SDC2300 Battery Voltage?

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If you want to know what capacity your batteries are holding, these are the go: http://phasetechnical.com.au/product/accupower-iq338xl-battery-charger/

This takes all the guess work out. I recently tested my AccuPower batteries that I have been using since the SDC first came out and of the 4 batteries my results were:

1. 5965
2. 6101
3. 6095
4. 5914

Very very happy with that!
 
Yes purchased one of the AccuPower IQ338XL and it's chalk and cheese in comparison to the standard "cheapie" supplied with detector.
The loose battery syndrome can also cause the battery alarm to be triggered also as poor connection to terminals = resistance / voltage drop which the machine senses as low voltage.
 
My 2 cents:

You are using a $3400 machine to find gold. Gold is hard to find anyway.
Why would you buy cheap batteries or try to modify using AA batteries.
And might I add have the chance of walking over gold.

Give yourself every opportunity to find gold.
For the sake of really a few dollars buy batteries fit for the job.
Then you can enjoy the hunt.
Nenad has some gear at a reasonable price, why risk it.
So many ebay horror stories.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhTZFa1CPUw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5_wf_bgIWw
And the list goes on.

Plus I love using nice gear that works.
 
I fully accept that many SDC owners have had battery issues..not charging...loose in the housing... losing the power connection, etc.

I also understand the concept of a lemon or a 'made on Friday' unit.

I also own an SDC..it came with 4 Minleab branded batteries that are 1.2 V and I also have some from Nenad that are longer lasting (Accu Power Digital Power 1.2V 6000mAh).

I have never experienced any power problems of any type told by others so I guess mine 'was NOT made on a Friday'.

I also must be lucky.
cheers :)
Mike
 
My 3 year old minelab batteries are still good for 7 hours and the 2 year old vartras still give 5 or 6.
I charge mine when i get home from tecting , never leave them in the sdc and chuck them back on the charger the night before i go again , alot of batteries hate sitting around flat in my experience .
Storing or caring them so the terminals dont touch is good practice also.
One dicky battery will spoil your set , watching the original charger will show which one turn the light green first and give an idea of how even your set is.
 
I am the same as mikeb05 and AF
I use the standard battery that came with the sdc as well as varta
I also use store bought when no power for recharge

Never had any issue with cutting out or loose batteries
The batteries always last the day

Guess I got the thursday model
lucky
 
Gday all
I recently went out for a 7 day outing and took a few alkaline batteries with me along with the 5000mah rechargeable batteries, charged when I left home but went flat quickly , so they may take a few charges to get back to normal, had 4 rare aldi c cell rechargeable , they lasted about 3 hours but they are only 3000 mah, I found the alkalines as useless, lucky to last 2 hours , they still show voltage of 1.2 to 1.3 volts but don't crank the SDC 2300 over , perhaps its the amps needed, so overall I used 48 alkaline energised batteries , aldi, sony, panasonic kodak and duracell, still got em for other electronics but went to jay car to invested in a set of batteries in desperation but they were only 4500 mha , we shall see how they perform against the minelab rechargeables and the set of 4 will set you back about $60, a day in the bush detecting is better than 2 hours in the bush learned the hard way thought that 4 x 1.5 volt batteries had an edge on 4 x 1.2 volt rechargeables , perhaps Jaycar should stock the minelab batteries as they sell the cheaper range of minelab detectors, the Kogan outlet advertised 4 rechargeable 4000mah batteries for $17 but I blinked when I put them in my shopping cart the $39 cost appeared so I took them out and left them in the dairy section, my research into rechargeable c cells leads me to believe that there are 2 or 3 manufactures that make the better ones like 5000mah and they cost about the same overseas then trees postage , I think i will invest in a set of minelab ,
 
Posted this before. Could be some peoples main issue?:
"Built in safety timer - For the 4 main slots (not 9V) if charging is still taking place after 3 hours the safety timer will cut out the fast charge and the charging current will drop to trickle charge rate. For high capacity batteries (higher than 4.4Ah) the charger will need to be reset (turned off then back on again after 3 hours) for fast charging to resume"
This is likely why some people are having issues with short battery life etc. from this charger.
To get a full recharge you would need to reset the charger as per above as the batteries supplied are 5000mAh (5Ah).

The Maha Powerex C808M Ultimate Pro Charger (charge AA/AAA/C/D) is a top charger if you can find one cheap. Does 2 sets (8 batteries) at once. Can be expensive though & doesn't have 12v option. Kept my 2 x sets (Poweriser & Tenergy) running for a full day for over 18 months & they were still going strong when I sold it.
 
Campimg trips i use the cigerette lighter cord and standard charger , so two sets of batteries keep me going indefinently , i think the less batteries you have and the more you use them the better they last , so one good set like the originals and a set like vartra from bunnings and you cant go wrong :Y:

Dont reinvent the wheel just use good maintenence to keep it spinning true .
So charge up when you get home from a trip, dont leave them in the sdc for long periods without use , do a top up charge before heading off , carry them and store them so terminals arent in contact , if you havent been out for months flatten them and recharge , if your loosing performance take not if they charge evenly as you may have one dud battery.
 
ok yes I have brought 2 different chargers the powerizer brand and another and can say that its not the battery's I have tried 3 different brands all rechargeable but I have found it works better with non rechargeable 1.5 volts. its not the chargers I have' I really think its the actual detector itself or something setting the low battery alarm off. I have even taken it to mark day in Ballarat early this year and acted fine but then played up again shortly afterwards so at the moment I feel like wrapping it around a tree hahaha. as its just been a money dump so far so I really don't want to have to keep buying and buying batteries for it. I've never had any problems like this with my trusty old Garrett witch ive actually found a fair amount of gold with and costs a lot less. im thinking of making a 6volt battery pack with a high Mah capacity if this doesn't work im thinking of either selling it or sending it to minelab for repairs to fix whatever is wrong with it because its really giving me the sh.ts so to speak.
 
Hunting the yellow said:
ok yes I have brought 2 different chargers the powerizer brand and another and can say that its not the battery's I have tried 3 different brands all rechargeable but I have found it works better with non rechargeable 1.5 volts. its not the chargers I have' I really think its the actual detector itself or something setting the low battery alarm off. I have even taken it to mark day in Ballarat early this year and acted fine but then played up again shortly afterwards so at the moment I feel like wrapping it around a tree hahaha. as its just been a money dump so far so I really don't want to have to keep buying and buying batteries for it. I've never had any problems like this with my trusty old Garrett witch ive actually found a fair amount of gold with and costs a lot less. im thinking of making a 6volt battery pack with a high Mah capacity if this doesn't work im thinking of either selling it or sending it to minelab for repairs to fix whatever is wrong with it because its really giving me the sh.ts so to speak.

Somethings not adding up here.

What EXACT chargers are you using?......Model number ect.

What EXACT batteries are you using?......Brand and capacity.
 
im using these types of chargers both work ok because I've tested them with my 3.7volt torch batteries so nothing that I can see wrong with them

here's the chargers I have
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Fast-AA-AAA-D-C-9v-NIMH-NiCad-Battery-Smart-Charger/291788376898

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Universa...830008?hash=item3f4920dc78:g:k38AAOSw1WJZGZt3

brands of batteries I have are Tenergy powerizer and currently scales plus witch is an Australian brand all 5000mah and all 3 sets when fully charged still set the battery alarm off after turning the detector on for about 10 to 15mins
 
I don't know if any other members live in Wonderland :lol: :rolleyes: but maybe see if someone can catch up with you close by that knows the SDC well so they can check out what's happening?
If it's under warranty & it's definitely not the batteries I would be sending it to Minelab. In fact I would send it in even if not under warranty & it's proven to not be the batteries. It will be worth a lot more to resell as a fully functioning detector with no faults so an out of warranty repair would be worth the money.
Hopefully you didn't sell the trusty old Garrett. I think you got a Friday model :p
Just out of interest where did you purchase the SDC? If from a dealer get them to give it a full check out.
 
Agree with mbasko. Would be checking it with someone else, getting dealer to check it and probably still sending it back to Minelab.
Much nicer to sell a fully functioning detector. And if it is working properly maybe you'll find heaps and keep it anyway :D

And Alice, where exactly is Wonderland??

FYI, postage and insurance for an SDC to Adelaide is approx $70. First hand knowledge ;)
 
The wife has been using the 1.5v USB rechargable lithium batteries you can buy on Aliexpress or eBay for a while now with positive results. We only do day trips so this is what we found. The original batteries and a few different aftermarket NiMh C cells seem to die off by the end of the day, and sometimes just need replacing because of erratic behavior. The lithiums are MUCH lighter and hold full charge all day - the only mod I have done is stretch the battery springs a little and it's been smooth sailing, well worth the investment. Also, the NiMh start at 1.2v, the Lithium are 1.5v - it doesn't affect performance, but lasts much longer giving the batteries themselves slightly better efficiency.
 

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