vexilar fl-18 ??????????

[hard_water]

how many hours do you get out of a fully charged battery? i have gotten out 3 times so far about 30 hours and my battery indicator still says 100%.


             water

[billybono]

the fl8 i had went a long time...but if your going a whole trip with it why worry. charge it fully when ya get home 

         billybono

[TGF]

how many hours do you get out of a fully charged battery? i have gotten out 3 times so far about 30 hours and my battery indicator still says 100%.


             water

Never go by your battery status indicator % light. Charge up your battery after every use regardless of what your status light says. Keep it charged up and it will last you a long time. Mine is going on 4 yrs now with many hrs use. I go by the cord/charger that has the light on it. Plug it in and light on charger is bright, connect it to terminals and it will go out, charge until light comes on again. I don't even look at the status % light. It lies. This is why so many guys run into trouble down the road with an improperly charged battery. I recharge after every use even if I'm tired after fishing

[eyedoktr]

I agree, don't go by the indicator. You should charge the battery up fully after each use. Bring it in the house, let it warm up, then charge it fully. You will get alot longer battery life this way.

[P.I.K.E.]

I disagree with charging it after every time you use it. I bought an extra battery. Only $20 at Gander Mountain. Run one until it's dead then get the other one out. By running the battery dead  and then charging you will get better life from your battery.

[trapperdirk]

I disagree with charging it after every time you use it. I bought an extra battery. Only $20 at Gander Mountain. Run one until it's dead then get the other one out. By running the battery dead  and then charging you will get better life from your battery.

Like Terry stated though Pike . He has got almost 4 years out of his battery which says something for it's life longevity .Thats pretty good in my books .I also charge mine after every outing even though I have a spare and am not going to haul an extra just to drain one down and also I think you lose some performance in the powerheads when batteries are drained because most will have to turn their gains up to continue to get good readings . I'm not saying your wrong in what your doing but I'm not convinced either that your going to get a longer life out of your battery by draining them completely down each and everytime .

                TD

[tommyboy]

I disagree with charging it after every time you use it. I bought an extra battery. Only $20 at Gander Mountain. Run one until it's dead then get the other one out. By running the battery dead  and then charging you will get better life from your battery.

No offense, but that is simply not true.  Vexilar uses "sealed" lead acid batteries.  Lead acid batteries, unlike some other types of rechargeable Nickel-based batteries (there is a great debate among computer geeks about the memory of NiMH vs NiCd), do not have any memory.

Rather, Lead-acid battery life is more accurately reflected by "charging cycles."  For example, a lead acid battery could have a viable life cycle of 500 full charges or 2000 partial ones.  Regardless which plateau you hit first, the battery will rapidly lose its effectiveness after that life cycle is gone through.  The partial-charge avenue is definitely the better way to go, which has been recognized by auto manufacturers for years - that is why your car's alternator always delivers a slow charge to the battery rather than waiting for the battery to drain down before recharging.

As for the original question, the longest I have spent on the ice in one shot is about 12 hours in pretty cold weather (near 0), and the vex was still going with about 50% showing on the indicator.

[hard_water]

thanks for all your help guys im going with the charge it everytime method.


        water

[highlife]

use common sense. for every hour of use it takes about 2 hours to recharge thats from the company. i had a battery that wouldn't hold a charge ever.

[yooperdave]

have fl18, have never run out battery, and have slept on ice a few times and used it for 14 - 18 hours.

[NJ PIKER]

have had my fl-18 running all day and its
never gone under 50% on the meter
 temp will effect battery life

[mcwoody]

to all, thanks for the info on this topic.  this is my first off season with a vex.  i haven't re charged during the off season but am doing so now.  tried to re charge after every outing last season and it behaved real well!!
here's  hoping that i can get the 4-5 years out of the battery that i'm reading about. 

bring on the cold weather!!!

[trapperdirk]

Yes just top her up once a month or so when not in use and store in dry cool place . 4 to 5 years life is likely the outside of the spectrum to expect but replacement batteries are reasonable and I would look at a backup battery after 2 years so your not caught without . I myself change mine out every couple of trips and give the spare a run too .

                             TD