Author Topic: Rechargeable batteries (Read 2339 times)

Balog · « **on:** July 25, 2011, 07:40:08 PM »

Looking to get set up with some rechargeable batteries for the flashlights etc. Seems like I mostly see them in AA/AAA sizes: do they make rechargeable D cells? Are they worth it? Any brands people think well of, either for the cells themselves or for chargers?

CNYCacher · « **Reply #1 on:** July 25, 2011, 07:53:06 PM »

Quote from: Balog on July 25, 2011, 07:40:08 PM

Looking to get set up with some rechargeable batteries for the flashlights etc. Seems like I mostly see them in AA/AAA sizes: do they make rechargeable D cells? Are they worth it? Any brands people think well of, either for the cells themselves or for chargers?

http://www.amazon.com/Tenergy-Capacity-Rechargeable-68-cell-battery/dp/B001B2R0Z4

Check the "Frequently Bought Together" for a matching charger.

ETA: Check the "Customers who bought this also frequently bought" Section for some laughs. :)

GigaBuist · « **Reply #2 on:** July 25, 2011, 08:08:45 PM »

I'm a pretty big dork about these things. You can read my big write-up here: http://www.justinbuist.org/blog/2011/01/21/battery-blogging/

And yes, they do make D cell NiMH batteries. They typically hold 9,000-10,00mAh of a charge. Your best AA cells will hold about 2500-2700mAh charges. One option, and I've never done this because we have next to nothing that takes D cells, is to buy a "sizer" that lets you put an AA cell into a D cell-sized space. Works the same, it'll only last 1/3rd as long though.

It does simply the chargers though as most of them out there do AA and AAA cells only. It gets expensive if you want a good one that can do C and D cells. So, I'd never bother with it personally.

vaskidmark · « **Reply #3 on:** July 25, 2011, 08:11:02 PM »

As mentioned, AA to D size adapters are out there. An example http://www.dealextreme.com/p/soshine-2xaa-to-d-size-cell-battery-converter-case-2-pack-7031 (not that I've used that brand).

And as mentioned, they do need recharging frequently, but that's why you buy scads of NiMh AAs.

stay safe.

lee n. field · « **Reply #4 on:** July 25, 2011, 08:24:07 PM »

Quote from: CNYCacher on July 25, 2011, 07:53:06 PM

http://www.amazon.com/Tenergy-Capacity-Rechargeable-68-cell-battery/dp/B001B2R0Z4

Check the "Frequently Bought Together" for a matching charger.

ETA: Check the "Customers who bought this also frequently bought" Section for some laughs. :)

Afore I look, Amazon sells sex toys?

(Oh my goodness. What the heck is that?)

GigaBuist · « **Reply #5 on:** July 25, 2011, 08:28:46 PM »

Quote from: lee n. field on July 25, 2011, 08:24:07 PM

Afore I look, Amazon sells sex toys?

They do, but I don't recommend NiMH batteries for them unless you either:

a) Use it very often, or,
b) Get the Low Self-Discharge (LSD, aka Pre-Charged) kind that don't deplete themselves when not in use.

Also, their lower voltage, compared to alkaline, means you'll get less "whir" out of them. This may or may not be noticeable to the end user.

Ben · « **Reply #6 on:** July 25, 2011, 08:30:38 PM »

Hopefully without sending Balog's thread on too much of a tangent, any of you battery geeks know anything about CR123 chargers? I was looking around on Amazon, and the reviews are incredibly mixed. Also there was talk that in some cases they can blow the bulbs on expensive Surefires etc?

I have a LaCross BC-700 charger for AAA and AA NIHMs and it's truly the bomb.

MillCreek · « **Reply #7 on:** July 25, 2011, 08:32:55 PM »

I have had very good luck with the Sanyo Eneloop battery kits from Costco. The one I got has C and D cell size adapters.

bedlamite · « **Reply #8 on:** July 25, 2011, 08:41:51 PM »

I've given up on the alkaline size cells and gone completely to li-ion

18650 batteries:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/trustfire-18650-3-7v-2500mah-rechargeable-lithium-batteries-2-pack-19770
Charger:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/18650-digital-battery-charger-3499
Some light:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire-wf501b-cree-q2-180-lumen-white-led-flashlight-with-strap-2-16340-1-18650-47662
Lotsa light:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire-th-t60-ha-ii-xm-lt60-5-mode-1200-lumen-white-led-flashlight-with-strap-1-x-18650-57007

GigaBuist · « **Reply #9 on:** July 25, 2011, 08:42:02 PM »

Quote from: Ben on July 25, 2011, 08:30:38 PM

Hopefully without sending Balog's thread on too much of a tangent, any of you battery geeks know anything about CR123 chargers? I was looking around on Amazon, and the reviews are incredibly mixed. Also there was talk that in some cases they can blow the bulbs on expensive Surefires etc?

I don't know anything about then but if you can find a review by N. Lee the Engineer on Amazon about a rechargeable battery product I'd take his word on it. He's all over the NiMH stuff. I could swear he does nothing but play with batteries based on the number of, and depth of, his reviews.

birdman · « **Reply #10 on:** July 25, 2011, 08:57:17 PM »

Rechargeable cr123 are called rcr123. There are a variety of cells available, with very mixed reviews as the voltages are dissimilar to cr123 in many cases, and they can damage some devices. For instance, all say expressly not to use them in surefire lights. I've looked into it, and given the results and reviews, have stuck with non rechargeable for cr123, and nimh for AA. I only use cr123 for my surefire weapon lights, where the on-time is (hopefully) low, and AA for all my normal lights.

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #11 on:** July 25, 2011, 09:50:18 PM »

Rechargeables are the way to go if you use the flashlights, or whatever device, often. If you store them for long periods of time, not so much. Rechargeables will self-discharge over time, even Li-Ion. For long term storage, especially for emergency use, alkalines are much better. An LED flashlight (or multiples, in my case) filled with alkalines, and with a couple of spare sets of batteries set aside just in case, is a great "emergency stash" setup. Even the really bright LED flashies will last tens of hours (sometimes hundreds) on low power, vs three or four hours for incandescents. Storage life on alkalines is a couple of years but be sure to rotate on at least a bi-annual basis just to be on the safe side.

If you want a killer good reachargeable flashlight setup it's hard to beat the rechargeable MagLite. Got one for Dad a couple years ago and it's darned impressive. It's bright enough and the beam so focuseable that it can be used for a modestly effective spotlight if needed. A little pricey though, but not bad compared to other quality flashies on the market.

Brad

bedlamite · « **Reply #12 on:** July 25, 2011, 10:02:09 PM »

Brad is right, they discharge with long term storage, but I use them often enough it's not a problem. I should have mentioned I also keep several CR123 batteries stashed in various places.

Hawkmoon · « **Reply #13 on:** July 25, 2011, 10:05:17 PM »

I've gone from alkaline to NiCAD to NiMH for camera use. Regular alkalines work fine in the camera, but the bettery life (especially if you use the flash) is horrible. NiCADs looked promising because they're rechargable, but I'd charge up a set of batteries and a set of spares, set the camera aside for a couple or three weeks ... and the batteries would be dead when I wanted to take a photo. Didn't matter if they were cheap Chinese "no name" batteries or cheap Chinese with a well-known American brand name.

NiMH has been my salvation. The battery life when using the camera is far better than either alkalines or NiCADs, and the shelf life is far better than NiCADs. I can carry a digital point-n-shoot in the car for weeks at a time now, and be reasonably sure that I'll be able to take a picture if I need one.

GigaBuist · « **Reply #14 on:** July 25, 2011, 10:13:08 PM »

Quote from: Brad Johnson on July 25, 2011, 09:50:18 PM

Rechargeables are the way to go if you use the flashlights, or whatever device, often. If you store them for long periods of time, not so much. Rechargeables will self-discharge over time, even Li-Ion.

There's some truth to this, but the LSD NiMH batteries should retain something on the order of 85% of their charge after being in storage for 6 months. That's not bad. You'd just have to remember to toss the pile back on the charger every time you change on and off of daylight savings.

That is, assuming you never use them.

For me the answer is to just use NiMH everywhere. This way I know I've always got a working set of AA's in my Bluetooth mouse, 3 XBOX controllers, a few Wii controllers, a smattering of kid's electronic toys, the TV remote controls, etc.

And I usually keep four extras in my Targus wall charger.

I do keep flashlights stored with alkalines in them, but the plan is to just use them long enough to find the NiMH batteries and swap them out. I'd rather burn through the NiMH stuff in a power outage because I can just recharge them with the car's alternator and an AC inverter.

sanglant · « **Reply #15 on:** July 26, 2011, 06:24:22 PM »

NiMH batteries also have the advantage of making what ever (non-regulated)light you stick them in brighter. to the point some smaller lights will overheat with them.

oh, and if you're willing to let go of the cash the computerized chargers are sweet.

this was my first set of LSD NiMH batteries, was a buck and change more then just the batteries and the charger works fine as long as you don't need to charge one or three at a time.

because my main light is a 3AA, i've since upgraded to this thing.

in both cases the prices have went up at least 5 bucks, and i bet you can get better now.

Perd Hapley · « **Reply #16 on:** July 26, 2011, 11:53:10 PM »

Quote from: GigaBuist on July 25, 2011, 08:28:46 PM

They do, but I don't recommend NiMH batteries for them unless you either:

a) Use it very often, or,
b) Get the Low Self-Discharge

There's a joke in there somewhere, I'm just not sure what it is, or if I want to make it.

sanglant · « **Reply #17 on:** July 27, 2011, 12:15:28 AM »

i went with, i just ordered some LSDs, but that's just me.

Bogie · « **Reply #18 on:** July 27, 2011, 08:36:43 PM »

I've got a little Coleman flashlight, works great, runs forever... Three AAAs... I need to find a small flashlight that takes AAs... Have tonzo them.

Also, if you get a "prosumer" digital SLR camera, some enterprising HongKong folks are making battery grips that you can stuff a half-dozen AAs in... Shoot all night long...

News:

Author Topic: Rechargeable batteries (Read 2339 times)