Eneloop discharge?

[mrartillery]

Simple question, i was looking at buying some eneloops for the first time for a couple of my lights and just was wondering how much amperage they can handle? They shouldnt be exposed to much more than 5.5A, i figure they should be fine but just checkin.

 

[45/70]

......They shouldnt be exposed to much more than 5.5A......

Well, 5.5A is a pretty stiff load even for eneloops! They will handle it, but won't hold 1.2 Volts, however they do better than most standard NiMH cells. I generally figure them as being good for 2-3A. Over that rate, I go with Elites.

Here is a chart that SilverFox made. It's in the NiMH shootout thread located in the "sticky" at the top of this Forum.

Dave

 

[Databyter]

My personal rule is 4A. And the way I use lights is very light duty, I rarely have them on for more than a minute or so at a time.

I have heard someone posting all over the board about some tests that were done with eneloops in a 10 amp application and it Works!!.

I'm not impressed, just because it works doesn't mean you are fighting against the very characteristics that make eneloops special, heating them up and lowering their efficiency and life. A more fair test might be to do the high current test every day for a few months, and then measure the LSD performance, and re-measure the capacity and see what you did to your batteries.

On the other hand if you want an emergency light that really has some juice that you want to throw in the trunk of your car for a few months before use and don't care about beating them up a bit and having more resistance in your circuit during use, then I can see a point in using them just for the LSD.

Apparently they can take the load without blowing up, but I bet they get hot. I'd use sparingly and watch the heat.

I originally wanted to use Eneloops for a Mag458 build and a 3 D torch build, but I've been edified by others and I'm now going with Elites.

 

[mrartillery]

Ok cool, thanks for the replies, i have just never messed with eneloops much. I guess ill go with some more Titanium 1800's or i might try out the Elites

 

[45/70]

The Titanium 1800's are decent cells. I've read about them leaking in high drain situations though, so use Elites instead.

Dave

 

[Kestrel]

Here is a chart that SilverFox made. It's in the NiMH shootout thread located in the "sticky" at the top of this Forum.

+1 on the SilverFox test data - I find myself referring to his data for NiMH and LiIon quite often (and even CR123's & alkalines occasionally).

A great CPF resource, particularly voltage drops and cell watt-hours under various loads. Good stuff. :thumbsup:

 

[Databyter]

+1 on the SilverFox test data - I find myself referring to his data for NiMH and LiIon quite often (and even CR123's & alkalines occasionally).

A great CPF resource, particularly voltage drops and cell watt-hours under various loads. Good stuff. :thumbsup:

They seem to perform well under loads, especially under 5 Amps. I just wonder if it would damage them, this is my only concern.

I may have to Up my personal limit to 5.5 amps since I just got a 1909 bulb I want to try and the only pack I have charged is 9AA Eneloops!!

I don't think one night of playing around would do much damage.

 

[AnAppleSnail]

They seem to perform well under loads, especially under 5 Amps. I just wonder if it would damage them, this is my only concern.

I may have to Up my personal limit to 5.5 amps since I just got a 1909 bulb I want to try and the only pack I have charged is 9AA Eneloops!!

I don't think one night of playing around would do much damage.

Using batteries damages them; proper battery charging reduces that damage, and harder use increases it. It's a cost of using flashlights; rechargies reduce it a lot from buying every electron every time, but still you pay for it.