AA Trail cam batteries
- Thread starter White Oak
- Start date
S.T.Fanatic
5 year old buck +
I lucked into some energizer lithium batteries earlier this summer. 12 pac for under $8.00. They were priced at $15. After ringing up the 2 packs I was going to buy I went back and bought every 12 pac they had. I’m sitting good for quite a while.
How I use them.
I put fresh batteries in July first or so when I put the cameras out. I have set on still with 1 min intervals. My deer numbers aren’t out of control so it’s not a billion pictures by the time I move them.
October 1 they get new batteries, placed on video and run up til about November 15. These are set un scrapes.
November 15 they get a new set of batteries and placed on food until about April 1.
Those batteries get taken out and thrown away. I save the batteries from the other 2 battery swaps. Those batteries go back in when I put the cameras back out in July.
Like mentioned, the demand on the batteries that time of year is low and I don’t run video in the summer so they last a long time. They always get fresh batteries when swapping out in the fall but never use fresh batteries anymore in the summer.
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How I use them.
I put fresh batteries in July first or so when I put the cameras out. I have set on still with 1 min intervals. My deer numbers aren’t out of control so it’s not a billion pictures by the time I move them.
October 1 they get new batteries, placed on video and run up til about November 15. These are set un scrapes.
November 15 they get a new set of batteries and placed on food until about April 1.
Those batteries get taken out and thrown away. I save the batteries from the other 2 battery swaps. Those batteries go back in when I put the cameras back out in July.
Like mentioned, the demand on the batteries that time of year is low and I don’t run video in the summer so they last a long time. They always get fresh batteries when swapping out in the fall but never use fresh batteries anymore in the summer.
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j-bird
Moderator
I am in the Energizer Lithium camp. I can typically run my cams nearly year round on 2 set's of batteries...with Summer being much easier on them than the winter time.
Come October 1 I will switch out all my batteries to ensure we are at full power so we don't miss anything for hunting info. It's one thing to miss a few weeks in june or july, but I miss a week or two in early November and I will be furious!
Come October 1 I will switch out all my batteries to ensure we are at full power so we don't miss anything for hunting info. It's one thing to miss a few weeks in june or july, but I miss a week or two in early November and I will be furious!
White Oak
5 year old buck +
I never tried the AC Delco...but I got a 60 pack of Rayovac at Home Depot....they didn't last as long as Energizers
White Oak
5 year old buck +
Just a Update: I put this Covert camera out last year in Mid to late September with Energizer MAX Alkaline batteries . After hunting season was over I checked the SD card in early January and left the camera out with another SD card. I totally forgot it was out there, yesterday while putting up my treestand I noticed it. Since January it took 600 pictures and according to the battery power level on the pictures its on 7 out of 10 That;s pretty amazing if it's accurate !. I'm putting new batteries in anyway to be on the safe side though.
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swat1018
5 year old buck +
I tried the Rayovac, as well, with poor results.
Since I have most of my non-cellular cams set for video it's lithiums for me as well. I'm usually able to replace them with new ones before they die and I'll use the used ones in my picture cams until they do. Slowly adding more solar panels to my collection for the out of the woods cams.
I'm surprised the "battery stores" online aren't cheaper. They sell them in bulk yet, at least back when I was looking, Amazon was still cheaper, especially with their subscribe and save.
SWIFFY
5 year old buck +
I use Rayovac from Menards, I use them in all my cameras Cell and non-cell all year round. I have found no real difference in the "Nonfreezing" months, In the winter in MN the Lithiums do last longer but still not the where they are worth the price. I can often get a month or 2 from my cell cams even in freezing and below zero temps. Rayovacs have been really good for me and Menards have been the best price ive found.
Peplin Creek
5 year old buck +
Rayovac high energy in all my cams with AA’s seems good. Can pick up 70ish for $24 dollars. Price is my man driving factor there. I’d love to run lithiums but running 24 cameras… that adds up quick.
IkemanTx
5 year old buck +
I have run ultimate lithium batteries exclusively for years and I LOVE them.
However, I am transitioning to more permanent solutions. For the 2 cameras i have on the family 40, i built these little solar/12v setups to provide permanent power. The battery packs are 10 rechargeable AA’s soldered in series (because i couldn't find any pre-made packs in the correct chemistry)
I am also planning on building some diy 12v battery packs as battery extenders for my public land spits. I found a sweet deal on some 32650 LifePo4 batteries, and a set of 4 (in series) will be DOUBLE the equivalent milliamp hours of a fresh set of ultimate lithiums. With a good set of rechargeables in the camera, i could run a year plus on video settings on public land with that kind of power.
However, I am transitioning to more permanent solutions. For the 2 cameras i have on the family 40, i built these little solar/12v setups to provide permanent power. The battery packs are 10 rechargeable AA’s soldered in series (because i couldn't find any pre-made packs in the correct chemistry)
I am also planning on building some diy 12v battery packs as battery extenders for my public land spits. I found a sweet deal on some 32650 LifePo4 batteries, and a set of 4 (in series) will be DOUBLE the equivalent milliamp hours of a fresh set of ultimate lithiums. With a good set of rechargeables in the camera, i could run a year plus on video settings on public land with that kind of power.
Peplin Creek
5 year old buck +
That’s seriously impressive
IkemanTx
5 year old buck +
I can’t take the credit.
I followed a video posted by “The Handy Hunter” on YouTube. The battery pack he used is no longer available, so i had to make that myself. You can find similar battery packs to what he used, but they are NiCad chemistry, and i wanted specifically NiMH because they don’t develop a “memory” and perform a little better in cold temps. My son and I did the project together so i could teach him a little about soldering and electrical.
The battery only packs I plan to build in the next couple of months will be a decent bit larger, but i will sponge paint them so they blend well with tree bark. Between a full set of batteries in the camera, a rechargeable backup battery, and extremely large memory cards (newer brownings will accept up to 512gig) i should be able to leave a camera in video mode for an entire summer AND season without filling a card or running out of battery. That way, if i don’t end up making it into a spot during season I still have all the intel and don’t have to worry about a dead battery or full card shutting a camera down half way through the season.
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Derek Reese 29
5 year old buck +
I can second that..i bought a combo browning cam with card and battery at TSC for my in-laws who just love to check the cam and see what critters are around (it's free scouting for me so I encourage it) they put the cam out a week before Halloween and the batteries lasted 3 weeks...awesome
just to note I love browning cams and am in the process of switching to them almost exclusively...also i had one run from christmas 2020 to october 2021 on one set of alkaline batteries...
Peplin Creek
5 year old buck +
This will be a great little winter project.
Mortenson
5 year old buck +
So I finally needed to get into that 24 pack from amazon (since my current liths were lasting so well) and they are indeed junk! The ones I received are rejects or fakes. Dying after 1 week.
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