2. They tend to be made to tighter standards and I have never had one leak.
3. They have a much less caustic chemistry composition, so if they were to leak it should do less damage to the camera.

Number 1. listed above is by far my biggest reason for running Lithium batteries. Computers are designed to work optimally at specific voltages and amperages. The drop in supplied voltage from nickel-cadmium and nickel metal hydride can have unpredictable and negative effects on the function of the camera. As voltages drop motion sensors may lower in sensitivity or get buggy, read/write protocols may get corrupted, the chip that controls white balance and exposure may not be able to process fast enough to properly expose the picture... all kinds of issues occur more frequently with sub-optimal voltages.

With Lithium’s, I can run THOUSANDS of pictures and still be reading near peak voltages. I had a camera I checked a couple weeks ago that had a native grass seed head grow up right in front of it at the end of May. Dang thing waved back and forth in the wind literally brushing against the camera. It had 13,800+ pictures taken in 4 weeks, and the camera still read it as 98%. Now the capacity is definitely not at 98%, but it is running at voltages equivalent to what a NiMH or NiCd battery runs ONLY while it is still virtually full.


The chart below shows the discharge profile of many available batteries. Notice not only the significantly longer run time (total AmpHrs), but also how slowly the voltage tapers off.

614a44898f14ded1599ac7da8acba515.jpg


3759e5dd0d3da10bde146e3fbb135e0e.jpg


Here is the view of about 12,000 of those pics...
c9b266d1ed55ae96d3268896fb6ce2b9.jpg



................................................................................All climbing methods, platforms, saddle designs, and/or use of materials possibly mentioned in the post above are not peer reviewed for safety, and should only be used as an example of my own method. Do your own research and testing before becoming confident in any DIY solution to support your life.
-IkemanTx
 
Rechargeable batteries also lose voltage over time regardless of use.
 
I wish a manufacturer would just switch over to rechargeable Lithium 18650’s already....

Thousands or charge cycles, massive capacities, good low temp performance, super steady voltages, one set of batteries per camera...
The only downside would be redesigning the boards, and not being able to have the same micro small size many of the cams are right now.

That said, I would gladly pay $50-80 more for a camera that runs on rechargeable 18650’s and would willingly accept a 20% increase in size to do it.

The only reason manufacturers operate on the AA platform is its universal availability and dominance of home device powering... not because it is the best suited power source.


................................................................................All climbing methods, platforms, saddle designs, and/or use of materials possibly mentioned in the post above are not peer reviewed for safety, and should only be used as an example of my own method. Do your own research and testing before becoming confident in any DIY solution to support your life.
-IkemanTx
 
I have had zero problems running cheap AAs. They typically last for up to 7000 pictures and 6-8 months. Like I said, I choose to replace mine when they are at 40%. My detection seldom gets under 20 yards (60 feet) and truthfully, I prefer pics 15-20 yards for detail reasons. Lithiums no doubt are superior - but for our climate they are overkill in IMO. I typically only use them in a camera I am going to let soak for 8-12 months. Now if I was running them up north in the cold, then yes I would use lithium's.

And I agree, cameras need to go to the rechargeable lithium platform - most other electronics have and even lights, trolling motors, flashlights, etc have.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top