Game camera external battery box

When running game cameras I always got tired of running out and buying batteries. Or showing up and the camera is dead, then go get batteries and how many pictures did we miss. So figuring on battery run times was what I did all the time for fire systems. I know 8 batteries in series is 12v and a AA battery is 2.5 ah or (amp hours) . So if I get a 7ah rechargeable battery and plug it into the camera it is going to run three times as long.

So I go shopping on Amazon for waterproof boxes and they have these plastic ammo boxed from Plano pretty cheap at $6.99 each. So I bought two for making up battery backs.

Then I bought these 2.1mm x 5.5mm extension cables and this pack comes with two cables. The male end fits the Moultrie cameras and the female end gets cut off. Some are a bit tight and a few I shave the plastic a hair to fit in the Moultrie housing.

Next are waterproof glands. I would prefer ones just a bit tighter, but these work and were the smallest I could find. I got 10 of these for about $6.50, so $.65 for each box.

I drilled a hole in the box under the handle so it would act like a rain shield. When placing it in the field make a drip loop from the box. When the cable exits the box it should sag down before going up to the camera. This will make water run away from the WP connector and to the ground. If water stacks up on the cable at the connector it will start leaking through. I also tied a knot in the cable inside to prevent it from being pulled and stressing the battery connections..

The female connector gets cut off, the insulation and wires stripped. These wires are delicate, so be gentle. Then I twist the wire and bend it over and insert it in to Staycon disconnect fittings. The link shows the male and female connections, but you only need the female to slip on the battery and it already has the male tab. A pinch of dielectric grease in each of these would help keep the connections from corroding if it gets moist in the box at all.

Now it is ready to get a battery inserted and I could use a bit of card board folded and taped to keep the battery from sliding around when moved. I use these 12v 7ah SLA types of batteries. If it is around a lot of heat sitting in the sun you can use one of these VSLA batteries. You can get slightly better prices by going to your local battery store. Batteries typically last 5 years. You can get 6 to 7 or more out of them at a reduced charge. Your 7ah battery might only work as a 5.5ah or 5 ah and only last 6 month instead of 9 or 10 month.

Above is some card board from an Amazon box cut folded and taped to prevent the battery from sliding around in the truck or on the 4 wheeler.

If you want to know how old your battery is, look at the top if it. The date should be melted into is as 20190415 or 190415 Showing it was made on April 15th, 2019. Year, month and then day. Open the picture above ina new tab and zoom in on it. It is stamped HLVN181130. SO it was made November 30th, 2018.

Enjoy!