Has anyone noticed the new PDM going through batteries faster than the old one?
I seem to remember changing batteries in the old one once every 2-3 months, but this one i've had just a few weeks and the battery is already at 50 percent.
Not a huge deal, just wondered what others have seen. I'll gladly trade the battery issue for the convenience of the smaller pods :)
I can’t speak to the new PDM as I still haven’t gotten it, but I’ve always found the old one to be kind of inconsistent with battery use. It’s also always frustrated me that we can’t use rechargeable batteries… Such a waste, both environmentally and financially!
I too see some inconsistency. There was a post here a long time ago where a lot of folks say they were getting only a couple weeks out of batteries on the old PDM. Lots of talk about what battery to use. I use generic Alkaline myself, and usually see at least 1 month. It does vary though. Probably tied to my control at the time too :)
I've not tried rechargeable yet, but I don't know why they wouldn't work just fine.
I generally stick to the Duracell or Energizer....i think the new one came with energizer. I always had an issue with the old PDM battery level draining by 1/2 whenever I connected it to the computer (I haven't tried the new PDM yet)
My Dr office sucks at downloading the PDM so I try to do it for them ahead of time :)
I find with the old PDM I amost HAVE TO use Energizer brand, as almost all others dont quite "fit", and I get a battery "failure" message within a couple days or so. Is a bit aggravaing, but everything about being type 1 is aggravating!
Mine dropped to half in the first week after I slept through the warning that comes 90 minutes after changing pods. But, it's stayed at half for several weeks now, so we'll see ...
Your comments are interesting as I’ve found the complete opposite. For me the batteries are lasting a lot longer! The current batteries have been in for about 3 months and they have only just dropped one bar below full!
I actually think this might have happened...I changed last nite, fell asleep, and didn't acknowledge the message until this morning around 5 AM. Guess it was vibrating all nite :) oops
I just found out that in fact you DO HAVE TO USE ENERGIZER...IT IS THE ONLY BATTERY THAT "FITS" IN THE OLD PDM! This is almost criminal, if somebody uses AAA of ANY OTHER BRAND the batteries literally FALL OUT OF THE PDM And then you need to "replace batteries" which, as you know, will set off the PDM requiring clock/date update, then ANOTHER POD CHANGE!! EVEN IF (as just happened to me)you had just completed a Pod change! This is an enourmous waste of time, insulin, pods, etc. etc. etc. I dont know about the NEW pdms'...but this would be something that would require attention!
Batteries seem to last somewhere around 4 weeks. It does actually depend on how much "playing around" you do with the screens. It also appears to suck power when you connect up to the PC, which means they have something setup incorrectly in the connection, if anything, the PDM should be draining power from the port, not giving it power from it's own battery.
Regarding rechargeable batteries, they can be used, but you need to be aware of a couple things. MOST rechargeable batteries are NOT full 1.5v batteries, but something a bit lower, like 1.47-1.48. They are also typically lower amperage which is how much power they can deliver at once, sort of like the max speed on a car.
However, having said that, there are NEW battery chargers AND new rechargeable battery types available now. The newer batteries are higher voltage, close enough to not matter, but the most important thing to find is a proper battery charger :
http://www.amazon.com/Maximal-FC999-Universal-Alkaline-Batteries/dp/B008467K1E/ref=pd_cp_hi_0/189-8828658-9053857 "Maximal Power" is one and another is this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Alkaline-Battery-Recharger-size-Batteries/dp/B009ACH6BK/ref=pd_cp_hi_3/189-8828658-9053857 Alkaline Battery Charger is another. There are more available, but be sure to get one that has switches to set the type/brand of battery that you are charging (not really brand as in Energizer vs Duracell but battery type as in Alkaline vs Nicadd or one of the various other types of rechargeable batteries.
The key is having the "Alkaline" option on the charger. It gives the higher voltage and a slower rate of charge for Alkaline batteries and protects against over-voltage or over amperage charging of the different types of batteries.
Both of those chargers will handle alkaline batteries as well as any of the various types of standard rechargeable batteries. They have switch settings for the battery type you are wishing to work with. It IS SAFE to recharge any type of battery, but you should always keep an eye on things and make sure they are not getting too hot. Alkaline batteries will not recharge as many times as a typical rechargeable but they will recharge several hundred times.
My guess is that the battery life has less to do with the new PDM, and more to do with your behavior. That is to say, you are likely spending more screen time because it's new and different. I could be wrong, but I bet that's 80% of it...
really? cause I use duracell and have had no problems at all with them fitting, and they seem to last longer then the energizer did, for me anyway.
I still have the old PDM and I can get about 2-3 months, if I am not connecting it to the computer.
During my training for the omnipod last october, I was told any named brand batteries with Alkaline, and not to use recharable or no name brands, never told me I had to use energizer, and my manual doesn`t say it has to be energizer either. bope.
Congratulations, and stick with what works for you!
I dont have a preference for brand...the ones that came with the NEW PDM are Energizer. I do stick to name brand but I dont remember a difference between Energizer and Duracell with the old PDM. I forgot again to acknowledge the "CHECK BG" after 1.5 hrs, so I bet it was vibrating all night. Either way..I wouldn't trade the new system for the old :)
New Pod/PDM combo will of course take more time to get used to what options you have, and you have more than they can legally tell you as well... such as using the Light Strips, same design according to Insulet but not approved by FDA yet. No worries though, they work just fine. Batteries other than alkaline will also work, but alkaline gives a more steady charge and maintains total voltage almost to end of life of the battery where the rechargeable batteries are slightly lower voltage all the time, and also have a wider curve on power drain, they lose voltage and current as they wear down. Eventually they fail a bit quicker that Alkaline.
My biggest power loss is when I attempt to use the software to transfer to my computer, it seems the POD provides all the power instead of allowing the PC handle it by providing the power from the PC side. Bad design there I think. They are are apparently using USB 1.x port drivers, and draining the power directly from the batteries. It is slow, very slow for even a single day's download, and wastes about 30-45% of whatever battery power I have. At least it did the first time, I have been VERY hesitant to run it again to test for how much power it actually drains.
Exactly....I dont normally download it at home, but everytime I am at the Doctor for my A1c, they do it, and at least with the old PDM..it would drain by HALF when they plugged it in and I got it back (maybe 10 min or so)
Do you know if there's a way to turn that off? I just did the same thing with my first one. Changed it, checked bs a little over an hour later, and went to bed. The 90 minute warning apparently still went off all night.
Nope..cant turn the reminder off...its either beep or vibrate..pick your poison
"Batteries other than alkaline will also work, but alkaline gives a more steady charge and maintains total voltage almost to end of life of the battery where the rechargeable batteries are slightly lower voltage all the time, and also have a wider curve on power drain, they lose voltage and current as they wear down. "
This is false. The complete opposite is true. Alkaline batteries have a much more sloped discharge voltage than NiMH rechargeable. See the chart on this page: http://www.stefanv.com/electronics/using_nimh.html
This is why I don't understand why Insulet recomments only alkaline for the PDM. For the most part, rechargeable batteries are designed to work in anything that alkaline batteries do. My guess is that it might take some sort of extra FDA approval for them to be able to recommend anything other than what they first got the device approved with.
The thing you will notice is the battery gauge will be inconsistent with the rechargeables. You won't know when they are about to die until the very end. That may be an issue for some. I haven't used rechargeables in mine yet, but I may switch just to try it out once.
When I first got my system, I used rechargeable batteries. On my first call to customer service with a PDM issue, they asked me what kind of batteries I was using.
I was told that using rechargeable batteries was not allowed and could or would void my warranty.
Many months later, I experienced a few pod failures related to the PDM losing power and called Insulet. I was told that Energizer Max batteries were recommended because "they fit best." I've been using them ever since (about 6 months) and have had no further issues.