CR123 Batteries - AP vision, MK 3 Solenoid

[Marcozx]

I am new to CCRs and am trying to gauge how often and what are the warnings the change the battery, unit as follows;

AP Vision mono handset
Controller backlight set to always on - UK diving!
Solenoid - MK3 low power solenoid

From the manual, it says;
6v new battery, shows 3 squares
5.3v worn battery shows 2 squares
5.2v Super lowbattery shows 1 square
4.8v is empty battery

So at a guess, im thinking of changing the battery as soon as it shows 5.2v or 2 squares. Does anyone else have better logic or a method they use?

Does anyone know how many hours of diving you can get between 2 squares and 1 square? - im a little paranoid about setting the unit up the night before then on the boat getting a battery error.

 

[KenGordon]

I am new to CCRs and am trying to gauge how often and what are the warnings the change the battery, unit as follows;

AP Vision mono handset
Controller backlight set to always on - UK diving!
Solenoid - MK3 low power solenoid

From the manual, it says;
6v new battery, shows 3 squares
5.3v worn battery shows 2 squares
5.2v Super lowbattery shows 1 square
4.8v is empty battery

So at a guess, im thinking of changing the battery as soon as it shows 5.2v or 2 squares. Does anyone else have better logic or a method they use?

Does anyone know how many hours of diving you can get between 2 squares and 1 square? - im a little paranoid about setting the unit up the night before then on the boat getting a battery error.

Maybe ask this at TDF (The Dive Forum) or on one of the AP Facebook pages. You will find a lot of knowledgeable people there with personal experience of these batteries.

 

[Marcozx]

Maybe ask this at TDF (The Dive Forum) or on one of the AP Facebook pages. You will find a lot of knowledgeable people there with personal experience of these batteries.

Thanks, Im guessing not many on here dive AP then ?

 

[moose_grunt]

I have been told change at either 2 squares or 20 hours of "on" time, based on the unit's timer.

I don't remember a number, but once it hits 2 squares, it drops to 1 pretty quickly.

Standard practice is to take the batteries out from 1 and throw them away, move batteries from B2 to B1, and put new batteries in B2. That way you get the maximum usage out of each set of batteries, but always have a fresh set in B2 (backup), assuming B1 will be the primary use and thus the first to go.

 

[Degenerate]

I am new to CCRs and am trying to gauge how often and what are the warnings the change the battery, unit as follows;

AP Vision mono handset
Controller backlight set to always on - UK diving!
Solenoid - MK3 low power solenoid

From the manual, it says;
6v new battery, shows 3 squares
5.3v worn battery shows 2 squares
5.2v Super lowbattery shows 1 square
4.8v is empty battery

So at a guess, im thinking of changing the battery as soon as it shows 5.2v or 2 squares. Does anyone else have better logic or a method they use?

Does anyone know how many hours of diving you can get between 2 squares and 1 square? - im a little paranoid about setting the unit up the night before then on the boat getting a battery error.

I'll do a dive or two if it shows 2 squares, depending on how long the dives are.
If you have to think about wether it's worth putting in a new battery or not then just play it safe and throw in a new one, it's not like they're expensive and it's a pain having to tear it down and set it all back up again out on a boat.
Not to mention you might end up missing a dive or having it cut way shorter, if you're diving with a buddy they're likely to get a bit pissed as well.

Side note, after upgrading to the 2020 color display I seem to be getting more time out of my batteries.
Also, the batteries are CRP2, not CR123 no?

 

[MadUKDiver]

With Vision 2020 colour; CR223 batteries, MK3 solenoid, using recommended 'Energizer' brand batteries, and following the standard battery rotation procedure per the manual I get roughly the following:

Battery move B2 to B1 ...
3 bars, 6 hours dive time
2 bars, 2 hours dive time
1 bar, 1 hour dive time (until B2 takes over solenoid drive)

Plus the unit is probably in non-dive mode for around 3 hours during the above period.

Changing at 2 squares is a good practice to avoid any surprises during the dive.

NB: If you get a low battery alarm and want to permanently suppress it then turn off that controller (typically B1 is low so turn off C1 and then the alarm notifications every 5 minutes will cease).

 

[Marcozx]

Hey guys, thanks for the reply, seems no one has the same controller, battery and solenoid combo

@moose_grunt i was thinking the same, 2 squares or 20 hrs seems good.

@Degenerate CRP2 is the first version of battery which probably has the older solenoid, CR123 is the newer model

@MadUKDiver - Thats wierd, Degenerate seems to have extra battery time out of his 2020, but your seems really low in comparison.

 

[Degenerate]

I use Panasonic batteries instead of Energizer ones, not that it should make a noticeable difference.
For clarification, I meant that I am getting more runtime out of my batteries now with the 2020 display than I did with the old monochrome one, then again I always had the backlight on with that handset.

 

[MadUKDiver]

@MadUKDiver - Thats wierd, Degenerate seems to have extra battery time out of his 2020, but your seems really low in comparison.

I rechecked my logs and the figures I quoted seem correct, perhaps 7 hours dive time not 6 but certainly not 20. My lid has the pre-2014 potted controller module so maybe that has higher consumption.

Controller 1 is powered from B1, and Controller 2 is powered from B2. So B2 is not passive in the unit it is always being discharged slowly. Across both B1 and B2 positions a battery would be in the unit for over 20 hours.

Usage patterns will also have an impact - every switch-on battery test and every calibration draw significant power from the battery. Downloads do too. I keep the compass off as that is another consumer. I calibrate every dive and turn on a few times at home to set gasses etc which maybe shortens things.

I use Panasonic batteries instead of Energizer ones, not that it should make a noticeable difference.
For clarification, I meant that I am getting more runtime out of my batteries now with the 2020 display than I did with the old monochrome one, then again I always had the backlight on with that handset.

A while ago I did some current measurements on both the Mono and Colour displays and indeed the Colour display does consume less power. For example:

Demo mode - bright 2020: 13.3 mA, Mono: 48.1 mA
Demo mode - dim 2020: 13.0 mA, Mono: 28.9 mA

Solenoid, buzzer draw etc don't change between models.

In the early days of the Vision Mono I used Panasonic batteries but had severe problems with the unit crashing during battery switch over. At best the unit would reboot but without deco information, at worst it would just go off completely. It was after that AP improved the voltage logic, introduced the battery test and re-enforced the 'approved' battery vendors. It seems the fall off slope varies between manufacturers, likely with Panasonic having a steeper curve which can catch out the voltage monitoring algorithm. In a jam I'd certainly use Panasonic again but I'd always change at 2 bars.