I have a Epoch 4 flaw detector. Bought it as a used, sales demonstrator model almost 2 years ago. Love the UTFD except for one huge liability. The battery does not last very long. It came with the original battery and I also purchased a new backup battery. Neither last more than about 4 or 5 hours at most (usually less, sometimes not more than a couple of hours). The manufacturer's literature says they should last 7 hours (depending upon settings). Ni-MH batteries should not have a "memory" problem. I did not purchase a desk top recharger though so I can only charge the battery in the UTFD. The longer I have the UTFD, the shorter they seem to last. Fortunately, I work in a fabrication shop so I can plug the UTFD in, but then I have to drag one of the shops cords around. This condition would not be very good if I needed this UTFD in the field where extention cords were not readily available. Panametrics has been no help in finding an answer to this problem.

Does anyone else have an Epoch 4 and do you have battery life problems? Does a desk top charger provide a better charge for the battery than the built in charger does? I have searched online and found replacement batteries and desk top chargers, but did not know if I would be throwing away money with no real return.