By Dan Galusha. The last couple of days I’ve been checking out my Vexilar Inc units’ batteries. I mainly use a FLX-28, but also have a 22HD and 12 for backups, or when other people are along that don’t have a Vexilar.
A major part of ice fishing equipment is related to batteries. This is primarily the flasher and cameras that are used. My Vexilar is on 99% of the time, so the battery gets a good workout.
According to Tom Zenanko of Vexilar Inc, “Our biggest problem here at Vexilar is battery charging, most do not charge after every use, or feel they need to run the battery down to zero before charging and this is 100% wrong. These are lead batteries not NiCads. Like your car battery they like to be kept fully charged at all times. If you do not disconnect the battery terminals on your Pro Packs or shut off your ultra pack when you are not using it, in 37 days the battery is drained to zero from the battery status indicator. When you connect the charger, the battery is so dead, the charger does not know there is a battery in the system and the red light does not come on. The charger stays green but when it is plugged in the status indicator reads 100% since the charger itself is now powering the system.
When a battery is completely drained, as mentioned above, there are only two things you can do. Try to get it to take a charge again or get a new battery. One method is to let the battery rest with the charger on for 24 hours. The light on the charger will be green, but we hope that something is trickling into the battery and holding. After 24 hours unplug the charger and plug it in again, if the red light comes on, there is a good chance you can save the battery, if not, well, let’s say – you are shot out of luck.”