Rechargable Batteries and Chargers?

[Psycho Bass Guy]

I've done my own tests and they don't agree with Consumer Reports. Duracell outlasts anything I have ever used by a mile.
Rick

Consumer Reports often weights their test criteria, just like Mythbusters, to make a "point" rather than be factually accurate. That said, Duracell Procell 9 volts were, BY FAR, inferior to the Energizer Industrial 9 volts I used to use at the TV station for our Lectrosonics VHF wireless mics and IFB's.  We went through, on average, a box of ten a week for roughly 8 hours a day of constant use on at least two mics. When I first started there, the two brands performed equally, but one day, the Duracells just started sucking bigtime: same supplier, same mics, same usage....   

[rahock]

I don't know that I've ever seen an Eveready Industrial battery
Rick

[Psycho Bass Guy]

MCM has them in their newest sale catalog. BTW, the 9 volts come in boxes of twelve, not ten.

[Pilgrim]

Hey PBG, that's interesting.  In an application like that, you get a pretty quick check of the service life of batteries.  We use a lot of wireless batteries in classrooms, but with student operators checking and changing them it's pretty hard to know what the actual durability is.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Before the Duracells went crappy, we pretty much regarded them as interchangably equal and ordered equal quantities of both them and the Energizers just to hedge our bets against a bad batch, which we did get from both brands from time to time. We (or at least me) tested the batteries before installation and then we monitored their life by testing. After they dropped below around 7 volts, we recycled them. Our mics claimed to be good down to 6.2 volts, but I never wanted to chance having one go out on the air. There were a couple of lazy guys who wouldn't check batteries that had this happen to them, but it never did to me.

On average, the Energizers lasted two days in the two heaviest used mics and the Duracells wouldn't even make it past the morning show after they got crappy. That was also the same performance we would get out of bad batches of Energizers, which we curiously stopped getting after we went to them exclusively. We went through a few cases of Duracells that were all bad before deciding to not use them anymore. When we had bad Energizers, it would just be a single box or a few batteries, never a whole case. 

For personal use, I use rechargbles, but it wouldn't work for TV: too many irresponsible people in the chain.

[Pilgrim]

For personal use, I use rechargbles, but it wouldn't work for TV: too many irresponsible people in the chain.

Good point.  When it's your own gear and you can track the charge and discharge cycles, you can manage it much better.  Add just one more person and all bets are off.  I can pretty much walk through the house and tell you how much charge is present in any battery-powered device I use, but (like you and others here) that comes from years of depending on batteries for professional work.

[rahock]

Well, I've got a dozen Maha Powerex 2700mah AA baterries and a Maha rapid charger showing up today, if the UPS man is on schedule. Although they call it a rapid charger, it actually falls about halfway between  fast and slow. It has a number of settings for topping off a partially discharged battery, conditioning  and giving an older battery some extra zap to bring it back to full strength status.
I'm kind of excited about getting this thing. What can I say, I have the mind of a child when it comes to getting a new toy .
First victims will be my Roland Microcube and my new Line 6 Wireless hook up. Oh Boy , Oh Boy
Rick

[Pilgrim]

That Maha looks very similar to the charger I use for digital camera batteries - I've been VERY happy with it!

To me, it makes good sense to spend just a few more bux for a charger that gives you some real control.

[bassvirtuoso]

Please excuse me gentlemen, but are these the ones Mark was talking about?

http://www.amazon.com/PowerEx-Stealth-Charger-3-9-6V-Batteries/dp/B000WGCWIU/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1273768005&sr=8-11

I also just picked up a Line 6 wireless and I don't want to buy 2 9V's for every gig I have. I tried to make them last two nights and only got through 4 total sets in all (we play 3 a night).

[rahock]

Dave,
Your Line 6 wireless runs two 9volts? What model is that? My G30 runs two AAs, which seem to hold up pretty well, about eight hours.
I will probably run the alkalines, that came with it, out today. I've got the Nimh batteries in the charger as we speak.
Rick

[bassvirtuoso]

Dave,
Your Line 6 wireless runs two 9volts? What model is that? My G30 runs two AAs, which seem to hold up pretty well, about eight hours.
I will probably run the alkalines, that came with it, out today. I've got the Nimh batteries in the charger as we speak.
Rick

I'm using the old model I suggested earlier in this thread: The X2 system. Each module takes a 9V, so I always need to switch out 2 9Vs after every gig. I wish I had known how good they were going to make the new G Series, I would have gone with that instead!

[TBird1958]

Dave,

That is the set up I have, I'm very happy with it. I use a single 9v in my Shure IEM system and easily get 2 hours out of a charge, after that I change it out and discharge it completely. The whole has been using them for some time now - we likey! 

[bassvirtuoso]

Dave,

That is the set up I have, I'm very happy with it. I use a single 9v in my Shure IEM system and easily get 2 hours out of a charge, after that I change it out and discharge it completely. The whole has been using them for some time now - we likey! 

Now you say easily 2 hours Mark, do you think they can last longer than that? We play a 4 hour show, so most likely a maximum of 3 total playing hours. Could it last that long? I shut my wireless off after every set too, so I'm not looking for 4 hours.

The only reason I ask is because Line 6 likes to make life harder with battery doors and my floor unit requires a screwdriver to replace the battery. I don't like hassling with having to get the screwdriver out to swap batteries between sets.

[TBird1958]

In my IEM it'd probably last threee hours if I turn it off between sets. I think it's not so hard on batteries tho, and change out is easy, just flippin' a tab open. Personally I do think they're worth trying just from the cost standpoint alone even if you only used them at rehearsal.......batteries are expensive, I'd rather spend my music $$$ on more glamorus things......... Skirts, tops, new bra, panties, basses...............    

[rahock]

I'm using the old model I suggested earlier in this thread: The X2 system. Each module takes a 9V, so I always need to switch out 2 9Vs after every gig. I wish I had known how good they were going to make the new G Series, I would have gone with that instead!

Oops, sorry I forgot who I was talking too . I've got to say I am very happy with my G30. The reciever has a 100 volt plug in to the wall adapter, so the sending units' two AAs are all I have to contend with, and as I mentioned, they are good for about eight hours.
One of the sales guys at Guitar Center told me his whole band was using the X2 version and he was getting about four hours out of Duracell or Energizer  9volts. He just started each night with fresh batteries and tossed them at the end of the night. Rarely did he have to change batteries between sets as long as he was using Duracell or Energizers. He also said that using any other brand he was lucky to even get through a single set. To me , that would really be a pain in the butt .
Rick