Quote: (Originally Posted by
jradomski)
What do you have your battery alarm set at??
My battery alarm is set at 1.2.
Quote: (Originally Posted by
jradomski)
Do you check what it is saying??
I check the voltage on the battery at the time of installation, but I do not specifically check it at any other time, which is why I opted to put a fresh battery each time I change my scrubber or every day of diving, whichever comes first.
Quote: (Originally Posted by
jradomski)
I have seen BRAND NEW batteries give alarms after only a short period of use.. just because its new does not mean its good.. The battery monitor measures the battery under load, a simple volt meter test is useless in that a battery might be able to produce a voltage but not produce any current.. a momentary alarm occasionally (set at 1.2v) when both the Backlight and solenoid are firing is usually ok (not ok without any additional load) but the alarm getting set continually points to a weak cell.. If the voltage drops below 1.0v the controller will reset..
If you can't answer what the voltage was, you aren't paying close enough attention to the information that the handset is telling you.. BTW I just ran 4 CCR classes (and some dives before) on a single set of lithium 3.6v cells.. During each class I never removed the cells.. I finally changed them when the alarms got continual (mostly 2.9v) on the last dive of the 4th class (but no problems yet underwater).
When I was trained, it was suggested by my instructor that I use the higher-end high voltage batteries, which I initially did. One day, my handset fell into a constant loop between dives, without any indication that the voltage was low. Immediately following that event, I posted my experience online and received feedback from several others that had experienced the same thing. Within that post, Kevin Jurgensen himself posted a comment indicating that he personaly just uses simple batteries and changes them VERY often and he seemed to feel that was the best approach, which is the system I adopted - Who am I do go against the implied suggestion of the developer of the handsets, but now it seems that approach may be a problem too.
At this point, I'm not sure what to do? I will certainly make a point of paying closer attention to the voltmeter while the handset is under load, but that still doesn't answer the question of which battery to use and specifically how often to change the battery?
Quote: (Originally Posted by
jradomski)
I would also make sure the contacts are clean.. They are now SS so it shoulndt be an issue but a cleaning now and then helps.. A point alot of people overlook is the contacts on the batteries themsleves.. Batteries tarnish quiete easily when exposed to air.. hit each side with an eraser and you would be surprised how shiny they get..
I will definitely make a habit of checking the cantacts within my handsets. I will also make a habit of cleaning the battery contacts as well.
Thanks for the advice!