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batteries for trail cams question

goosifer

By goosifer,
in Trail Camera Reviews and Info

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goosifer Enthusiast

goosifer

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I pulled my trail cams for the season. Will put them back out in the Spring. Some have batteries with maybe 40% of life left. Others are completely dead. Should I just throw them all away and start with fresh batteries for all of them? If I keep the ones with some life left, should I keep them in the trail cam or store them separately? Thanks.

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Lawdwaz Grand Master

Lawdwaz

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I'd start with fresh Energizer batteries in next summer when you put them out.

The 40% stuff goes in anything at home you don't care about or in the trash.

(Browning service tech folks told me they preferred the Energizer over Duracell)

Edited by Lawdwaz
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nyslowhand Enthusiast

nyslowhand

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FYI - For another $5-$6, you can get genuine Duracells in 100pks from eBay sellers. Use whatever brand you're comfortable using or fits your budget! And then there's the alkaline vs lithium debate. Pay 2-3X the $$, but get 2-3X the service life. Tradeoffs...!?!

Edited by nyslowhand
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stubborn1VT Proficient

stubborn1VT

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11 hours ago, The Jerkman said:

I love the amazon basics batteries. For the money you can't beat them and they are a ton cheaper than Duracell and Energizer and work just as well if not better IMHO

You Can't Beat My Meat!!!
 

I have used them a few times.  I had my doubts about them, so I tested them last fall against Duracells.  At least with that batch, the Duracells outlasted them by quite a lot.  I will still use the Amazon batteries, but probably not in cold weather.

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Curmudgeon Newbie

Curmudgeon

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I use a lot of batteries in winter. I usually pull batteries at 40% in winter. I can then get months of use in summer or early fall from the same set.

I'm getting almost 500 photos a day at my home camera trap so I check it almost every day. The lithium AAs in that Browning were at 70% last Thursday. Friday at 60F, they were reading 100%.

 

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tommyc50 Newbie

tommyc50

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yeah its the cold ,it kills batteries quickly.start your car on a very cold morning and see how it strains at fist to start. what i do for a living is find gas leaks and i use rovers to locate leaks and indicators to tell us how much gas is in a manhole or in the ground. in the winter i go though batteries some times in a few hours and have to change them every day and if i leave the equipment in the truck over nite the batteries are shot. We use top of the line batteries only industrial ,the retail ones wont work in the equipment .They dont have enough strength [now you know how the battery co. stay in business ]

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Woody Meristem Newbie

Woody Meristem

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For my 20+ homebrewed trail cameras I use nothing but rechargables in the camera and for the boards that run on three AAAs. I just recharge them each time I switch cards and batteries in the builds -- saves a ton of money over time and I don't have to throw away those 40% batteries that still have life in them. I've gotten well over two months from a build with six external AAs and two in the camera. As long as the temperature doesn't go below minus 5 or 10 they're fine. I'm using Energizer, Powerex and Amazon rechargables (2400 mah or more).

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wooly Newbie

wooly

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I've been running my cams off the 12v Stealth Cam battery packs. 

I've yet to run one completely dead winter or summer as the battery life always exceeds my expectations of how long they SHOULD last. The battery level indicator on my Browning cams simply reads the 12v as an "external battery" and doesn't give a remaining power level percentage so I usually bring them home for a fresh charge every 3-4 months regardless of how much action they've seen

Packing out a few of those heavyweight batteries along with their respective cams in and out has been the biggest drawback to them I've got to complain about so far.

 

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Curmudgeon Newbie

Curmudgeon

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28 minutes ago, Woody Meristem said:

For my 20+ homebrewed trail cameras I use nothing but rechargables in the camera and for the boards that run on three AAAs. I just recharge them each time I switch cards and batteries in the builds -- saves a ton of money over time and I don't have to throw away those 40% batteries that still have life in them. I've gotten well over two months from a build with six external AAs and two in the camera. As long as the temperature doesn't go below minus 5 or 10 they're fine. I'm using Energizer, Powerex and Amazon rechargables (2400 mah or more).

I would like to use just rechargables but the demands are too high for I what I'm doing with AAs.  Nimh rechargeables worked great in those old Moultries that took D cells. I still have some that work. You can buy 10,000 mAh Ds and 5,000 Cs. I've done fairly well in winter - except in the most extreme weather - with the Cs. I'm still using some of the older Moultries that take C cells.

Most new cameras seem to take AAs. I use AA rechargables in warmer months, and in winter for non-critical stuff. I don't recall what mAh they are. They are the highest capacity I could find. They can't handle many 500 photo days in very cold weather, especially if there are a lot of night photos. I've got them in the bone yard camera which is non-cricital.

The camera traps are set for one photo on a one minute delay. Even alkalines die quickly. That's why I switched to lithium. 

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phade Mentor

phade

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16 hours ago, Curmudgeon said:

I would like to use just rechargables but the demands are too high for I what I'm doing with AAs.  Nimh rechargeables worked great in those old Moultries that took D cells. I still have some that work. You can buy 10,000 mAh Ds and 5,000 Cs. I've done fairly well in winter - except in the most extreme weather - with the Cs. I'm still using some of the older Moultries that take C cells.

Most new cameras seem to take AAs. I use AA rechargables in warmer months, and in winter for non-critical stuff. I don't recall what mAh they are. They are the highest capacity I could find. They can't handle many 500 photo days in very cold weather, especially if there are a lot of night photos. I've got them in the bone yard camera which is non-cricital.

The camera traps are set for one photo on a one minute delay. Even alkalines die quickly. That's why I switched to lithium. 

I'd be moving to an external set up w/500 per day. Lithium at that rate gets expensive.

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phade Mentor

phade

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Posted (edited)
On ‎1‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 7:08 PM, goosifer said:

I pulled my trail cams for the season. Will put them back out in the Spring. Some have batteries with maybe 40% of life left. Others are completely dead. Should I just throw them all away and start with fresh batteries for all of them? If I keep the ones with some life left, should I keep them in the trail cam or store them separately? Thanks.

Get rid of them.

For alkaline, look at AC Delco 100 packs, Amazon Basic 100 packs, or Harbor Freight's in-house alkalines. All have served me well at a lower per pic cost basis. Job Smart @ TSC have been very very hit or miss for me.

Duracell and Energizer alakalines are not as good on a cost basis. I have been using AC Delco for about a year-year and a half now with good results. Sometimes I get them as low as $0.16 per AA.

Remember lithiums will also go from full power to dead in a short period of time - which is why they can appear to have good life left according to the battery meter in cam, and then be dead upon next check. Seeing power fluctuations in lihtiums usually means they are about to go in the near future; although our recent extreme cold can impact that as well. Lithium handles our normal winter weather better, but even it is vulnerable to the arctic blasts we received. They offer up full power to the device unlike alkaline which has a draw curve down over time.

NiMH are nice, and I run them in some cams; however, certain cams can have voltage cut off challenges. Brownings and Moultries seem to have some challenges running niMH.

 

Edited by phade
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Nomad Grand Master

Nomad

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Posted (edited)

If one wants to go cheap, there is a place in Roch. Where they break down disposable cameras( for how much longer who knows) anyway they have tractor trailer loads of AA batts.

I used to go get five gallon buckets of them, most would test near 90% or higher. 

I went in uniform and always brought the warehouse guys food . General public would be sol I’d guess.

havent gone in a couple years, I use rechagables or Cr123 in most of my lights( flashlight junky ) Id give ziplock bags of them to friends and neighbors when I did .

There are 100’s of “ brands” all made by a few companies .

there are about a dozen U.S. manufacturers of batteries and most of those don’t make them for the consumer market .

Edited by Stay at home Nomad
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LET EM GROW Experienced

LET EM GROW

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For summer use, i have had good luck with amazon basics or a standard energizer battery. My cams snap alot of photos each season and they are good in warmer weather for a couple of months with the cheapos. When temps start getting colder I like to switch to Energizer lithiums. Ive also had good luck with the Rayovac batteries. 

The TSC Job smart batteries were ok, but some were crap. 

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wooly Newbie

wooly

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40 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

I scored a 48 pack of Duracell at BJ’s for $20. They seem to hold up pretty well. Had 3 cams out from July thru ML season and never needed to change them. 

All I read there was...... "48 BJ's for $20".

What a deal,lol

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Steve D Experienced

Steve D

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May sound stupid but they work. There are a number of types out there at different prices to fit each budget. I think I paid about $25 for mine.

They are great for "freshening" up to their full or close to full voltage. I use a ton of batteries between trail cams, flashlights. callers, etc.

They need to be monitored so they don't overcharge because once they reach a certain point they will begin to discharge. I check them with a volt meter a couple of times while charging. If they drop below 1.4 volts I usually toss them because they won't come back.

After a long calling session or heavy use of  a flashlight I just put them in the chargers (I have two) and they are ready to go in a few hours. It is not uncommon to get three or four uses out of a set. The lithiums will charge up above their shelf voltage and some things like a gps won't run at the higher voltages.

https://www.groupon.com/deals/gs-maximalpower-fc999-universal-fast-charger-for-aa-aaa-c-d-n-9v-batteries

 

 

charger.jpg

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