trail camera batterys

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evergreen

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now live 40 min north of saskatoon
anyone hooked up external batterys to there trail cams? mine uses 4 d batteries anyone tried a 6 volt lantern battery or a 6 volt tractor battery.
i get less than a week in the cold weather. hav,nt tried any of the rechargeable batteries yet.
 
evergreen said:
anyone hooked up external batterys to there trail cams? mine uses 4 d batteries anyone tried a 6 volt lantern battery or a 6 volt tractor battery.
i get less than a week in the cold weather. hav,nt tried any of the rechargeable batteries yet.
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The rechargable NiMH batteries don't do well in the cold.
 
solar panel sounds like a good idea. batteries dont like cold. you will likely run into the same problem with any batteries
 
Cold temperatures affect different battery chemistries differently. Your best bet is a fresh (less than 5 year old) sealed lead acid battery with a 6VDC regulator feeding the camera. It would last forever...Solar panel would not really be needed here (maybe for trickle charge), but does not hurt and is easy to set up, requiring a simple diode. More complex chemistries suchs a NiMH or Lithium require specialized charging circuits between the panel and the battery ideally.

You could also switch to Alcaline batteries (Duracell) they are pretty good in cold weather.

Let us know how you make out!
 
Yep,I do it regularily. One thing though,check the port on your camera and see what voltage it requires. I know 2 of my camera's run on 4 C cells(6v) but use 12v for the external battery. I use the small sealed trailer brake batteries,they last a long time and work in cold weather. I have also used a soalr panel attached to that battery but no longer do so. Apparently these panels often produce far more than the usual 13v or so, and can damage your camera. I checked my panels in sunlight and they do indeed often produce 18+ volts so even though the amperage is tiny it may be enough to damage the camera. I just charge tha battery once a month and call it good.
 
Do yourself a favor and just buy one of the newer gen cameras like the Bushnell. They take 8 AA batteries and if you use the Lithium Ion batt's they'll run almost a year on one set.
 
You may be able to scavenge a connector from some other electronic appliance. If you need 6 volts think about an emergency light battery (the type used in commercial buildings). They are pretty large capacity and very cheap - like around $12. The battery life would be so great you wouldn't have to worry about a solar panel setup. I use the same battery for a 15 watt halogen light, a trail cam and a portable music player.
 
Demonical said:
Do yourself a favor and just buy one of the newer gen cameras like the Bushnell. They take 8 AA batteries and if you use the Lithium Ion batt's they'll run almost a year on one set.
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My HCO camera has been going strong since mid July with 8 Energizer AA batteries. It has only lost one bar (out of 3) as of last weekend.
 
Multi purpose SLA batteries (like the ones used for alarms, fish finders, etc) might be an option. I can't recall if they're 6 or 12 volts though.
 
As an update, I just changed the batteries on my HCO last night. Still had one bar left, but I figured i got my moneys worth from this set. Last count was just under 6000 pictures since mid July. This camera takes 8 AA batteries (regular Energizers). It lasted through some serious cold snaps and was probably good for another month.

I think with these trail cams, you really get what you pay for.
 
My 5mpxl trophy cam has been going since October 2009 on Energizer LI batteries, has well over 4000 pictures on it and still has two bars as of last weekend. I almost have a hard time believing it myself but I keep getting pictures on it.

I might just change them soon anyways just so I know it has good batteries over the winter.
 
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