MR-11 Battery Life

[WetDawg]

I have a 10W HID MR-11 that is less than 2 years old and the battery seems to no longer hold a charge. The last 2 dives, though fully charged, it has faded and gone out within the first 5 minutes of the dive. The question is; is it time for a new battery or is there some sort of "super secret" reconditioning that can be done to it maybe by cycling it repeatedly? The second question is; what is the expected life span of these batteries? I have recommended your lights to several of my students over the past year; they are always in awe of the brightness on open water night dives. However, I would feel very bad recommending this product in the future if the expected life span of the battery is so short.

 

[Mark Michaud SELAUSAR]

I have 3 questions that may help some.

1. How many dives do you have on this battery?
2. Do you maintenance charge it monthly when not in use?
3. Do you charge it after each use or wait til it dims?

I am assuming you cycled it in the begining and until recently it worked fine.

A battery will cycle so many times until it cannot hold a charge. If you have, let's say, 3 to 4 dives a week, that is a lot of use. I don't know what the cycle or life span is but there is a time that it will no longer hold a charge.

Keeping the battery topped up will help make it last. Batteries (except NiCad) do not hold memories. Keeping them topped up definitely extends the life.

There is, of course, the chance that the battery went bad. I have a 5 year old mr-11 (now LED700) that works just fine as I do what I wrote above. Maybe this will help, but then you may have already considered all of this. But if not, maybe it can answer your question.

 

[Dive Rite]

I have a 10W HID MR-11 that is less than 2 years old and the battery seems to no longer hold a charge. The last 2 dives, though fully charged, it has faded and gone out within the first 5 minutes of the dive. The question is; is it time for a new battery or is there some sort of "super secret" reconditioning that can be done to it maybe by cycling it repeatedly? The second question is; what is the expected life span of these batteries? I have recommended your lights to several of my students over the past year; they are always in awe of the brightness on open water night dives. However, I would feel very bad recommending this product in the future if the expected life span of the battery is so short.

Hi WetDawg,

I concur with the post prior. If you have a NiMH battery, then it requires at minimum a monthly dive (or charge). NiMH batteries like to be used A LOT and when you have them in storage they will lose their charge, as you've experienced. In that case, you need to cycle the battery in the kitchen sink (or bucket) 5-6 times to get it back to life. If you have a lead acid battery, then it's dead.

Best advice is to use the light at least once a month, even if you simply turn it on and leave it submerged in the sink while you watch TV.

NiMH battery should last 5+ years. I bought mine in 2002 and it just now pooped out on me after hundreds of dives. That's seven years of good life.

Best,
Kathleen

 

[WetDawg]

The light has been used at least once a week since I got it. Most of the time it gets used 4 or 5 times a month, however, I did just have about a 3 week lay off where it sat idle and was not fully charged

I will cycle it a few times in the sink and see if we can bring her back to life.

Thanks again for all the advice, I truly like your products and appreciate the support.

Wes

I will let you know how it works out.