Does this sound right?

[Grateful Ned]

Trying to digest all this info about battery options and it's makin' my head spin, but I do appreciate all the good info here at CPF

Seems like different batteries work well depending the application - I'm planning on gathering several types (just like lights!) and wanted to toss out some things I think I understand thus far... kindly correct me if I am off here, eh?

AA

For pure shelf life - infrequent use, infrequent charge, but gotta work when I need 'em:

• Sanyo 2000 mah Eneloops NiMH
• Lithium primaries like e2
• Some of the 14500 Li ions perhaps?

For frequent (every 1-2 wks or more) charge, lookin' for power

• NiMH 2700's like the Sanyo or Titanium faster-discharging cells

CR123a

• LiFeP04 RCR123a 3.0V 750 mah - Tenergy is one brand, ? others
• AW's protected R123a's 750 mah
• Lithium primary CR123s - seems like lots of good options there

Being new to this I'm not real excited about the risks involved with regular Li ions but it seems the LiFePO4's bring a performance hit with them.... and I'm talking about using them in lights like the Fenixs, Jet Beams, Olights, maybe SF and such once I get that far, heh.

Anything on this list that seems out of place, folks? I think I have my AA options all set, but I do plan on using at least a couple CR123 lights (already have a little P1D Q5 for EDC) so suggestions there will be appreciated.

:thanks:

 

[gravityz]

AA

For pure shelf life - infrequent use, infrequent charge, but gotta work when I need 'em:

• Sanyo 2000 mah Eneloops NiMH
• Lithium primaries like e2
• Some of the 14500 Li ions perhaps?

For frequent (every 1-2 wks or more) charge, lookin' for power

• NiMH 2700's like the Sanyo or Titanium faster-discharging cells

:thanks:

He Ned,

seems like you got everything in order
eneloops are indeed low self discharge
there are other brands but i have not seen any tests/results so i would stick with the eneloops.
lithium E91 primaries 1.5 bvolt, you can not go wrong with them(unless it is a chinese brand)
14500,s: better take a close look at these
first they are 3.6 volts
secondly they come in unprotected and protected(take the protected ones)
third size seems to vary form 50mm to 52mm long. 52mm is gonna be a problem for the fenix lights
there are sevral brands, everybody tells me the AW's are the best but they are also the most expensive
lifepo4 3v AA are the savest ones but the have indeed low capacity of 450mah. i did not try them yet but they should work in the fenix while retaining most of the modes

can not tell you anything about the cr123's but here you also wanna pay attention to unprotected/protected and the voltage of both 3v and 3.6 volts

 

[mdocod]

if you have yet to buy some of those lights, try to buy lights that are designed from the get go to run on a GOOD rechargeable configuration, you can avoid low capacity RCR123s all together if you buy different lights. Check out the DereeLight CL1H and the LumaPower M1 as alternatives to the 2xCR123 lights, as they will run on a single 18650 cell, which has 3.7V and 2200mAH, great power density and long runtimes. The M1 will run 4 hours above 50% on one of these cells. The Dereelight drives the LED harder and will run about 2 hours if you pick a module that is fully regulated on the 18650. As for your AA lights, I highly recommend eneloops for all applications requiring a AA NIMH if you can live with the slightly lower capacity as they will more than makeup for their lower capacity in cycle life and easier maintenance (none basically)... The really cutting edge capacity cells like the 2500+ mAH capacity range are prone to premature failure and suffer from so much self discharge that unless you really do make use of them on a very consistent basis, they will end up self-discharging themselves into oblivion when you leave em sit around by accident.

As for RCR123s: if you are dealing with incandecents, often there is a solution that involves swapping either up to a 9V lamp or down to a 3.7V lamp so you can run either 2xAW protected RCR123 3.7V, or a single 17670 or 18650 (depending on body).. As for LEDs, some can handle the higher voltage, if it is, then go with AWs protected, if not, go with LiFeP04 3.0V cells and live with the lower capacity, but MAKE SURE you get the correct charger style for each cell as the charging requirements of various li-ion cells are DIFFERENT.

 

[Grateful Ned]

Good tips, thanks kindly. I think the biggest problem I will have with Li rechargeables is this business of not letting them discharge below a certain level. I have to admit I am just not that good at paying attention to things like that. LSD NiMHs sound a bit more idiot-proof - I'm not an idiot but let's just say I have a lot of distractions.

mdocod when you speak of 18650's are you talking about things like:
Li-Ion 18650 3.7V 2200 mAh rechargeable battery FULLY PROTECTED with PCB Lithium-Ion (Battery Junction)
and/or
Protected 18650 ( 2200mAH ) ---- $12.00 each *Upgraded New *Button Top Cell(AW)

I think I could manage a small set of those for my EDC(s). Any tips on those, preferred chargers, etc are welcomed.

 

[Dances with Flashlight]

Thank you all. Great info.