ROP battery power question...

[cutlerylover]

I was going to post this in the battery section but I figured sonce many of you guys here have a similar ROP setup you might be able to help me...

I have this setup right now...

2D maglite body
borofloat lense
Medium Stippled reflector
Pelican 3854 bulb (11w)

I also have 2 (3AA to 1D) batery packs...

What I wanted to know is if these rechargable batteries would work ok with this setup?

Because I pass a radioshack everyday I wanted to know if their rechargables would be ok with this setup...cause it would be easy to pick them up there instead of driving out of my way to walmart...

1st I was thinking this combo... a fast charger with 4 recharbale AA's (1.2 V 1800mAh Ni-MH)

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2107337&cp=&sr=1&origkw=23&kw=23&parentPage=search

Then I was thinking I would buy an extra pack of 2 rechargable AA's so that I have the six I need...plus the charger charges either 2 or 4 at a time which is perfect...my question though is this...the set of 2 is rated at 2000mAh instead of the 1800 that the other 4 are...how much of a difference will this make?

Oh this is the link to the 2 pack of rechargable AA's...

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062144&cp=&sr=1&origkw=rechargable+aa&kw=rechargable+aa&parentPage=search


So again my 2 questions are:

1) can I mix 1.2V 1800mAh rechargable AA's with 1.2V 2000mAh rechargable AA's?

2) Are these rechargables a good choice to use with the pelican #3854 11W bulb in a ROP setup?



I am still new to the hotwire mags and Im not really sure about wattage or voltage with these bulbs, I do not want to blow a bulb, but I want to get the most out of it safely...


p.s. Im still not sure if I should have posted this in the battery section

I just thought sicne its ROP related this might have been the better place to put it? But if the mods are reading this and feel its better there than please move it...Thank you!

 

[Carpenter]

So again my 2 questions are:

1) can I mix 1.2V 1800mAh rechargable AA's with 1.2V 2000mAh rechargable AA's?

2) Are these rechargables a good choice to use with the pelican #3854 11W bulb in a ROP setup?

Do not mix different amperage batteries. They should be identical in both voltage and capacity. 1800 or 2000mAh while you can use them, they will not produce as much runtime as the higher mAh batteries.

I personally use Titanium 2600mAh batteries in my ROP hi and get 25 minutes.

 

[cutlerylover]

Ok so don't mix different capacity then...got it, Thanks..

Do you think I could use 6 lithium AA's? instead of rechargables...Energizer lithiums are 1.5V each...at 3000mAh...would that be better for this setup? I don't mind the runtime so much as the power..I want to get as much light as possible without blowing the bulb...so that would be 9V...is that too much?

 

[cutlerylover]

Anyone use Lithium AA's in their ROP or Mag85 setups? :thinking:

 

[mdocod]

6 lithium AAs would probably blow the lamp.
5 might work ok, but would get expensive to feed.

I suggest ordering something like the titaniums mentioned above online. And ideally, a charger that has independent channels... if the charger requires 2 or 4 cells at a time to charge, then it doesn't have independent channels for each cell. When dealing with rechargables, the charger is actually more important than the cells. Cheap cells with a top notch charger will work better and for longer than the best cells with a junk charger.

 

[cutlerylover]

Ok that sounds like a good suggestion...Thanks!

 

[cutlerylover]

I have just one last question...Could I use 4 rechargable batteries and 2 non-rechargable batteries together without a problem?

 

[mdocod]

NO, that would be even worse, You'd have various voltages AND a major difference in internal resistance per cell...

think of it like this- in order for cells to stay healthy in a pack, they must all maintain a very similar internal resistance and voltage at all times. The more closely matched the cells are, the more cycles the pack will survive before cells begin to fail...

 

[cutlerylover]

Ok, thanks again for the help! I will just stick with some titanium rechargables a set of 6...I will buy them online soon, Thanks again!

 

[Carpenter]

You won't be disappointed with Titanium's. They also seem to hold their charge quite well.

I also recommend this charger http://www.amondotech.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1041
10 Bay 250 mAh charger - Able to discharge and then charge. Works with both 100-240VAC and 12VDC power.

 

[cutlerylover]

Thanks, thats 10 bay charger sounds perfect since I would be using 6 of them for the ROP and my house has 2 digital cameras that both use 2AA each...Thanks for the link!

 

[eebowler]

If you're going to buy cells from amondotech online, you may as well go with the high discharge 1800mAh cells. Silverfox tested them and reported their claims are good.

It comes down to runtime and brightness. Higher capacity cells will last longer than the high discharge cells but will have a lower average brightness. The high capacity cells will power the ROP to its maximum performance throughout the life of the cells however, runtime will be lower.

 

[cutlerylover]

Hmmmm, ok, thank you for the additional info, In this case I am going for power over runtime...