Thread: Replacement PLB battery????

That's interesting, are they saying they can see your correct registration info at their end?

No they can't either. Its a weird one, they even tried resetting my account

Originally Posted by SiB

Greetings folks. I own a Kti PLB (model SA2G) to which the battery needs replacement (officially expires next year, but it’s failing test)

It uses a “LiFeS2” type battery

Kti have since ceased to operate, and I bought this one as part of a bulk deal, I don’t have a NZ retailer to contact, either.

I’m figuring there must be a few hunters here who have the same unit.

Has anyone located a supplier for a suitable replacement battery? Potentially there’ll be 30 of us in Southland alone.

I’ve made contact with NZ Lithium, really nice people, but not something they do

Any suggestions/advice sincerely appreciated
Simon

I have exacty the same beacon, Skippers mate are the agent for the "new" kti beacons - they are called "Jotron" now have a look at them, they are exactly the same.
When my battery reaches its expiry date i'm going to buy a new Jotron but will probably get my old KTI beacons battery replaced as well for my daughter.

Originally Posted by SiB

Greetings folks. I own a Kti PLB (model SA2G) to which the battery needs replacement (officially expires next year, but it’s failing test)

It uses a “LiFeS2” type battery

Kti have since ceased to operate, and I bought this one as part of a bulk deal, I don’t have a NZ retailer to contact, either.

I’m figuring there must be a few hunters here who have the same unit.

Has anyone located a supplier for a suitable replacement battery? Potentially there’ll be 30 of us in Southland alone.

I’ve made contact with NZ Lithium, really nice people, but not something they do

Any suggestions/advice sincerely appreciated
Simon

Does the failed test 100% indicate the battery is the problem?
Seems odd the battery reserve would be exhausted prior to the calendar lifetime. Especially presuming it’s not been used in an emergency?

Personally, and this is entirely my own opinion. I would not sink a further dime into a KTi beacon.

Originally Posted by Sika 8

I have exacty the same beacon, Skippers mate are the agent for the "new" kti beacons - they are called "Jotron" now have a look at them, they are exactly the same.
When my battery reaches its expiry date i'm going to buy a new Jotron but will probably get my old KTI beacons battery replaced as well for my daughter.

Will the Jotron people do servicing of the previous labelled units? Probably not, they would likely prefer to sell you a brand new one too...

I feel the same as Moutere, I would be looking at a replacement unit that is supported and warrantied going forwards. It does seem strange that the battery is showing low prior to expiry date, I mean it could happen I guess but all the time I've been around the things on land and on commercial boats they've either been physically damaged, accidentally set off or expired. I've never seen one fail for low battery prior to date. If you opened it up, there is normally a 10-year or so lifespan on the cells themselves, and the unit's expiry is either 5 or 7 years so there should be plenty of shelf life on the cells themselves.

Maybe how the plb lives could affect it's battery life? Like if it's subject to long periods of below freezing or something like that?

Originally Posted by Ned

Maybe how the plb lives could affect it's battery life? Like if it's subject to long periods of below freezing or something like that?

I guess it could, but in reality the units on boats on Lake Taupo and some of the South Island lakes are in the coldest and also the worst conditions for temp swings and from my experience unless the unit is activated or physically damaged they normally time-expire. The last EPIRB I replaced I opened up to remove the batteries before binning it had almost three years extra on the expiry date of the unit on the cells (on commercial boats often the time with the unit away getting serviced costs more in downtime than simply replacing the unit).

Originally Posted by Moutere

Does the failed test 100% indicate the battery is the problem?

To clarify my previous:
Is the test showing a low battery, or is it failing the test function for another reason. If so, a new battery is not going to fix it.

I’m pretty sure the test function is a check of the entire unit electronically. Of which, the battery reserve would also be apart of you’d assume.

Looking into it, turns out my work ACR400 can indicate a low battery status separate to the satellite part self test.

Originally Posted by Sika 8

I have exacty the same beacon, Skippers mate are the agent for the "new" kti beacons - they are called "Jotron" now have a look at them, they are exactly the same.
When my battery reaches its expiry date i'm going to buy a new Jotron but will probably get my old KTI beacons battery replaced as well for my daughter.

It would appear the Jotron version has an extra feature that confirms the signal has been received and has phone connectivity to check health of the device And they are advertising an 11 year battery. Jotron is a Scandinavian country with 50 years in the rescue business.

I for one will be looking into reviews of these before next year.

Originally Posted by Moutere

Does the failed test 100% indicate the battery is the problem?
Seems odd the battery reserve would be exhausted prior to the calendar lifetime. Especially presuming it’s not been used in an emergency?

Personally, and this is entirely my own opinion. I would not sink a further dime into a KTi beacon.

I’ve retested, and my battery does appear OK. My bad - but am still initiating the replacement battery/PLB process now, so that I have no doubts

Get it cold and try it again - that will tell you...

Originally Posted by SiB

Thanks for your input;
Ben at BatteryMasta in ChCh has been very helpful, and he’s optimistic they can sort my unit. Mines on its way to him for confirmation etc.
I confess I’ll feel a tad naked whilst it’s being serviced - the peace of mind is immeasurable when I’m wearing it.

Please let us know how you get on, I'll be in the same boat next year, but if goes well for you I might get it done sooner rather than later...

Originally Posted by Moutere

Does the failed test 100% indicate the battery is the problem?
Seems odd the battery reserve would be exhausted prior to the calendar lifetime. Especially presuming it’s not been used in an emergency?

Personally, and this is entirely my own opinion. I would not sink a further dime into a KTi beacon.

I too would like to know. The replacement Jotron's are 600 bucks! seems like if you don't do a lot of hunting that you'd be better off renting one

$600 over 11 years though so what price on your safety