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Garmin Edge Charging


fh6162's picture

By fh6162 - Posted on 12 October 2013

I use a Garmin Edge 500 to record my ride activities and then on activity completion I upload via USB plug-in to Strava, which automatically recharges the battery to 100% ready for use next time, but recently my unit shut down after about 6hrs of recording on a single ride and I hadnt finished the days ride, given that I thought the Edge 500 had a battery life of approx 14-18 hrs I wondered if the constant USB charging from around the 90 - 95% mark shortened the battery life ? therefore my question is, should I record several rides until my Garmin battery is nearly empty and then upload all at once to Strava and then allow USB charge back to 100% ...what's the best way ?....what do you guys do? ...cheers Fred.

[Mod. moved to geek gear]

MrSarcastic's picture

I do the same as you; upload my data to the internet and let it charge even when it is at 90-95% charge. The battery life of my Garmin still seems to be as good as when I bought it. Though my garmin is only 10 months old which may make the battery last longer.

Hugor's picture

I do the same as you guys with my 800.
I upload every ride as soon as I get back and leave it hooked up till its back to 100%.
My battery life still seems as good as when I bought it 2 years ago.

Zoom's picture

From the time a battery is made, each time you use it shortens its charge time. There is a limited number of charge-discharge cycles in pretty much all batteries. Heat will shorten a Lithium batteries life. Overcast conditions will make the GPS use more power as it has to do more calculations to lock onto satellites.

Dirty Sandman's picture

backlight not on is it?

I get caught out with this on at times, and it really sucks the power.

Nick R's picture

I have the older Garmin 305 model and the battery life of these does shorten over time from about 12 hours to about 6. I looked up on the internet and replaced the Garmin battery with a higher capacity mobile phone Li-On battery (cost about $6 from ebay) which just required a bit of soldering and re-gluing the case back together.

MrMez's picture

All modern 'high tech' devices use lithium based batteries.

Lithium batteries last far longer if you top them up, rather than letting them go completely flat.

Ie. Charging from 90-100% 10 times is far better than charging from 0-100 once.

In fact, many smarter devices like phones etc, will shut themselves off before they are completely flat, to help save the battery from such a deep charge.

As said, heat is probably the next biggest killer. Wether it's leaving the device in a hot car, deep charging or even just getting hot while on the bike.

hathill's picture

+1 for the heat factor - it's a battery killer. Just look at any car battery close to an exhaust manifold or radiator, the cells on that side die first.

Apparently storing Li family batteries at around 40% charge is best but.........

If the battery is made up of several cells, it is best to charge them for the maximum time period recommended by the manufacturer to ensure all cells are "full". If one is slightly weaker i.e. less capacity than the others it can be damaged during a deep discharge as it effectively gets a reverse polarity across it. This shouldn't happen as Mr Mez mentioned above due to the self cut off functions in most devices. The discharge cut off also protects the cells which can undergo a crystalline change if left for long periods discharged causing them to be prone to go boom when re-charged. Anyone remember the faulty Sony batteries in a prominent brand of laptops a few years ago catching fire?

We probably need to write a battery care and feeding FAQ for the site.

Zoom's picture

Oh and use a balance cell charger, which charges each cell in the battery according to its needs. Not all the cells in a battery are identical so a balanced cell charger looks at the voltage of each individual cell. You should be spending more on the charger than the battery, otherwise you're wasting your time and money.

MrMez's picture
hathill's picture

Excellent........Mr Burns style

stephen's picture

I just purchased a Gomadic battery case which takes 4 AA batteries for my Garmin 500, it was only $27 delivered I think. I've tested it to 14 hours and the Garmin was yet to switch to internal power and that was with the backlight illuminated the entire time.

Rob's picture

Why use an external pack that takes AA batteries?

If I needed more juice in a GPS, I'd be going with an external USB battery. Ie. One that can be charged by USB and that has a USB port that the GPS can then be charged via.

You could argue that AA batteries can be bought anywhere, but I suspect if you're going to be away from somewhere there's a power point to plug in a charger you won't find a shop either.

Eg. In fact I do actually have one of those USB packs (cheap as chips on eBay) and used it on a 3 day trek at Mt Rinjani (Lombok). Worked a treat. Our lights are also USB chargeable (Petlz Zipka plus with Core) as is everything else we travel with. Well... aside from the DSLR.

FWIW, I have an Edge 500 and no matter how short or long my ride, I always connect it to the computer after, to download and charge. Been doing this for years and have no issues with battery life.

stephen's picture

Mainly because the unit was cheap. As I won't use it much, I don't want an unknown quality internal battery sitting around which may not be reliable next time I use it. Also I have heaps of quality aa rechargeables at home and a USB/12v AA charger. Works for me!

If I regularly required more than 12 hours life I would by a nice little unit with an internal battery. With the change of the cable this unit can charge all different devices so it forward compatible.

I also connect my 500 to the pc after every single ride.

MrMez's picture

I use my iPhone as my road bike computer on my bars, I can get as little as 3 hours on a charge with everything on (data, gps, 3x BTLE sensors and backlight at 100%), or double that if i turn off data and run ~80% backlight.

I got a small Duracell USB battery. It's about as thick as an iphone, half the width and 2/3 the length. I tape it under my stem and run a very short cable to my phone. That wasn't more than $40.

Having said that, If my Garmin Edge 800 was buggered (which is kind of is, well everything except the battery), id contact Garmin. Oh... I already did...

Me:
"Hi. My Edge 800 is a few years old and very well used. The case in particular is in pretty average condition. I'm not able to upgrade yet, Is your paid repair service able to provide any refurbishment to this device so I can keep using it for awhile? Thanks."

Reply:
"Hi MrMez,

Thank you for contacting Garmin Australasia.

Yes if you want to send your Edge 800 for repair/replacement I suggest that you contact us 1800 235 822. We will assist you in processing a repair/replacement and the repair price for your device since it is out of warranty is $139.00AUD.

If you have any further difficulty or questions please feel free to contact Garmin Product Specialist on AUS 1800235822 or NZ 0800 427 652 or contact us via email [email protected]."

I believe they OFTEN end up sending you a new unit.

hawkeye's picture

Did that after the joystick seal on my Edge 705 tore and let water in on a particularly nasty wet commute.

Sent it in, got a new unit back. No complaints from me Smiling

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