Please Educate me

[ryukin2000]

Hi CPF,
Some background info first. I know very little about batteries and flashlights save for the information I found on the internet in the last 20 mins, so I apologize in advance if this is a dumb question.
First information I learned was that batteries in series ups the voltage but not the current and parallel ups the current but voltage stays the same.
I have a Malkoff 3D dropin which is rated at 3.4-9V max. Using 3-D size alkalines gives me 4.5V with 12000mah.
Browsing through the forum I have seen AA adapters for sale. It catches my interest because I have AA Eneloops. The 9AA-3D adapter is rated at 10.8V. So if I use 6 eneloops at 1.5V and 3 dummy cells I can reach the max 9 Volts. However the Capacity is only 2000mah.
So my question is, if I stay with the D size cell I get great capacity and if I use the adapter I get double the voltage but a sixth of the capacity, what is more important the voltage or capacity in regards to flashlights. Or is my whole understanding of it all wrong? Higher capacity means longer runtime? Higher voltage means brighter?

 

[mvyrmnd]

Pretty much.

3D's will run less bright, for much longer, 6 eneloops will run much brighter for less time.

It depends on how you use it. Do you need long runtimes, or do you want it to be brighter and have to recharge it more often?

First information I learned was that batteries in series ups the voltage but not the current and parallel ups the current but voltage stays the same.

Nearly. Swap the word "current" for "capacity" in this case.

 

[ryukin2000]

Pretty much.

3D's will run less bright, for much longer, 6 eneloops will run much brighter for less time.

It depends on how you use it. Do you need long runtimes, or do you want it to be brighter and have to recharge it more often?


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Nearly. Swap the word "current" for "capacity" in this case.

Thanks for Comfirming that. guess i will stay with the regular setup. So with the 4.5V i am not getting the full 260 lumens?

 

[mvyrmnd]

Since these dropins aren't regulated, no.