simekj Posted June 3, 2013 Report Share Posted June 3, 2013 Matt it may not be a Southern Hemisphere thing.... my decapo rechargeable batteries typically last 14 hours. I have had them nearly 3 months. Sometimes I switch them off at lunchtime/or when driving for 20-30mins to extend the life to the end of the day... Programming does seem to have some influence because my left side was running out before my right side prior to the last mapping, and since then it has switched and now the right side runs out before the left but only by 10-20 mins. I also notice that they decharge by themselves fairly quickly so charging the batteries up several days before use means they will not last 10 hours when used 4-5 days later which is a shame. When using HA I experimented with 675 batteries several times over the years. Powerone cochlear implant brand outlasted ALL other brands. AND kept the power up till the end before cutting out rather than tailing off. I had powerful HAs and they were consuming the batteries so I switched to CI batteries to make them last longer. At the time, there were no rechargeable powerone 675 batteries as there is a greater risk of damage to recharging small batteries like 675 (implode, explode, leak etc). If they have them now that is great. Typically, rechargeables always have less power output than non-rechargeables. They also lose power when sitting around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpl2ci Posted June 3, 2013 Report Share Posted June 3, 2013 Karen, I have not experienced the same issues with my DaCapos that you describe. If yours are self discharging so rapidly, I would contact your customer service representative. Great explanation about the rechargeable 675s. Tanks for the explanation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted June 3, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 3, 2013 john i have ti agree. that doesnt sound quite right. i have let mine sit after charging for a few days before usin and did not experience this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted June 3, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 3, 2013 Adam, PowerOne® has rechargeable p675 ACCU plus batteries and a charger. After doing a little more research, it appears that they do not have the power needed for implants. (1.2v vs. 1.4v; 74mAh vs. 570mAh). Correct, I use it for standard HA+ vibrator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simekj Posted June 3, 2013 Report Share Posted June 3, 2013 Wow. Ok thanks for letting me know. I will tell the audi Just out of curiosity, Matt and Adam, how long is the longest that you have left your Decapo batteries charged before using them and they were fine? Thanks K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted June 4, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 Karen, I assume you are asking what was the most number of days after fully charging did i let the battery sit before using? Short answer, don't have a clue. I know I have gone at the very least 3 days. That being said, I never officially tracked it. I know this really doesn't answer what you are looking for. My apologies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpl2ci Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 Karen, I am chiming in again. Over a week to 10 days before using a previously charged battery. I also,suggest discharging your battery TOTALLY. By leaving your implant on while not on your head at night. You might have "imprinted" it's memory to only accept a partial charge. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simekj Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 Thanks Adam and John. Three days is good. John that is an interesting concept - partial charge. I will try that esp since you managed 10 days! If they can last that long then why are some of you using 675 batteries? Why not keep spare decapos? Surely you save money (I have to pay for my batteries) or is it as said in another forum you don't have to change the batteries so often? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Matt Posted June 4, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 Karen , I don't use the rechargeable ones any more due to the short life. When I was using them I would charge them and use them within a day or two at the most as I was going through 1.5-2 a day. My battery retailer has a safe disposal program so I send mine back to him and he has them safely and greenly disposed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted June 4, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 Karen I was also told the same thing by my audi. she said that if I use the decapos, don't put them back on the charger until the battery is completley dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted June 4, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 Matt, how much do batteries cost you down there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted June 4, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 Isnt it pain in da ass - to use rechargable batteries? I have used some when I was a kid with my regular HA and I was constantly annoyed about their short life. Never ever got back - even capacity was not like one of disposable batts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes hadron Posted June 5, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 5, 2013 Medicare reimbursement of Med-El CI components depends upon if the component has been accepted for Medicare assignment by Med-El. If so, Medicare will pay 80% of the assignment value. If the Medicare recipient has MediGap coverage, an Avantage Plan or secondary insurance it may cover the remaining 20%. Med-EL should have your Medicare insurance on file. When you need a CI component (D-Coil, DeCapo battery,...) simply contact your MED-EL customer service representative and order the component. Med-El reimburement will then research the component and give the price to the customer service rep whom will forward the information to you. If you want to purchase the component simply give the customer service rep your credit card number. The DeCapo rechargeable batteries do not wear down when not in use. You do not have to wait for the DeCapo rechargeable battery to be completely drained before recharging it. It will simply charge in less time than a drained battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russboltz Posted June 5, 2013 Report Share Posted June 5, 2013 Although I don't have my processor yet, I'm surprised by the comment above that rechargeable batteries don't have to be drained to be recharged. Most rechargeable batteries CAN be recharged when they are not fully drained, but that develops a "memory" which means that the battery goes "dead" when it goes back down to that prior "slightly charged" level. Over time, this is a lot of the reason why most rechargeable batteries are thought to be "good" for less and less time. The solution on this when most rechargeables seem to be losing duration is to let a rechargeable battery go "dead" all the way, and to leave it under load ("on") for a few more hours before recharging to FULL. Then let it go "dead" all the way, and again, stay under load for a few more hours. This will usually make a rechargeable battery recover. I'm not sure if the Med-El batteries are somehow different from this, but on every other rechargeable I use, from flashlights to cell phones to toothbrushes, it's the same way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Matt Posted June 5, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 5, 2013 Isnt it pain in da ass - to use rechargable batteries? I have used some when I was a kid with my regular HA and I was constantly annoyed about their short life. Never ever got back - even capacity was not like one of disposable batts. +1 That's why I use disposables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Matt Posted June 5, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 5, 2013 Matt, how much do batteries cost you down there? I use Zeni-Power which are the cheapest and last the longest in my situation. A pack of 60 batteries is about $33 - I am going to look into the Amazon listing John posted as they are a lot cheaper. Just have to see if there are any restrictions on posting batteries via airmail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpl2ci Posted June 5, 2013 Report Share Posted June 5, 2013 Hi Karen, since I am on a mobile device I cannot quote your post. But DaCapos can be expensive and we were only issued 2 per implant. I have a collection because I traded with other people. Cue Blanche DuBois saying "I've always depended on the kindness of strangers." I like the them because they are rechargeable ans usually only use disposables when traveling. I work at home so if I get the dreaded beeping noise, I swap it out and then know that the other one will go out shortly. It is a personal choice. Disposables cause me to forget when I put them in so I am sometimes surprised when they go out, DaCapos, not so much. Does this help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted June 8, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 8, 2013 Hi Karen, since I am on a mobile device I cannot quote your post. But DaCapos can be expensive and we were only issued 2 per implant. I have a collection because I traded with other people. Cue Blanche DuBois saying "I've always depended on the kindness of strangers." I like the them because they are rechargeable ans usually only use disposables when traveling. I work at home so if I get the dreaded beeping noise, I swap it out and then know that the other one will go out shortly. It is a personal choice. Disposables cause me to forget when I put them in so I am sometimes surprised when they go out, DaCapos, not so much. Does this help? when I was younger I could remember when I changed battery in a minute - today, because of so many things I use to forget to get another one. This is ok situation - working at home and having all possible comfort most of the day. I wonder how it will be with BB because my present HA when started to beep-beep - it is not useful because HA starts disconnecting periodically: minute of sound, minute of silence.... I wonder who came up with this kind of idea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted June 8, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 8, 2013 Matt, how much do batteries cost you down there? I use Zeni-Power which are the cheapest and last the longest in my situation. A pack of 60 batteries is about $33 - I am going to look into the Amazon listing John posted as they are a lot cheaper. Just have to see if there are any restrictions on posting batteries via airmail. China? I wonder for which company they are working for? I have few favs but also some of them are not clearly fav. Going to read tech details... Definitely weird - I can not get a technical data sheet from their website.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Matt Posted June 8, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 8, 2013 Made in China - yes. Hopefully I'll be able to get them from China to the US then back to Australia cheaper than I can buy them here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted June 8, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 8, 2013 Made in China - yes. Hopefully I'll be able to get them from China to the US then back to Australia cheaper than I can buy them here. Yes but what about unavailable technical datas... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted June 8, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 8, 2013 John, I like the disposables because my luck has the decapos going dead usually at the most inoportune time. That being said, at about 7.00 per week for disposables, I usually only use them if I am traveling or know I will be in a situation where they just cant run out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted June 8, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 8, 2013 Matt the is crazy. isnt there a way to ship directly to you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Matt Posted June 9, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 9, 2013 You know the score Adam - volume imports equal lower prices. The folks I get my batteries from currently are a husband and wife set up who just do it on the side I think. They are great people but I'm always out to save a buck or two. There are a lot of examples of this sort of pricing structure. An absurd one is a motorcycle product made in Australia is cheaper to buy and ship from the US than to purchase locally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted June 9, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 9, 2013 Amazing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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