Kestrel Warranty Experience

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generalzip

Old Salt
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Minuteman
    • Jun 30, 2010
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    Houston, tx
    #1
    Just want to share my warranty experience with kestrel. I normally store without batteries in the device but forgot between matches once and it sat for about 3-4 months unused. Went to grab it and wouldn’t turn on. Batteries had corroded out the entire guts of the inside. After only 3-4 months. Contacted warrranty and they said it’s out of the 5 year warranty even though that’s impossible because I bought it 4 years ago. They claim it was purchased in March when it was a birthday gift. My bday is in November. They then said even if under warranty they don’t cover the fact that their shit product can’t be stored for 3-4 months with batteries on it. Funny none of my other electronic devices (scopes, rangefinders, etc) have this issue.

    Clearly a company that doesn’t stand behind their product and has a shit warranty. But hey they offered me 79 dollars for a 400 dollar unit if I want to buy another one of their overpriced, not warrantied units.

    I’ll give my money to weatherflow from now on. Just wanted to share this experience so others can avoid the nightmare of have a 400+ dollar device shit the bed in 4 months.
     
    #2
    Check the warranty on the batteries. I had the same thing happen to my older Kestrel and although Kestrel couldn't really help, the battery manufacturer carried a warranty that said if their batteries destroy your electronic device they'll cover the cost for a new one. It took about two weeks but I got a check from the battery manufacturer that covered the retail cost of a Kestrel 4000, which fully paid for a 4500NV off of Amazon.
     
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    #4
    I had the same thing happen this week but I had a much more positive experience with their customer service. My 4000nv died. They upgraded me to a 5700 elite with link for a better price than I would have spent on anything. It was a no brainer to do it in my mind. I emailed the rep who is on here and he took care of me. I can honestly say it was a pleasant surprise to get the level of customer service that I got. I was pissed at first when it died and feel it was a design flaw to have the boards in with the battery but they made things right with me in my opinion.

    I would suggest messaging the rep on here or pm me for some info before making any judgement.
     
    #5
    generalzip said:
    Just want to share my warranty experience with kestrel. I normally store without batteries in the device but forgot between matches once and it sat for about 3-4 months unused. Went to grab it and wouldn’t turn on. Batteries had corroded out the entire guts of the inside. After only 3-4 months. Contacted warrranty and they said it’s out of the 5 year warranty even though that’s impossible because I bought it 4 years ago. They claim it was purchased in March when it was a birthday gift. My bday is in November. They then said even if under warranty they don’t cover the fact that their shit product can’t be stored for 3-4 months with batteries on it. Funny none of my other electronic devices (scopes, rangefinders, etc) have this issue.

    Clearly a company that doesn’t stand behind their product and has a shit warranty. But hey they offered me 79 dollars for a 400 dollar unit if I want to buy another one of their overpriced, not warrantied units.

    I’ll give my money to weatherflow from now on. Just wanted to share this experience so others can avoid the nightmare of have a 400+ dollar device shit the bed in 4 months.
    Click to expand...


    Were you using lithium batteries, or alkaline? The manual explicitly cautions users to only use Lithium batteries. There are several reasons for this, one of which is to avoid this problem. I have a 4500 NV that I have used for years, and stored with batteries installed, year-round in a vehicle, that has never failed to work, or had a problem with battery leakage. I have always exclusively used Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries for this and all other mission critical devices.
     
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    #7
    generalzip said:
    Thanks for the tip man. I’ll look into that. Sad when a battery manufacturer has your back over the products company
    Click to expand...
    That is inherent with Alkaline batteries, or as I know them, alka-leaks. it is quite obviously not a manufacturer defect.
    lithium batteries mentioned above will not leak.
     
    #8
    This is why I have pretty much tossed all Alkaline batteries and have gone with Lithium only. They do cost a ton more, but you get much longer life out of them & don't have the worry about them destroying your equipment.
    I also use rechargeables for some high use stuff & that has saved a lot.
     
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    #9
    The Kestrel manual does explicitly state that users should NOT use alkaline batteries and it does state that the warranty does not cover damage caused by leaking alkaline batteries. Prior to that, NK had too many warranty claims due to leaking batteries.
     
    #10
    Sniperstud said:
    Were you using lithium batteries, or alkaline? The manual explicitly cautions users to only use Lithium batteries. There are several reasons for this, one of which is to avoid this problem. I have a 4500 NV that I have used for years, and stored with batteries installed, year-round in a vehicle, that has never failed to work, or had a problem with battery leakage. I have always exclusively used Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries for this and all other mission critical devices.
    Click to expand...


    They were energizer lithium.
     
    #14
    SparkyHD1 said:
    The Batteries failed, Not the electronics. Why is it Kestrel's fault the batteries leaked?
    Click to expand...

    They may be the case. I contacted Energizer and will see what they say. However I was using lithium batteries and other guys don't seem to have a problem. So maybe I got a shit set of batteries. No way to know for sure. I do recall have this issue in this Kestrel before however. But it was nowhere near as bad as it was with this set of batteries.
     
    #15
    generalzip said:
    They may be the case. I contacted Energizer and will see what they say. However I was using lithium batteries and other guys don't seem to have a problem. So maybe I got a shit set of batteries. No way to know for sure. I do recall have this issue in this Kestrel before however. But it was nowhere near as bad as it was with this set of batteries.
    Click to expand...
    I hope Energizer does something for you. I would think that they would.
     
    #16
    Sorry, I've never heard of lithium batteries leaking so I assumed your leaking battery was alkaline. I would think that Energizer should cover the damage caused by their battery. I hope it works out for you.
     
    #17
    generalzip said:
    They were energizer lithium.
    Click to expand...

    That is the first time I have ever heard of their batteries doing that.
    If that's the case, I guess I need to re-evaluate my trust in them seriously.

    Just so we are on the same page, is it these batteries we are talking about?:

    energizer-ultimate-lithium-family-22f3b98b4cdeb699ca6d0ff1600a518b3.png
     
    #23
    First you are totally expressing your anger at the wrong company. Much the same as when a ammo problem damages a gun. You need to man up and own that you are misdirecting your anger.

    Next I want to see pics of batteries. While I am sure it is possible for a lithium to leak I would say it is exceedingly rare. As in you might have better odds of winning the lottery in a couple days. lithium is a proven technology, your scopes more than likely use CR2032 batteries which are and have always been lithium. Your range finder probably uses a CR123 which again has always been lithium.

    I am pretty sure that even if lithium batteries leak it is not corrosive. Alkaline batteries are just that, filled with a Alkali material. Alkali is the opposite of acid and can be just as corrosive. Think of your car battery, opposite chemicals but same result with corrosion.

    It is a known fact that when Alkaline batteries get below a certain voltage the Alkali goes almost "super nova" creating pressure and eating the battery case. It also a known fact that kestrels have a voltage draw even when turned of.

    lithium batteries are used in pretty much every device known to man. As I type this I have 8 lithium operated devices with in 24" of me. Lithium's issue is that it can hold so much energy and dump it so fast that they catch fire.
     
    #24
    I agree in the anger being directed at the wrong company but if he says they are lithium then id assume they are. Lets hold off on calling him a liar on the lithium's until we see this picture.
     
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    #25
    I just opened my kestrel and there were no batteries. I guess I dumped them at the match. Maybe I was mistaken and they were alkalines but I use lithium’s in all my high end electronics and have a pile of AA and AAA sitting on top of my safe. Really wish I hadn’t tossed them now. I would be extremely surprised if I didn’t have lithium’s in there, but without being able to physically pull them out now and take a pic there’s no way for me to be certain. I certainly wouldn’t rule out alkaline batteries as a possibility.

    Regardless kestrel was more than useless in this situation and I will not be buying any of their products again.
     
    #27
    generalzip said:
    Regardless kestrel was more than useless in this situation and I will not be buying any of their products again.
    Click to expand...

    That is just stupid. If you put diesel fuel in your gas powered vehicle (seen it 100's of times) would you expect the vehicle manufacturer to help you in some way?
    And you threw the batteries away so now you have no recourse against the actual company that may be responsible to some degree.
    You are having an emotional response to a logical problem.
     
    Last edited:
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    #28
    generalzip said:
    I normally store without batteries in the device but forgot between matches once and it sat for about 3-4 months unused. Went to grab it and wouldn’t turn on. Batteries had corroded out the entire guts of the inside. After only 3-4 months.
    Click to expand...

    generalzip said:
    I just opened my kestrel and there were no batteries. I guess I dumped them at the match.
    Click to expand...

    E696ADD2-4107-4152-BDD0-1C96E7AD0B60.jpeg
     
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    #30
    2ndamendfan said:
    That is just stupid. If you put diesel fuel in your gas powered vehicle (seen it 100's of times) would you expect the vehicle manufacturer to help you in some way?
    And you threw the batteries away so now you have no recourse against the actual company that may be responsible to some degree.
    You are having an emotional response to a logical problem.
    Click to expand...

    Funny some companies , irrespecitve their fault or not, respect the community. Happy to name many here on this forum .. kestrel wants to differentiate in the opposite side of the fence i guess. This makes you appreciate mfgs who offer no fault warranties - even some who are smaller than kestrel
     
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    #31
    can we get a photo of the corrosion? if it's blue or white then that'd be an alkaline. though tbh, I don't know the color of a lithium leak as I've never seen one. I'm not certain it's even possible.
     
    #32
    I can see where Kestrel would push back on the battery manufacturer on this, as it really isn't an issue with the device itself (aside from a design oversight of a leaking battery). The 5700 battery compartment has been re-designed to protect the device from a faulty battery.

    All that being said, in defense of Kestrel, when there was an issue with my 4500NV AB (cracked hinge) their CS was nothing short of excellent. No muss, no fuss, and a new 5700AB was shipped one business day after they received the broken 4500.

    Not sure what to say to the OP, since we still can't confirm whether these were akaline batteries or not...
     
    #33
    LEAKS.*
    battery_family_shots_06.png

    Even as battery technology has evolved, battery leaks are still a problem today. Many brands of batteries can still corrode and damage devices after being fully used.
    Energizer® is different. Our batteries are designed to prevent damaging leaks or we will replace your device.
    So when it comes to toys, digital cameras and other valuable devices, you can feel confident knowing you have the long-lasting power and protection you'd expect from Energizer®.
    So, There you have it. Energizer Guarantees that their batteries won't leak, or they will replace your electronics. you should have saved them Batteries.
    You really should stop blaming kestrel.
     
    Last edited:
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    #34
    csshih said:
    can we get a photo of the corrosion? if it's blue or white then that'd be an alkaline. though tbh, I don't know the color of a lithium leak as I've never seen one. I'm not certain it's even possible.
    Click to expand...
    In doing some limited research it would appear that while rare lithium batteries have leaked in the past. Thing is that 98% of them that do catch fire, as a couple chemicals inside spontaneously ignite in the presence of oxygen. Hence lithium batteries as sealed very well.
     
    #37
    I just ordered a 5700 a couple of days ago, should be here next week. I bought the lithium batteries beforehand and have them waiting on my desk for when it arrives. As other posters have mentioned they redesigned these units to be more isolated from the batteries. Future lesson for anyone else with this problem. Snap pictures with your phone right away and keep the batteries so you can make a claim with the battery company if they offer it. Most importantly, use Lithium batteries in your Kestrel.
     
    #39
    generalzip said:
    I just opened my kestrel and there were no batteries. I guess I dumped them at the match. Maybe I was mistaken and they were alkalines but I use lithium’s in all my high end electronics and have a pile of AA and AAA sitting on top of my safe. Really wish I hadn’t tossed them now. I would be extremely surprised if I didn’t have lithium’s in there, but without being able to physically pull them out now and take a pic there’s no way for me to be certain. I certainly wouldn’t rule out alkaline batteries as a possibility.

    Regardless kestrel was more than useless in this situation and I will not be buying any of their products again.
    Click to expand...


    1539936728481.jpeg


    craigos said:
    Funny some companies , irrespecitve their fault or not, respect the community. Happy to name many here on this forum .. kestrel wants to differentiate in the opposite side of the fence i guess. This makes you appreciate mfgs who offer no fault warranties - even some who are smaller than kestrel
    Click to expand...


    There are some outstanding companies that go above and beyond to take care of the customer with "no fault" warranty service. I agree that it should make you very appreciative when you are the beneficiary of this treatment. However, many people merely register this as the new normal, and come to expect it. The result, then, is that any company that doesn't ante up and pay for the customer's accident, mistake, or failure to follow instructions is branded an unprincipled, dishonest, POS that is unworthy of our business. This mentality is exactly the reason that government “programs” and bailouts don’t work. The more you try to help some people, the more they keep coming back with their hand out, instead of taking responsibility for their own actions.
     
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