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Garmin battery care (Read 165 times)

Gator eye


    Should you leave it on the charger all the time? Shut it off when fully charged? Run it till battery is dead?

    What do you do?

      I have a Forerunner 305.  I charge it after every run, and remove it from the charger when it says that charging is complete.  It is over 2.5 years old, and still holds a decent charge.  It lasted for my (very slow) first marathon just 2 months ago.  However, I do notice that if I don't charge it after each run, it will sometimes die midway into the run on day 2 (even if the run on day 1 was only an hour).

       

      Jim


      Menace to Sobriety

        I've got an old 301 that's gotta be 10-12 years old. I charge it up about once a week or so. It could be just coincidence, but it  seems like if it gets below half charged it wants to lose lock easily. Granted, it's a 4 channel receiver, so it loses lock kind of easy anyway and as electonics go, it's an antique, but it still works well enough for my purposes.

        Janie, today I quit my job. And then I told my boss to go f*** himself, and then I blackmailed him for almost sixty thousand dollars. Pass the asparagus.

          I think the answer depends on which garmin. I have a 210. I've never powered it off, wear it most days as my regular watch, and generally only charge it when I'm uploading workouts.

          Runners run

          joescott


            Gator eye, need to know what model you have to answer the questions properly.

            - Joe

            We are fragile creatures on collision with our judgment day.

              joeccott, I have a 205 (backup) and a 410, and my dad has a 110 (which he never uses and the battery is typically pretty low/dead), As service to RA users, can you let us know the best practice for all the models?

              zoom-zoom


              rectumdamnnearkilledem

                AFAIK they all have Li-ion batteries, which generally means the more fully charged they are kept, the longer the battery life.  With the FR305 I left it on the cradle all the time.  With my 210 and Edge 500 I generally disconnect as soon as they are fully charged, because they seem to spaz-out if I don't (to be honest, I really am not a fan of that friggin' clip doohicky with the 210.  Total PITA to get all 5 pegs connected and if it gets knocked askew the least bit it will drain the battery.  The designers at Garmin need a boot to the head over that one).

                Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                     ~ Sarah Kay

                  joeccott, I have a 205 (backup) and a 410, and my dad has a 110 (which he never uses and the battery is typically pretty low/dead), As service to RA users, can you let us know the best practice for all the models?

                  +1

                   

                  I've got a 310XT that I let go almost all the way down, then fully recharge.

                  If there's a better way to preserve battery life, I'm all ears.

                  Smile

                  "I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."

                  -- Dick LeBeau

                  TeaOlive


                  old woman w/hobby

                    +1

                     

                    I've got a 310XT that I let go almost all the way down, then fully recharge.

                    If there's a better way to preserve battery life, I'm all ears.

                    Smile

                     

                    Ditto.

                    Except that I leave mine on the clip all of the time when not in use.  Smile

                    steph  

                     

                     

                    joescott


                      Do'h!  Sure, let me chat with a guy tomorrow to get the 100% straight whiskey.  In the meantime, the main point I was going to make was that some of the devices (310XT, 910XT) are intended more or less as special purpose "appliances".  You are best off turning them OFF when not in use to conserve juice.  The 10, 210, 610, for example, on the other hand, have a "low power mode" so they can work as everyday watches and can last weeks when GPS is not used and even several days (ymmv) when it is.  Stand by and I'll see what more I can share maybe tomorrow.

                      - Joe

                      We are fragile creatures on collision with our judgment day.

                      Gator eye


                        I have a 210 I'm having charging issues with, it doesn't want to charge and when I get it charging it doesn't hold a charge.

                        Of course it's out of warranty so trying to decide weather to send it in and pay the money to fix or just buy another.

                        joescott


                          You should never have to turn it off, and it should definitely hold a charge.  Nor is it necessary to drain it all the way down before re-charging.  Even though it is out of warranty, you might still try calling customer support to explain your situation.

                          - Joe

                          We are fragile creatures on collision with our judgment day.

                          zoom-zoom


                          rectumdamnnearkilledem

                            +1

                             

                            I've got a 310XT that I let go almost all the way down, then fully recharge.

                            If there's a better way to preserve battery life, I'm all ears.

                            Smile

                             

                            I believe this is how NiCad batteries were to be treated...but it's the opposite of how to handle Li ion batteries.  Allowing a Li ion device to discharge repeatedly generally will spell an early death.

                            Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                            remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                                 ~ Sarah Kay

                              Don't sweat on it. The battery leads corrode over time.

                              Get off my porch


                              Feeling the growl again

                                Don't sweat on it. The battery leads corrode over time.

                                 

                                Heh.  That's like Nordic Track trying to blame me for the console on my treadmill malfunctioning, saying I shouldn't get sweat on it.

                                 

                                I have to scrape off both the unit and charger of my 201 whenever I charge it due to corrosion, but it's not a big deal.

                                "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                                 

                                I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                                 

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