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Does the ff4 come with a battery?


OJW
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Expecting one to arrive soon but its my first electronic decoy purchase and I'm not sure if it will arrive ready to go or if I need to buy anything from elsewhere?

 

Any one bought one? If it doesn't come ready to go, what else do I need to buy so I can take it out and use it when it arrives?

Thanks.

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12volt battery (sealed type), 7.2 ah will last several trips out but will never run out on the day. As above, easy to get hold of. I get them for about £12 from any electrical wholesalers, use them in intruder/fire alarm panels.

FF4 comes with crocodile clips on the lead so easy to clip onto any battery.

Buy a car/bike battery charger from somewhere like halfords to charge it up.

Edited by Wilts#Dave
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It does not say how many M/amps that charger puts out , a trickle charger will keep a battery topped up but may take a long while ( days) to fully charge a battery .

Better to go for a intellegent charger which monitors the battery and charges as needed, the sealed lead batterys do need some looking after or they soon deteriate in my experienece

I would suggest a charger putting out 1 amp / hr for your battery it would then fully charge in 7 hours if required.

 

The general rule is to use a charger that is putting out no more than 1/4 the batterys capacity.

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.... will last several trips out but will never run out on the day....

So it might, but any lead acid technology battery/cell should be returned to, and maintained at, full charge whenever possible. Leaving them in a partially discharged state is debilitating in the long term, if not much sooner. Leaving them fully discharged spells death to the battery in double quick time. This is why these batteries are so reliable for security systems (they are normally changed out long before there is a significant risk of failure during sevice).

 

Lithium ion and NiMH are unfussy in this respect while Nicads should be fully discharged before recharging, at least occasionally, for a long service life.

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Ok I'll have a look on eBay. How long will the single battery I bought last me would you say? Luckily it comes fully charged! I didn't realise how expensive electronic decoys would be. 56 for the flapper, 18 for a battery and between 30-40 for the charger! By sealed it means water proof I take it?

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Ok I'll have a look on eBay. How long will the single battery I bought last me would you say? Luckily it comes fully charged! I didn't realise how expensive electronic decoys would be. 56 for the flapper, 18 for a battery and between 30-40 for the charger! By sealed it means water proof I take it?

 

They are waterproof , but by sealed it means there is no access to the battery cells and they do not need topping up with fluid.

For a flapper you could have got away with a much smaller battery , a 2.6 amp / hr will run my turbo flapper all day no problem at all

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So it might, but any lead acid technology battery/cell should be returned to, and maintained at, full charge whenever possible. Leaving them in a partially discharged state is debilitating in the long term, if not much sooner. Leaving them fully discharged spells death to the battery in double quick time. This is why these batteries are so reliable for security systems (they are normally changed out long before there is a significant risk of failure during sevice).

 

Lithium ion and NiMH are unfussy in this respect while Nicads should be fully discharged before recharging, at least occasionally, for a long service life.

Thanks for the lesson, I'm well aware how batteries work. Personally I always charge them as soon as I'm home, I was simply making the point that the battery would last several trips if needed for a low current draw like the ff4 flapper, and would definitely not run out during a long session.

You could get away with using a smaller ah battery than a 7.2ah realistically.

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If you are only charging the battery after using a flapper for a day this will be ample , it will take 12 hrs or so to fully charge the battery if it is run down, but a flapper should not do that .

It also trickle charges as required so can be left attached and on between uses , which is the best way to look after the battery.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-24v-2v-6v-12v-24v-sealed-lead-acid-battery-charger-trickle-automatic-/161544455551?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item259cccc57f

Edited by fenboy
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Thanks for the lesson, I'm well aware how batteries work.

You might be, but even suggesting that your batteries are OK for several trips out might give the lesser experienced the impression that it is unnecessary to keep a lead acid battery at full charge, to avoid sulphation.

 

And, btw, 'sealed' could mean a gel electrolyte battery which can be used in any orientation, or ir could mean a sealed liquid electrolyte battery which should be kept upright. For the OP, the ones to which you refer are, of course, gel batteries.

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