Night Vision Rechargeable battery question

[sled_mack]

Not a night vision specific question, but I know you guys use a lot of batteries in cold conditions. So you probably have some good insight. I've got a Garmin GPS that uses this battery pack:

NiMH Battery Pack

buy.garmin.com

Mine won't charge anymore. Ultimately, it's just two AA batteries. I use it for hunting and snowmobiling, so I need it to work in cold weather. Is there a better battery technology than the NiMH for use in the cold?

Is there a better/best brand of battery? Most comparisons say something like "all reputable battery manufacturers are about equal". But does that hold true when we add in cold temperatures?

For the price of that Garmin, I can buy a pack of Energizers and a charger. For cold use, I think I'm better with a few batteries in an inside pocket where they are warm and just swapping out during the day. Usually, after getting warm the batteries come back to life.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Rocketvapor]

NiMH might not start charging if too low.
Battery could be fine, charger is playing it TOO safe.
Measure voltage.

The operating temperature range for NiMH cells has been extended to over 100 °C (-30 °C to + 75 °C) which far exceeds the temperature range currently achievable by Lithium cells making NiMH technology ideal for automotive use.

 

[Holliday]

I have two of these and they work fine. That said my experience in general is that NiMH batteries just die at some point and refuse to charge. How old is that set?

 

[sled_mack]

I’ll check voltage tomorrow. Only charger I have is using the GPS. That could be a problem too.

I’ve had this GPS for about 4 years now.

I’m not disappointed in the battery life. Just checking for better options. Seems like NiMH is the way to go. But maybe using AA with external charger.

 

[Holliday]

NiMH might not start charging if too low.
Battery could be fine, charger is playing it TOO safe.
Measure voltage.

The operating temperature range for NiMH cells has been extended to over 100 °C (-30 °C to + 75 °C) which far exceeds the temperature range currently achievable by Lithium cells making NiMH technology ideal for automotive use.

What is the remedy for this issue.

 

[Rocketvapor]

Start the pack with a DUMB charger. Once each cell has a little charge smarter chargers might pick it up.
That doesn't look like a complicated pack to duplicate.

 

[pmclaine]

Rechargeables eventually die.

Google the numbers on the battery.

Likely Amazon will pop up with a direct replacement.

Try to buy the least chinese of the bunch.

Just bought a bunch of AA for my moms outdoor solar lights in this manner.

 

[Holliday]

Start the pack with a DUMB charger. Once each cell has a little charge smarter chargers might pick it up.
That doesn't look like a complicated pack to duplicate.

No it is just two AAs. The coupling bracket holds a button down inside the gps that sets the battery type to NiMH. Without that, you simply do that electronically in the settings menu.

 

[sled_mack]

No it is just two AAs. The coupling bracket holds a button down inside the gps that sets the battery type to NiMH. Without that, you simply do that electronically in the settings menu.

Ok, that explains how the gps knows the battery type, and why they packaged together two AA as a single unit!