E-Mag Battery Issues

[WarHamster]

So I picked up an E-Mag last fall. I used it several times and besides a few valve hiccups it worked great. I would charge the battery for about one hour past the green light and it would last all day without any problems.

I packed the mag up and basically haven't used it all winter. When I went to turn it on today before hitting an indoor field it expectedly told me low battery. When I put it on the charger however, the light turned green inside of 15 minutes. I gave it an hour or so past the green. When I tried to use it at the field this evening however, it only lasted about 10 minutes before telling me low battery. When I tried to charge it again after coming home it again turned green in about 10 minutes.

So my question is this. Has the battery gone bad? If so what could cause it to go from being perfectly find to this inside of just a few months of non-use.

[ArmyEngineer]

So I picked up an E-Mag last fall. I used it several times and besides a few valve hiccups it worked great. I would charge the battery for about one hour past the green light and it would last all day without any problems.

I packed the mag up and basically haven't used it all winter. When I went to turn it on today before hitting an indoor field it expectedly told me low battery. When I put it on the charger however, the light turned green inside of 15 minutes. I gave it an hour or so past the green. When I tried to use it at the field this evening however, it only lasted about 10 minutes before telling me low battery. When I tried to charge it again after coming home it again turned green in about 10 minutes.

So my question is this. Has the battery gone bad? If so what could cause it to go from being perfectly find to this inside of just a few months of non-use.

Leak? Charge it up again and hit it with a voltmeter.

[WarHamster]

Sadly I don't have a voltmeter. Is there any way else to check for a leak? Some symptom I can check for?

[ArmyEngineer]

Sadly I don't have a voltmeter. Is there any way else to check for a leak? Some symptom I can check for?

The battery I had that leaked exploded all over the inside of the marker. If you pull the battery out of the housing and you notice a pasty substance or a liquid, you are probably in trouble. It is also possible that your charger is bad. If you have a harbor freight nearby, they have a $3 multimeter that will give you an idea of your output. It's tough to know which is at fault without a voltmeter.Could be that you have a short somewhere that is draining your battery.

[WarHamster]

Well there's definitely no physical leak because I had the battery out of the pack just a few days ago and everything seemed in order. I'll have to look into getting a voltmeter this weekend. Thanks for the help army. I'll check back when I've picked on up.

[ArmyEngineer]

Well there's definitely no physical leak because I had the battery out of the pack just a few days ago and everything seemed in order. I'll have to look into getting a voltmeter this weekend. Thanks for the help army. I'll check back when I've picked on up.

Cool man. It might be worth it to invest in a better meter than the $3 HF. You will find uses for it! Sears has some decent multimeters for $20 or so.

[athomas]

Get a digital multimeter. It will tell you a lot. If the battery went dead while sitting, it is possible that one of the cells went bad. Older batteries go dead easy and the cells can flip polarity if left dead for a while. This can essentially render a battery pack unable to function. Chances are, if the battery pack is more than 5 years old, it is bad.

[WarHamster]

Something like this?

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_03482312000P?vName=Tools&cName=ElectriciansTools&Lighting&sName=Multi-Meters%20&%20Meters&psid=FROOGLE01&sid=IDx20070921x00003a

[athomas]

That would be a nice meter for general use. It should do anything you would need to do for years to come.