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Why All The Love For 9v Batteries?


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Why do so many metal detecting companies use 9V batteries for their products? What is this, 1979? 9V batteries aren't even used exclusively in smoke detectors anymore.

I want a new pinpointer but I'm absolutely appalled that so many of them use 9V batteries. Is there a logical or engineering reason for this?

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I hear you. I hate the bloody things. I went 9V rechargeable but mainly have tried to get rid of anything using a 9V. I think the only thing I have left that uses one is my Garrett Pro-Pointer AT. Which may be why I grab my F-Pulse now. None of my detectors use a 9V now.

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18 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I hear you. I hate the bloody things. I went 9V rechargeable but mainly have tried to get rid of anything using a 9V. I think the only thing I have left that uses one is my Garrett Pro-Pointer AT. Which may be why I grab my F-Pulse now. None of my detectors use a 9V now.

That's why I hope to develop a 3xAAA upgrade to convert popular 9V battery pinpointers. I know I can make the conversion for less than $10. The only question is whether I can make it a drop in upgrade or one where modification to the endcap or battery compartment is necessary. I just need some broken pinpointers to work on.

You wouldn't happen to have a broken 9V Garrett pinpointer, would you?

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I am sure somebody does. They are great pinpointer but reliability has always been mediocre. To drop in your package would have to be exactly the same size as a 9V battery.

Both Fisher and Whites have pinpointers that use AA batteries for those that want to get away from 9V. I imagine the vast majority of people just don’t care.

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6 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I am sure somebody does. They are great pinpointer but reliability has always been mediocre. To drop in your package would have to be exactly the same size as a 9V battery.

Both Fisher and Whites have pinpointers that use AA batteries for those that want to get away from 9V. I imagine the vast majority of people just don’t care.

Yeah, from pictures I've gleaned so far, it looks like the length of the 3xAAA drop in will be an issue. I guess it'll depend on the amount of space that exists between the end cap and the bottom of the 9V battery.

 

I noticed that Fisher and the Whites TRX can use AA batteries, but I'm worry about the F-Pulse's ability to use eneloops and the TRX's price.

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18 minutes ago, phrunt said:

You can calm down your dislike for 9v batteries by buying these Rechargables, you may in fact start to like them ?

https://www.mahaenergy.com/powerex-9-6v-230mah-1-pack/

For those that have discovered the joys of being an Eneloop owner with their AA batteries, these are basically the 9v counterpart.

That's the first one I have seen that says they actually truly get at least 9 volts. Have you used them phrunt? I'd be interested in them. Other ones I tried didn't hold a charge long enough to make it worth while. Also reliability was terrible as many of them died within 2 years or less. How about lithium's? Anybody know of any good ones that work and are reliable?

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If you want to use 9V accumulators that have a true voltage of 9 V-use, use those that consist of 7 or 8 internal cells ...- fully charged I will be 9.8-10V or 11.3-11.6 volts ...

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1 hour ago, phrunt said:

You can calm down your dislike for 9v batteries by buying these Rechargables, you may in fact start to like them ?

https://www.mahaenergy.com/powerex-9-6v-230mah-1-pack/

For those that have discovered the joys of being an Eneloop owner with their AA batteries, these are basically the 9v counterpart.

 

Those seem like a decent option, except for the fact that:

 

1) They have about 50% of the capacity of an alkaline 9V battery. They might be able to handle relatively high current draws better, though.

2) They still require the user to have an additional battery type on hand, keep track of and support.

3) Price: that's $14 for one battery. Even collector's edition eneloops aren't that expensive on a per-cell cost basis.

 

When I was a growing up* I had so many things that ran on 9V batteries. The smoke detectors in my home, my walkie talkies, multiple R/C transmitters for my cars, trucks and boats and at least two radios. Today (several decades later), do you know how many devices I have that run off of 9V batteries? Just two: My Fisher F2 and its accompanying aftermarket pinpointer - both of these are used in the metal detecting hobby. Practically everything else I own that runs off of AAA or AA batteries. If it uses C or D batteries, I have special adapters for those where I can use my AA eneloops. And if something is absolutely mission critical and requires very low-temp performance, I also have a few Energizer Lithium AA batteries.

 

In this day and age, why the heck would anyone make a device that uses such an antiquated, inefficient and borderline useless battery type, unless there was a very special reason for doing so? Do I really want to use a battery that has internal resistance that's multiple orders of magnitude higher? The only thing I can think of (using pinpointers as an example) is that when Garrett designed their carrots, they wanted to keep research, development and production costs down so they stuck with the 9V battery. But that's a lousy excuse given how the newest pinpointers are compatible with AA batteries or use built-in lithiums. I'm suspecting it was laziness or arrogance of a manufacturer and that both scares and disappoints me as a consumer.

EDIT: I'd also like to add that your unintentional use of a red herring adds further support that there's almost no need for anything designed within the last 15 years (and for use with metal detectors) to use a 9V battery. I know you are trying to help and I appreciate your suggestion. If it weren't for the price, I'd probably buy what you linked to for use in my F2.

 

*One could argue I'm still growing up

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4 minutes ago, phrunt said:

Maybe I'm lazy, but I'd prefer to have one battery than four or eight, to me paying $14 for a battery is a non-issue, and I think in our money they were $21 but I found it to be very cheap for batteries that are going to last me a few years.  I spend more on some lunch.

You don't know what expensive batteries are until you have to buy them for your GPX detector, I think from memory it cost about $450 for my last battery pack ?

When I first got my GBP I tried an Energizer single use battery in it, lasted about 2 days of detecting and cost about 1/4 of the cost of my Powerex batteries which have now lasted well over a year so far and give just as good life during their usage lasting around 2 full days also.

There is no right or wrong, no battery is antiquated.  Smoke alarms and the remote control cars and so on didn't move off 9v onto AA, in most cases they'd now use a Lipo or Lithium-ion.  Some might say AA's are old antique rubbish and everything should be using Lithium-ion battery packs.  You have to deal with what you've got, and if your detector takes 9v you just buy the best 9v battery you can get to make the most of it, and for me that's been the Powerex batteries.

But that's false. There's a reason no consumer product in widespread sale uses a NiCd battery, for example.

And yes, I have to deal with what I've got. So for the time being, I use my F2. But that logic doesn't apply to everything. For example, I don't yet have a quality pinpointer. So battery type is a very strong factor in what my future one will be.

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9 minutes ago, phrunt said:

One of the reasons NiCd batteries haven’t been retired yet is their general toughness and resistance to impact, as well as both high and low temperatures. Also, their cycle life measures at around 1,000 charges, which is really impressive. In addition to that, they deliver a better flow of electric current. Although keeping the battery in a state of deep discharge is far from recommended, if you do so with NiCd batteries, they will not damage as easily as their Li-Ion or NiMH cousins. If you look at the whole thing from an economic standpoint, NiCd batteries are also significantly less expensive than the other options.

They're still pretty common in power tools and I'm sure you'll find them in a lot of other products too.

https://www.drillsanddrivers.com/batteries/

I'm not going to argue with you, all I'm saying is make the most of what you've got.   Fisher aren't going to take your F2 back and change it's battery type for you.

 

 

Maybe it's a southern hemisphere thing, but I haven't seen a power tool using NiCd technology in several years.

And I'm not asking for Fisher Research Labs to take my F2 back. I'm asking for them to make their F2 replacement use something other than a 9V battery. Huh, low and behold, they have with the F22. Now if only pinpoint manufacturers could figure things out...

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