CAO TAGS horrible battery life

[Blackbird]

I just bought 3 13bit tags and turned them on yesterday morning and the batteries were around 99 to 98%.  Today the one in the freezer is 61%, one just in the livingroom is 82% and the other just in the livingroom is 87%.  Last night the freezer was doing way better than the other 2.  So why is this?  At this rate I'll be changing batteries every week.  Ridiculous. 

Thanks

[mwester]

Don't read too much into the first day or two, especially the one in the freezer.

All batteries will "top up" when under no load and give a very optimistic voltage reading.  After a while, they basically go to a normal state, where the discharge curve flattens out to what's expected by the manufacturer.

Batteries are also powered by a chemical reaction -- and like most chemical reactions, the one in a battery slows down as it gets colder.  So a battery in the freezer will show a more dramatic drop from that "no-load room-temperature" voltage level that it had when first installed/turned-on.

That's not to say that your batteries aren't a problem -- they may be far from fresh, and I also note that most manufacturers ship no-name batteries with their products, and there's no telling what quality or capacity those no-name batteries have.  You might check to see, if your batteries are replaceable, if they're a brand-name, and try a fresh one...  (and if you can't replace them, well, then if they keep dropping, you clearly have a right to be annoyed!)

[Jimbo.Automates]

You must have a short update time, the more you ping them or update the faster the batteries die. Mine go over six months, but I just schedule to swap them all every six months.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL with Tapatalk

[Blackbird]

I have the "record time" set to 4 hours.

Thanks guys

[Bumbershoot]

I've got them in two freezers, and the batteries last at least six months, if not longer. I buy good lithium batteries, so YMMV. And yes, they're reporting less than 50% when relatively fresh.

[larryllix]

1 hour ago, Blackbird said:

I have the "record time" set to 4 hours.

Thanks guys

Have you set them to Low Power Mode, and/or calibrated their frequencies? These things have all kinds of settings to use. Many are hidden in today's usual fashion.

 

[Blackbird]

Still learning about it.  I'll give it a try.

Thanks

[larryllix]

1 minute ago, Blackbird said:

Still learning about it.  I'll give it a try.

Thanks

As per @mwester above, also. The battery life is adjusted for temperature by some cloud service. I have found other tags with fresh batteries that seemed to drop radically in the first few days and then appeared to "heal" themselves a few days later???

I monitor battery voltages with ISY and I have divided my notification voltages into two levels. A warm battery at 2.78 volts is almost dead but in a freezing temperature is still 60% life left.

I mark my battery change dates inside the cover on each Tag nd my batteries last between 9 months to 15 months. I use Sony or Eveready batteries available on ebay or amazon for under $0.70 each. I have tried the 3 for a dollar ones at the junk stores and usually get 7-8 months out of them if they are not dead when I finally use them. I read this is the case for the online sales also. Some report all dead, and some report they are fabulous. I don't know of any "premium quality" units or I would try some.

The batteries mine were supplied with were the longest lasting of any battery I have found. No name on them.

 

[jca001]

I put the date and volts when I change a battery in the Tag Comment of the Wireless Tag App. That way I do not have to go to the wireless tag itself to see when I last changed the battery. I also set the Low Battery Notification.