Rechargeable batteries for Etrex 20

[PeterB]

Hello there,

I wondered if anyone could assist?

I bought some rechargeable Nimh 2500 mAh batteries
for my Hope front light.

I was hoping to also use them for my Etrex.

Whilst they work for the front light, they don't
work for the Etrex.

Does anyone know why and what rechargeable batteries I should use instead?

[Kim]

What do you mean by 'don't work'?

Have you set the eTrex to use NiMH batteries? (setup/system/battery type)  If it's set to the wrong chemistry it will complain about the batteries being depleted when they're not.

I've had no problems with 7dayshop high-performance NiMHs on various eTrexen.

Eneloops are the posh option.

[Dibdib]

I've been running my eTrex 20 on rechargables pretty much ever since I got it - currently either AmazonBasics, or the ones which came with my Hope Vision 1. Never had a problem with it.

[nextSibling]

Can only say I've been using eneloops for years without any problem.

[Bledlow]

NiMH rechargeables are 1.2 volts, while disposables are 1.5 volts*. Any rechargeable AA batteries will be the same. The light is a dumb thing which doesn't care, but obviously the satnav does. I trust Kim on things like this, so I'd take her advice on changing the settings on the Etrex.

*In practice, both will start out a little higher & gradually drop off, but by the time a disposable drops to the voltage of a rechargeable it will be severely depleted, & the amperage will also be significantly reduced.

[Phil W]

Defintely not a 16650 rechargable which is different voltage even though AA size?

[PeterB]

It doesn't work in the sense that when you press the on button it doesn't come on.

I have put normal batteries in it, switched to rechargeable Nimh, then switched it off
And replaced with the Nimh batteries.

Then when, I press the on button on the the Garmin - nuffink, gornisht, bupkes.

[Kim]

That is odd.  Are they a weird shape (so not quite making contact) or something?

[PeterB]

Not that I can see. Tried it several times now.

[mcshroom]

What sort of rechargeables are they? I got some from Aldi once that supplied less current than normal NiMH cells. Quite a few electrical devices didn't work with them.

Also My Etrex 30x is a bit weird with the Eneloops I bought recently. It sometimes switches off for no apparent reason. This only happens when I set the Etrex up for rechargeables though. In Alkaline mode it's happy to use them

[Nutbeem]

I use and am happy with high capacity eneloop.  Set of 4 I bought nearly 3 years ago are still going strong after nearly 3 years and circa 18000 miles.

On a 400 audax I have used one pair,  had the back light on permanently overnight and still had power left in the batteries at the end of the ride.

I use an intelligent charger which chargers each battery individually rather than in pairs.

[Bledlow]

Defintely not a 16650 rechargable which is different voltage even though AA size?

16650 is bigger than AA: slightly fatter & significantly longer. There is an AA Li-ion size (14500), but I've never seen it, & I'd forgotten about it. I would have mentioned it if I'd remembered.

[frankly frankie]

Also My Etrex 30x is a bit weird with the Eneloops I bought recently. It sometimes switches off for no apparent reason. This only happens when I set the Etrex up for rechargeables though. In Alkaline mode it's happy to use them

If the E30x was smart about batteries - and AIUI it's not - this would be easy to explain.  When set to rechargable mode, it wouild switch off to save the cells when the voltage gets low.  Set to alkaline mode, it should never switch off to save the cells, because there's no point.  Instead it switches off when the battery is exhausted - which would be bad in the long run, if you have rechargables fitted.

However I don't believe it is this smart.  AIUI all the battery mode setup does, is affect the 'charge remaining' display (which I must say I never have showing anyway) - and the GPS switches off at a low threshold voltage (probably something like 2.1V) regardless of what battery type is fitted, and what battery type is set up.

The problems upthread point to a dud cell (not at all uncommon - any 4-pack has one cell which is the weakest of the 4) or possibly oversize cells flexing the casing so that some contact is failing to make.

[jamesld8]

I`ve always used NiMH rechargeables for both E10 and E30 without any issues at all; only adjustment I did was just put battery type in settings to NiMH.

[vorsprung]

I've used black eneloops and also 7 day shop high capacity nimh in my etrex 20 and both were more than fine

The eneloops last 20hours + and have the added advantage that they can be recharged the week before
The 7 day shop ones last 24hours+

[Ivo]

Some rechargeables are a bit shorter as usual. With an Etrex this can result in a bad contact and it either just stops functioning at each pothole or doesn't work at all. Just stick to the better ones (like eneloops) and you can run it on rechargeables (I do that all the time).