Another Shearwater question.

[Degenerate]

The AA battery was one of the stronger selling points when I bought my Perdix.
After having experienced a dead battery (not due to replacing it too late, it just straight up died) on a Suunto D4 that I couldn't change in the field the idea of just throwing a new AA battery in my computer seemed like a no-brainer.
Not going to be too excited if Shearwater moves to an internal rechargeable battery in the future for their Perdix 2.0, the AA battery is genius.

Also, rechargeable batteries degrade over time, which is why your two year old phone doesn't hold a charge as well as it did when it was new.
Obviously a dive computer wont degrade as fast since it is not hooked up to the charger every night, but throwing a new AA battery in my Perdix once a month is so much easier than giving a crap about an internal battery that I can't swap out in a minute out in the field in an emergency.

 

[MaxE]

I'm not ignoring it, I'm saying that it's a tradeoff. Maybe I misread your post, but you seemed to imply that a non-zero failure rate of the battery compartment is the only thing to be considered in that design decision. I'm saying that I happily accept that, and do my part to avoid that, in return for a feature that I prefer (user replaceable battery).

And like I always say, it's a social forum, not a deposition. Some drift is always going to happen, especially since the original question is not something that can be accurately answered unless you work for @Shearwater . Maybe they will chime in.

While we have different preferences, I think we are more on the same page than apart. I don’t think a zero failure rate is the only design consideration, but I also think there MAY be indicators from recent product releases that point to features in future releases. I also have no issue with the thread drift and profusely apologize if I give any indication otherwise. I don’t “own” this thread and will not be reporting posts to try and moderate in anyway.

 

[flyboy08]

The AA battery was one of the stronger selling points when I bought my Perdix.
After having experienced a dead battery (not due to replacing it too late, it just straight up died) on a Suunto D4 that I couldn't change in the field the idea of just throwing a new AA battery in my computer seemed like a no-brainer.
Not going to be too excited if Shearwater moves to an internal rechargeable battery in the future for their Perdix 2.0, the AA battery is genius.

Also, rechargeable batteries degrade over time, which is why your two year old phone doesn't hold a charge as well as it did when it was new.
Obviously a dive computer wont degrade as fast since it is not hooked up to the charger every night, but throwing a new AA battery in my Perdix once a month is so much easier than giving a crap about an internal battery that I can't swap out in a minute out in the field in an emergency.

Why? You own a cell phone? I'm very pleased with the internal charging of the Peregrine...

 

[Degenerate]

Why? You own a cell phone? I'm very pleased with the internal charging of the Peregrine...

I do, and with all the phones I've owned over the years I've seen a very noticeable degradation of the battery over the lifetime of the phone, and I switch phone every two years.

I don't doubt that you're pleased with the Peregrine as I am sure that it is a great dive computer, it is a Shearwater after all.
But I'd be interested to know if you're as happy with the battery life in a couple of years.

For me and almost all the people I dive with, a user replaceable AA battery makes the most sense.
And for others a sealed non-replaceable battery makes more sense.

 

[sabbe]

I'll keep my AA powered Shearwater as long as I can.

My Oceanic Pro Plus X, rechargeable (but only with custom docking station) computer is on it's way back, used once and rechargeable battery failed. There's a note on Huish's website that they haven't been allowed to service dive computers since March due to COVID restrictions and to expect a long wait.

Just because failure to seal battery compartment is Shearwater's top failure, doesn't mean it fails more than rechargeable batteries do, and many of those would have to covered by manufacturer warranty.

Sam

 

[doctormike]

I'll keep my AA powered Shearwater as long as I can.

My Oceanic Pro Plus X, rechargeable (but only with custom docking station) computer is on it's way back, used once and rechargeable battery failed. There's a note on Huish's website that they haven't been allowed to service dive computers since March due to COVID restrictions and to expect a long wait.

Just because failure to seal battery compartment is Shearwater's top failure, doesn't mean it fails more than rechargeable batteries do, and many of those would have to covered by manufacturer warranty.

Sam

Yup. And unlike the degradation of an internally sealed battery over time, you can actually do something to avoid flooding. Of all of those floods repaired by Shearwater, I wonder if the majority were user error as opposed to a faulty design?

 

[Mike1967]

I wonder if the majority were user error as opposed to a faulty design?

Most if not all would be user error.

 

[Degenerate]

Yup. And unlike the degradation of an internally sealed battery over time, you can actually do something to avoid flooding. Of all of those floods repaired by Shearwater, I wonder if the majority were user error as opposed to a faulty design?

I would guess that a substantial amount, if not almost all, of the floods were down to user error.
People leaving batteries in the computer for too long, people being sloppy when changing battery etc.
Shearwater definitely does not have an issue with flooding/leaky batteries in their Perdix because of bad design, it is absolutely down to people not changing the battery often enough or people not closing the battery screw tightly enough.
Baffles me, you would have to be pretty stupid to leave a battery in there for a long time or not screw it tightly enough when swapping the battery.

 

[stuartv]

Teric (etc.) batteries will wear out and need to be replaced over time. I think the current spec is replacement every 5 years.

Interestingly, the spec'ed service interval for a Predator/Petrel/Perdix is also 5 years, I believe.

So, whichever way you go, you're going to (should) send your computer off every 5 years - in which case the built-in battery won't be an issue.

The thing about the Teric and needing to charge it is that it is VERY easy to make dropping it into its charging cradle every night during a dive trip a normal part of your process. And the beauty is, if you forget every night for 3 or 4 nights in a row (on a trip where you are diving a LOT), it will still get you through. There is really no reason a Teric user should ever miss a dive because of a dead battery. You have to REALLY screw up, for multiple days in a row, to get to that point.

I have 2 Terics and have had 3 battery replacements between the 2 of them already, under warranty. In all cases, they were not holding a charge while stored like they should. Did I ever miss a dive because of that? No. Because even when they weren't holding a charge properly, they still held a charge plenty long enough to have them sitting stored for a month, pick them up, go diving for a day or two, and then put them on a charger. Which meant that once I figured out one had a problem, I was still able to use use it just fine until it was a convenient time for me to be without it for a week (because it has never taken more than a week to send one off via USPS Priority Mail and have it back, repaired).

Now that they are working correctly, then can sit for 3 months or more and still have plenty of charge to go diving for a day or two, at least.

So, yes, a AA battery could spontaneously die and having a spare in your bag would allow you to fix it and go dive in seconds.

But, the Teric rechargeable means that you just REALLY have to screw up in your planning and preparation - screw up a LOT - to end up in the position of being ready to splash and finding out that your battery is too dead to make the dive.

I normally dive with a camera with strobes. And, usually, at least one light on me, even for day dives. Part of my daily diving ritual is dealing with charging batteries. Putting a Teric on a charger often enough to not miss any dives is simply a non-issue.

I did 6 and a half days (18 dives) of diving in Coz last week. I arrived with my Terics having whatever charge they had since I last charged them. At the end of the second day I figured they might not last all week, so I charged them both that night. They handled the rest of the week's diving (15 hours-ish of dive time?) with no more charging (always using AI and always on High Brightness) and each one had 20-something percent left at the end.

 

[stuartv]

ps. I flooded the Predator controller on my rEvo by not having the battery cap screwed in all the way. I have never missed any dives because of issues with my Terics.

The point: One little screw-up can ruin a dive trip, with a user-replaceable battery setup. It would take several days (at least) of forgetting to charge a Teric before it would even cause a missed dive - and that's pretty much the worst-case scenario.