View topic - Batteries for Spot device.

The user manual for the Spot says that you must use Lithium batteries. Has anyone tried using rechargeables or run of the mill Duracells?

I have always used Lithium batteries in my SPOT. They are more expensive than rechargeables or Duracells, however, because of the very long life of the Lithiums in the SPOT, the value is still pretty good.

dave

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Living my life one river at a time.

Never tried, SPOT #1 (2 x AA)

Probably about 200 days of usage (Tracking mode), I'm on my third set of batteries.

I've never tried regular or rechargables, thought about testing them but......why bother?

FYI - Lithium batteries on eBay, pretty cheap!

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"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915

The AAA Lithiums that came with my Spot lasted for about 12 days of continuous use. I was running the tracking mode continuously. Perhaps that causes the batteries to run down faster.

At Can Tire I paid 7 bucks per battery (had to buy 4). Then I found them on the net for $2.

I didn't change my SPOT lithium batteries yet. They are serving me 3rd year.

I’ve used regular Energizer batteries in my Spot and it survived a 7 day canoe trip. I wouldn’t recommend it though, I spent the whole week worrying that they would run out on me, and only used them because I didn’t notice until last minute that they were dead. I definitely would not use NiMH rechargeable batteries as they are not meant for a slow discharge rate but rather energy intensive uses such as a camera, Alkaline and Lithium are best for this, which Lithium being the strong leader. This is also why they recommend only using Lithium batteries in a smoke detector.

So in summary, if you’re in a bind yes they’ll work. If you just want to do some testing it won’t fry anything, but don’t rely on them to last you a whole trip.