Shearwater Teric vs. Perdix

[Jay]

Jay, maybe I used a different charger. Which specific model charger were you using?

The one supplied by SW - the SW ones are all the same right?

I used the watch in normal charge mode (i.e. not in quick charge), with SW charger connected via the SW cable to a 5W adaptor

 

[Michael Jastrzebski]

I bought the bullbars; used them once; found the screen blockage to be sufficiently annoying that I haven't (and probably won't) use them again.

Thanks, but it is too late because I already bought it as well.
I did notice there is a problem with the screen blockage, I will see how it works for me during the actual dive.

 

[outofofficebrb]

No one can ever really argue when you say you "made the right choice for myself", but I kinda get the feeling that you are using this thread as justification for others to follow as well.

I would venture to say I have heard about as many people missing dives from a Teric battery issue as I have a Perdix battery compartment door one. Neither is intrinsically better than the other - just which is better for the individual. And, yes, always have backup(s)!

Isn’t the whole point about a message board and perhaps this thread to share our thoughts, opinions, experiences so that others can read and take away from a different perspective? I’m basically saying given the features, benefits, perceived risk, and my situation and nature of how and when I dive, it works best for me. If someone else is in a similar boat and feels the same about it, it could work for them as well.

It’s gear. People recommend gear to others all the time for the type or nature of diving they do all the time. It isn’t justification more than it is “these are my concerns, this is my situation, this is what I feel best”. Maybe it works for you and you agree and maybe you don’t. No big deal.

My perceived risk of a flood via the battery door on a Perdix feels more controllable for me such as good o ring maintenance and replacement, being careful about not damaging it or having debris on it vs not being able to control a battery issue on a Teric if it came up. It has nothing to do with care or maintenance apart from maintaining a battery based on charge and discharge cycles. It is what it is until it can get serviced whereas if I have a battery issue, I can just put a new one in on a Perdix. That is my personal risk assessment as it applies to my situation. While I always carry a backup I prefer to use my primary as I don’t have 2 Shearwaters.

 

[scuba-flea]

I bought the Teric within weeks of it being deployed and with a couple months I couldn't get a full charge. I bought a second and then a third Shearwater cradle. Same thing. I reported it and they cross-shipped a replacement immediately.

Probably six months later and the same thing. I also tried a Choetech wireless charger as they instructed and had the same issue with it overheating.

When I don't dive often (live in Missouri), the watch sits on the cradle and eventually just dwindles down and down till it comes up with a tissue warning and another warning and resets the date/time. I don't wear a watch as often as I used to as I recently retired, so it sits on the cradle a lot. If it dwindles down till I get the warnings it goes to zero and then it is a bit of a pain to get it back to charging again.

You kind of have to put it on and baby sit it a bit, and I guess I will try the rubber band thing someone mentioned. It is frustrating but when it is working and fully charged I absolutely love it. I keep a Petrol as my backup and I have an old Mares Puck console and wrist version if I'm just doing standard diving.

At any rate, I love it but have a love hate with the charging and keep hoping they will have an updated firmware or new battery or charger that will replace this issue.

 

[scubadada]

I've never had any problem with charging, 2 Terics, May 2019-today.

 

[applecorps]

I bought the Teric within weeks of it being deployed and with a couple months I couldn't get a full charge. I bought a second and then a third Shearwater cradle. Same thing. I reported it and they cross-shipped a replacement immediately.

Probably six months later and the same thing. I also tried a Choetech wireless charger as they instructed and had the same issue with it overheating.

When I don't dive often (live in Missouri), the watch sits on the cradle and eventually just dwindles down and down till it comes up with a tissue warning and another warning and resets the date/time. I don't wear a watch as often as I used to as I recently retired, so it sits on the cradle a lot. If it dwindles down till I get the warnings it goes to zero and then it is a bit of a pain to get it back to charging again.

You kind of have to put it on and baby sit it a bit, and I guess I will try the rubber band thing someone mentioned. It is frustrating but when it is working and fully charged I absolutely love it. I keep a Petrol as my backup and I have an old Mares Puck console and wrist version if I'm just doing standard diving.

At any rate, I love it but have a love hate with the charging and keep hoping they will have an updated firmware or new battery or charger that will replace this issue.

Shearwater replaced the battery in my Teric free of charge which greatly solved the rapid discharge problem. BUT,I also us a timer that turns the power on/off to the Shearwater charger once each day to ensure that it starts charging again at least once per 24 hours. Off brand charges can damage the Teric battery according to Shearwater repair techies. I use something like this . . cheap and effective: https://www.amazon.com/GE-Mechanica...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0RWNF0GR0VTG8D3Z02SA

The Teric charger needs to be turned off and then turned back on to initiate charging as you likely already discovered.

 

[Larryjd1]

I also us a timer that turns the power on/off to the Shearwater charger once each day to ensure that it starts charging again at least once per 24 hours.

The Teric charger needs to be turned off and then turned back on to initiate charging as you likely already discovered.

I didn't know that you needed to turn the charger on and off. Was that in the manual or something you learned in your communications with Shearwater?

It could explain why I was having weird charging problems while on a liveaboard, as possibly the slight shifting of the boat would cause the charging process to interrupt and wouldn't restart if I replaced it in the cradle. I solved the shifting part by using a rubber band around the Teric and the charger, but wouldn't have seen the other as I unplugged the cradle and put it away when I was done charging.

 

[applecorps]

I didn't know that you needed to turn the charger on and off. Was that in the manual or something you learned in your communications with Shearwater?

It could explain why I was having weird charging problems while on a liveaboard, as possibly the slight shifting of the boat would cause the charging process to interrupt and wouldn't restart if I replaced it in the cradle. I solved the shifting part by using a rubber band around the Teric and the charger, but wouldn't have seen the other as I unplugged the cradle and put it away when I was done charging.

Learned it through trial and error and feedback from Shearwater. . . once it starts blinking, charging stops and never starts again despite any drop in the charge. Therefore, you must take the Teric out and put it back in the charger to start the charging again. OR, get a timer like I have which does the same thing. You set it to turn off the power to the charger followed by a pin to turn the power back on to start the charging process. If the battery is good, you should only need to turn it off and on once a day. But, this to me is important if I'm out of town for many days wherein the Teric battery can lose most of its charge. Hope this makes sense. Shearwater says the battery is not capable of a charger like used in iPhones and Apple Watches where a "trickle" charge constantly keeps the battery pretty full.

 

[Larryjd1]

But, this to me is important if I'm out of town for many days wherein the Teric battery can lose most of its charge.

Sorry if I am confused. I thought you were referring to needing to reset the charger itself by cutting power to it before the next charge, even if the Teric was removed and replaced in the cradle.

It sounds like you are basically "charging" your Teric every day. How many days are you gone for? On a full charge with the no dive use and the display off you should be able to go a couple of months without charging. And if you are someone like a Divemaster that uses it every day, you still should get more than one days of use out of a charge.

If your Teric is draining so fast that you need to charge it daily it sounds like you should be sending it in for service like others with that problem have done.

 

[applecorps]

Yes, it likely would stay nicely charged for a few months. I just like to have the confidence in it that goes with it being "fully" charged whenever I'm grabbing it to go diving. Since it turns off the charging automatically when full, I see no problem in turning on the charging once a day. I'd be curious to know how much battery power your Teric displays after a month of sitting around without any charging. And, if it matches up with what Teric advertises. I also turn off the transmitter linking signal when not in use since that uses up battery power constantly searching for the transmitter.