Just got my new 530G. Materials supplied with the pump state that you should not use lithium batteries. I have always used long lasting lithium batteries in my other pumps. Does anyone know why they should not be used in the 530G?
Hey so you need to be using alkaline batteries with your Minimed pumps. Lithium is only to be used in animas pumps. DONT TELL MEDTRONIC THAT YOU USED LITHIUM BATTERIES in your Minimed or they will void your warranty. It happened to my neighbor! So you need to use alkaline in your Minimed! Lithiums in Minimed can cause the pump to drain the pump and bolus you the whole reservoir.
Let us know what you decide!
Gabriella
Cannot help you there. Also sys we cannot go through airport scanner anymore?
Lithium batteries discharge in a different way than alkaline batteries. Your 'low battery' alarm will not work with lithium batteries. You would be taking a chance that your pump will just stop working all at once with no warning. I don't think it's worth taking that chance. Buy the batteries on sale at Walmart or Target and change them when your low battery alarm comes on!
Thanks. That makes sense. Although the lithium batteries last so much longer, there is no alarm when they run dry.
i wouldn't risk it. a damaged or flawed lithium battery can catch fire.
i believe they also recommend energizer batteries over duracell, as energizer constructs their batteries with two smaller cells inside the casing. the reasoning is that if one cell fails the pump wont stop completely.
I can’t wait till I get mine. I should have it in two weeks! I am so excited!
Actually, it is the Energizer Lithium Batteries I have been using The last about four times as long as the alkaline max. I have been using them for five years without any problems, except that the low battery alarm does not sound.
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use aaa batteries with the extra description LR03.
I can attest to the energizer over duracell recommendation. I put in a Duracell once b/c I was away from home and had nothing else, so I borrowed it from a friend then forgot to replace it later. In two days it was giving me a low-battery alert! I’ve also used Rayovac batteries with success. Anything but Duracell it seems.
Thats strange…its different from the 630G and 670G which they RECOMMEND a lithium.
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I don’t think “Lithiums in Minimed can cause the pump to drain the pump and bolus you the whole reservoir.” but lithiums can make the pump overheat. I assume the reason those links direct us to use lithiums is because they are old links that should be taken down. They probably discovered the overheating problem after that was printed. New directions that come with the 670G pump warn against using lithium batteries.
Found this post tonight after I woke up to a battery failure alarm. My lithium battery was boiling hot, couldn’t even hold it-it was scary! Won’t be using one again! I had no idea that we weren’t supposed to use them in Medtronic pumps. Also tech helpline said nothing about it when I called them. I told her it was lithium I was using! Anyways the pump wouldn’t accept my spare lithium batteries so I tried alkaline (all without this knowledge) and the alkaline worked fine. I think alkaline feels safer to me now. That was scary!
Lithium batteries are like like bombs - this is why the post office and airlines ban most of them
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I should add only the rechargeable lithium’s are a potential problem, and please do not be overly fearful of them - just pay attention when charging
Back when I first got my Minimed Revel, my trainer advised that Energizer batteries were recommended because they lasted longer than other batteries because they were a tiny bit longer than the others. Accordingly, they provided a tighter fit which provided a better connection, which in turn, reduced the rate of discharging.
I tested this theory and found that, On average, Energizers lasted up to two days longer.
I subsequently switched to Duracell because they were cheaper to buy in bulk from Costco. Yesterday, I bought a pack of Energizers so I can test again over the next few months. My Duracells are currently averaging about 10 days (8.5 to 11 days). I will keep you advised.
I would like to see the trainer back that up with real test data - and by real test data I do not mean just time. That is complete nonsense, but then it’s medtronic
I just used calipers on duracell and energizer and the duracell were 4 hundreds of an inch longer
Higher resistance by a not so good contact would result in less current drain - Science
Current = volts/resistance
I am not up on electrical terms so I may have not not described the discussion properly. The only thing I am sure of is that Energizers lasted up to two days longer when I tested them against Duracells.
T will test again and report the results over the next couple of months.
There are different types of each - like coopertop and quantum
My wife gets almost a month from a battery on 40+ units a day
I pump 80 units a day and it is linked to a CGM which I Check at least 15 times a day and daily go through my history summary.