Battery guru needed

[Dogdare]

I have a Coleman Duo rechargeable LED lantern (http://www.coleman.com/product/4d-cpxtrade-led-duo-lantern/2000008548?contextCategory=10400), where one of the removeable LED panels does not hold a charge.

Each of the panels contains three 600mAh Ni-MH rechargeable batteries, that charge in-place, off the Coleman adapter (110V or 12V). Can I safely replace the 600mAh batteries with higher Ah batteries?

I was also eyeing the Eneloops, but I can't tell if they require their own smart charger. I don't want to have to remove the individual batteries to charge them outside of the lantern.


thanks in advance,
Herb

 

[tandem]

Eneloops don't need a special charger; like any NiMH charger all they really want is a proper charger.

Your Coleman device might implement a good charging algorithm, or it might not. It might implement a timed slow charge - if so the Eneloops won't be fully charged, but it'll work and nevertheless sacrificing some commodity cells once in a while isn't such a bad thing.

Different question: do the originals have tabs soldered on to them or are they in a replaceable cell holder?

 

[Dogdare]

...Different question: do the originals have tabs soldered on to them or are they in a replaceable cell holder?

Each panel has three individual cells, where each cell is held in with an individual spring. Each panel then has a battery compartment cover that's held in place by a screw.


Herb

[EDIT: I will say that the Coleman charger has a red/green indicator on it. Whether that's a function of time, or charge, I don't know.]