Regarding battery health: Car run time vs parking mode length?

badbob001

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Location
New York
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United States
Dash Cam
SG9663DR
Has there been any estimate of how much battery power is used per hour of parking mode and how long the car needs to run to replenish that same about of power? So for example, if I take daily 20 minute trips and have parking mode set for 1 hour, then am I not driving enough to replenish my battery?
 
Depends on your battery capacity and health. If healthy, 20 minutes going and 20 minutes back for an hour of recording should be enough.
 
I think that would be fine, it was a whole other matter if your drive 2 X 20 min daily and use parking guard for the remainder of the day.
I also have the timer set to 1 hour, that cover all my shopping ASO, and should i one day feel like i need more i can just up the timer with a few clicks on the camera or the APP

A car battery are charged pretty hard, actually very hard compared to the rate a dashcam discharge it, but little as it is, it is still a "parasitic" load and it will add up over time if you use parking guard a lot.

You should keep your cut off voltage over 12 volts, and keep a eye on the recording duration's your parking guard are active, if you suddenly only get 50 minutes of parking guard, then the low voltage have probably kicked in and shortened the parking guard duration.
If your car have it, it is also a good idea to keep a eye on what voltage level the generator charge at when driving, it should be around 14 volts, if it get lower than that when driving you might have a generator that is ready to go, and so slower charge your battery, and might pull it down with it.
The meter in my car also indicate the battery voltage when the car are just in ACC mode ( engine not running ) that voltage should be 12.5 - 13 volts or so.

In winter time if you live in a place that have frost during that time, low temperatures will also have a effect on battery performance, this is why we dont recommend to go too low on the camera low voltage protection.
Take a bit more cranking power in the winter to get that motor going, that in turn take more of the battery to do that.

EDIT: you should keep your low voltage cut off as high as possible for the duration you need, i am using 12.4 volts myself at the moment, but when i get a new battery i might drop that to 12.2 if i for some reason should use parking guard for a longer time.
 
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Every vehicle and car battery is different, so there'd be no one size fits all answer. I have 2 cameras hardwired to my fusebox. I can get a couple hours if both are running out of about an hour or so driving a day. Also depends on the camera, whether you've got front and rear cameras (A129 Duo = 2 Channel / T3 = 3 Channel).

Way I look at things, if my car battery needs replaced about 20% earlier, that's maybe ~$100 in several years of use. Seeing I was already hit once, and my camera captured the accident, it's a small price to pay.
 
I think that would be fine, it was a whole other matter if your drive 2 X 20 min daily and use parking guard for the remainder of the day.
I also have the timer set to 1 hour, that cover all my shopping ASO, and should i one day feel like i need more i can just up the timer with a few clicks on the camera or the APP

A car battery are charged pretty hard, actually very hard compared to the rate a dashcam discharge it, but little as it is, it is still a "parasitic" load and it will add up over time if you use parking guard a lot.

You should keep your cut off voltage over 12 volts, and keep a eye on the recording duration's your parking guard are active, if you suddenly only get 50 minutes of parking guard, then the low voltage have probably kicked in and shortened the parking guard duration.
If your car have it, it is also a good idea to keep a eye on what voltage level the generator charge at when driving, it should be around 14 volts, if it get lower than that when driving you might have a generator that is ready to go, and so slower charge your battery, and might pull it down with it.
The meter in my car also indicate the battery voltage when the car are just in ACC mode ( engine not running ) that voltage should be 12.5 - 13 volts or so.

In winter time if you live in a place that have frost during that time, low temperatures will also have a effect on battery performance, this is why we dont recommend to go too low on the camera low voltage protection.
Take a bit more cranking power in the winter to get that motor going, that in turn take more of the battery to do that.

12.2 Volts! You're going to leave this poor fellow stranded. 12.2 is 50% battery. By no means should he ever use 12 (25% Battery). On a cold winter day he might find himself walking home or needing his vehicle jumpstarted!
 
I have edited my post, wit the stuff i was thinking but for some reason did not write.
11.8 and 12.0 volts should only be used if extreme cases and for sure not in the winter unless you have a option to get jump started or charge a little before you set off home, if you needed that for daily use you are either parking longer than you can charge, or your battery / charge system are failing.
That low voltages will also shorten battery life, and for a battery in a older car it will probably be murder to it if you hit those low voltages daily or very often.
 
I've used 12.0 without any issue starting the car. With the new battery that's a few months old, I have it set to 12.2.

It's fine in areas with warmer/hot climate.
 
That low voltages will also shorten battery life,
A low cutoff voltage will not make any difference to the battery life if you never reach the cutoff voltage, and if you are only using parking mode for an hour each time, you should never reach the cutoff.

A 20 minute charge should run a typical 2 channel dashcam for 24 hours, as long as the battery is either fairly large, or an AGM battery, and you have a decent alternator that is working well.
 
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I've used 12.0 without any issue starting the car. With the new battery that's a few months old, I have it set to 12.2.

It's fine in areas with warmer/hot climate.

You're in India, and though I have never been, I believe snow and cold weather are rare occurrences. You aren't likely to see many below 0C days days. Generally, a weak battery has a harder time starting during chilly days, making you unlikely to see the side effects of running a battery to 12.0. Even so, I would never recommend that low of voltage to anyone.
 
A low cutoff voltage will not make any difference to the battery life if you never reach the cutoff voltage, and if you are only using parking mode for an hour each time, you should never reach the cutoff.

A 20 minute charge should run a typical 2 channel dashcam for 24 hours, as long as the battery if either fairly large, or an AGM battery, and you have a decent alternator that is working well.

Then why set it so low if you'll never need it @Nigel? Your statement is redundant in nature. It will make a difference because you might come out on a cold, snowy day, to find you're needing a jump or a cab ride home. Again, the UK is a place that pretty much stays 8-18C all year long. Just because you don't experience extreme weather (-10C winters and 30C Summers) etc, doesn't mean others will not. Notice OP is in New York in the USA.

By no means should he EVER risk setting his voltage to 12.0. Not only is it hell on a car battery, but it's also begging one to find their car won't start.
 
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Then why set it so low if you'll never need it @Nigel?
"So low" as what? I never specified any cutoff voltage!

If you are only using 1 hour parking mode then it won't matter.

If you are using 24 hour parking mode then it will make a difference, because if you leave the car all weekend then it will reach the cutoff voltage. The lower the cutoff voltage, the more use the battery will get, and all use of the battery wears it out slowly. If you don't mind paying for battery use then that isn't really an issue.

It will make a difference because you might come out on a cold, snowy day, to find you're needing a jump
If you genuinely live somewhere cold then I recommend getting an AGM battery, then you can use an 11.8 volt cutoff and still start in the cold.
A well worn standard battery is always going to struggle in serious cold.
 
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Yes i want to set mine to 12.2, though i will probably never get to use it thanks to the timer, but ! then it is ready if i some day down the line should need parking guard for a longer period, cuz i know from testing another camera that my small 2012 battery, well with 12.4 V cut off it can only do 3 hours or so or parking guard.

But with a new battery which i am shooting for ( and a bit larger ) + setting a lower 12.2 V cut off, my car should be able to do parking guard for the better part of a day if need be.
And with the cut off voltage set that low, i just had to change the timer to 24 hours.

Yes this winter though we only had a few days with sub zero temperatures my car did not feel as happy starting as it do now in summer temperatures. So i am sure my battery are on the way out, and i am also contemplating a AGM type battery.

I very much doubt i will ever need a long duration of parking guard, first off it is rare i park in a place where i would feel i need that, and even if so, i would probably not like to be there for long as i dont "enjoy" rubbing shoulders with my fellow Danes.
I am however a little paranoid i dont have a CCTV camera on my car any more when parked at home, the PTZ camera i had doing that broke a year ago and i have prioritized other things again and again since then.
 
"So low" as what? I never specified any cutoff voltage!

If you are only using 1 hour parking mode then it won't matter.

If you are using 24 hour parking mode then it will make a difference, because if you leave the car all weekend then it will reach the cutoff voltage. The lower the cutoff voltage, the more use the battery will get, and all use of the battery wears it out slowly. If you don't mind paying for battery use then that isn't really an issue.


If you genuinely live somewhere cold then I recommend getting an AGM battery, then you can use an 18 volt cutoff and still start in the cold.
A well worn standard battery is always going to struggle in serious cold.

There's zero benefit to OP setting it to 12.0. Whether it's one hour or 10 hours. Such a low limit is a recipe for disaster. What happens if OP forgets to turn off the camera during a cold wintry day? Guess what, the car won't start. New York isn't a balmy place in the winter and we're all human. So why even subject yourself to a possible problem? If OP is going to be parked an hour, and has a generally healthy battery, then 12.2 should be fine. If his battery is aged, then he'd never want 12.0 Volts from the get go.

Nothing you say really rationalizes why someone should use 12.0 other than "he can" and it's only an hour.
 
I used to park using the car's battery.
The OEM Panasonic batteries for some reason use pure silver anodes, so they can last 4-5 years.
However, the local batteries use impure silver anodes such that they are flat out lasting only 2 years.
An OEM Panasonic battery with pure silver anodes and 4-5 years life costs A$2,200, while a local battery that lasts only 2+ years costs only A$200.

I used to run parking mode off my OEM Panasonic battery, and after 1 year with parking mode and 2 years overall, the OEM Panasonic battery started to show signs of premature degradation.
Hence, I quickly purchased an Egen Cellink Neo LiFePO4 in all my cars, stashing them in my gloveboxes.
I ended up losing that OEM Panasonic battery prematurely after just 3 years.

My lesson is to only minimally use the car's battery for dashcam park recording.
Get a proper dedicated battery pack for dashcam park recording.
 
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I used to park using the car's battery.
The OEM Panasonic batteries for some reason use pure silver anodes, so they can last 4-5 years.
However, the local batteries use impure silver anodes such that they are flat out lasting only 2 years.
An OEM Panasonic battery with pure silver anodes and 4-5 years life costs A$2,200, while a local battery that lasts only 2+ years costs only A$200.

I used to run parking mode off my OEM Panasonic battery, and after 1 year with parking mode and 2 years overall, the OEM Panasonic battery started to show signs of premature degradation.
Hence, I quickly purchased an Egen Cellink Neo LiFePO4 in all my cars, stashing them in my gloveboxes.
I ended up losing that OEM Panasonic battery prematurely after just 3 years.

My lesson is to only minimally use the car's battery for dashcam park recording.
Get a proper dedicated battery pack for dashcam park recording.

Battery packs lose charge over time, too. @jokiin who is in charge of Street Guardian says he's seen these packs fail within 18 months to 2 years. And one of these packs easily set you back $450 AUD. So do the math. Buying a cheapie local battery @ $200 AUD and using it for park mode and say get 18 months. Or spending $450 AUD on a battery pack + $200 AUD on a car battery and still getting the same time frame.

I've never used a battery pack personally, but I trust @jokiin's opinion a lot. FYI, I've run two cameras in two different cars for over a year now and neither has had battery issues (A129 Duo). My car battery is 6 years old and still testing at around 12.5 volts with a camera using park mode. Recently, I hooked up 2nd one so that might have some affect. But either way, my Camera has been in operation since ~April / May 2019 with park mode and battery tests fine.
 
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have seen cases of the Cellink failing in that time, that's not to say it's common, as with any battery how it's used/charged/discharged will have a great impact on how long it ultimately lasts, for those that did give up early there was no info provided on the usage patterns
 
Battery packs lose charge over time, too. @jokiin who is in charge of Street Guardian says he's seen these packs fail within 18 months to 2 years. And one of these packs easily set you back $450 AUD. So do the math. Buying a cheapie local battery @ $200 AUD and using it for park mode and say get 18 months. Or spending $450 AUD on a battery pack + $200 AUD on a car battery and still getting the same time frame.

I've never used a battery pack personally, but I trust @jokiin's opinion a lot. FYI, I've run two cameras off two car batteries for over a year now and neither had issue. My car battery is 6 years old and still testing at around 12.5 volts with a camera using park mode. Actually I hooked up 2nd one so that might have some affect. But either way, my Camera has been in operation since ~April / May 2019 with park mode and battery tests fine.

You are right.
The car battery is considerably cheaper at only A$200 each, while the Egen Cellink Neo is about A$350 each, so it makes much more economic sense to use the vehicle's PbSO4 battery than a LiFePO4 battery pack in the glove box.
I bought my Cellink Neos brand new for less than A$300 because there was some special at the time, however they have been running since late-2017 fine.

After about a year, park recording off the vehicle's PbSO4, the engine startups were difficult, so we quickly switched to dedicated glovebox battery packs.
All depends how much park recording you do I guess.

It does cost a bit more, but everyone is different; we "personally" prefer the safety of separating the dashcam from the motor vehicle's battery pack for reliable engine starts.
Especially in Australia because local batteries in Australia are now ALL maintenance-free types nowadays.
In Australia, they have stopped making batteries with six removable caps to top up the water; this is a shame, because a bit of manual topping up with demineralised water can make the PbSO4 last so much longer, with less damage to the environment.
Because maintenance-free batteries are "sealed" so they can't be topped up with demineralised water - the battery's longevity is even more shortened, and is now down to as little as 2 years.
Just me only, but I am uncomfortable with parking dashcams compromising the already short maintenance-free battery life even further.
Nowadays, we personally have four (4) dashcams per vehicle too, including two StreetGuardian SG9663DR's on the rear door left and right vent fixed panes, and that really drains the battery while parking.

20200721_081633 2.jpg
 
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have seen cases of the Cellink failing in that time, that's not to say it's common, as with any battery how it's used/charged/discharged will have a great impact on how long it ultimately lasts, for those that did give up early there was no info provided on the usage patterns

Discharge and charging patterns do affect batteries. Unfortunately, a lot of people do short hops and jumps, so batteries never get a proper charge. A 20 minute Jaunt to the supermarket, and back home, is an inadequate charging pattern. So most people will see shortened lifespans with this type of driving. For those who spend more time on the road, battery packs might make more sense. As they'll get a proper charge before discharging.

At least that's how normal batteries work. I presume battery packs operate under the same pretense.
 
You are right.
The car battery is considerably cheaper at only A$200 each, while the Egen Cellink Neo is about A$350 each, so it makes much more economic sense to use the vehicle's PbSO4 battery than a LiFePO4 battery pack in the glove box.
I bought my Cellink Neos brand new for less than A$300 because there was some special at the time, however they have been running since late-2017 fine.

After about a year, park recording off the vehicle's PbSO4, the engine startups were difficult, so we quickly switched to dedicated glovebox battery packs.
All depends how much park recording you do I guess.

It does cost a bit more, but everyone is different; we "personally" prefer the safety of separating the dashcam from the motor vehicle's battery pack for reliable engine starts.
Especially in Australia because local batteries in Australia are now ALL maintenance-free types nowadays.
In Australia, they have stopped making batteries with six removable caps to top up the water; this is a shame, because a bit of manual topping up with demineralised water can make the PbSO4 last so much longer, with less damage to the environment.
Because maintenance-free batteries are "sealed" so they can't be topped up with demineralised water - the battery's longevity is even more shortened, and is now down to as little as 2 years.
Just me only, but I am uncomfortable with parking dashcams compromising the already short maintenance-free battery life even further.
Nowadays, we personally have four (4) dashcams per vehicle too, including two StreetGuardian SG9663DR's on the rear door left and right vent fixed panes, and that really drains the battery while parking.

View attachment 52716

:mad: My rant before I reply, sorry :mad:. I've got a 2015 Volvo S60, and a few years after I purchased the car new (maybe 2 years), some Son of a Bitch put a 15CM scratch deep into the clear coat on my rear passenger door. There's no buffing it out, and a repaint is the only true repair. It's the width of a paperclip with 2 parallel scratches, though only one is truly visible. Looks like a car door honestly, but can't really tell. Tried to match up a key or intentional damage, and I would think it'd be far more wavy and jagged.

My point here is people suck. I see every reason why you want cameras on your side door. I drive a 4 door sedan and there's no good way to mount a camera on the doors for a side view. As I can see in your photos, you've got a wire coming out of the floorboard / kick guard and into the door panel. I'm part of the beta test for the Zenfox T3 (interior cam) and I had high hopes, but those are dashed. When it works, an interior cam is nice, as least I can see out of the sides SOMEWHAT. Your methodology, while less clean, is far more effective.

My A129 Duo has already captured a new driver rear ending my car while I was stopped. So cameras make excellent proof. No He Said / She Said. Whip out video and the evidence speaks for itself. Honestly, and way above my technical skill set, the only true way to get side coverage is to drill a hole in the mirrors and mount an underside camera. This obviously requires removing the mirror housing, and on newer cars, there are electronics contained within them. I.E. I have blindspot sensors and folding mirrors. So I wouldn't risk this without someone experienced showing me the ropes. That being said, underside mirrors would be a proper way to side impact events.

OK now back to the main point:

You are right. It's really a matter of preference. Some cars don't have good fuse selections, so hardwiring may be difficult. And others feel more secure with a dedicated battery pack that can't interfere with onboard systems. There's really no right answer. It's all a matter of cost and preference.

I agree, I think most batteries are self contained these days. Don't know why companies have shied away from allowing owners to add demineralized water to extend out the life. Less wasteful on the environment, though car batteries often have a core charge, and do get recycled.
 
For the record, I have the cutoff voltage set to the highest setting of 12.4. My car battery died recently due to covid19's freeze on outside activity. I even tried to recharge the battery with a battery conditioner (NOCO genius10) but that was a bust. Having to jump the car with a battery pack for multiple errands is not fun. I have since replace the battery and have a device, plugged into the cigar plug, that gives me a display of the current voltage. Not sure how accurate it is but seems to be in the ballpark. Needless to say, I'm a little paranoid about my car's battery now. I've even wondered if solar panels can be used to keep the battery charged when parked.
 
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