Given that it would have no vibration support or fuel gauge support, even if it "works", I would use something else....
Shearwater perdix2 14500(flat-top) work?
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Belzelbub
Contributor
I’m not so sure that the pictured battery doesn’t support vibration and fuel gauge. The chart posted indicates that both the Energizer Lithium and the 3.7v Li-ion batteries support both. I use the 3.7v Li-ion, though mine have the bump, in my Perdix AI. I have no idea about vibration, but can confirm that fuel gauge definitely works.
14500 is a size measurement of the battery, not exclusive to the SAFT LS14500.
I think other than the 1.5v lithium, the 14500 3.7v rechargable lithium has the best in both.
1, Rechargable, share the same charger with 18650.
2, Support Vibration and Fuel gauge(not just 3 green-yellow-red)
this is the discharge curve of 14500. (1.5v lithium has a flat curve )
I belieave with 14500, the fuel gauge can show how much battery life is left more accuraely than the 1.5V lithium.
I will do another post after I get my hands on the perdix and the battery.
GF99/99
Contributor
All I use is 14500 rechargeable in all my Shearwaters.
I don‘t know about the flat tops but looking at your pictures that looks like a knock off Chines cell. Steer clear of these of Amazon specials. Don’t skimp out on rechargeable, buy good quality cells like Panasonic, Sanyo, Samsung, Sony, etc. At first I use to buy the “good deals“ off Amazon. But after trying multiple ones there were all crap.
For years now I have been using these 14500 Battery 1100mAh Protected Rechargeable Li-ion 3.7V Button Top Cell Free Battery Safety Case Included hands down the best quality 14500 rechargeable I have used for all the Shearwater platforms. I believe they are Panasonic cells. Also for those that are wondering yes they work in my the Perdix 2, my Petrel 3 hard wired, and my Petrel 3 AK 4pin. No issues with vibration alerts. And for those that remember the Predator, they even work in that. No more spending a fortune on SAFT’s or playing the game of lets see how many more dives you can get out of a yellow/red battery so you can get your moneys worth out of a $10 SAFT while praying it does not die so you have to finish 1hr more of deco flying off the HUD/MAV. When they get to half I just throw them on the charger. I never going diving with a battery that is not at least half full, nice worry free insurance.
THANK YOU for posting this! Especially the info that these work in a Predator.
The controller on my rEvo is a Predator. I just ordered 4 of these batteries.
How long does one of these last in a Predator compared to a SAFT? These are 1100mAh and the SAFT are 2600? So, the rechargeable probably gives maybe 1/3 of the dive time of a new SAFT? (which is fine, since it's rechargeable)
runsongas
Contributor
@GF99/99 good luck finding japanese or korean cells in 14500 size unless if you want to get something 2 gens behind with about half the capacity. its a niche market for the AA size for rechargeables that is mostly for vape pens hence only the chinese manufacturers have been releasing updated products. its too small for the likes of panasonic/sanyo/sony to bother with
bubblemonkey2
Contributor
I currently have the XTAR one in my Shearwaters.
It seems to work fine, though it has less rated Wh capacity than the Energizer 1.5V lithiums, or the Orbtronic ones.
The Energizers seem to last 'forever,' while the rechargeables seem to deserve a recharge every 5-10 dives or so (or perhaps every time before any seriously cool & critical dive)
I have yet to explicitly verify the vibration functionality at all levels of the battery life indicator.
800 mAh @3.7V is 3 Wh [XTAR]
1100 mAh @3.7V is 4 Wh [Orbtronic?]
3000 mAh @1.5V is 4.5 Wh [Energizer Lithium Ultimate]
Wh is the universal power capacity unit. Probably time to retire 'mAh' as the typical way of rating and labeling batteries, since it varies by voltage rating.
Granted that things like vibration need a certain amount of effective current (amps) to operate--but at what voltage? And after how many conversions inside the device? Google tells me that device vibration motors are typically running at 2.5 to 4 volts input.
It seems to work fine, though it has less rated Wh capacity than the Energizer 1.5V lithiums, or the Orbtronic ones.
The Energizers seem to last 'forever,' while the rechargeables seem to deserve a recharge every 5-10 dives or so (or perhaps every time before any seriously cool & critical dive)
I have yet to explicitly verify the vibration functionality at all levels of the battery life indicator.
800 mAh @3.7V is 3 Wh [XTAR]
1100 mAh @3.7V is 4 Wh [Orbtronic?]
3000 mAh @1.5V is 4.5 Wh [Energizer Lithium Ultimate]
Wh is the universal power capacity unit. Probably time to retire 'mAh' as the typical way of rating and labeling batteries, since it varies by voltage rating.
Granted that things like vibration need a certain amount of effective current (amps) to operate--but at what voltage? And after how many conversions inside the device? Google tells me that device vibration motors are typically running at 2.5 to 4 volts input.
bubblemonkey2
Contributor
I too am unsure how to interpret the SAFTs.THANK YOU for posting this! Especially the info that these work in a Predator.
The controller on my rEvo is a Predator. I just ordered 4 of these batteries.
How long does one of these last in a Predator compared to a SAFT? These are 1100mAh and the SAFT are 2600? So, the rechargeable probably gives maybe 1/3 of the dive time of a new SAFT? (which is fine, since it's rechargeable)
Is the SAFT 2600 mAh rating @ 3.6 volts?
Watt hours are a clearer way to compare battery capacities.
Aka 9.4 Wh for the SAFT? For a 19 gram battery?
A typical 18650 weighs 42 grams, rated ~3000 mAh at 3.7V, or 11 Wh.
So is the [authentic] SAFT somehow getting double the energy density of a 18650? 0.5 Wh/g vs. 0.26 Wh/g? Despite being in a slimmer and smaller package, with a higher packaging-to-volume ratio?
Compare also to the Energizer lithium 1.5V, with an energy density of "only" ~0.3Wh/g?
Is it possible that the SAFT (or its fakes) are reporting a "normal AA equivalent" mAh, that corresponds to an amperage at 1.5V, rather than 3.6V?
Per the Shearwater table posted near the beginning of this thread, I would guess that the SAFT doesn't have the consistent amperage needed to drive the vibration functions? Perhaps they manage to get a higher energy density, at the cost of low power delivery?
On a re-read, I think this post of mine was just totally wrong....
I did buy some of those 14500 rechargeables, but I haven't actually used one yet. I changed batteries in my Predator twice since then, but both times were in prep for week-long trips and I didn't want to risk the "unknown" of trying out a new (to me) rechargeable setup. The Predator does lose inert gas tissue loading (i.e. deco) info when I change the battery...
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