Teric owners, have you required repair or replacement service?

[berndo]

I'd love to hear from Shearwater regarding battery issues, cause(s) and fix(es).

What can they say without hurting themself? Probably a better stategy to shut up and just keep changing the batteries. I don't think it's an design issue. We know they're not incompetent as their other products have been pretty solid.

 

[Manatee Diver]

I don't think it's an design issue. We know they're not incompetent as their other products have been pretty solid.

This was their first rechargeable unit. It also uses a different hardware set than all their other products with a different enough code base that they started a new version history.

So it is perfectly beliavable that they might have made an error in the software or design.

 

[lexvil]

Ok, I just went through this thread to see when last I had a problem, no mentions from me so I don’t know when of which teric last had an issue but yesterday before hitting the water my back up one went nuts and started telling me I missed stops, today I looked at it and it looks like it had been out diving pretty deep

19 minutes at 1000 ft was a pretty crazy dive

a week or so ago I checked the charge and it seemed to have dtained more than normal so I charged it and for to check for a few or 5 days, lower than expected but not bad.

i suspect sudden power loss was from the failing sensor (I live at 2000 + elevation)
I’ve sent an RMA request in and am waiting for a reply.

 

[scubadada]

@lexvil

Now, that's a deep air dive!

Sorry to hear about your Teric

Looks like it would only take about a day and a half, and that is just a bounce

You just can't trust those Terics, look what they do when you are not watching

 

[lexvil]

@lexvil

Now, that's a deep air dive!

Sorry to hear about your Teric

View attachment 797133View attachment 797134
Looks like it would only take about a day and a half, and that is just a bounce

You just can't trust those Terics, look what they do when you are not watching

I probably haven’t been diving it enough lately so it decided to go on its own.

 

[Belzelbub]

Charging a battery to 100% imposes as much battery wear as charging from near zero to 80%. But unless you are a professional diver you aren't diving enough to put that much battery wear in six months to a year.

This is not at all unique to the Teric. The recommendation for 80% comes from general recommendations for Li ion batteries. Charging care for Li ion goes against what many of us learned with NiCad. With NiCad, you wanted to avoid the battery developing a memory. Then, the instructions were to discharge fairly low and charge completely. Repeated short cycles would lead to a shorter duration.

With Li ions, the batteries are happiest between 20-80%. So, it makes sense if you aren't using it regularly to charge up just to 80% before storing. Repeated storing above 80% can reduce battery life. Shouldn't be an issue if the device is used regularly. In that case, charge to full.

My iPhone has optimized battery charging. It learns when I disconnect my phone from power. I generally plug my phones in overnight. It charges to 80%, then will wait. It will charge to full a bit before it expects me to unplug it.

 

[Manatee Diver]

This is not at all unique to the Teric.

Which is why I am comparing it to the service lives of other devices that use lithium rechargeable batteries.

12 charge cycles isn't a lot, the battery shouldn't be this degraded even if I charge it to 100% each charge cycle.

 

[Belzelbub]

Which is why I am comparing it to the service lives of other devices that use lithium rechargeable batteries.

12 charge cycles isn't a lot, the battery shouldn't be this degraded even if I charge it to 100% each charge cycle.

Totally agree there. 12 charge cycles is not much at all. I definitely have more on my phones in a month than that. Mainly, I was referring to the charging to 100%, and keeping it there not being the best path for longevity. If not going to use for a while, I'd top it up to 80% and no more.

But, there does seem to be more going on. I use a Perdix as my primary, but use a Garmin as backup/daily wear. I charge that about once every 6-7 days. More often if it's a busy diving week. That's been pretty constant. It's charged to full when I charge it, then leave it off the charger until it drops down to a bit over 20%. I've had it for a bit over a year now and I haven't noticed any more frequent charging, etc.

 

[Joneill]

This is not at all unique to the Teric. The recommendation for 80% comes from general recommendations for Li ion batteries. Charging care for Li ion goes against what many of us learned with NiCad. With NiCad, you wanted to avoid the battery developing a memory. Then, the instructions were to discharge fairly low and charge completely. Repeated short cycles would lead to a shorter duration.

With Li ions, the batteries are happiest between 20-80%. So, it makes sense if you aren't using it regularly to charge up just to 80% before storing. Repeated storing above 80% can reduce battery life. Shouldn't be an issue if the device is used regularly. In that case, charge to full.

My iPhone has optimized battery charging. It learns when I disconnect my phone from power. I generally plug my phones in overnight. It charges to 80%, then will wait. It will charge to full a bit before it expects me to unplug it.

Easier said than done - I don’t have time to babysit the Teric on the charger to pull it off at 80%.

If the 80% max charge is best for the battery, then manufacturers like SW should really build logic into their DC’s to stop the charging process at 80% unless you override it.

 

[ginkgo]

This thread is more than a little bit scary. Are there good questions I should ask if buying a Teric used? Or should I give up and get a Perdix instead? (I prefer the Teric's compass and form factor, but I want a computer that I can travel with reliably.)