Best NiMh in a D cell?

[lumen aeternum]

What is a good brand for NiMh D cells, and I suppose for a car light I'd want low self discharge. Working right away when its cold is the critical case.

The other option is to get a sleeve & use AA Nimh rechargeables or primary lithium. 3 D maglite.

 

[WarriorOfLight]

My recommendation is use 3xAA to D cell adapter with i.e. white eneloops. I do this with my big Streamlight Siege lantern. I use 3xAA to D adapter with eneloop cells in this lantern since years.

You can find this adapters i.e. at ebay if you search for "3xAA to D Adapter" (or something similar). You should not pay more than a dollar for one of this adapters.

 

[PaladinNO]

My recommendation is use 3xAA to D cell adapter with i.e. white eneloops.

I am in the same boat, so thank you for some suggestions. Got a trio of Maglite 3D wall-mounted around the house as emergency lights.
And I have been tried to find some rechargeable D-cells with a decent capacity. 3000 mAh in a large D-cell vs 2500 mAh in a tiny AA makes no sense. I guess there isn't a big market for D-cells (or C-cells for that matter) anymore.

 

[dc38]

Those recommendations are probably the best bet. I myself am using blue Tenergy cells, run in series in a modded 6d Mag...they've been in there for around 5 years, and still actuate at max brightness. I'll charge them soon and let you know how much they charge by, as I'm unwilling to waste charge cycles on a deep cycle test.

 

[Macgravy]

I have using Amazon Basics NiMH Size C & D batteries since Jun 2020. They are the real deal. LSD and all that goes with it. Since then I have added more of them. I now have 20 of these Size D cells. I do use them periodically...mostly just to test them out. Some are in a 3 D cell Mag lite with a very cheap LED bulb. Works great. Some are in a closet lite that was repurposed from an outside led flood lite. Some are in my short wave receiver. And the others are in my LED Lanterns around the house. They are hold their charge for at least a year, with at least 85% remaining in capacity. I have a reminder on my computer calendar to do a discharge/charge cycle ever year. This takes a very long time because of the capacity of these cells. My charger is set to do a discharge cycle at 500 mAh. So if the cells are fully charged, it will take 20+ hours for discharge. The charger charge current can be selected at 500, 750, 1000, 1,500 mAh. I set it to 1000 mAh charge setting. And that will take another 10+ hours. So to do a fully discharge/charge cycle, that is like 30+ hours. Anyway, they are all still going on and still hanging in there at 100% of their listed capacity of 10,000MaHr or more. And their internal resistance is still in the range of 15 to 30 milliohms. I have been extremely pleased with these batteries.

You might also check out Soshine batteries. HKJ did test them years back and they seem to test out OK too.

Test of Soshine D 11000mAh (White)

At the time of his testing they were rated at 11,000 mAh. Today they are rated at 10,000 mAh. I have not tried any of these.

You will need a charger that fit size D cells or even larger. That in itself will be a lot of work finding one.

I have a number of those adapters as back up power to the lights and radio. They work well too and might be easier to use and recharge, but there are a lot of batteries to recharge when you need to do a recharge. But they recharge faster.

Sorry, I did this again. Way to long and wordy. Sorry about that.

 

[GMT2330]

I'm using Ansmann max e 10,000 LSD cells and an Ansmann 6 bay charger. They claim a minimum capacity of 9,300mah and to be frost resistant.
I don't have the capability of testing capacity and internal resistance etc… but they work well enough for me.
Maybe not available in US.
The latest Eneloop adapter works well too as it has a screw on base that contacts the wide spring in a D cell maglite. They only hold 1xAA though so lose out on capacity.

 

[bluflaam777]

Has anyone tried, like or dislike Tenergy D cells?
I've heard good things but only have one light that would use them. I'd have them as a backup if they're good.

 

[SweD]

I've only ever used the D-Cells from Maha, and since they've always served me well I've never looked further, so that would be my anectdotal suggestion ... :-D I never used the old ones, only the black pre-charged, to be clear.

 

[lumen aeternum]

I have eneloop AAs and eneloop D to A adapters, put it in the car yesterday. Its about 40F and seems to be as bright when cold close up (down the basement stairs) as D cell Energizer Alkalines at room temp 70F.

I have some no-name adapters that hold 3 AA in parallel for more capacity.

Don't know about when it gets below freezing, which is where people recommend primary lithium - except I read the other day that the fresh voltage of up to 1.8v might fry the LED. Or also I guess an incan bulb.

Can anyone verify that a 3D Mag LED can handle that?
I have 3 cell lights, so that would be 5.4V instead of 4.5v

RE PRIMARY LITHIUM

BatterySpace.com/AA Portable Power Corp. Tel: 510-525-2328

Primary Lithium Cells

www.batteryspace.com

1. Since primary cells/batteries are non-rechargeable, do NOT connect them in parallel, unless there are diodes to prevent cells/batteries recharge from each other, from higher voltage to lower voltage ones.

2. Don't connect primary cells/batteries more than 2 in series. Especially when cells/batteries are not in balanced status, this might lead forced over discharge which will generate heat and might cause explosion.
>

So that means no increasing the capacity, and no 3D lights at all.

For a car flashlight, I like the 3D mag for being long enough & heavy enough for defense (at least when loaded with D cells). And the twist focus between flood & spot.

Tenergy makes Nimh D cells in 8000 and 10,000 mAH, I need to look for the best price from a reliable source:

Tenergy Premium D 10,000mAh NiMH Rechargeable Battery

Premium D Battery - High Quality & Capacity Battery. Up to 1000 Cycles. Replace Alkaline Batteries in: Baby Equipment, Toys, Radios, Flashlights, More. Easily save money over Alkaline disposables.

power.tenergy.com

2-pack Tenergy Centura NiMH D 1.2V 8000mAh Rechargeable Batteries

Centura D Battery - High Quality & Capacity Battery. Low Self Discharge Technology. Up to 1000 Cycles. Replace Alkaline Batteries in: Toys, Radios, Flashlights, More. Easily save money over Alkaline disposables.

power.tenergy.com

But I still kind of wonder about lumens at 1.2 instead of 1.5. It might also be affected by how the light is regulated.

 

[lumen aeternum]

Can I mix different mAh capacities of the same chemistry? Two Eneloop white AA and then a Tenergy LSD 8000 mAh D in the tail.

 

[NiOOH]

Can I mix different mAh capacities of the same chemistry? Two Eneloop white AA and then a Tenergy LSD 8000 mAh D in the tail.

Not recommended. This may overdischarge the batteries with the lower capacity.

 

[dc38]

Can I mix different mAh capacities of the same chemistry? Two Eneloop white AA and then a Tenergy LSD 8000 mAh D in the tail.

Depends. In series circuits, definitely not. In parallel circuits, maybe. You want to be very careful, because some lights that physically mount the batteries in parallel are not wired that way. You also want to make sure that the overall capacity matches. In a serial config, a 3p AA NiMH arrangement is nominally 6000mAh, but a d cell NiMH could be around 10,000 mAh, so the 3P AA setup would probably be overdrawn if you run them to empty.

For your maglite though, it's probably in series, so I would avoid mismatching cells. ALSO, if you plan on getting AA to D adapters, be mindful that they're parallel adapters and not serial.

 

[GMT2330]

Can I mix different mAh capacities of the same chemistry? Two Eneloop white AA and then a Tenergy LSD 8000 mAh D in the tail.

No, that's not recommended.

The newest version eneloop adapters work with D cell springs. 3x eneloop is a better idea.
Panasonic rate eneloops from -20 to +50 degrees C.
(-4 to 122 degF).

 

[MidnightDistortions]

Ideally unless you plan to burn through Nimh D batteries like suggested 3AA to D adapters using Eneloops is your best bet especially for winter storage. You will only get about 6,000mAh apposed to up to 10,000mAh for a D Nimh battery but you'll need chargers for that as well.

 

[snakebite]

Those recommendations are probably the best bet. I myself am using blue Tenergy cells, run in series in a modded 6d Mag...they've been in there for around 5 years, and still actuate at max brightness. I'll charge them soon and let you know how much they charge by, as I'm unwilling to waste charge cycles on a deep cycle test. Those recommendations are probably the best bet. I myself am using blue Tenergy cells, run in series in a modded 6d Mag...they've been in there for around 5 years, and still actuate at max brightness. I'll charge them soon and let you know how much they charge by, as I'm unwilling to waste charge cycles on a deep cycle test. At your current rate of usage you will exceed calender life long before cycle life . Nimh like occasional deep cycling anyway.