Edge Explore - anyone replaced the battery?

[accountdeleted]

Hello folks,
I would have put this post on Garmin Forum, but Edge Explore model is too old and the dedicated page is in their archive, "read only" section...

Recently snatched a bargain second hand, which is great and I'm enjoying a cycling specific GPS with Bluetooth connectivity. The only downside I figured, only from using if for a month or so, is the battery life. For a mere 20-30mile cycle, the battery burns 20%.

I don't have the "battery save mode" on, keep the screen on all the time (for navigation and basic stats), and have Bluetooth notification on for all types (text, call, social media, others).

So I wondered, if anyone had tried replacing the internal battery (I understand it might be similar to 1030, but slight difference in wiring?) and whether a new battery improved the battery performance.

Thanks and happy cycling!

 

[Dogtrousers]

20% for a 20-30 mile ride doesn't sound bad.

If (and it's a big if) that continues in a linear fashion then you should be able to squeeze a 100 miler out of it. Especially if you have a charge bank and put it on charge while you have your lunch.

Anyway, here's a relatively recent thread where you might pick up some tips about places that do this/people who have done this on various models of Garmin GPS
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/thinking-of-replacing-my-garmin-edge-800-battery.292889/

 

[cyberknight]

I concur with the above and its all the connected services that dont help the battery .
I went out sunday for a 28 mile ride so just over 2 hours and the only thing i had on was the cadence sensor with the phone not connected and no navigation but the screen was on all the time and i used 13 %

 

[ianrauk]

20% battery use over a 30 mile ride is about right for the Edge Explore, especially with how you are using the unit.
I sold mine on and got an Edge Explore 2 where battery life is at least 3 times longer lasting.

 

[accountdeleted]

Great replies, thanks very much everyone.

OK, I won't bother with battery replacement and I'll experiment with the setting to save some battery usage.

This is my first Blutooth connectivity device so I also noticed the energy burn on my smartphone, too. I feel like the LiveTrack feature is quite useful for my wife to know where I am (and how late I'll be back!), if she's wanting to know, especially on my commutes. So naturally, I feel like I should make the most of the connectivity and also have all the phone notifications on as well (just because the feature is available).

I got comfortable with the screen constantly on, so maybe I try the "battery saver" mode and see how I get on with auto-screen off.

Thanks everyone!

 

[ianrauk]

The live track is a killer for battery life.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Turn down backlight as well. In fact see how you with it off apart from for notifications .

 

[ianrauk]

Turn down backlight as well. In fact see how you with it off apart from for notifications .

Agreed, I think mine is something very low like 10% and that's fine for everyday riding. I also only have the map pop up when there's a turn or junction indicated.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Agreed, I think mine is something very low like 10% and that's fine for everyday riding. I also only have the map pop up when there's a turn or junction indicated.

Same here. I'll turn it on for night riding if needed for nav, but otherwise 10% and 30 second timeout is the setting I leave it on.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Great replies, thanks very much everyone.

OK, I won't bother with battery replacement and I'll experiment with the setting to save some battery usage.

This is my first Blutooth connectivity device so I also noticed the energy burn on my smartphone, too. I feel like the LiveTrack feature is quite useful for my wife to know where I am (and how late I'll be back!), if she's wanting to know, especially on my commutes. So naturally, I feel like I should make the most of the connectivity and also have all the phone notifications on as well (just because the feature is available).

I got comfortable with the screen constantly on, so maybe I try the "battery saver" mode and see how I get on with auto-screen off.

Thanks everyone!

Surely for commuting, battery life isn't a big deal? Just whack it on charge once you get to wherever you're going. That's what I did when commuting - I just whipped off my commuting lights and GPS (just remembered, I never used a GPS commuting) and stuck them on charge at either end, where I had cables and stuff ready for them.

If you only use 20% over 20-30 miles, unless you have an unusually long commute you'll never be getting into problems.

Maybe I'm making assumptions about your job. For all I know you may be a lumberjack or something with no access to handy USB points and a 50 mile each way commute

 

[accountdeleted]

And I've got my chainsaw in my pannier... and 5L jerry can on the other side to fuel it.

 

[accountdeleted]

ok so sounds like lots of settings to tinker with. Thanks everyone for the tip 👍

And yes @Dogtrousers, absolutely right about charging it after each leg of commute (20-25miles, ). I wondered, being a second-hand device, and not familiar with the usual level of battery drainage on Explore devices, whether I needed to look into replacing the battery.

 

[cyberknight]

I use a edge 130 for my commute