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Epirb Battery


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You can get the battery replaced and keep the EPIRB. 

Depends on the supplier / service agent. Wilco Marine I believe do a few brands.

A lot of people use the opportunity to 'upgrade' to the latest version instead of just replacing the battery. That was a good idea when GPS enabled EPIRBs first came out, and if you don't have one of those, they are a good thing to get, otherwise I'd check out who can just replace the battery.

 

Also, I think the key reason why you can't recharge them yourself, is they are the kind of item that would really rip your nightie if they are flat the one time you go to use it...

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Yea. We have a similar situation at work. 200 for the approved battery replacement or 10 diy with no issues yet.

 

I will certaintly be looking to replace the epirb battery myself when the time comes.

 

I was very tempted to do DIY - we service electronics for work - so can certainly change a battery. 

I paid the $260ish to have them do it - otherwise the date printed on the side of the epirb would be wrong.

 

Turns out they just stuck a label maker sticker over the date with a new date..

 

What sort of battery is inside?

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I pulled one apart about 3 years ago, it was possible to source the battery pack and would have been an easy task to do the swap. 

I'm not sure now what the final issue was, it was around getting the 'date certified' or registered or something. Had to go via a certified something so I could legally use it from memory. 

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The question you have to ask yourself is how would I feel if the boat was sinking with friends or family aboard and the bloody thing didn't work because I wanted to save a few bucks.

 

I can think of better areas to save money.

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Fair enough. If in doubt don't do it I suppose. I don't see myself as any less capable than the type of guy who will be paid to replace batteries for a living. Why send $200 down the drain for no real benefit? I think that he might even be more likely to be suffering from mondayitis, friday afternoon effect, etc and screw something up.

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Quite possible but then you wont feel guilty about it. I'm all for doing as much as possible oneself but safety gear is where I don't skimp.

 

And there is of course a slim chance there might be a seal that has to be replaced that you might not notice. Also it will most likely void your safety cert and if there was an issue and someone got hurt you would possibly be found negligent in this day and age. 

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