Crash course in batteries and cold weather

[Sharpdogs]

Can someone give me a crash course in what batteries to use and not use in cold weather. I am going on a camping trip, about an hour north of Albany, NY. I want to make sure my lights don't fail on me due the batteries and the cold weather. I will be bringing a Streamlight Propolymer, Gerber Ultra Infinity, Safe Light Super Bright and the new Petzl e+Lite. Thanks.

 

[mdocod]

if your streamlight pro-poly is a 1W LED... then it's regulation circuitry is safe to use with lithiums AAs, and that would be the best you can do in cold weather for that light.

 

[Pellidon]

Long term cold has proven fatal to several sets of energizers in a few of my lights. I don't recall Duracell's puking out ooze like the energizers have. Short term use should not be a problem with that but they might shut down quickly in the cold.

If it is bitterly cold you can store some inside your parka to keep them warm and cycle them in and out of your lights. If I recall, Hasselblad had a battery harness for their old NI-CD powered EL series cameras that the shooter kept the batteries in his coat under the arm like a shoulder holster. Of course NASA used that camera out in space on the moon and in EVA's but they were only out for a short time.

I have had my Lithium Ion cameras out for hours in sub zero weather with no diminished activity I could tell. Maybe you can use Lithium cells.

 

[cdosrun]

I have no experience in using lights at low temperatures but I know that lithiums will be best under those circumstances.

The SL Propoly and Gerber Infinity will take Energizer E2E lithium AA cells; they are lighter than Alkalines (good for carrying the kit if you are hiking), have a higher capacity and operate well in cold conditions. I think NiMH will work adequately at low temperatures if you find the lithiums too expensive but the capacity will be lower.

As for the Safe Light, I am not sure if lithium primaries will fit in it (I remember reading something about it here) and alkalines suffer pretty in terms of capacity in the cold so I'm not sure what to suggest here other than perhaps keeping the safelight in an internal pocket near your body to keep it warm.

The e+Lite seems to be running on lithium coin cells so there shouldn't be any problem here due to the cold. Just take spares as required for the duration.

If you can afford to buy some lithiums up for the trip, they have a long shelf life, so you won't need to throw them if you don't camp for a few years.

Andrew

EDIT: I was so slow in posting, wandering away etc, that you had plenty of advice before me

 

[teststrips]

lithium AA's work well to about -50... and we're talking lithium AA primaries which put out about 1.8 volts... NOT the Li-Ion which would be about 4v peak voltage.

I honestly haven't read about li-ion performance in cold weather.

All that said, your lights will likely be close to you in a pocket or whatever when not turned on, so they'll stay reasonably warm. The heat generated from a running light should be enough to keep it shining, down to about -10 even with alklines.

Best = lithium AA 1.8v
middle = nimh/nicd
worst = alkline

Since this is a "crash corse" anyone have any insight as to what's better in cold say in the cr123 size? Primary (3.7v) or Li-ION (4v)

 

[Phatboyc]

Don't forget about the Enelloop guys. Apparently they perform better in the cold than regular Nimh's. Sanyo's documentation quotes -5C(23F) and other times -10C(14F) (not sure why) and still have 100% performance.

I spent a whole day in and out of my car in -10C(14F) weather talking pictures. The batteries where only charged a month prior to the off road trip and never showed any sign of weakness that day. In fact I'm still on the same charge as of today (two months now).

Here is a link to the off road pictures if anyone wants to see.

I'm also planning putting Enelloop in the flashlight I keep in each car. Can't wait to see how the batteries will perform in the long run especially in the -25C(-13F) winter.

 

[mzzj]

NiCd is usually considered superior to NiMH at low temperatures.


Situation with 3.6v and 3.0v primary lithium vs. Li-ion batteries is complete mess-up in high-drain use. In low current applications Li-SOCl2 should work down to -60c.

Some datashit with temperature data to wonder..
http://www.saftbatteries.com/130-Catalogue/PDF/primary_selector_guide.pdf
http://sanyo.wslogic.com/pdf/pdfs/CR2.pdf
http://sanyo.wslogic.com/pdf/pdfs/CR17335E-R.pdf
http://sanyo.wslogic.com/pdf/pdfs/UR18650F.pdf

Btw, old Canon A40 was workin OK with Nimh batteries at temperatures down to -36c (-32F) ,"only" problem was that lcd-display was updating with one minute delay

 

[Sharpdogs]

Thanks guys. That's what I was looking for.