KingTermite 

OK....it's time to get some new rechargeable batteries. The new lighting I got is getting low (from original batteries that they came with). I pulled out my OLD Radio Shack rechargeable batteries and charger from about 8-10 years ago (probably hasn't been used in 4 years or more). It didn't even work.

So my question is this:

When looking for rechargeable batteries, are there any other things to consider besides milliamp-hours? Should I get get the highest rated ones of the type (AA and AAA) I can find? Or are there other things to consider?

NiCad? NiMH? Li-Ion (do they do standard battery sizes)?


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Additionally, is there a good charger you can recommend? It seems I'll need a new charger.

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jsharr

KT: not bike light related, but here is a pretty good review of AA batteries as they relate to digicams.

https://www.imaging-resource.com/ACCS/BATTS/BATTS.HTM

veganboyjosh

dekindy

The newest concept is the rechargeable hybrid. They come charged and ready to go so they do not require an initial charge. They also retain their charge better. Claimed loss when not in use is 20% over 6 months instead of historical 60% over the same time period. I am considering using them in my rear lights. Ray-o-vac has them and I am not sure who else. Go to rayovac.com and read about them. They can be used in any charger. I have a Rayovac PS3 charger and rechargeable batteries that were given to me and have worked well. I have not personally tried them yet.

diesel_dad

Hi,
Here is the definitive comparison of AA NiMH batteries:

NiMH Battery Shootout

As for a charger, I would recommend Maha C-9000 from Thomas Distributing.

jeff-o

I've heard great things about this charger as well. It even comes with batteries!

curveship

Nearly as good at half the cost is the La Crosse BC-900. The C-9000 is the macdaddy, but a little cumbersome in the UI.

I like Sanyo or Eneloop cells.

KingTermite 

Max charging current is 2000 mA. Does that mean it would not fully charge 2500mAh or 2700mAh batteries?


Same as above almost. It shows capacity of 2500mAh. Would it not fully charge the 2600 and 2700 mAh batteries?

paulrad9

With any technology, you have to ask, "what do you want to do". Slow discharge cells are great if the device sits idle more often than it's used, which may apply to a blinky which is used a few times a month. On the other hand, slow discharge cells don't seem to have the same capacity of regular NiMHs, so for a camera or other device which is used regularly and deplete the cells on only a few uses, regular NiMHs are the better option. Put another way:
Regular NiMHs: higher capacity but substantial self-discharge. Great for cameras or a headlight which you would charge at least 2x/month
Slow Discharege: lower capacity (maybe as much as 20-30% less) but little to no self-discharge. Great for blinkies and low power lights which you would normally replace after x months or so

paulrad9

The h in mAh is hours, so it can only charge that much capacity per hour. Using that 2,000mah charging current, it can charge a 6,000mah battery in about three hours

KingTermite 

OK....I knew it was for hours, but I wasn't sure if that was just a capacity or whether the rate was associated with the charging too.

Thanks for the explanation.

chtorr

That's exactly what I'm doing. I have the Rayovac Hybrids in my tail lights. The AAs are rated at 2100 and the AAAs are, I believe, rated at 800. For my headlights, which eat batteries much faster, I have 2650 Duracells. They self-discharge pretty fast, but that's not much of a factor when I have to recharge them at least after every other night ride.

flipped4bikes

+1 on the La Crosse BC-900. Refreshed my 3 year old Energizer 2300 maH NIMHs nicely. Also comes with C- and D-size adapters. Rechargeable hybrids are nice for their ability to retain charge long term, good for devices sitting around unused for awhile, like digital cameras. Currently limited to 2000 maH and more expensive than regular NIMHs.

Accordion

Get the Sanyo Eneloops. If you look at the reviews on Amazon you'll see tons of reviews of people that are extremely dissatisfied with their 2650mA Duracells, Energizer, etc. NiMh batteries. The 2000mA Eneloops are universally liked.

I like all the scientific reviews as much as the next guy, but a lot of the time I go to Amazon and read what 300 people just like me thought of their experience. A lot of them complained that the 2500-2650 new batteries lost their charge in three DAYS of non-use! They kept talking about a "bad batch" etc. I didn't want any part of that.

All I know is that I can ride for two hours a night with my NiMh Eneloops and I can carry four as spares without worrying about them losing their charge.

Good Luck!

flipped4bikes

I forgot to mention that the Energizer chargers suck. Buy a Maha or La Crosse charger, and they will maximize the performance of your batteries, Energizer, Eneloops, or otherwise.

diesel_dad

It will charge up to 20,000 mah. The charging rate is up to 2000 ma. The recommended charge rate is between 0.5C and 1.0C -- which means that you would charge a 2700 mah battery at somewhere between 1400 and 2000 ma with a Maha. My preference is a lower rate since it seems to get a full charge.

diesel_dad

Eneloops seem great but they do have less capacity than other cells. If you are going to use them frequently, then other cells are fine. If they will sit for a long time or be used infrequently, then low discharge batteries like Eneloops are great.

socalrider

I have found the Duracell 2650's to be rock solid.. I have had mixed results with the energizers..

diff_lock2

I think Rc grade stuff is great. Get a sub c pack, they can really handle large current draws. Same for the charger, Rc grade stuff, programable, and everything. Ultimatly though li tech is what you should get if you can. Edit: looks like you only want aa's.

curveship

That's a really good point, but I have to say, I think the LSD (low self-discharge) batteries are better even in the two cases you mention, headlights and cameras. Especially in cameras. I get ~200 shots out of 2xAAs in my digital camera, which takes me about 3 months. Except that regular NiMHs self-discharge in a month or less. So the LSDs give me 3 times the life before recharging. For headlights, I get about 2h20 out of a set of 2000mAh Eneloops, verses 3h10 from regular 2600mAh NiMHs. But all my rides are in the 1h30-2h range, so I don't need the extra duration. And the LSD batteries have a greater chance of not going completely dead and refusing to take a charge after they sit idle all summer, when I'm not night riding.

freako

There we go, two different tests with two different results for each battery brand. This proved my fears that one of two things is going on, either the same brand batteries with the same amh rating were made slightly different from each other by factory error or inconsistency, or one set of test batteries sat in a warehouse longer then another set.

rm -rf

This has worked for me so far:
4 Duracell 2650 $10.99
Energizer CHDC7 mini charger $10.49

Maybe a fancier charger would top off the Duracells for a bit longer run time. But I got over 3 hours run time on my Dinotte 200L with this setup. It takes 6-7 hours to recharge, so it works overnight.

I may get a set of Eneloops to carry as a spare battery pack, since I'll rarely use it, and the Eleloops will hold their charge for weeks or months.

edzo

I have energizer 2650mah batteries that were absolute crap in a digicam (they died fast, didn't last much when not in use) but they last forever powering my dinotte 140l taillight (I get the expected runtimes easily)

so....some batteries are better in certain devices I reckon. I use an energizer charger with them that can sense delta

flipped4bikes

My Energizer NIMHs are very much like the bunny in my Nikon flash, they keep going and going. I popped them in my new Canon PowerShot and they would barely last ten shots. I got a La Crosse charger and now they work great in the Canon also!

Last night I put them in my La Crosse charger after running them through a discharge refresh. Charging them at 200 maH, 3 of them took a charge of 300 maH, the fourth up to 700 maH. These batteries are 2300 maH and were sitting around for 4 days. I put in a second set this morning, and two were reporting to still be full after their last charge two days ago.

What does this mean? Get quality batteries AND a quality charger. Batteries of the same batch will each perform differently, and a good charger will minimize those performance differences.

edzo

wow the history channel had modern marvels last night
and it was about BATTERIES

I almost came