NiZn or Eneloop in 2aa flashlight?

[vickers214]

Hi All,

I know there is a lot of threads on this already but trying to take away an answer from them is very hard for guy like me who knows nothing about batteries, so im asking a simple question to any one who has experience with both,

Will they make my lights brighter and run longer?

i have a ET P100A2 and P10A2 they would be going in, and after some good advice i went to Eneloops and have a bit better brightness and twice the run time, although its still not great as it does dim a bit long before the 1.5 hours as quoted in tests.
In my P100A2 my use is short bursts of light and rarely use it for longer than 5/10 minutes, and i just want BRIGHT light for as long as possible, and my P10A2 is a bike light so is on for longer, usually on low.

Im not bothered if they only cahrge 300 times instead of 500, or won't make a so and so drop in do this or that, i just want to know if they will be any good for the price as they are a bit expensive in the UK more than twice the price of Eneloops!

Thanks guys!!!!

 

[DanU]

According to EagleTac, the P100A2 LED driver is a true buck/boost constant current regulator. Therefore, there will be no, or very little, difference in brightness or runtime between the Eneloop and NiZn.

I couldn't find much info on the P10A2's driver. If it's a boost-only driver, then the voltage of NiZn might be too much and could blow it up.

 

[richardcpf]

Energizer lithium and Nizn are similar voltages when full, and the first one was proven that won't damage flashlights..

 

[Paul_in_Maryland]

In my P20A2 (original, not MK II), NiZn cells definitely have made the beam brighter.

 

[Paul_in_Maryland]

Energizer lithium and Nizn are similar voltages when full, and the first one was proven that won't damage flashlights..

But the NiZn cells have much less resistance, so one must still take care. In a Romisen RC-29 II, a lithium L91 will draw a bit more than 2 amps; a NiZn, more than 4. Yes, more than 4.

 

[vickers214]

Thanks guys,

I thought that about the buck boost, but i have noticed a difference with alkaline cells (different brands), and my Eneloops so i dont think the it is as effective as you would hope, and I dont want my light to go ! that would be a major kick in the stones!

the Lithiums were about to be tested as i have some to hand, but PIM you have chucked a spanner in with the resistance point! This is what makes my head hurt with batteries!

Do they give a big jump in brightness and how is the run time? they do appeal to me a lot, apart from the SD being a bit higher but i would have to pay about $57 for them and a charger from what i can find in the UK, where my Eneloops could have been had for $15 but i got a better charger and paid $24, as you can see a lot of extra cash.

What i need to hear is WOW THEY MAKE IT LIKE A NIGHT SUN! although i know this is not likely:thumbsdow but its a I want to know for myself situation, but im trying not to spend anymore cash than i already have of look see spends!

All you help is greatly recieved and this will be my last purchase for a while if i make it, other than that new Cree XM LED i see advertised, if they make that in an XR-E in 2AA i may have to sell everything and start again:thumbsup:

 

[vickers214]

I guess by the lack of posts not many people either have the experience with these Batteries or they do and don't really rate them that much different, i wil just sit on my Enelops for now till a flashlight optimized for this technology comes along, thanks for your help

 

[Wiggle]

But the NiZn cells have much less resistance, so one must still take care. In a Romisen RC-29 II, a lithium L91 will draw a bit more than 2 amps; a NiZn, more than 4. Yes, more than 4.

That's in the range of 7 watts.... seems a bit much. Is the driver faulty?

 

[Paul_in_Maryland]

That's in the range of 7 watts.... seems a bit much. Is the driver faulty?

No, another CPFer reported the same findings in another thread; sorry, I can't recall the CPFer, the thread, or the forum. He's someone who has made numerous posts in the Electronics forum and the Malkoff M31 thread.

 

[Aquanaut]

I am currently using 2XAA Eneloops in my Fenix LD20. Can anyone tell me the voltage range of the driver? I would like to try NiZns in it.

Thanks,
Walt

 

[vickers214]

After a quick look on here it would seem its a 3V head tops, as a lot of people say on Lithiums it loses its modes, and that would be at 3.4V.

Also the LD10 can run on a 14500 at 3.7, but gets hot FAST.

I would stick to Eneloops or Alkalines!

 

[45/70]

The problem I see with using NiZn cells in a 2 AA light, is that NiZn's are so easily damaged from over discharging, that I doubt they would last very many cycles in such use. In a digital camera, or the like, where the circuitry warns the user when the voltage is getting low, they may fare better, but I have my doubts about their use, even in these applications.

The best way to use NiZn cells in series applications, is to stop the discharge well before they run down. This way they stand a chance of surviving anyway. The devices I use them in draw only a few milliamperes, so this hasn't been a problem, for me.

Dave

 

[tandem]

my P10A2 is a bike light so is on for longer, usually on low.

A fellow cyclist, I'm always on the look out for the holy grail of EDC/biking friendly lights and power. For me that means a 1xAA format really bright light, well regulated, leading output-runtime balance, powered by a rechargeable cell. Ideally with a lower power not nauseating strobe. I added a LD10 R4 to my collection because it met most of the criteria (save the too-fast strobe for night time use) running on NiMH cells, and I may spring for a Zebralight SC51 or H51 as it appears to go just that much farther with an AA Eneloop providing even better regulated output (but has no strobe at all) for a longer period of time.

If waiting for the next gen of lights to come out was too frustrating for me I'd bite the bullet and go for an 18650 powered light and adopt Li-ion rechargeable technology and the necessary additional cautions to using same. Chances are I'd stick with single cell lights to make being safe that much easier. At this point I don't feel compelled to do this and having young inquiring kids here at home, I just feel safer with my fleet of 100 or so AA and AAA NiMH cells powering our devices including a great many bike lights front and rear.

I am intrigued by NiZn though. A more capable safe rechargeable always sounds interesting to me. I'm just not sure the current state of the art in NiZn would be well suited to my application - running out a cell until a regulated light says stop (or until I pull the cell, hopefully not too late, from service in an unregulated device).

I run down AA cells frequently, often daily depending on my work and meeting schedule. Typically I'll go through one a day; if the weather is nasty then depleting two is not a stretch. In daylight when it is murky out I use the strobe mode on my lights; on one I get longer runtime, on the other I don't. In darker hours I cycle with my LD10 R4 on either High or Turbo output, but usually have a second light going as well unless all I am doing is city commuting. I regularly deplete the Eneloop or Imedion cell in the LD10 to the point where the regulated output drops noticeably. That's not fully depleted but close enough.

Perhaps I've misread this elsewhere but I get the feeling that NiZn cells would experience a greatly diminished life span if I kept up the same usage pattern -- a pattern I imagine would be common for many cyclists. Eneloops appear to take this heavy use in stride, but I'll only know for sure after another hundred or so more charge cycles on the two cells (actually one Eneloop, one Imedion) I've pulled from my collection to track real-use behaviour over time.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

If you want to increase runtime you may consider standard nimh cells with higher capacity. You are recharging them often enough that LSD cells main advantage (discharge over time) is unneeded. A decent 2500+nimh standard cell my not be as tough as eneloops but should give you ~25% increased runtime off the charger. I have a rayovac 1AA luxeon headlamp that gives me about half an hour extra runtime off some high self discharged energizer 2500s if I use the batteries the same day I charge them. I don't use them any more because I am not going through a battery as often as I was for awhile and I enjoy having things I use more than once a month ready to use. Also they are talking about a 2500mah eneloop coming out soon, I figure the self discharge rate may be higher and they could be more "fragile" but perhaps they will end up better than most 2500mah AAs over time.

 

[Mr Happy]

I am currently using 2XAA Eneloops in my Fenix LD20. Can anyone tell me the voltage range of the driver? I would like to try NiZns in it.

I think the usual reason for using NiZn is to get more brightness. However, a modern 2AA light can already achieve maximum brightness on NiMH cells, so NiZn would offer no advantage. However, a single NiZn in an LD10 certainly increases the brightness of Turbo mode compared to a single NiMH.

 

[Aquanaut]

I think the usual reason for using NiZn is to get more brightness. However, a modern 2AA light can already achieve maximum brightness on NiMH cells, so NiZn would offer no advantage. However, a single NiZn in an LD10 certainly increases the brightness of Turbo mode compared to a single NiMH.

Yes, I need more photons, faster! :twothumbs

The main reason that I have on order NiZn batteries is to use them in my Nikon SB-800 flash. With NiMH batteries (4 X AA), the recycle time of a full flash is about 4 seconds. With NiZn, it was stated in another forum to have a recycle time of 2 seconds. This is a significant difference. At my last wedding, a few photos came out dark because my trigger finger snapped off photos too fast. With NiZn, I am hoping to get less under exposed flash photos. I will certainly be sure not to over discharge the NiZn batteries, especially since there will be four of them in series.

Since I will be getting NiZn batteries, I was looking for other applications in the flashlight category.

 

[Mr Happy]

The main reason that I have on order NiZn batteries is to use them in my Nikon SB-800 flash. With NiMH batteries (4 X AA), the recycle time of a full flash is about 4 seconds. With NiZn, it was stated in another forum to have a recycle time of 2 seconds.

Be careful that if the flash charges in half the time there will be twice as much current flowing through the charging circuit, which may lead to the components overheating. This could be made worse of you fire off lots of shots in succession without giving things time to cool down in between.

If the SB800 has an AC adapter, I would check how long the recharge takes with that and try not to use a power supply that makes it go faster than that baseline.

 

[Aquanaut]

Be careful that if the flash charges in half the time there will be twice as much current flowing through the charging circuit, which may lead to the components overheating. This could be made worse of you fire off lots of shots in succession without giving things time to cool down in between.

That is good advise and something I am concerned about. I intend to take only 2 or 3 flashes in a row with a rest period in between. Others in photography forums say that this technique would be OK.