Battery Care

Battery care is not difficult, it just requires a little understanding then care and attention.

We find it best to think of batteries like we think of muscles in the human body. If they are exercised regularly, not allowed to remain unused and dormant for a long time, or kept at 100% usage all the time… then maximum performance results. Battery care is just like this.

Wand Systems

Batteries in Wand sytems are NiMh (Nickel Metal Hydride) and are quite tolerant of many things that other types of batteries are not.

Guidelines.

• Charge XL Wands once a week for about 10 hours or so.
• Charge Radio Wands daily for approx 10 hours.

Rules.

• Do not allow these batteries to remain flat for long periods of time. They forget how to recharge.
• Do not leave on charge permanently if not in use. Take them off charge, allow them to go 2/3 flat only, then recharge.

Notes

• NiMh batteries are safe.  The ones used in Wands cannot catch fire or explode. It is a totally different chemistry to smartphone batteries.
• NiMh batteries can be shipped by air, they have an IATA exemption.
• Technical. Radio Wand uses a 150maHr battery, XL-Unloader uses a 400maHr battery, XL-Wand a 60maHr battery. All are NiMh. None have the capacity to cause a fire and exposed terminals of the Wands are low voltage and very low current limited.

iPods, iPhone and Android

Smart phones and iPods all use Lithium type batteries. These have a huge capacity, are small and light, but they do require some care if you want to get the most life out of them.

Rules.

• Do not let them go dead-flat. They don’t like this and their service life will reduce. Recharge when at or below 20%. See link below.
• Do not leave on charge for long periods of time. The battery may be damaged, the battery may also catch fire (though this is rare).
• If you are not using a device for a long time, recharge to approx. 75% then turn off. See link below.
• Do not turn off device for a long period of time with a flat battery. That is almost guaranteed to damage the battery.

Please read this – Apple Battery Care. Apple go to great effort to maximize battery life and explain how. For Android, the same types of batteries are in use and hence the same information applies.

Note. Leaving a smartphone on charge permanetly will damage the battery and does run a small risk of fire. Leaving a smartphone flat for long periods of time will also damage the battery. If they go “too flat” then they may not be able to be recharged.

Beacons

Beacon batteries are Lithium Metal and non rechargable. Beacons supplied since mid 2016 have an approximate 5 year life depending on the power level set. We have optimized the period between transmissions to promote battery life.

WebEye has a Beacon Battery report – showing the remaining capacity in beacons.