my Cree vs. Energizer lanterns - questions

[Minni]

Hi, I just bought the Cree 110 lumen WARM lantern (running on three AA batteries)
I also have owned for approx. a year or two, the Energizer Weather Ready lantern (three D batteries - though newer versions accommodate AA's also).
...the Energizer has both warm/and/cool modes, both similar intensity - forgot if its 45 or 75 lumens.

Energizer advantage - costs less, and runs on D-cells which last longer
Energizer disadvantages - quite heavier / and also a tad dimmer than Cree's low-power-mode - even with frosted cover removed / also more awkwardly designed, so batteries less easy to insert than the Cree.
....note - the Energizer is dimmer on both warm & cool modes.

what i've been wondering, is

(1) whether both regular & NiMH rechargable batteries can be safely kept in either of the lanterns long term.
...or whether the batteries should best be kept separately in fridge for storage until needed.
EDIT: SOMEONE RESOLVED #1 FOR ME

(2) Also wondering which of these last longest:
Sanyo eneloop AA rechargables
Dantona "D" by radio shack
Panasonic digital power "D" alkaline

(3) also... whether digital alkaline AA's would last longer in the Cree lantern than ordinary alkaline.
edit: someone resolved #3 for me

[LEDAdd1ct]

Hi, Minni. Nice to meet you.

1) You should not keep alkaline batteries in anything long term. They have a tendency to spew their guts and ruin electronic devices. You do not have to worry about this with Ni-Mh rechargeables.

2) A "D" cell will hold more capacity regardless of chemistry. A Sanyo Eneloop "AA" will have much less capacity than a "D," but will not leak like a D alkaline. I would stick with AA Sanyo Eneloops for your AA needs.

3) I don't know what a digital alkaline is—sounds like a marketing gimmick. Your best bet is AA Sanyo Eneloops. They will hold their charge for the long term, won't leak, and can be used many, many times.

Hope this helps!

[Minni]

Hi, Minni. Nice to meet you.

1) You should not keep alkaline batteries in anything long term. They have a tendency to spew their guts and ruin electronic devices. You do not have to worry about this with Ni-Mh rechargeables.

2) A "D" cell will hold more capacity regardless of chemistry. A Sanyo Eneloop "AA" will have much less capacity than a "D," but will not leak like a D alkaline. I would stick with AA Sanyo Eneloops for your AA needs.

3) I don't know what a digital alkaline is—sounds like a marketing gimmick. Your best bet is AA Sanyo Eneloops. They will hold their charge for the long term, won't leak, and can be used many, many times.

Hope this helps!

Thing is, I already had gotten the Duracell value charger - including NiMh AA's which some people online suspect to actually be Eneloop, except in different packaging.

These batteries only got 6.5 hours on the High setting of the Cree before dimming.

Which is why I'm wondering whether the Eneloops aren't shorter-lasting than the below-linked batteries (meaning, whether they're capable of holding out several days in a row vs. several hours:

http://www.generic-cartridges.com/usrimage/ej080251.jpg
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=3946292

To clarify:
If i would put eneloops into a converter
(placed inside a lantern which holds D cells)
then compare the Eneloop run time to the Panasonic or radioshack batteries
...which would last longest?

[alpg88]

radio shack would last longer on paper, 4x as much capacity, but if you willing to pay 30 for rs "wtf knows who made" batteries, buy emedions at least

[Minni]

radio shack would last longer on paper, 4x as much capacity, but if you willing to pay 30 for rs "wtf knows who made" batteries, buy emedions at least

Are you saying that those Dantona's (or emedions) last longer than Panasonic Digital Alkaline?
Emphasis on capacity, vs. how many cycles each can run (besides, the Digital Alkalines can be rezapped in a Rezapper or Xtender, can't they?

[alpg88]

Are you saying that those Dantona's (or emedions) last longer than Panasonic Digital Alkaline?
Emphasis on capacity, vs. how many cycles each can run (besides, the Digital Alkalines can be rezapped in a Rezapper or Xtender, can't they?

i was comparing runtimes with eneloops, but yes, rechargables will run longer than Panasonic Digital Alkaline, which is a regular alkaline cell, going by paper numbers alkaline has a bit more capacity, but in real world load plays big role in runtime, and nimh can handle load a lot better. so they will last longer, unless you use them in a device that draws little current.
and no you can't rezap alkalines. there were rechargable alkalines, but they were garbage. you can't recharge alkaline cell.

[Minni]

Actually, I once read a review by a techie strongly stating that Xtender can definitely recharge alkalines, and also see reviews of ReZap 7301.

Furthermore, when I used my Cree Lantern with Duracell NiMH (2000 mAh) AA batteries, it dimmed after approx. 6 hours.
Duracell then told me that their alkaline AA last much longer than the rechargables, and that it holds true no matter which size.

She claimed that even alkaline last longer than rechargables EVEN IF the alkaline is AA, and the rechargable is "D"

So I'd love hearing more opinions.

[alpg88]

Actually, I once read a review by a techie strongly stating that Xtender can definitely recharge alkalines, and also see reviews of ReZap 7301.

Furthermore, when I used my Cree Lantern with Duracell NiMH (2000 mAh) AA batteries, it dimmed after approx. 6 hours.
Duracell then told me that their alkaline AA last much longer than the rechargables, and that it holds true no matter which size.

She claimed that even alkaline last longer than rechargables EVEN IF the alkaline is AA, and the rechargable is "D"

So I'd love hearing more opinions.

lol, she is full of it,
as for recharging alkalines, well, try it yourself, you'll see, we can go on forever, with he said, she said.
if a load is few hundred miliamps, than alkalines AA will have real capacity close to rated, at high loads it will be greatly reduced, proportionally to the load.
as for D cell capacity of alk. D is around 12ah, rechargable 8-10, at loads of 1A and less, capacity will be close to 12ah, at higher loads, same story as with AAs, nimh\nicd will not lose nearly as much capacity as alk. they can give 10A with small loss in capacity.

for the most part rachargable D you see in the stores, (retail stores, not web sites) are not really D cells, they are AA in D case, and usualy made by who knows whom, it is done for a few reasons, price, and ease of charging, since there really are no chargers for consumer use that can properly charge 8ah cell. so a duracell AA at light load might have larger capacity than D with AA inside, but it doesn't apply to true D cells.

1 thing i might be wrong about, (spoke too soon) is actual runtime difference of alk. D and nimh D in your particular case, if your lantern draws more than 1A than nimh will last longer, if less than there will be not much diffference.

[Minni]

lol, she is full of it,
as for recharging alkalines, well, try it yourself, you'll see, we can go on forever, with he said, she said.
if a load is few hundred miliamps, than alkalines AA will have real capacity close to rated, at high loads it will be greatly reduced, proportionally to the load.
as for D cell capacity of alk. D is around 12ah, rechargable 8-10, at loads of 1A and less, capacity will be close to 12ah, at higher loads, same story as with AAs, nimh\nicd will not lose nearly as much capacity as alk. they can give 10A with small loss in capacity.

for the most part rachargable D you see in the stores, (retail stores, not web sites) are not really D cells, they are AA in D case, and usualy made by who knows whom, it is done for a few reasons, price, and ease of charging, since there really are no chargers for consumer use that can properly charge 8ah cell. so a duracell AA at light load might have larger capacity than D with AA inside, but it doesn't apply to true D cells.

1 thing i might be wrong about, (spoke too soon) is actual runtime difference of alk. D and nimh D in your particular case, if your lantern draws more than 1A than nimh will last longer, if less than there will be not much diffference.

Regarding recharging alkalines, could be the problems people experienced was mostly with Duracell-brand.
See one of the commenters at the end of this review:
http://the-gadgeteer.com/2005/09/14/...ery_recharger/

Is there any Warm-LED lantern that lasts as long as the Weather Ready Energizer lantern? Mine lasts 500 hours on low, but it's only 42 lumen (approx.)
http://www.sportfishermen.com/shop/e...rea-light.html

Also: Which batteries would you most recommend for:
(1) the above Energizer lantern (running on three D's
(2) the Cree XLamp Warm LED lantern? (running on three AA's)

Also:
Can Energizer's Lithium AA batteries operate without mishap inside the Cree? The lantern phone support guy totally couldn't answer my questions, and the girl who answered the phone at Energizer puppeted the usual line stating "only use our batteries in items intended for lithium batteries".

Also, what would happen if I'd insert lithium AA batteries in an AA-to-D converter, and then insert three of those into the Weather Ready lantern? Would that be an even better option than "long-lasting" D batteries?

As you see, I have all these questions, but it's absolutely impossible to get clear cut answers to them. You either have highly-technical boards (such as this) where only those who understand the tech jargon understand each other. Or else you get non-technical phone answerers who are figureheads, rather than being able to help. As for Yahoo Answers, it's more like Yahoo Dead End. The concept is good though (cuz people just want straight answers instead of drawn-out going in circles).

[alpg88]

you can't get clear answer to some of the questions, since the question itself isn't clear.

Also: Which batteries would you most recommend for:
(1) the above Energizer lantern (running on three D's
(2) the Cree XLamp Warm LED lantern? (running on three AA's)

unless someone tried thses lights with rechargables and not, i doubt anyone can give you clear answer, some devices made for 1,5v cells work fine with 1,2 rechargables, or 1,7v (lithiums) some are sensetive to voltage, they might not work right at 1,2V (nimh\nicd) or at 1,7 (lithium AA), it depends on particular model, im majority cases, devices will take any of those cells with no problem, in rare cases the don't.

Also, what would happen if I'd insert lithium AA batteries in an AA-to-D converter, and then insert three of those into the Weather Ready lantern? Would that be an even better option than "long-lasting" D batteries?


depends how adapter is wired, if AA's are in series, than each D cell that adapter substitutes, will have 3x the voltage, it almost deffinatly means damage. if parallel, that you still have voltage of single cell, with sum of capasities.

check this list to see how much energy each type of cells hold. also it helps to know the draw\load, masured in ma, of your particular device, to calculate, or guesstimate the runtime.

[DM51]

Moving this to the Lanterns sub-forum...

[Minni]

Is there any online forum for laypersons where I can get recommendations for batteries to insert inside lanterns?

That's what i've basically been seeking thru all my posts on candlepower, but still don't know what to do.