You dont want to be playing though when the solonoids not getting the right power though and loosing performance, we all change ours at 3/4 power especially if your playing in the cold. Some of the boys use rechargables too with no side effects so it wont cost you an arm and a leg if you chose that route.no, every time its really low or starts to skip shots, no need to change it every time it gets 3/4