Night Vision Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

GBMaryland · May 31, 2012

Folks,

For those of you that own W1000-9 systems, I've tested the following batteries**:

- Energizer Advanced Lithium 9v batteries (x6) [Done; see below]
- Utilitech 9v Premium Alkaline batteries (x6) [Done; see below]
- Engergizer Alkaline batteries (X6)
- Duracell [Copper Top] Alkaline batteries (X6)[Done; see below]
- Duracell Procell Alkaline batteries (X6) [Done; see below]
- Maha PowerEx MHR9VI IMEDION 9v batteries (x6) [Rechargeable] [Done; Tested 5 recharge cycles.]
- Ansmann Energy 8.4v NiMH 250mAh [Rechargables]* (x6)[Done; Same results are the Maha, ~4 hours]
- iPowerUS Professional 9v 520mAh batteries (9.6v)(x6) [Rechargeable] [Done; see below]
- Maximal Power 9-Volt Li-ion 550mAh Batteries (8.4v) (x6) [Rechargeable] [Done; see below]


The PowerEx is a low discharge 9.6v NiMH rechargeable battery that delivers 230mAh.

The iPowerUS Pro 9v is a 9.6v Li-ion battery that is supposed to deliver 520mAh, and is rechargeable.

The Maximal Power 9v is a 8.4v Li-ion battery that is supposed to deliver 550mAh, and is rechargeable.

Best disposable battery:

The Energizer Advanced Lithium is the best battery set so far.

However, for Energizer disposable lithiums to be cost effective, they need to run for about 15 hours; Energizer lithiums batteries run for about 10.5 hours. At 3 times the cost of most Alkaline batteries, they do not deliver 3 times the performance.

Best rechargable option:

THE BEST RECHARGEABLE BATTERY IS A TIE...

If you like rechargable batteries, both the iPowerUS 9.6v Li-ion 520mAh and Maximal Power 8.4v Li-ion 550mAh units are clear winners; these batteries are superior to Alkaline batteries, and are rate for 1000 charges. They last ~7-7.5 hours, well exceeding any alkaline battery or NiMH battery tested so far.

(As a side line: it's important to note that the voltage is not the important factor in the testing of these batteries. The single most important issue is the ability to MAINTAIN energy drain (aka current) over time. The Li-ion type battery are superior in this. It doesn't appear to matter if they are 9.6v or 8.4v, they still run the sight for at least 7 hours.)

Testing procedure:

The batteries where tested using an iPhone adapter attached to the W1000-9, and it takes a time lapsed picture every 1 minute. When complete, the tester goes to the point there is no picture, divides by 60, and the number of hours the device ran is known.

Note on cost effectiveness:

I spent a fair amount of money testing all of these batteries. It's important to note that, with the exception of General Purpose 9 volt batteries, ALL of the batteries tested were able to run the sight on ONE 9 volt battery.

However, even with the cash I spent on the test batteries, I'm STILL saving money over the cost of purchasing even cheap disposable alkaline batteries!

This is an except from a post below:

"1000 uses of a W1000-9 with Alkaline batteries would be 6000 9 volt batteries(!).

1000 charges of the iPowerUS batteries would use 6 batteries. Assuming that you only get 75% of what the manufacture claims, you STILL only went through 6 batteries. (The manufacture indicates they will last 1000 charges.)

6000 Duracell ProCell batteries times $1.74 each is $10440.00!

Even the worst case senario, where the iPowerUS li-ion recharable batteries only recharge for 750 times, the comprative cost of the Duracell ProCells would STILL be $7830.00!

At those numbers, even the ~4 hours of use you get out of the PowerEx IMEDION True 9.6 NiMH, they become a great deal, since they cost about $90.00 if you shop around and get the 10 battery charger."

The only aspect of rechargeable batteries that is an issue is convience. Even the li-ion batteries take 1 hour to recharge...

GB

* These were sent to me by mistake and I opened them prior to noticing they were not what I ordered in a different packaging. They appear to NOT be low self discharge NiMH.

** Final runtime numbers:

- NiMH low-self discharge -> ~3.8-4 hours
- Alkaline -> ~5 hours
- Rechargeable Li-ion -> ~7-7.5 hours
- Disposable Li-ion -> ~10 hours

the impactzone · May 31, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

how about the Duracell Procell, I can get them fairly cheap through a buddy about $2. each. it's what I have been using and I think I get about 5-6 hrs

GBMaryland · May 31, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

I'll add those to the list.

The Utilitech are the Lowes contractor grade crap. So I was thinking they'd be at the bottom of the list.

Only interesting thing to note at the moment: The Low Battery warning notification only lasts for several minutes.

GBMaryland · May 31, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

Results:

At 75 Degrees F ->

Energizer Advanced Lithium: Runtime 639 minutes; 10.65 hours

Utilitech Premium Alkaline: Runtime 319 minutes; 5.31 hours

Duracell Copper Top Alkaline: [Need to re-run, camera crapped out]

Duracell Procell Alkaline: Runtime 324 minutes; 5.4 hours

Ansmann Energy 8.4v NiMH 250mAh 9v|Block E|6F22: 205 minutes; 3.4 hours

Imedion 9.6 230mAh NiMH Rechargable (Run 1): ~5 hours (!)

Imedion 9.6 230mAh NiMH Rechargable (Run 2): 221 minutes; 3.68 hours

Imedion 9.6 230mAh NiMH Rechargable (Run 3): 208 minutes; 3.4 hours

Imedion 9.6 230mAh NiMH Rechargable (Run 4): 209 minutes; 3.4 hours

Imedion 9.6 230mAh NiMH Rechargable (Run 5): 228 minutes; 3.8 hours

iPowerUS 9V 520 mAh (v.3) Li-ion Professional Rechargable: 437 min; 7.28 hours

Maximal Power 9V 550 mAh Li-ion Rechargable: 401 min; 6.68 hours *



* Based on a 3 battery test, so I expect they'd hit 7 hours when actually using a full set of 6 batteries.

----

Updated 7/1/2012

GBMaryland · May 31, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

Some data that I found on some v9 batteries, this data includes the Duracell Procell. Based on this data, they should be very good batteries.

Interestingly, they are exactly the same specs are the "copper top" variant according to the PDFs on Duracell's website.

Basically, you just pay more for the copper tops. Amazon sells the procell batteries for 1.70 each.

Battery Description, Ohms, VCutoff, AvgAH, AvgWH

9v Energizer Alkaline Bulk, 100 5.5, 0.5092, 3.5592
9v Energizer Alkaline Carded, 100, 5.5, 0.4857, 3.3915
9v GP Alkacell, 100, 5.5, 0.4216, 2.7960
9v Duracell Procell Professional Alkaline, 100, 5.5, 0.5102, 3.7001
9v Energizer Heavy Duty Bulk 100, 5.5, 0.0708, 0.4440
9v Energizer Heavy Duty Bulk 250, 5.5, 0.1122, 0.7600
9v Golden Power Heavy Duty, 100, 5.5, 0.0961, 0.5995
9v Golden Power Heavy Duty, 250, 5.5, 0.1308, 0.8910

Dustin Morris · May 31, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

Thanks for doing this test. I bought one of these a few weeks ago and I will stack up on whatever batteries you deem to be the best.

Dustin

Boomholzer · Jun 1, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have an iPhone adapter attached to the W1000-9, and it takes a time lapsed picture every 1 minute. When you're done, you go to the point there is no picture, divide by 60, and you know the number of hours the device ran.</div></div>

Great test in application. Battery modeling isn't easy on paper.

Static drain on fixed resistive load is standard in Vcutoff as you know. To 5.5V is useless without a discharge plot IMO. A basic model is the battery, its series ESR (basically, its ability to supply current or equivalent series resistance in model), and the passive resistive load. Higher ESR batteries will increase the static load for “banner” spec sheet performance in capacity.
Pulsed or higher current drain useage will decrease banner capacity significantly against ESR in application. Where “banner” is the battery capacity in mAhrs relative to ideal static load condition. Max Pulse current and ESR may be stated separately or interpreted. Energizer has the most detailed technical data in industry for Li-based, off-the-shelf batteries.

For a 9V battery, a 100Ohm load is 9mA (i=v/r). That's not a significant load to stress the battery against its inherent ESR in any chemistry to compare to results in this device.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
9v Energizer Alkaline Bulk, 100 5.5, 0.5092, 3.5592
9v Energizer Alkaline Carded, 100, 5.5, 0.4857, 3.3915
9v GP Alkacell, 100, 5.5, 0.4216, 2.7960
9v Duracell Procell Professional Alkaline, 100, 5.5, 0.5102, 3.7001
9v Energizer Heavy Duty Bulk 100, 5.5, 0.0708, 0.4440
9v Energizer Heavy Duty Bulk 250, 5.5, 0.1122, 0.7600
9v Golden Power Heavy Duty, 100, 5.5, 0.0961, 0.5995
9v Golden Power Heavy Duty, 250, 5.5, 0.1308, 0.8910
</div></div>

Your testing in W1000-9 is valid. I don’t wish to negate your efforts. My warning is that I would not expect all these batteries to a have equal life in product. That all is against a superior battery chemistry for higher loads -off-the-shelf- which you tested.

GBMaryland · Jun 1, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

Well, one of the biggest issues is going to b temperature. So not only is chemistry and issue, but temperature is also a big issue.

I would assume that the li-ion batteries will likely do better at temperature extremes, for example.

Still, we'll see.

I only intend to test common batteries that are easy to get a hold of.

Phantom223 · Jun 1, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

First, Thanks for takeing on the cost and time to give other owners a true idea of what to expect battery wise. And yes temperature will play a big role in battery life, lithium or rechargeables normally have much more life at extreme high or low temp range.

GBMaryland · Jun 1, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

My first thoughts are that the nickel metal hydride batteries will probably not last very long, but, considering they are low discharge batteries, they may be a cost-effective alternative for only using the site for a few hours. [Keep in mind that if they last 4 hours, and you can purchase 12 of them... recharging them rapidly... they can be VERY cost effect. $65.00]

My second thought is that the lithium-ion rechargeable batteries will probably do fairly well with the real issue being just how well those batteries actually formulated. [These have output specifications that are identical on paper to normal high-end alkaline batteries, but should hold a charge (unlike NiMH) and work well at both low and high temps. The issue being that they are expensive - a full setup is $130.00 with the charger.]

For the rechargeables I'm going to indicate what the recharge time is and then I'm going to run a test again to find out how well they do on subsequent charges.

Please note that I used my iPhone dictate this message so if there are grammar issues well the iPhone could be better.

GBMaryland · Jun 2, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

Ok,

Latest battery information... the "PowerEX IMEDION low self discharge Nickel Metal Hydride [NiMH] True 9.6 volt 230mAh" version rechargable batteries arrived last night.

I charged them in the PowerEX 4 battery charger (that comes with 4 of these batteries - model # MH-C490F), and ran the W1000-9 with time lapsed photography at 1 mintue intervals.

The batteries stopped poviding enough energy to work the unit at 11:57PM last night, and the unit was turned on a little before 7PM.

That means that the PowerEX Imedion Rechargable 9.6v 230mAh batteries ran the unit for about 5 hours!

That's actually VERY impressive.

Notes on these SPECIFIC NiMH batteries:

- 6 batteries with a "fast" 2 hour x 4 battery charger cost $90.00 from Amazon delivered

- The first runtime is about 5 hours, but subsequent charges only yeild from 3.4 to 3.8 hours

- There are TWO versions of this battery, a 9v-300mAh (which is 8.4 volts) and a 9.6v-230mAh. These are the "True 9.6 volt" [230mAh] version...

- These batteries are rated for keeping 85% of their charge [unused at all] for 1 year after charging.

- Many NiMH batteries are known to rapidly discharge, so in addition to normally being a lower voltage than their alkaline counterparts, they also do not keep a charge; these batteries will discharge at a rate of 15% per year, but are still superior to typical commercial NiMH rechargable batteries.

- Most NiMH batteries have significantly lower voltages and useable current than like models of some type of alkaline batteries; theses, however, appear to be a little less effective that most alkaline batterues

- The discharge test was conducted at 75F

- It takes 2 HOURS MINIMUM to recharge completely drained batteries

- The manufacturer also makes a "MH-C1090F Pro Ten Bank 9V Rapid Charger" that will charge 10 batteries at a time and also keep them trickle charged. Both chargers come with a car charger, so they can be recharged in a vehicle in the field. This big C1090F charger costs anywhere from $52-$70. I got it from Amazon for $50.00.

 I would like to point out that if you purchase these batteries at a good price, say $80.00 for 6 batteries and a 4 battery charger, these would save someone that uses the W1000-9 sparingly a lot of money in a short period of time. (See the final notes below.) Every recharge of these batteries saves you 6 more 9 volt disposable batteries, or about $8.00-$10.00. That adds up pretty quickly into real money.

GBMaryland · Jun 2, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

Update:

PowerEX IMEDION low self discharge Nickel Metal Hydride [NiMH] True 9.6 volt 230mAh

So, charged these suckers for the second time (first was factory charge with additional inital charge)...

Only lasted 221 minutes at 75F...

So that's just under 4 hours!

The information that came with them indicates that it may take 3-5 full charge and discharge cycles before they actually reason there full charged capacity.

As such, I'm going to run these through a lot of charges and see if they get better than the init run.

The iPowerUS Li-ion rechargables are in the W1000-9 now, and undergoing their inital test.

GBMaryland · Jun 3, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

iPowerUS (v3) 9volt 520mAh Li-Ion Rechargable Batteries:

So I charged these, takes about 60 minutes, and then ran them in the unit.

The first charge is basically what I expected, somewhere between typical Alkaline batteries and the best performing battery (Energizer Advanced Lithium): ~7.5 hours

I do not expect that these will not charge wellthe second time, that is to say, that these batteries will not requie 3-5 charge cycles like NiMH batteries seem to.

These appear to be a great rechargable option.

They are also significantly lighter weighing at 28g as opposed to 54g; a full load of NiMH batteries weigh 11.4oz and the Li-Ion batteries weigh 5.4oz.

Summary:

- These batteries weight 50% of NiMH and Alkaline batteries
- Are less suseptable (sp) to temperature extremes [based on specs]
- Last about 1.5 hours longer than a normal Alkaline battery
- Charge in less than 1/2 the time of a NiMH battery
- Have low or no self discharge compared to NiMH

However, it is about $130 to setup to use ONE set of these (with a charger), and you'll probably want two if you are using the W1000-9 all the time.

GBMaryland · Jun 4, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

Updated NiMH PowerEx "True 9.6v" batteries above...

They started out great and look like they are settling into about 3.4 hours.

I'm going to run one more charge cycle and stop at that point.

GBMaryland · Jun 4, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

I recieved the Duracell ProCell batteries (China) today... and will test them tonight.

They cost $17.80 per 12, or $1.48 each from Amazon.

Comparing the ProCells to the top rechargable performer (iPowerUS 520mAh Li-ion):

-You can purchase 7.3 boxes of Procell batteries for the cost of the Li-ion iPowerUS rechargables

-Using Li-ion recharables saves you 87 disposable 9 volt alkaline batteries [81 if you deduct the 6 li-ion from the equation] (!)

-Each charge of the Li-ion iPowerUS V3 batteries last about 2.5 hours longer the common alkaline batteries (tested thus far)*

* Final statistics on that will be in tomorrow morning after testing the ProCell Duracell batteries; The Copper Tops were tested previously and yeilded about 5 hours.

GBMaryland · Jun 4, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

Duracell ProCell Results are in (see above for times)...

Basically, these batteries are identical to normal "Copper Tops" in duration. Just over 5.4 hours, which may mean they beat the "Copper Tops!"

I'm now performing the final test of the PowerEx IMEDION 9.6 NiMH batteries. We'll see if they really do get better with several complete drain and charge cycles. However, I think we've arrived at the final point with them... ~4 hours

GBMaryland · Jun 4, 2012

Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

Ok,

Here is what I suspect the outcome (best battery and COST) is going to be:

1) That the rechargable battery pack specifically made for the W1000-9 may not be a great option unless:

A) It cost under $150.00 and delivers at least 15 hours of run time

B) Charges in less that 1.5 hours

C) Is good for at least 1000 charges

2) How did I arrive at the above conclusions?

A) First, the BEST performing batteries are Energizer Advanced Lithium disposables. They run for ~10.5 hours and are basically temperature insensitive. (They will work at -40C to 60C...)

B) Second, the best RECHARABLE solution are the iPowerUS V3 520mAh li-ion batteries. They run for ~7.5 hours. This beats EVERY alkaline battery tested, and gives us a really good idea of what a 60 minute top-of-the-line rechargable solution will give us.

C) Lastly, the PowerEx True 9.6 NiMH batteries take 120-160 minutes to recharge. This gives us a base of what the worst case senario will be for the least expensive 9 volt rechargable solution. Figure that a true 15 hour battery pack should be able to beat this by charging in 80 minutes (or half the time of the worst rechargable solution).

3) What are the best options?

This is actually a mixed bag...

There are many factors to consider:

A) Operating temperature: Only li-ion batteries a consistant

B) Hours of operating usage: 3.8, 5.5, 7.5, 10.5 are the results

C) How green are you? Disposable batteries are either expensive and run two times a long (Energizer li-ion), or cheap and run for 5 hours. Rechargable li-ion polymer batteries have no memory, last for 7.5 hours, are temperature insensitive, charge in 60 mintues, but cost about $130.00 to get started.

Expanding on item C above (aka How cheap are you?):

1000 uses of a W1000-9 with Alkaline batteries would be 6000 9 volt batteries(!).

1000 charges of the iPowerUS batteries would use 6 batteries. Assuming that you only get 75% of what the manufacture claims, you STILL only went through 6 batteries. (The manufacture indicates they will last 1000 charges.)

6000 Duracell ProCell batteries times $1.74 each is $10440.00!

Even the worst case senario, where the iPowerUS li-ion recharable batteries only recharge for 750 times, the comprative cost of the Duracell ProCells would STILL be $7830.00!

At those numbers, even the ~4 hours of use you get out of the PowerEx IMEDION True 9.6 NiMH becomes a great deal, since they cost about $90.00 if you shop around and get the 10 battery charger.

Best Battery Options

1) Disposable: Energizer Advanced Lithium is the gold standard at ~10.5 hours of run time.

2) Rechargable: iPowerUS v3 520mAh 9 volt battery at ~7.5 hours of run time.

After that, the only 9.6 volt NiMH battery still only gets you ~4 hours and takes forever to charge.

Every Alkaline battery falls into the ~5 hour range so far.

...and more than likely, any GP (or general purpose) batteries will be no better than the NiMH PowerEx solution.

The last thing is weight: All li-ion batteries weigh less than 50% of their NiMH, alkaline, or GP cousins.

In my mind, the iPowerUS li-ion recharables are the best solution for the W1000-9 at 7.5 hours of runtime, and a huge savings if you really use the sight alot.

Additionally, it's still massively cost effective if you purchase TWO sets of the iPowerUS batteries! Though, now you are in the $200.00 range, but you are there with sets of batteries that are not specific to the weapon sight...

GBMaryland · Jun 5, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

A Last further update...

So I started to wonder how the 9 volt batteries are arrayed in the W1000-9 battery cassette.

This evening I broke out my trusty Fluke meter, inserted the remaining 6 Duracell ProCell batteries I had, and then noted the voltage.

10 volts.

It appears that the batteries are in the circuit in parallel; the batteries are not daisy chained to create a 54 volt circuit, but laying side by side to create a 10 volt circuit. All 6 batteries provide ~9.6 volts simultaneously in order to create a LARGE – high current uber battery, that can then run for 4 to 10.5 hours…. Depending on the batteries you use.

So this tells me that, though I don’t have schematics, that the unit is meant to operate between a specific voltage range. My guess is something like 14 volts and 7 volts, coupled with the battery formulation’s ability to deliver current.

The iPowerUS Li-ion 520mAh batteries deliver 8.4volt with a higher current drain; They operate the unit until ~7 volts, but it takes a long time to get there.

The Utilitech battery delivers 10 volts, and operates until 7 volts as well.

The PowerEx Imedion True 9.6 NiMH starts at 12 volts (!) and operates until 9 volts. At that point it no longer had enough current to run the device…

The Duracell ProCell’s are the same as the Copper Top, which is just like the Utilitech at the end of the day. 10 volts – stopping at 7 volts.

It is also possible to predict how will a battery will last by installing only ONE 9 volt battery and running the sight from that. It will die in a specific time period and you can then multiply 6 and know the predicted runtime for the lot.

What I do find interesting in this is that Alkaline batteries should be 2 times better than the NiMH rechargeables when comparing stored current (mAh), but they are not. They are only 20% better in runtime…

the impactzone · Jun 6, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

thank you for some great info

hdfireman · Jun 6, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

I agree. Thank you for the time you have taken to get these results for us. I got 10 hrs out of the Energizer Li-Ion(non re-chargable).

GBMaryland · Jun 6, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

Thanks all.

I really recommend the iPowerUS 520mAh li-ion rechargables.

They're pretty damn good and only beat by the Energizer Advanced Lithium...

Incidently, I tried a non-alkaline general purpose battery, and it wouldn't even power the unit. (It showed 10 volts...)

Wow.

GBMaryland · Jun 8, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

A few more battery related things that's I've determined:

1) The maximum expected voltage on the W1000 system is 15 volts.

2) In addition to a 9V x 6 cassette, there was/is also a 10 battery AA cassette for the W1000 system.

3) The system was designed to use commercial AA lithium, alkaline, and NiMH rechargables... with an expected life of "better than 4 hours."

4) The BB-2847 was originally specified for this unit, and it's an 8.4v li-ion battery. That battery is expected to run the unit for 8 hours.

So, with all of that in mind (and a few other things):

A) 8.4 volt 300mAh NiMH batteries should actually run the unit for at least 5 hours. [I may have to purchase those and test them.]

B) There should be Waver, NATO/STANG, and Picatinny mounts available for this unit... though I'm sure finding them is tough. [Probably why the great folks at Mod-Armory are making adapters...]

C) Some information indicates that the unit my take up to 60s to fully turn on; my experience is about 20-30s.

D) The operating temperature of the unit is -32C to +49C, all li-ion batteries exceed the operating specs of the sight. So if you have the money... get the li-ion rechargables.

Ident · Jun 8, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: hdfireman</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I agree. Thank you for the time you have taken to get these results for us. I got 10 hrs out of the Energizer Li-Ion(non re-chargable). </div></div>

+1 Thanks for taking the time to do all this testing.

L.E.S. · Jun 8, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

GB,

Can't thank you enough for this testing. I just did a swap for a new W1000 and your burning of the midnight oil has helped many of us out whether others care to admit it or not. As we speak I am picking up one of your recommended setups.

If you'll PM me your address and/or Paypal account, I'd like to donate a little bit to help you recoupe what had to have been a significant expenditure.

Thanks again for the extensive testing and information. It has greatly been appreciated!

Stay Safe

Drez

OmegaMan · Jun 9, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

Nice job and thank you for taking the time to do this work !!

GBMaryland · Jun 9, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

I've order some elcheapo Accucell "9 volt" 250mAh NiMH batteries to try out.

I suspect they are 8.4v, and well see if they run longer...

GBMaryland · Jun 11, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

Had a chance to use this for 7 hours with a Larue OBR over the weekend.

~95F most of the time... and it worked like a champ with the iPowerUS rechargables.

It also just worked well in general. May be big, but it works...

GBMaryland · Jun 13, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

Sooo.... I ordered a 250mAh set of batteries from Thomas Dist.

...and the send me these batteries from Deutschland (as opposed to what I ordered):

Ansmann NiMH 250mAh "Professional" 9V Block | E Block | 6F22, 8.4 volt rechargable batteries.

They do not appear to be low self discharge, but, since I opened the package I'm going to test them and return them. -smile-

Interestingly, like many non-low self discharge, they recharge FAST. Took about 45 minutes for 6 batteries in the PowerEx MH-C1090F 10 battery charger.

W1000-9 test running now. We'll need to run it one more time.

huntler · Jun 17, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

GB,

Thanks for this very thorough testing!

GBMaryland · Jun 30, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

Update:

I found a REALLY cheap Li-ion rechargable battery set.

The charger sucks, but it does work.

MaximalPower 550mAh Li-ion Rechargables

MaximalPower Single Battery (no charger)

So, these batteries are 50% the cost of the iPowerUS rechargables (the current champ).

What I'd tend to recommend is that you purchage 6 of these, and then get the iPowerUS Li-ion / NiMH x4 charger.

I'll let you all know what kind of performance I get out of them.

GBMaryland · Jun 30, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

MaximalPower 550mAh li-ion recharables DO in fact work really well!

Recharge takes about 1 hour with a decent charger, two with the cheap one.

Runtime is a little over 7 hours with 6 batteries, and 2 hours 9 minutes with two batteries.

So using these batteries will cost approximately 50% of the iPowerUS 9v 520mAh units, without the charger.

GBMaryland · Jul 1, 2012

Re: Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

Cost breakdown of batteries tested:

- Maximal Power 550mAh Li-ion Rechargeables: $12.95 each [$77.70]

- Maha PowerEx MHR9VI IMEDION 9 Volt Size Low-Self-Discharge
NimH Rechargeable Battery [9.6 Volts, 230 mAh]: $10.50 each [$63.00]

- DURACELL Disposable 9 Volt PROCELL Professional Alkaline Battery: $1.40 each [$8.40]

- Energizer Advanced Lithium 9 Volt 12 Battery: $6.77 each [$40.62]

- iPower PRO 9V Battery Rechargeable Lithium Polymer Battery IP9V520 520mAh:$20.95 each [$125.70]

Additionally, you need a charger:

- for NiMH, I'd recommend you get something like a:

Maha Powerex MH-C1090F 9V 2-Hour Battery Charger for up to 10 Rechargeable 9V Batteries: $49.95

- for li-ion & NiMH (4 at a time):

iPower FC-9V4LN 9V Lithium Ion Battery Fast Smart Battery Charger FC-9VX44: $34.95

peidro11 · Aug 29, 2013

Bb-2847 conversion to AA

GBMaryland said:
Folks,

For those of you that own W1000-9 systems, I've tested the following batteries**:

- Energizer Advanced Lithium 9v batteries (x6) [Done; see below]
- Utilitech 9v Premium Alkaline batteries (x6) [Done; see below]
- Engergizer Alkaline batteries (X6)
- Duracell [Copper Top] Alkaline batteries (X6)[Done; see below]
- Duracell Procell Alkaline batteries (X6) [Done; see below]
- Maha PowerEx MHR9VI IMEDION 9v batteries (x6) [Rechargeable] [Done; Tested 5 recharge cycles.]
- Ansmann Energy 8.4v NiMH 250mAh [Rechargables]* (x6)[Done; Same results are the Maha, ~4 hours]
- iPowerUS Professional 9v 520mAh batteries (9.6v)(x6) [Rechargeable] [Done; see below]
- Maximal Power 9-Volt Li-ion 550mAh Batteries (8.4v) (x6) [Rechargeable] [Done; see below]


The PowerEx is a low discharge 9.6v NiMH rechargeable battery that delivers 230mAh.

The iPowerUS Pro 9v is a 9.6v Li-ion battery that is supposed to deliver 520mAh, and is rechargeable.

The Maximal Power 9v is a 8.4v Li-ion battery that is supposed to deliver 550mAh, and is rechargeable.

Best disposable battery:

The Energizer Advanced Lithium is the best battery set so far.

However, for Energizer disposable lithiums to be cost effective, they need to run for about 15 hours; Energizer lithiums batteries run for about 10.5 hours. At 3 times the cost of most Alkaline batteries, they do not deliver 3 times the performance.

Best rechargable option:

THE BEST RECHARGEABLE BATTERY IS A TIE...

If you like rechargable batteries, both the iPowerUS 9.6v Li-ion 520mAh and Maximal Power 8.4v Li-ion 550mAh units are clear winners; these batteries are superior to Alkaline batteries, and are rate for 1000 charges. They last ~7-7.5 hours, well exceeding any alkaline battery or NiMH battery tested so far.

(As a side line: it's important to note that the voltage is not the important factor in the testing of these batteries. The single most important issue is the ability to MAINTAIN energy drain (aka current) over time. The Li-ion type battery are superior in this. It doesn't appear to matter if they are 9.6v or 8.4v, they still run the sight for at least 7 hours.)

Testing procedure:

The batteries where tested using an iPhone adapter attached to the W1000-9, and it takes a time lapsed picture every 1 minute. When complete, the tester goes to the point there is no picture, divides by 60, and the number of hours the device ran is known.

Note on cost effectiveness:

I spent a fair amount of money testing all of these batteries. It's important to note that, with the exception of General Purpose 9 volt batteries, ALL of the batteries tested were able to run the sight on ONE 9 volt battery.

However, even with the cash I spent on the test batteries, I'm STILL saving money over the cost of purchasing even cheap disposable alkaline batteries!

This is an except from a post below:

"1000 uses of a W1000-9 with Alkaline batteries would be 6000 9 volt batteries(!).

1000 charges of the iPowerUS batteries would use 6 batteries. Assuming that you only get 75% of what the manufacture claims, you STILL only went through 6 batteries. (The manufacture indicates they will last 1000 charges.)

6000 Duracell ProCell batteries times $1.74 each is $10440.00!

Even the worst case senario, where the iPowerUS li-ion recharable batteries only recharge for 750 times, the comprative cost of the Duracell ProCells would STILL be $7830.00!

At those numbers, even the ~4 hours of use you get out of the PowerEx IMEDION True 9.6 NiMH, they become a great deal, since they cost about $90.00 if you shop around and get the 10 battery charger."

The only aspect of rechargeable batteries that is an issue is convience. Even the li-ion batteries take 1 hour to recharge...

GB

* These were sent to me by mistake and I opened them prior to noticing they were not what I ordered in a different packaging. They appear to NOT be low self discharge NiMH.

** Final runtime numbers:

- NiMH low-self discharge -> ~3.8-4 hours
- Alkaline -> ~5 hours
- Rechargeable Li-ion -> ~7-7.5 hours
- Disposable Li-ion -> ~10 hours

Sir,
I was wondering where to get a conversion for the bb2847 to AA batteries?
Thanks for your time

MODArmory – Nicole · Aug 29, 2013

The Raytheon manual does show a AA battery conversion, however, we have been unable to locate one. Currently our customers are upgrading to a rechargeable lithium battery from Brentronics.

GBMaryland · Sep 6, 2013

peidro11 said:
Sir,
I was wondering where to get a conversion for the bb2847 to AA batteries?
Thanks for your time

When I had a W1000, it came with a 6 - 9volt battery cassette. You would plug in 6 9 volt batterys, and they would draing in parallel.

The 9volt rechargable Li-ion batteries were the most cost effective option, as they store for 10 years without significant discharge, and two sets of them were not overly expensive.

Moreover, they have a 3 year warranty, depending on the manufacturer.

It's possible that the W1000s are no longer being sold with the 9volt cassette.

I have seen the AA cassette in other countries, and while really interesting, Li-ion AA batteries are not rechargable. However, you can get 3.6v Li-ion rechargable AA's, and that could be made to work...

It comes down to:

1) How frequently do you use the unit?

2) What kind of run time do you need?

3) The cost balance between the BB2847 and a set of 9v li-ion rechargables.

Originally, it was expected that the BB2847 would not give you more than 10 hours... and for the cost, you really need to use it alot.

I'm sure the folks a ModArmory can chime in on the costs. I really don't know what they currently are or what the final runtime ended up being, and that would be the deciding factor.

brazos609 · Sep 10, 2013

Camille said:
The Raytheon manual does show a AA battery conversion, however, we have been unable to locate one. Currently our customers are upgrading to a rechargeable lithium battery from Brentronics.

What did the price for the rechargeable single battery and charger end up costing?

GBMaryland · Sep 10, 2013

brazos609 said:
What did the price for the rechargeable single battery and charger end up costing?

My records how the battery should work for 15 hours, and the battery was $180 with the charger being another $150.

Not sure of the weight of the unit... So about two times the run time of the li-ion rechargeables... Cost is very close, and the 9volts are usable for other applications.

Weight and cost would be the factor for me...

MODArmory – Nicole · Sep 13, 2013

When you go on vacation.. people talk about you! We are a fan of the rechargeable system but that is because we use the Raytheon frequently. In addition, because of the longer battery life we know that at 2am we will not be replacing batteries. Since a price was quoted above I wanted to mention that in the most recent purchase order placed, Bren-tronics, has since upgraded the battery. Unfortunately with a more robust battery this means the price has increased. Currently we retail the batteries for $210.00.

MODArmory – Nicole · Nov 15, 2013

New and improved and never going to die! Wha hahahaha (absolutely an evil laugh)

Coming soon... in a box and almost to our location. New and improved Bren-Tronics rechargeable battery
Perfect for your Raytheon W1000 or PAS13

BT-70747BE - New improve / robust
$210.00
The nitty gritty:

Voltage

7.2 V

Maximum Voltage

8.4 V

Capacity

8.2 Ah

Storage Temperature

-40°C to +40°C (-40°F to +104°F)

Temperature Operations

-20°C to +60°C (-4°F to +140°F)

BT-70747 (Older style)
Voltage

7.2 V

Maximum Voltage

8.4 V

Capacity

6.2 Ah

Storage Temperature

-40°C to +40°C (-40°F to +104°F)

Temperature Operations

-20°C to +55°C (-4°F to +131°F)

GlockBlock · Nov 15, 2013

Those of you running these systems check this out.

Anti-Nightvision camouflage - YouTube

brazos609 · Apr 4, 2014

Do you have to call in for the rechargeable batteries, I can't find them on your site.

Having trouble using the site?

Night Vision Raytheon W1000-9 Battery Performance Testing

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