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"Heavy Duty" Carbon

0 (0%)

Regular Alkaline (Duracell^®, Energizer^®, etc.)

9 (64.3%)

Advanced Alkaline (Duracell^® Ultra, Energizer^® MAX^®, Energizer^® e^2® Titanium^®, etc)

2 (14.3%)

Lithium (Energizer^® e^2® Lithium)

0 (0%)

NiMH or NiCd

2 (14.3%)

Rechargeable Alkaline

1 (7.1%)

Total Members Voted: 12

[roger1818]

Some people have said that they get much better performance (especially in cold weather) from Lithium batteries in their motion sensors.  What type of battery do you use and comment on how long it typically lasts?  If you use different types of batteries in different locations, select all that apply and comment on where you use what type and why.

[steven r]

Some people have said that they get much better performance (especially in cold weather) from Lithium batteries in their motion sensors....

Good point. If I ever use any outdoor sensors, I might just shell out the extra bucks for them. On the other hand, I live in the south where we rarely even see snow.

[dave w]

For the "FWIW" column:
I hot glued Radio Shack  "D" cell holder ( 2 cell model) on back of my Active Eyes and wired in to battery compartment. The holder is almost same size as the motion sensor. I have standard "energizers" still powering Active Eye after about 16 months. The big battery holder has enough weight to allow the motion sensor to be set on a shelf, ground, bird feeder, window sill, etc. Now if only I could camouflage them a little better.

[steven r]

...I hot glued Radio Shack  "D" cell holder ( 2 cell model) on back of my Active Eyes and wired in to battery compartment....

Clever!

[phorce1]

For the MS' I'll be placing near cameras I was thinking of adding a wall wart and running a power cable alongside the camera power. Shouldn't be too diffucult to add a jack so the sensor can be used with either battery or wall power. And a 3V wall wart should help the sensor warm up a bit quicker and be a little more responsive as opposed to the 2.4V nominal provided by two battery cells.

Gerald

[roger1818]

For the MS' I'll be placing near cameras I was thinking of adding a wall wart and running a power cable alongside the camera power. Shouldn't be too diffucult to add a jack so the sensor can be used with either battery or wall power. And a 3V wall wart should help the sensor warm up a bit quicker and be a little more responsive as opposed to the 2.4V nominal provided by two battery cells.

The 3V wall wart is a great idea.  One note though is only NiMH and NiCD batteries will provide 2.4V.  Carbon, Alkaline and Lithium batteries will provide the full 3V (unless they are starting to die).

[steven r]

...One note though is only NiMH and NiCD batteries will provide 2.4V....

Very true and another reason neither of them is a good choice for this application. If the sensor is the least bit voltage sensitive, you'll be creating more headaches for yourself. NiMH and NiCd batteries are best used in high current / high use items such as cameras. These batteries have a much shorter charge shelf life than the self life of other batteries. This doesn't matter when they are used in a high drain application. In a low current drain application such as this or remotes the battery charge self life is less than it's use demand life.

[Tuicemen]

I use the Regular Alkaline  batteries and get over a year out of them but then strange things start to happen when the batteries start to go as I've posted here! best not to push them past a year. Even better change them when you do your smoke detectors! I allso have been going to do the wallwart mod (just haven't found the time)