yep, that’s exactly why i do the same thing. also because sometimes my cat knocks it off the counter and takes off with it while i am in the shower and it’s much easier to find when it’s making noise
That is too funny, Marti! Also reassuring to know the pump is tough enough to withstand a game of soccer-with-paws!
Thanks, marti!
I used to think my cat was bad until I read some of these pump stories - yours goes to the top of the list! That is funny though!
Never thought about something like that!
No cat here so when I forget the pump (has only happened twice), it’s my own fault…
Hi, about one month for us on the lithium batteries. Your out of the box battery was no good it seems. Geez, a company ought to put new batteries in their shipments so people don’t have alarms before they get going or have the pump stop working unexpectedly ! 
i have found that low-cost lithium batteries do not last as long as more expensive brand-names, so I’ve ended up spending for the “top shelf” brands. Also the time left after a low battery alarm has been so variable i can’t predict so i try to change immediately.
Thanks for the heads up on the brand names, Boston. I’ve got the batteries on my shopping list.
well she also leaves live snakes under my bed. and one time she brought home the weirdest thing of all - a cat toy. someone else’s cat toy. i have no idea if she found it outside or broke in to someone’s house for it. playing with my pump is one of the least problematic things she does.
pump yes, tubing no. i never trust the tubing after it’s had cat teeth near it. fortunately she doesn’t play with it much, just takes it away
I would freak at snakes under my bed! I am glad my cat is now an indoor cat - she was an outdoor cat before I got her and she was easy to convert!
Live snakes…ewwww! I thought it was bad enough when Lula brought me mice, lizards and I 'vehad to rescue a few birds from her clutches. But she has gone through several of her nine lives (and a couple of mine as well from the stress) by let’s see: meeting a car head-on with her jaw, getting lost for a week twice (once in snow) and not eating on her own for 2 straight months. She keeps life interesting! To make up for it she is the most cuddly cat I’ve ever had and has an odd affinity for deer, and has tolerated me moving her 10 times during her 16 years (including to Guatemala). We’re a lot alike actually. Quirky and sometimes too smart for our own good.
Fortunately she’s too old to chew on tubing.
Hi all…
I’ve had my Ping for just over 2 years, and usually get 5-6 weeks on a Lithium battery. Take the following steps to maximize your battery life (I read these somewhere on here ages ago, and they work for me.)
- Use the Ping remote as often as possible (the screen on the pump gobbles power).
- Turn the screen brightness down to the lowest level you can comfortably see.
- Set all non-essential warning sounds to “L” (low).
- Set the screen “timout” to 30 or even 15 seconds.
The ONLY time I use the pump screen is if I need to do something like change a basal pattern or set up a temporary bolus.
…Joe
Thanks, Joe, good suggestions. I did a lot of playing with it and setting up stuff in the first week, but now mainly, like you said, use the remote. I’d set the timeout to 60 seconds because it was driving me nuts timing out when I was trying to figure stuff out but I’ll re-set it now.
Zoe - so you are pumping now - alright! I don’t use the Ping, just the plain Jane 2020, so not sure if you are referring to the remote portion of the Ping OR just the pump itself. All I can say, since I’m remoteless (to upgrade 18 months later to Ping meant $800 - couldn’t afford that) - for my pump - I use a lithium battery - and it generally last on average 4 months. I guess it all depends on how often you load up the screen, have alarms goiing off, they all eat up battery life.
If it’s the remote you are saying eats up the batteries - I’ve heard from other Ping users that it gobbles up batteries quite abit. So, for me, that might have been an issue if I had upgraded to Ping, since batteries aren’t cheap (not lithium - have found a place here in Montreal where they average $5 a battery. That could add up if you have to change it every week or so in your remote and on limited income like I am.
Hi Anna
Thanks for your response; yep, I’m a convert now! It’s the actual pump battery (the lithium one) that ran out in 8 days. You just reminded me to put the date on the calendar so I can see if the next one lasts longer and it was just because I was doing set-up and programming everything. I’m surprised yours lasts so long since you use the pump part exclusively, but that’s great! Things seem expensive there! Here I am told it’s $300 to upgrade and the batteries are much less. If I remember correctly the Canadian and U.S. dollars are close?
Found out from hubby - that he’s now getting lith batteries for $3 a pop. Was speaking to another Animas pumper on the weekend (Aaron Nolan) - and he’s like me with his 2020 - his battery lasts as long as mine does. Maybe the set up is what ate up all the juice like you say. So posting when you put the battery on your calendar is a good thing. Maybe with time you’ll get more life out of your pump battery.
Maybe in time things will be cheaper for Ping upgrades here in Canada. It only came here last Fall, unlike USA where it’s been around longer. Ping is still only in North America - not elsewhere in the world (not in New Zealand ). Americans are very lucky for all the stuff you have available to you medical wise, etc. - mainly due to your population is the reason why - more buying power - more reason to flog things in the market for getting share holders, etc. etc. I’m telling you, when a cure is found for diabetes, what will these American medical companies do!.
Yes, Cdn / US dollar are pretty well at par now - not sure how long that will last - but main thing - getting paid in US dollars isn’t as sweet as it used to be (better when our dollar is lower then yours) - but I’ll take any money for work - in whatever form - as long as it helps pay the bills.
Thanks, Anna. I actually thought Animas was international; their instruction leaflets are in enough languages! I nearly freaked when I saw how much info was on the instructions for putting in sets until I realized it was the same thing written in 20 languages!
Yes, we have a lot of resources, one of the reasons I returned to live in the U.S., though “shopping” as a life focus makes me feel pretty pathetic. On exchange rates: I did love living in Guatemala and being paid in U.S. dollars (to teach online)!
Yes, I’m going to track the battery life, but even though it’s only been a week I’m still taking extra batteries when I go away overnight this week! I guess gone are my days of travelling in central america with all I need in my backpack! That’s ok, my age makes me more comfort prone anyway!
My battery for the pump lasts at least a month.
I have to agree with Joe Burnham. Set the pump to the most conservative power usages you can. Second, the battery or batch of batteries may have been cooked by heat, etc.
Always keep two batteries in your emergency pack. One may be a dud.
mine seems to last longer than that…hmm…i think i change about every 2 weeks or longer…i lock mine, too…i use the remote for virtually everything…