Right, yes exactly.
Accordion turned on + charging = not good.
Accordion turned on + charging = not good.
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FR8 Battery Storage
- Thread starter cestjeffici
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- fr8 fr8x roland fr8x
cestjeffici
Active member
So, I removed the battery from my FR8 and put it some place safe incase it caught on fire. 8 weeks later I can't remember where it is! I've searched everywhere. Lucky for me I ordered a spare battery with the FR8 so I'm good to play but it's really annoying to not remember where I put the original battery!
Rodney
Active member
Serendipity! My new Roland FR-8x is due to arrive in 10 days and I was wondering about the battery.
I'm 77 and had to give up playing clarinet due to no longer being able to maintain my embouchure (seal my mouth to the mouthpiece correctly). I'm content to play at home as a hobbyist so my plan was to connect the battery as per the manual but use the mains to power my accordion and not switch on the battery. I'm an 'unplug when not in use' person, where electricity is concerned, so thanks for the advice to disconnect when not playing for a week or so, I'll try not to get too OCD on this!
Now I wonder whether I'd be better advised to adopt a different practice.
I'm 77 and had to give up playing clarinet due to no longer being able to maintain my embouchure (seal my mouth to the mouthpiece correctly). I'm content to play at home as a hobbyist so my plan was to connect the battery as per the manual but use the mains to power my accordion and not switch on the battery. I'm an 'unplug when not in use' person, where electricity is concerned, so thanks for the advice to disconnect when not playing for a week or so, I'll try not to get too OCD on this!
Now I wonder whether I'd be better advised to adopt a different practice.
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Rodney
Active member
Can the FR8x be used without a battery, i.e. powered by mains electricity, without harming the accordion? In the User Manual, it says that the battery should be installed correctly before using the accordion for the first time?
cestjeffici
Active member
A couple of things:
I wouldn't take the battery out of the FR8 if I was only going to be away for a week or two. I was gone for 9 weeks.
The connector for the battery seems wobbly and I'd rather disturb it as little as possible.
After conducting a square inch by square inch search of a 3,000 square foot house I found my FR8 battery!
I wouldn't take the battery out of the FR8 if I was only going to be away for a week or two. I was gone for 9 weeks.
The connector for the battery seems wobbly and I'd rather disturb it as little as possible.
After conducting a square inch by square inch search of a 3,000 square foot house I found my FR8 battery!
Rodney
Active member
Thank you, I usually practiced my clarinet every day, and I don't expect anything to be different once I've settled back into my normal routine but it does feel a bit like waiting for Christmas for my FR8X PA to be delivered.
I'm sure you were happy to find it, are the batteries expensive to replace?
I'm sure you were happy to find it, are the batteries expensive to replace?
cestjeffici
Active member
It was about $240 US from Kraft. There is probably a less costly alternative. It just seemed convenient to order it with the accordion.
Rodney
Active member
Thanks Jeff, that's good to know.
Personally, I wouldn't go overboard on removing the battery unless you don't plan on playing it for a very long time. The important thing is don't let it go dead and then leave it in the accordion. You can always check the status of your battery. When you first turn it on,, pull the the Roland power supply plug out of the jack at the bottom of the 8X. There will be a "battery status" icon at the top of the screen. The color will be green, orange, or red. The battery color goes from green to orange at 25.40 Volts. A fully charged battery is around 28 V.
Here's a some data on two batteries I bought new for my 8X in 2020. I checked them at the beginning of this year. The voltage on one battery was 25.44 V and the other was at 25.39 V. This is after 3 years! I fully charged them and put them in back in storage..
Here's a some data on two batteries I bought new for my 8X in 2020. I checked them at the beginning of this year. The voltage on one battery was 25.44 V and the other was at 25.39 V. This is after 3 years! I fully charged them and put them in back in storage..
Rodney
Active member
Thanks John, that's very interesting information that will give me a best practice. Is it okay to run the FR8x powered solely by mains electricity while the battery is turned off after it has been fully charged, i.e. would doing that harm the instrument or battery in some way?
I guess I don't know exactly what you mean by "battery turned off". The battery should always be in the 8X when you are using it. I'm not sure, but I don't think you ever want to power the 8X solely by mains electricity with the battery removed. You may damage some of the 8X electronics. The 8X was designed to always have the battery installed. Basically this is what I do. When I am playing for myself at home, I use the "mains". When I play out I always use the battery. If you never play away, I would still play the 8X on battery power and periodically charge it.
Another important note that JerryPH said some time ago. Don't charge your battery and have the 8X power turned ON. The manual says you can do it, but you are pushing the power supply in the 8X to the maximum and there have been instances of a failure of the power supply board. Either power your 8X from the mains or charge the 8X battery. Don't do both simultaneously.
As I said earlier, I would leave the battery in the 8X and be sure it doesn't get completely discharged. You're getting close when the battery "icon" on the screen goes Red. Look how long some of those 8X's have been sitting on the shelf waiting to be sold. I don't think the battery was taken out of your 8X and just installed before shipping. I don't know -- I've never been in sales. What I would do when you get your new 8X is: -- Turn it on with no "mains" and see what color the battery icon is -- Green, Orange, or Red. You will then know the status of you battery and can go from there.
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Rodney
Active member
I think perhaps I wasn't clear enough but please understand I haven't got my 8X yet and have only seen videos and some specifications documents. As I understand it, the 8X has two lights, one light to show when using mains and the other when using battery. From a little research, I know it's not good to use mains and battery at the same time. My question was 'if the battery is fully charged' is it okay to turn the battery off and use the mains supply only. Sorry for any confusion.
You do not turn the battery Off. You plug in the Roland power supply to the mains (AC voltage). The output of the Roland supply (24 VDC) has a plug that goes into the bottom of the 8X. When you insert the plug, the 8X automatically switches from Battery power to your mains power (converted to 24 VDC). So you can't "turn the battery off". The 8X goes off battery when you plug in the mains. There is only 1 light on the screen that shows battery charge automatically shows a "mains" plug when you are on mains power.
Don't get confused about using mains power and battery power at the same time. It is impossible to do this with the 8X.
I think the two lights you are talking about is the Blue power light/switch and the Red Battery charge light/switch. These are the two lights/switches that you should not have energized at the same time for fear of overloading the power supply.
Don't get confused about using mains power and battery power at the same time. It is impossible to do this with the 8X.
I think the two lights you are talking about is the Blue power light/switch and the Red Battery charge light/switch. These are the two lights/switches that you should not have energized at the same time for fear of overloading the power supply.
Rodney
Active member
Thank you for explaining it so clearly John, I'll put that particular worry in the trash bin!
Good! Glad I could help.
Hi All, I regularly let my battery fully discharge (i.e. I play until it is near Red) before fully charging to hopefully extend its life.
So that I know how long I have left to play live before plugging the power pack in (with speaker on), does anyone know how long the battery will last when it goes Yellow?
So that I know how long I have left to play live before plugging the power pack in (with speaker on), does anyone know how long the battery will last when it goes Yellow?
Dingo40
Been here for ages!
This reminds me a little of the episode in "Seinfeld"where Kramer and the car salesman try to see how far they can drive the demonstration vehicle with the fuel gauge showing empty!
We all learn something new every day from this wonderful Forum..................
Yes it can be.
The issue is that if the battery is lost and gets depleted down to nothing, the internals sulfate and that battery becomes junk, kind of like that battery that isn't replaced in your TV remote that is rarely used. Even if storing it for long times, give it a full charge once every couple months or so to keep it alive.
Nope, its no problem to play it without a battery long term or short term, it won't harm a thing. The thing is all about the battery and preserving it if it is not in use inside or outside the accordion. Wost case scenario is to leave the battery in the accordion and its not used for a long period... the battery sulfates, and the acid fumes attack the electronics. This can cause ALL KINDS of intermittent or permanent issues that would be a BEAR to try to trace down and resolve.
