Duracell Rechargeable Accu

Office Max had a sale on this unit today. It comes with (2) AA 1800 mA cells. I picked up an additional pack and a (2) pack of AAA 750 mA cells. Does anyone have any experience with this unit? Is it any good? This is my fist venture with rechargables and I'm not sure that I really care for the concept of rechargeables, so I didn't want my first unit to cost an arma and a leg.

TIN, I bought one of these before I bought a Maha 401. The batts seemed to get pretty warm. The general consensus was that the heat may damage the batts. My unit got the batts quite warm but I was still able to hold them in my hand fresh from the charger. If you are going to use alot of rechargeables I would consider a Maha or similar. Cooler charging will equate to longer battery life. My two cents. Doug /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Thanks. I have (2) AAA charging now. I'll keep an eye on them.

Is This the one you're referring to?

Assuming I'm reading about the correct unit, it looks very impressive. Which batteries do you recommend of the following?

-PowerEx 1800 mAh AA
-PowerEx 2000 mAh AA
-Powerex 2200 mAh AA

Is "higher" better? Does it mean more power or longer/constant power?

More milli-Amp-hours means longer runtime.


-Cougar :{)

TIN, the higher mAh should give you more run time. The capacity of NiMH can be made higher, but the internal resistance becomes greater as it goes higher. That, anyway seems to be the general information provided by experts. What I don't know is if that problem is ignored as they
extend the capacity, or if it's a problem they've been solving as they extend the capacity. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Ray,
Yep, that is the one that I have. I like it a lot. I always use the slow charge mode which is five hours. It is nice to also have the fast charge capability if you need it. I got the 2200 mah batts with mine. I have 12 rechargeable AA's so I can always use the slow mode, they come out cool as a cucumber. Thomas was a great company to deal with also. I wasn't aware of what Empath was referring to. I'm kinda new to rechargeable too! Doug /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
I ended up having one bad batt and Eugene at Thomas had a new one in the mail the same day.

Great. I just ordered one on-line. Picked up the one that comes with (8) 2200 mA and added (6) AAA 750 mA to the order. I'm someone skeptical about rechargables in flashlights, however I do have some things that could benefit from them like a portable scanner and TV.

[ QUOTE ]
this_is_nascar said:
Great. I just ordered one on-line. Picked up the one that comes with (8) 2200 mA and added (6) AAA 750 mA to the order. I'm someone skeptical about rechargables in flashlights, however I do have some things that could benefit from them like a portable scanner and TV.


[/ QUOTE ]
To me, the big deal with rechargeable batteries is the chargers that have become available in the last very few years.

10 years ago I would have definitely not recommended Nicads, and 5 years ago, I would have not recommended NiMH either. Why??
-Simply because they were just too much of a hassle to use. Dumb chargers /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif , small capacity batteries /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif , waaay too much charging time (8 hours+) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif , small capacity (1000mAh capacity or -less for a AA cell).

The situation is drastically different today with:
A. Smart chargers that will
completely charge (but not OVERCHAR5GE) a high capacity cell in scarcely longer time than it takes to discharge the cell-without constant monitoring.
B. The capacity of rechargeables has more than tripled since the 1980s. -Typical capacity of a nicad AA cell was only a paltry 500mAh.
C. More good news: acquision cost is also dramatically lower also. 8 years ago Radio Shack's highest rated AA rechargeable was 850mAh and it's cost was $3.50 U.S. Today we can get great 2000+ mAh capacity for a little more than $2.50 ea., and fully charge them in up less than 1/2 of the time. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Ray,
I think you will like the 2200's even in your lights. I use mine with a BB400 Q3 and a MM500. My boys are using them this weekend on a campout for cub/Boyscouts. I am also getting another AA tsp for my LSH's. I don't see much if any difference in them and alkalines although I haven't did a side by side comparison. You will like the 401, it's great. Doug /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Interesting that the Duracell charger is on sale at Officemax. I just got one on sale at Rite Aid. I wonder if it's being discontinued or something.

Yeah, NiMH is great in any heavily used device. Thing to watch out for is the self-discharge; they go flat by themselves over a few months, so they're not recommended for a glovebox light you use once a year in an emergency. The other thing is their discharge curve is much flatter than alkalines. The light won't get dimmer and dimmer over the runtime. It will stay steady til the end, then the light will crap out rather suddenly, not so good if you didn't remember to bring spares.

The first few charge cycles, you won't get the full capacity, so don't be disappointed if the light doesn't run as long as you expect. Once they've been conditioned through a few cycles, capacity should be about 75% of alkaline capacity.

My current EDC is a PT Blast with two 750 mAH Duracell AAA NiMH. It's great. Brightness is ever so slightly less than with new alkalines, but not enough for me to care, and bulb life is probably extended as a result. And it costs me close to zilch to run.

paulr,
What is the mah rating for a duracell AA? Also, are the powerex 2200's after a few charging cycles, about 75% capacity compared to a duracell alkaline? Once again, I am fairly new to rechargeables also. Doug /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Most Duracell AA's are 1800 mah but they have recently started shipping 2200 mah at the same price, so look for those.

Alkalines are supposedly around 2800 mah, hence my 75% figure. Note that alkaline voltage declines gradually from 1.5 volts down to 0.8 volts before you get out that 2800 mah. NiMH voltage is pretty steady at about 1.2 volts the whole way through (1.4 or so at the very beginning, then drops quickly to 1.2 and stays there til near the end).

I have had many chargers and in my opinion the 401 is tops for AA cells.

Thanks Brock. Sounds like I made a good choice in ordering last night.

Ray,
I just finished a runtime test with the 2200 mah powerex's and I got 2 hours 54 minutes in a minimag with BB 400 Q3. Not too shabby, also, they had been fully charged a couple weeks ago so had lost some anyway. JFYI, Doug /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I thought mine charged a bit on the hot side. Also, it interferes with my shortwave. I too bought a Maha 401. I bought 36 Duracell Accucharge batteries for about $.85@, IIRC. I haven't felt the need to upgrade to 2200mah, so far. -RussH

Alrighty then. My MH-C401FS with PowerEx NiMH arrived today. Going against what I normally do, I actually read the directions and special instructions paper that came with the charger. Each document talks about 3-5 full cycles before the cells get recharged to peak effecientcy, however it doesn't say whether or not I should do an initial charge before use them for the first.

So, the questions is, should I let each cell charge before using it or should I use them 1st, the start the charging/using cycles?

By the way, I'm selling the Duracell unit with all the NiMH that came with it + the extras I purchased. Make an offer.

Yes, Ray..by all means, do charge those cells before using the first time.-All five brands I've used have instructions that say th same.If your charger wants to first discharge them, just jump around that function.