Rechargeable AAAs in headlamp???

“I have an Energizer charger that can do both AA and AAA batteries. Does anyone use the rechargeable AAAs in headlamps? Wondering if it would be worth making the purchase? Would they last a similar length as non-rechargeable batteries? Thanks!”

“Maybe the tech has improved in the last few years, but I never had a whole lot of luck with rechargables.
I never had any last as long as a good regular one.”

“I just use lithiums - those suckers last forever!”

“Not saying they do not work at all, it was just more trouble for me.
To get the best use from them, I had to have them recharged 'fresh'. By that I mean, right out of the charger into whatever I was taking on the trip.
Most rechargables I used lost their charge if I let them sit without charging between trips.”

“Me too, BowlderMan, but I'm not trying to save money so much as I used to.”

“lithiums all the way but they are darn expensive (worth it for the lifetime). they get great performance in cold weather.

but if you must use rechargeables then use NiCads. NiCads have better cold weather performance than NiMh and while NiCads have battery memory they do not "leak" like NiMh. So they don't last as long (you can't recharge them as many times) but as long as you fully drain them before you recharge them then NiCads last a long time. NiMh battery leak is awful and your batteries drain even if they are not being used.”

“Interesting! I use the NiMh AA batteries for my camera at work, where paying for lithiums all the time would be nuts! (That said, I remember the initial lithiums that came with it lasted for most all my trip out west this summer and umpteen photos!!)

I had two sets of Energizer NiMhs. I usually do NOT let them totally run down before recharging, just because I don't want them to give out at some important event I'm covering. If that wears down a little on battery life, so be it.

I was going to say that on the headlamps, as Stovey alluded to, I could live with having to charge them before each trip. It seems the most I do is weekends. If I had a longer trip I could take spares or do lithiums. The cold weather performance aspect mentioned by Jimmy San is interesting.

To buy a 4-set of NiMh AAAs was around $17-$18 at Wally World. I'm thinking maybe it's areound $5 something, but I can't recall if that is for possibly 8 AAA lithiums?”

“So you have your answer. ;-)
They can work but YOU have to work to make them work. ;-)”

“Solar charger, numbered batteries, a log and you've got a game. when you have MP3s, cameras, headamps, etc., then maybe the human energy offsets the time and hassle.
Did I mention the higher food bill?”

“I forgot about the cold weather capabilities of the lithiums. When I was in Yosemite a couple weekends ago with temps around zero or a little below, the ol' camera fired right up without any problem, even though the camera was just sitting out inside the tent (i.e., not in a sleeping bag).”

“Does the type of battery affect the brightness of the headlamp?”

“BowlderMan, ya hoping a bear is gonna wander by, unzip your tent, growl "Surprise!" and get a photo of you as you awake in horror?? heh”

“I've been thinking about trying rechargeables. I cringe every time I throw a battery away. Same as liz, we use them here at work in the cameras.

So, if I'm using the NiMH batteries and I don't run them all the way down before switching them out, am I damaging their performance?

What about the Nikon Li-ions?”

“my headlamps are much brighter with lithiums.

lithiums deliver consistant curretn but when they die there is very little tapering... they just quit. They also weight a lot less than other batteries (my main reason for using them while backpacking).

NiMh batteries to not have battery memory so you do not have to use them up before oyu recharge them like NiCad batteries. They do "leak" meaning that if you charge them they lose their power over time even if you don't use them. They don't perform well in cold weather.

NiCad batteries don't "leak" but have battery memory. If you don't use them up before you recharge them they will hold less and less power with each use. This has to do with crystals forming on the inside of the terminal or something like that. Anyway, they do get decent cold weather performance and as long as you run them down all the way before you recharge them they will work fairly well. A lot of battery chargers "condition" NiCad batteries meaning they try to help you squeeze as much life out of the batteries as possible. Now if they would only do this with my cordless phone batteries or electric toothbrush...”

“indiana john- look for recycling. My office takes all batteries for recycling, so I bring all of my batteries in.

jimmy san hit on one of the benefits of lithium for backpacking - they weigh half as much as alkalines, and while they do cost twice as much as alkalines, they last 3 times longer. Your total use per $ is better with lithium. They are great for smoke detectors, too. You can go 3 times longer, or you have a saftey factor if you stick to the normal 6-month schedule.”

“Very good discussion. Thanks, I was unclear on whether you had to run the NiMhs totally down before recharging to get best performance. You clarified Jimmy San, my man, lover of Seafoam Sophia! ;-)”

“lithiums deliver consistant curretn but when they die there is very little tapering... they just quit. They also weight a lot less than other batteries (my main reason for using them while backpacking).

Jimmy san, this is what I would say about re-chargeables. I use re-chargables most of the time because that is the eco-friendly thing to do, but lithium for backpacks/campouts because they last longer.”

“if you burn your spent lithium batteries in a campfire they go down to almost nothing like beer cans.”

“hmmmmmmmmmmm, is that a good and/or safe thing to do? putting heavy metals into a campfire? into a campfire ring? rains will leach that into the groundwater eventually, no?”

“Pam, I think Jimmy's messing with you ;)”

“Please recycle!”

“So how about the rechargable Lithium Ion battery pack for my Nikon Camera. I read the literature that came with them and it doesn't say anything about draining them before charging them.

I seem to remember that when I worked at the paper, the larger battery packs for the Nikon D series cameras had chargers that drained the batteries before they recharged?”

“no, really, there is nothing left. i have looked and only the endcaps remain.”

“Ha! Lizs! Funny!”

“and landfills with spent batteries and make the right decision for the earth and stop worrying if you have the brightest headlamp in camp. I hardley ever use my headlamp any more and have had the same set of nimh's in my headlamp for almost a year. Its bright enough to see with and it certainly isn't the brightest in camp, but so what...plus its less expensive and green.”

“Hey, Lizs!

I use Energizer NiMH AAA for my headlamp. I switched to them so I could start with a fresh charge before a night hike. They don't last as long as regular batteries, but its worth it to me. Between my mp3 player at work and my headlamp, the batteries have been recharged countless times and still do pretty well.”

“Hey T Mac,

So how long do they last? And typically how long might you have the headlight on per trip day?”

“only thing bad about recharbles is the cost and they are discharging all the time whether you are using them or not”

“Actually, lithium batteries are very environmentally friendly. Lithium is not a heavy metal (atomic number=3) and in fact is the lightest metal in existence.

Here is a real scam for 'ya. So you can buy rechargeable NiCad batteries with "memory" or you can buy NiMh batteries that "leak" and both of them are made with toxic heavy metals, but you can't buy a rechargeable environmentally friendly lithium-ion rechargeable AAA battery, only camcorder/camera/cell phone batteries.

Gee, I wonder why? Someone overseas is going to see a huge market here and clean up in a single sweep that will destroy the battery market in the US. It's another example of how a market that is supposed to compete to produce better products for consumers actually works within itself to suppress innovation and consumer choice.”

“Hmm, hard to say how long they'd last, since I've never drained them in the headlamp. Its no problem for a day or two's use in my LED headlamp, but then I recharge them for next time. They don't need recharging, I just do it to be safe.”

“see, if you could buy aa or aaa lithium-ion batteries (like cell phone batteries) you would never have to buy a battery again. zero battery memory, no battery leak. no more batteries in the landfill, environmentally friendly.

there is no technical reason why this can't be done.

there is more money to be made by NOT offering this option to people and continuing to sell "imperfect" rechargeable battery solutions so that the alkaline (read heavy metal laden disposable) battery market flourishes. disposable lithium batteries are the industries salvation because they are a) disposable (a consumable like toothpaste) and b) environmentally friendly. so over time watch lithiums because it's the way the industry is going to push people so it can avoid collapsing.

if i found a supplier that sold rechargeable li-ion batteries in A, AAA, C, D, and 9-volt sizes I would buy a crate of them. good luck... all you will find are weird voltage and sized camcorder and camera batteries.”

“I use Sanyo rechargeables in my Brinkman LED headlamp. I also use them my camera. Both devices have always had more than enough juice in even the coldest of weather for me. I bring an extra set and only used them toward the end of my IR trip this past August.”

“This sparks a lovely flashback.

You probably don't remember those gizmos that were being sold to recharge regular batteries (it's been a While)...

Well, I got one and had no problems with it for about half a year. The charge didn't last very long, but it seemed to work ok. You don't see them anymore and I know why...

Also, do you remember those big honking headlamps with the rubber headband (again, from the Dark Ages) that either held 4 AAs or a single D-cell? Well, I was at a pull-out on Skyline Drive in Shenendoah rooting through some stuff in the dark and BANG!!

One of those recharged alkalines had a blowout -- while it was attached to the back of my head! LOL!!

It went off like a .22 --- my GF freaked out -- she thought I'd been shot.”

“Jimmy San check this out

http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category;=740[url]”

“One of those recharged alkalines had a blowout -- while it was attached to the back of my head! LOL!! - tilt



See? I'm being nice and not commenting on this golden opportunity to make a mean smarta$$ comment on Non Fuego threads. ;-)”

“Those are super cool BUT look at the voltages... 3.7 or 3.6 volts. A AAA or AA battery is 1.2 volts. So each of these is the same voltage as three batteries in serial.”

“Not only do I use rechargeable batteries in everything, but I have a really quick charger (Panasonic BQ-390) AND you can totally restart dead rechargeable batteries by zapping them with something bigger- check out this contractor talk forum for how to do it:
http://www.contractortalk.com/showthread.php?t=4965

That means you never have to buy batteries again, unless you lose them!

- Brian
http://outdoor-gear-news.blogspot.com”

“actually, thinking about this...

my petzl headlamp is the zippka and it uses three AAA batteries. with a little work I could easily make it run off of one of these suckers. it would be 30% less weight from batteries. i only wonder what the lifetime would me. 300 mAh is like 1/4th of the capacity of a standard disposable lithium so I would think it would produce light for 1/4 the amount of time for 1/3 the amount of weight.”

“whoops, worse than that. 3600 mAh for 3 batteries down to 300 mAh ... 1/10th the juice for 1/3 the weight. prolly not worth the solder job.”

“I thought this sounded cool as a packpacking application. I can see it trickling down to a headlamp/gps/steripen type combo or the like...

New Cell Phone Charger Turns Water into Electricity

TechNewsDaily Contributor
LiveScience.com Michelle Bryner

A palm-sized fuel cell that turns water into electricity aims to make wall outlets a thing of the past for charging up your cell phone.

Being off the grid, or away from an AC outlet, used to mean you couldn't charge your phone or other personal electronic devices. But a new device called the H3 charger aims to simplify on-the-go charging.

Developed by Stockholm-based myFC, the H3 charger relies on portable fuel cells and is set for commercial release in Scandinavia in December, before making its way to a wider market including the United States some time in 2011. It will cost approximately $40 to $50.

About the size of a sandwich, the rectangular-shaped charger houses a so-called proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. Like other fuel cells, the H3 chemically reacts hydrogen - stored in containers the company calls "tea bags" - and oxygen from the air at opposite electrodes to create electricity.

Until now, however, most PEM power devices were too bulky to carry around because they contained stacked fuel cells. To prevent the device from overheating while distributing the hydrogen and oxygen throughout the stack, conventional designs required extra components such as compressors and pumps, which take up space and consume energy.

The fuel cells within the H3 charger don't require these extra components because they aren't stacked vertically atop one another. Instead, they are connected side-by-side using adhesives. Also, a specially designed membrane efficiently spreads the hydrogen throughout the device without pumps.

Out in the Wilderness

To use the H3, users carry the charger plus a few tea bags fuel packets containing hydrogen fuel.

When it's time to charge up, "the only thing that you do out there in the archipelago or the forest is pour water into the reaction chamber and at the same time put a tea bag into that compartment and close it and off you go," said myFC CEO Bj�rn Westerholm.

The chemical reaction that takes place between the water and the fuel pellets produces hydrogen, which moves up into the fuel cell to produce electricity.

The power produced can be used immediately - just connect your phone to the charger using a mini USB connector. Or it can be stored for later use by a small lithium-ion battery that's included in one of the charger models.

Off the Grid

In addition to making charging outdoors a cinch, the H3 charger could also be useful in developing countries, Westerholm said.

"To our knowledge, there are about 1 billion people in developing countries that actually have cell coverage ... [and] if they had a cell phone they could use it," he told TechNewsDaily.

According to Westerholm, the main thing preventing people in developing countries from getting cell phones is not price or availability, but the lack of electricity.

Westerholm said that the fuel cell chargers his company will market in developing countries will use a different design to get the costs down to about $15.

These chargers will have "more optimized electronics for that particular phone market with specific connections that will drop the price down dramatically," Westerholm said.

But Isidor Buchmann, CEO of Cadex Electronics, a battery analysis firm, said $15 could still be too expensive for communities that earn an average of $2 per day. ”

“Rosey likes "tea bags". ;-)”

“WOW...rosey so you think the major problem in the third world countries is "no cell phones"?

I would think you libbies would have looked to see if they were feng shuiin their maggot covered kids in relationship to the burned out houses from the last tribal war.”

“How can you dipshlts make this flaming? I am trying to bring some interesting new technology into a backpacking-related discussion. Take off the tunnel glasses for a change and stop thriving on so much HATE.”

“teabagger”

“Hey Rosey Look I AM WITH YOU (ROTFLMAO)...yeah there is nothing that would make it better for the starving tribesmen in say Somalia than to have access to a Vonage Plan....LOL

We could preprogram the cell phones to sound like a steak frying on the grill (LOL).


I can hear the conversation now.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle....

(translations being used)
Tribesman #1: yes?
Tribesman #2: Whats goin on there bro?
Tribesman #1: Still starving how bout you?
Tribesman #2: Starving too, but at least my wife won't have to worry. They liquidated her last night.
Tribesman #1: WOW I am so thankful the Americans gave us these phones...well back to downloading nude photos of Madonna.”

“you guys have a real problem”

“teabagger”

“furgitaboutit
last edited: 3/04/10 1:52:15 PM”

“teabagger”