I agree. I would rather have settings too low, than too high.
It is much easier to boost gain in post than it is to deal with clipping or overload.
My first time out I was way too conservative with my input settings. The waveform was minuscule when loaded into CEP2.
The recordings done at 10 Db less were nothing but a flat line, and unusable.
But since it was recorded at 24 bit, there is a lot more data to work with. Some compression, and a little amplification and things turned out just fine.
As a matter of fact, that second sample I posted above, was from that day of recording.
The next day out, I nudged the levels a bit higher, and things were great.
As for my batteries. That was well over a year ago, and they are still in the rotation, with no problems since then.
And I too usually get 5-6 hours recording from a set. Just when I do festivals, I like to swap them out about 2/3 of the way through the day. Just to be sure I don't push my luck.
As for my charger [shrug]. Not even sure what it is. It's so old that you can't read the stuff printed on it anymore.
I bought it 9 years ago when I got my first rechargeable batteries, and it has been a workhorse ever since then.
Between the recorder, and 2 digital cameras it gets a ton of use.