PLB "Expired" Battery?

[Phil Cawley]

How long, in reality, can the battery of a PLB be relied upon? I’ve got a McMurdo Fast Find Model 2 and the battery, according to the unit, should have been replaced 3 years ago. However, when the battery self test is done it shows it’s fine and at full strength? Am I being stupid to rely on this or is it still ok and the advice to change the battery is just a sop to help McMurdo sell more stuff? In line with this I’ve got numerous MRE cakes and biscuits dating back to the 1970’s which still taste good and the same with freeze dried meals that are over well 10 years old! Truth be told I’m reluctant to spend the hundreds of dollars they want for a new battery if in fact it doesn’t really need to be replaced. Phil Cawley.

[Ken Thompson]

Do they allow the registration to be current with an expired battery?

[Rex Sanders]

Phil wrote:
How long, in reality, can the battery of a PLB be relied upon?

Probably nobody really knows. To get a good idea, a bunch of PLBs with expired batteries would be activated in a variety of wilderness locations; SAR would be initiated; and the number not found compared to a control group with unexpired batteries. Repeat for increasing lengths of time after battery expiration, and for every PLB make and model.

A modern PLB sends a rough location and GPS coordinates by satellite, and a local homing beacon — for at least 24 hours (specification) or until the battery runs out.

PLB location signals can fail in different ways, that’s why they’re redundant. For example, my iPhone often shows a location hundreds of miles away – despite using both GPS and WiFi.

PLB manufacturers certify 24 hours of operation after years of storage in less-than-ideal environments. 10 years might be conservative, but that’s important when a life-threatening emergency is involved. Batteries degrade slowly; batteries and electronics often fail completely and without warning.

Hundreds of dollars divided by 120 months seems like a small price to pay. How much would you be willing to pay for a rescue when the brown stuff hits the fan?

— Rex

[Jenny A]

When I bought my McMurdo Fastfind, the battery was already 1 year into its 5-yr life.  At the 5 year point, I had it replaced, sent it to an outfit in Florida called Solution One Maritime.  They went through the unit (whatever that involves) and replaced the battery with a 6-yr battery.  Cost was something around $110, including shipping.  I had it back within a week.

Yes, maybe somebody knows how long these batteries really last, and I’m sure they expiration date is well under the true life just for safety’s sake.  I consider the relatively small cost of battery replacement to be the same as insurance:  one hates to pay it, but the real tragedy would be having the unit fail in a true emergency because one was too cheap to replace the battery.

Sorry, not a direct answer to your question, but not sure anyone can provide that.  It’s your decision, ultimately.

[Katherine .]

No actual knowledge, but I tested my ResQLink and am calling it good for the summer. I think mine’s around 5 years old.

But I’m also planning to replace it with an InReach Mini soon, pending budget funds. So if I weren’t, I would.

Ken, there was nothing (I recall) on registration update about battery age.

[Patrick O’Neil]

I just tested my ACR ResQLink a few weeks ago. It was bought brand new in 2013. The batery test came back with an amber light meaning less than 24hrs battery left. This could be because I had done a GPS test before several trips, not just a battery test.

If you do just a battery test I think you can extend the life but I would want to do a GPS test at least once a year and the ResQLink is rated for only 12 such tests.

As an aside, I wanted to get it replaced and was quoted 240$ Cdn before tax and shipping both ways, and of course the warranty is done now.

I caved and bought an inreach Mini instead. I wish it used alkaline batteries as I really don’t trust Garmin batteries, I’ve had some of the automobile GARMIN’s brick on me when the battery died. I really like the fact that the spot uses batteries but can’t stand their subscription set up.

Oh and yes I know GPS communicators are not PLBs.

 

 

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