Best rechargeable "D" cell

6thtexas

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 8, 2010
Messages
20
What is the best rechargeable "D" cell battery now available? I've got a couple of lanterns that run off "D"s and don't wish to fool with adapters.
 

flydiver

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Messages
14
Found this request because I'm looking myself.

Without having any personal experience with most modern D's (and since no one else seems to be weighing in) these have gotten OK reviews in a few places.
Accupower Evolution D 10000mAh NiMH Low Discharge Rechargeable Batteries

In AA the Imedion have gotten good reviews. Maybe this means these are OK? Again, no personal experience.
Maha Imedion 2 Pack D Cell 9500mAh NIMH Rechargeable Batteries

I've got some OLD (9/02-like I said, old) Radio Shack 4400 D's that have been great, still work fine. Prior to that I had some RS 4400 NiCads and those things were great!
I tried some Tenergy 5000 NiCads and they were a bust. Only lasted a couple years in the same service all of these batteries get (dive light, ~ 18W for an hour)
Some AccuPower 8500 (8/03) are still functioning but down to maybe 6000. They've been a pretty good product.
I've got some Titanium 1200 (9/10) that are at best 9000 from the first. A triumph of marketing over honest specs. I was hoping for better. Otherwise they seem OK so far. They will do 2 dives on a single charge and none of the others will. That's what I was after with the higher capacity.

fly
 
Last edited:

357mag1

Enlightened
Joined
Nov 21, 2009
Messages
677
Location
Chesapeake, VA
Avoid the AccuEvolution D cells at all cost. The old cells were great, the cells they presently sell are the worst D rechargeable cells I have tested and I've tested a bunch.

The Imedion D cells are not much better.

That leaves us with Tenergy cells which are surprisingly good for the price. Check out all-battery.com for the Premium D cells. They are actually better at holding voltage under load than the original AccuEvolution D cells which were awesome cells.

Avoid the Titanium D cells, while I haven't tested the D cells their C cells are the worst I've tested which leads me to believe their D cells would be poor as well.

Hope this helps
 

jayflash

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 4, 2003
Messages
3,909
Location
Two Rivers, Wisconsin
Is the high or low nib the only way to determine whether the AccuE's are new or old? I've a batch of 10 each, C & D cells which seem to be holding their LSD qualities -- at least for moderate drains. Some have posted poor performance at high drains.

I returned about 30 Titanium NiCd cells a couple years ago because they lost capacity after each charge. The sub-C, 1800 mAh, 10C rated Titanium NiCd cells are still holding up in my tools.
 

357mag1

Enlightened
Joined
Nov 21, 2009
Messages
677
Location
Chesapeake, VA
Maha PowerEx makes the best D rechargeable on the planet
http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/viewitem.asp?idproduct=432

most others are garbage or good fakes with far lower mah than they state.

It would be nice if you let us know what testing led you to this conclusion. I've thoroughly tested most of the D cells on the market and they all have about the same capacity no matter what rating is on the battery. The big difference is in each cells ability to maintain voltage under a load. So far none have done better than the Tenergy cells in my testing.

I have not tested the Maha D cells as I was told they put their name on Tenergy cells. I do not know this to be fact.
 

bigchelis

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 30, 2008
Messages
3,604
Location
Prunedale, CA
The absolute best NiMH D cells I think are by Tenergy, but thats because I used them at 15~30A drain on 100watt LED flashlights.


If you have normall sub 5A discharge lanterns, then any will do fine. If you have high drain Lanterns then definitely get the Tenergy D cells since they seem to have less cell sag at high current.

bigC
 

127.0.0.1

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
1,000
Location
/etc/hosts
It would be nice if you let us know what testing led you to this conclusion. I've thoroughly tested most of the D cells on the market and they all have about the same capacity no matter what rating is on the battery. The big difference is in each cells ability to maintain voltage under a load. So far none have done better than the Tenergy cells in my testing.

I have not tested the Maha D cells as I was told they put their name on Tenergy cells. I do not know this to be fact.

lets say I remember some tests but cannot reference them now. don't base any purchases on what I say

my own seem to last and last and last
 
Last edited:

flydiver

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Messages
14
Avoid the AccuEvolution D cells at all cost. The old cells were great, the cells they presently sell are the worst D rechargeable cells I have tested and I've tested a bunch.

The Imedion D cells are not much better.

That leaves us with Tenergy cells which are surprisingly good for the price. Check out all-battery.com for the Premium D cells. They are actually better at holding voltage under load than the original AccuEvolution D cells which were awesome cells.

Avoid the Titanium D cells, while I haven't tested the D cells their C cells are the worst I've tested which leads me to believe their D cells would be poor as well.

This helps loads, or at least an opinion. Do you have any data or just anecdotal info? Experience is all I have. My testing has only recently become somewhat useful. All my prior experience/data is how things held up under use.
The Tenergy 5000 D's that I thought were lousy were NiCads. I use these in the same product (18W dive light) for ~an hour, and recharge them with the a high end hobby charger or a 1/10C wall wart depending on the pack and the time I want to spend.
Been doing this for more than 12 years, hobby chargers with some basic data I can use are relatively new. Only the Tenergy 5000 NiCads essentially croaked after about 2 years and maybe 20-25 cycles. Just wouldn't hold charge or capacity. Pretty poor.

You apparently think the Tenergy NiMh (these?) are about the best you've seen so far?
Any input on the Tenergy 10107 LSD D Centura 8000 mAh 2-Pack Blister Card ($15.95 right now).
With the poor taste of the Tenergy NiCads remaining I need a little reassurance on the product before venturing into that brand again.

I suspect there must be some kind of capacity inflation vs actual performance going on by marketing like in AA. I've found AA > 2500 to be mostly worthless. Maybe the same thing in D's > what 10,000? The Titanium 12000 certainly are NOT.
 
Last edited:

Aquanaut

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Messages
158
Location
New York
Have you considered NiCd cells? I have some 15 year old Sanyo KR 4400 D cells. When I last checked capacity of one of the cells, it still had 3865 mAh discharged at 1A. I just looked it up and found them for $8 a cell.
 

357mag1

Enlightened
Joined
Nov 21, 2009
Messages
677
Location
Chesapeake, VA
Same question, I'm curious too about the "Centura Low Self Discharge"

The Centuras are second for holding their voltage under load. I haven't tested the LSD characteristics yet but if I wasn't planning on leaving my flashlight setting around for 6 months or more I would just go with the Premium cells. They have more capacity and most D nimh don't seem to self discharge as fast as the old nimh AA batteries.

Aquanaut mentions NiCD cells but even the good ones have about half the capacity of the nimh cells. NiCD cells are not very environmentally friendly either if that matters to you.
 

sadtimes

Enlightened
Joined
May 14, 2008
Messages
491
I just bought 8 Tenergy D 10,000mah and after a couple of cycles in the charger they all take over 9000mah during a charge.. also they hold up well at 9.5a current draw in a 3d mag SST-90 build
 

357mag1

Enlightened
Joined
Nov 21, 2009
Messages
677
Location
Chesapeake, VA
This helps loads, or at least an opinion. Do you have any data or just anecdotal info? Experience is all I have. My testing has only recently become somewhat useful. All my prior experience/data is how things held up under use.
The Tenergy 5000 D's that I thought were lousy were NiCads. I use these in the same product (18W dive light) for ~an hour, and recharge them with the a high end hobby charger or a 1/10C wall wart depending on the pack and the time I want to spend.
Been doing this for more than 12 years, hobby chargers with some basic data I can use are relatively new. Only the Tenergy 5000 NiCads essentially croaked after about 2 years and maybe 20-25 cycles. Just wouldn't hold charge or capacity. Pretty poor.

You apparently think the Tenergy NiMh (these?) are about the best you've seen so far?
Any input on the Tenergy 10107 LSD D Centura 8000 mAh 2-Pack Blister Card ($15.95 right now).
With the poor taste of the Tenergy NiCads remaining I need a little reassurance on the product before venturing into that brand again.

I suspect there must be some kind of capacity inflation vs actual performance going on by marketing like in AA. I've found AA > 2500 to be mostly worthless. Maybe the same thing in D's > what 10,000? The Titanium 12000 certainly are NOT.

No those are not the Tenergy cells I consider the best. If you go to All-battery.com and look at the Premium Tenergy cells those are the ones I consider the best. Personally I won't purchase from the vendor that you linked after spending literally thousands with them and having multiple orders processed incorrectly. The final straw was their refusal to assist with a defective product. Too many good companies out there to put up with that kind of service.

Actually under a 2amp draw all of my Tenergy cells have met or exceeded their capacity labels. The Centura cells may be rated at 8000mah but all of mine have measured right around 8500mah or higher. That is better than the "Original" AccuEvolution cells (which were pretty good cells) even though they are rated for 10,000mah.

The D cells with LSD characteristics that I've tested on my hobby chargers all seem to have around 8500mah when using a 2amp discharge no matter what they claim.

The standard D cell nimhs that I've tested all seem to measure right around 10,000mah using the same discharge current. The big difference is how they maintain voltage under a load. I haven't seen anything yet that beats the Tenergy Premium cells and I have them in lights drawing over 14amps. The next best are the Tenergy cells like you linked and the Centuras.

So my recommendation is to save your money and don't buy the more expensive cells as none of them seem to be worth the extra cash. In fact they are inferior. I learned this the hard way after buying the expensive cells first. If I hadn't ordered a "New" set of AccuEvolutions and instantly noticed my ROP High using 6 D cells was not near as bright I would never had started all this testing and would not have this knowledge.
 

380long

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 15, 2012
Messages
149
I run Tenergy D cell 10000mAh in my Fenix TK70 and have been pleased so far.
 

JudasD

Enlightened
Joined
Jan 5, 2012
Messages
245
I run the Tenergy Centura 8,000 in my TK70 and have been happy as well. I have only had the light for a short time so i cannot attest to their LSD properties, but i can say that i get close to an hour on turbo :thumbsup:

JD
 

CyberCT

Enlightened
Joined
May 10, 2010
Messages
633
I run the Tenergy Centura 8,000 in my TK70 and have been happy as well. I have only had the light for a short time so i cannot attest to their LSD properties, but i can say that i get close to an hour on turbo :thumbsup:

JD

How long does the TK70 run on turbo exactly? On the TK70 thread a user gets an hour on turbo with the Imedion D cells. They might be LSD but that's interesting you get about an hour too on the 8000 mah Tenergys.
 

JudasD

Enlightened
Joined
Jan 5, 2012
Messages
245
How long does the TK70 run on turbo exactly? On the TK70 thread a user gets an hour on turbo with the Imedion D cells. They might be LSD but that's interesting you get about an hour too on the 8000 mah Tenergys.

My very first charge i got 45 minutes. I charged, discharged, charged and then the next day got almost 55 minutes. My Maha said that these batteries discharged at almost 9,000mA. I am sure the Tenergy Premiums would do even better with 10,000mAh. I just wanted the LSD properties so i sacrificed a bit of capacity.

JD
 

CyberCT

Enlightened
Joined
May 10, 2010
Messages
633
I think you are following along in the TK70 and F Cell threads too JudasD, so you know I'm hoping for something other than D cells to work good in the TK70. I don't particularly want to us the 4th D cell adapter on the TK70, nor do I want to have the weight of all 4 D cells.

However, if I must, then I'm thinking about going with the Tenergy Premium D Cells at 10,000 mah. I can get 8 of them for $54, will probably have to buy the Maha 8080S though which is expensive. I can use adapters in my MH-C9000 charger so I do tests on each cell to get the mah capacities of each Tenergy and do cell matching like I have with my AA eneloops and Imedions.
 
Top