I run an Anker 6700 on my Thermion with a mag connector and can get all night in the PA winter, a couple nights in fall/early winter.
Cold weather 18650 battery test
- Thread starter SupressYourself
- Start date
I've had several discussions with the guys at Nvision about batteries. They've done a lot of testing and they only recommend KeepPower. Ive ran them in -20 in the Rockies all night with zero issues. In the midwest on typical nights I can hunt till daylight and only change batteries once.
coyotecontrol
Member
I have a Sidewider monocular (AGM) and I use a 3900 mAh battery with it, although I have not tested in cold weather yet, it does last lots longer that the ones that came with the unit. Orbtronic: Premium 18650 Batteries | Trusted Since 2009
hunt0168
Well-known member
Thought I would update on the molicel P30b batteries that I previously mentioned in this thread. We’ve had a brutal winter here in NY with below average temps. As such, I’ve had a pretty lame season as far as calling and killing coyotes. Well things have turned around weatherwise and I’m getting after them hard for the remainder of our season. During hunts in brutally cold weather, the Molicel P30b batteries performed great in my opinion. HOWEVER…there’s an issue that has risen with my RIX Leap series optic. When I shoot with the Molicel installed, my scope powers off! It Powers right back up without issue. I saw this with other unprotected cells in the past. I do not see this with protected button top cells. I concluded that it’s the extra length of the button top batteries, that under recoil maintain good contact within the battery compartment. I think the contact springs in the RIX are breaking contact under recoil.
I did not see this issue when I ran the RIX on my 204 Ruger, but it’s happening with my 243 which has more recoil by a good margin. Just food for thought folks. Your mileage may vary. But it’s the small stuff that will cost you coyotes in the field! Might be something to test in your optics?
I did not see this issue when I ran the RIX on my 204 Ruger, but it’s happening with my 243 which has more recoil by a good margin. Just food for thought folks. Your mileage may vary. But it’s the small stuff that will cost you coyotes in the field! Might be something to test in your optics?
Dane G
Member
What you experienced is quite common among scopes that are powered by 18650 batteries. You hit the nail on the head in that it comes down to length of the battery and the ability to maintain proper contact under recoil. Some scope manufactures will include two different battery caps for this reason. One for shorter 18650’s and one for longer.
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SupressYourself
Well-known member
That sucks. My Nocpix binos seem to be made for the longer 18650s too. I had to (carefully) stretch out the contact spring so it would retain good contact with the Molicel batteries. To be fair to Molicel, their battery is actually the length an 18650 is supposed to be (65mm). It's not that they're too short, it's that the others are too long.
alf
Well-known member
Bringing this back to the top...
Supressyourself, any issues with the Molicell with their 2.56" length losing contact on recoil in your Ace50R?
I have the same scope, and I'm seriously struggling with battery life.
I have two of the included NocPic brand, plus two XTAR 4000, both suck. One stand at 50 minutes or so, I had to go to the third battery after getting to the yellow zone twice. Too scared to let it get to the red zone.
NocPix measure 2.740", the XTAR are 2.730". I have two Nitecore 3600 that go 2.800", & are way too tight to close the door on. I have 3 Nitecore 3400's that are a hair under at 2.795" that barely fit. First stand last night I tried the NC-3400 for 30 minutes, only down one bar. Put the scope on standby, went to the next stand, and the battery was down to two yellow bars, so I switched it to a fresh 3400. Ran it down to one bar with a minute of video & went home. Still at one bar down this AM.
I called Nocpix a while back, & was told to check for any updates, there aren't any. I don't run ultra clear or RF on continual, but ran the video for 6 minutes on the 3 battery stand.
Thinking on ordering the Molicel at this point.
Supressyourself, any issues with the Molicell with their 2.56" length losing contact on recoil in your Ace50R?
I have the same scope, and I'm seriously struggling with battery life.
I have two of the included NocPic brand, plus two XTAR 4000, both suck. One stand at 50 minutes or so, I had to go to the third battery after getting to the yellow zone twice. Too scared to let it get to the red zone.
NocPix measure 2.740", the XTAR are 2.730". I have two Nitecore 3600 that go 2.800", & are way too tight to close the door on. I have 3 Nitecore 3400's that are a hair under at 2.795" that barely fit. First stand last night I tried the NC-3400 for 30 minutes, only down one bar. Put the scope on standby, went to the next stand, and the battery was down to two yellow bars, so I switched it to a fresh 3400. Ran it down to one bar with a minute of video & went home. Still at one bar down this AM.
I called Nocpix a while back, & was told to check for any updates, there aren't any. I don't run ultra clear or RF on continual, but ran the video for 6 minutes on the 3 battery stand.
Thinking on ordering the Molicel at this point.
Had my Iray TX60 constantly do NUCs when off. Yup, standby doesn't save much power, IMHO just turns screen off. Processor still running. Their batt monitor just checks volts, I get about 1/2 hr of fast drop (from fully charged), then couple hours before getting to yellow.