Fat vs thin NiMH AA cells?

[jrminky]

Hi. I'm pretty new to the world of flashlights outside the $5 things you find in grocery stores and I've noticed that 5 (out of 8) of my 2500mAh Duracell NiMH cells won't physically fit in my MiniMag LED or my Ultrafire C3. Likewise, a few of my older Powerizer cells won't fit either. The ones that don't fit are just a hair too fat. Is this a case of the flashlight manufacturers' quest for zero rattle resulting in tolerances that are too low or battery manufacturers exceeding the standard diameter range for AA cells?

I've seen a few posts here that allude to the "fat" vs "thin" issue but generally nothing definitive. I seem to recall one post implying that Energizer makes "thin" cells while the Eneloops are "fat". Is there a manufacturer/model table somewhere that sorts all this out? I'd hate to buy new cells only to find that they don't fit either.

 

[leatherbender]

I had the same issues with some NiMH cells not fitting my Mag's. I find that Eneloops do fit though, I need to try to fit my Hybrids just to see.

Those blue and green "no name" NiMH's from Wal Mart are too fat for the Mag's, but they do fit my camera.

 

[VidPro]

lol, good question, i tested the enloops in a 8X D sized holder in an unboored mag, and they wouldnt fit, where the energyser 2300-2500s did. others report the completle opposite.
some of the way lower capacity like 1800 things would fit with no problem.

yes it is manufactures trying to stay within Spec for the cell, so it can be used in normal devices, and trying to get the capacity as high as they can so they can sell more,and compete.
they also thin some things up, even in alkalines they have thinned up some stuff that has ramifications.

also, just to add more to the size situation, for discussion, as pressure (or gas) rises in the cell, which it does during overcharge and reverse charge, they probably can get a Teeney bit fatter.
there are a FEW reports of a battery not comming out because it got fatter, pressure could potentially do that to any cell.


ok i just tested many different sets. using the caliper doesnt help anything.
i tried to shove 4x sets (without an adapter) into an OLD mag that is unboored, and the enloop sets are always much tighter, than the energyser set, both fitted, but its likly that i would tear the insulation on that horrible edge at the entry point

 

[AndyTiedye]

its likly that i would tear the insulation on that horrible edge at the entry point

Has anybody tried taking a Dremel to that edge and grinding it down a bit?

 

[WDG]

Just a thought... Could also be due to the way manufacturing tolerances are adding up in particular samples of lights & batteries. There's always going to be variance in the tolerances of each, and from time to time they could add up to be tight, while at the other end, add up loose.

 

[paulr]

Some cells are a little thicker than others. You can sometimes get things to fit by rotating the cells around so that that spot where the label overlaps itself is facing a direction where it doesn't get in the way.

 

[VidPro]

Has anybody tried taking a Dremel to that edge and grinding it down a bit?

i thought about it, but then the coating internally (paint or annodising or whatever it is) inside the tube, is mostly non conductive, so the next issue would become that there would be a conductive ring there after grinding.

 

[TorchBoy]

I seem to recall one post implying that Energizer makes "thin" cells while the Eneloops are "fat".

I've heard the opposite, specifically that Energizer ACCU Rechargeable NiMH AA cells are wider than standard