Petrel One Battery Issue

[Superlyte27]

It’s also 3x the amount of trash.

I don’t care about that even a little.

 

[tbone1004]

do you have any specific brand recommendations for 14500’s?

not particularly. I get them from Li-Ion wholesale and ask them what they recommend since the specific brands can change

 

[kelemvor]

I buy my lithium-ion cells from these guys: 14500 Batteries - Lithium Ion Li-ion Rechargeable Battery | 18650 Batt despite the name, they do sell other form factors such as 14500. Unfortunately they only have one brand of 14500. They only have 1000mah 14500's but at least they're fairly cheap.

I've bought 16 18650's from these guys and every one has tested to have slightly more capacity than advertised (e.g. 3447mah when rated for 3200).

 

[blatter]

My Petrel 1 had similar problems to the OP. After working perfectly for a few months, strange failures and battery problems developed. At the time I was told that the battery contacts would corrode (surface corrosion not really observable by the naked eye) and cause problems with lower voltage batteries, especially in cold water. They were fine with safts but not disposable alkaline AAs. It was repaired under warranty with the battery contacts being replaced with ones that did not corrode significantly and has worked flawlessly for hundreds of dives using standard disposable AAs. I have had problems getting safts, and have successfully used rechargeable Li-ions in both a Shearwater Predator and a Pursuit, computers that need a higher voltage battery.

 

[Mike1967]

It’s also 3x the amount of trash.

Not sure why anyone wouldn't use rechargeable

 

[Superlyte27]

Not sure why anyone wouldn't use rechargeable

They don’t last as long.

 

[Mike1967]

They don’t last as long.

What disposable battery are you using that lasts 5+ years?

 

[Superlyte27]

What disposable battery are you using that lasts 5+ years?

No, you misunderstand. A non rechargeable battery might last 30 hours where a rechargeable battery lasts 6. And, more than likely, I’ve forgotten to charge the rechargeable, so I’m headed to the store to make my dive anyway. Double A batteries are cheap and available everywhere.

 

[tbone1004]

No, you misunderstand. A non rechargeable battery might last 30 hours where a rechargeable battery lasts 6. And, more than likely, I’ve forgotten to charge the rechargeable, so I’m headed to the store to make my dive anyway. Double A batteries are cheap and available everywhere.

that's a bit of an exaggeration. Hours are on the Shearwater page for Petrel 2. This is obviously not doing rebreather communication but it's all relative
SAFT's if you get a real one have ~2250mah/100hrs
Duracell coppertops ~2500mah/35hrs
Energizer Ultimate Lithium ~3000mah/50hrs
Li-Ion 14500-35hrs *this one is weird because the article is very old, but it is probably off of ~700mah cells give a third of the capacity of SAFT's*
NiMH Rechargeable-30hrs, again not sure which ones they used, but 30hrs is reasonable.

IF you have a good charger, which most people don't, but that's the key, AND you are checking the cells capacity say twice a year and making sure it is within spec, I have not had any of the high end Eneloop NiMH's or the 14500's I've used have any lower battery life than a standard copper top. Ultimate lithium's and SAFT's obviously are better, but not for the money and the waste factor.

 

[Mike1967]

you misunderstand

I understood perfectly.