Rechargables in River Rock 2AAA?

Genxsis

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Sep 17, 2005
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Does anyone here know whether or not rechargable batteries can be used in the River Rock 2AAA light? I have AA rechargables (Nicads) and I tried using them in my 2AA RR light without success. I thought maybe since it is kind of high powered, the 1.2 volts in the nicads weren't enough to power it, so I thought maybe the same could be true for the AAA version since it is also kind of bright for its size. I'd like to know because I don't have any rechargable AAA batts, but don't want to waste my money if it won't work. Alkalines work great, however.
 

nerdgineer

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Mine run off nimhs just fine, although they lose about 30% of their output compared to fresh alkalines. In theory, the nimhs should run flatter so maybe the difference is less later, although the RR 2AAA (same as Nuwai TM-311) has sort of some regulation so I think alkalines may be brighter over most of the run.

Nicads have about the same voltage as nimhs and should have high higher current capacity than nimhs so I'm pretty sure current drain is not the reason your light won't work with nicads. However, nicads are notorious for early decay and various failure modes, so maybe a bad nicad is part of your problem.
 

Brighteyez

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You can use either NiCDs or NiMH batteries with both the 2AA and 2AAA lights. Don't know why your NiCDs won't work, perhaps they're not holding a charge? Whether you actually choose to use NiMH batteries rather than alkalines in the AAA light would depend upon how frequently you go through a set of batteries. I have the RR AAA light in my pocket every day and probably charge the battery once every 2-3 weeks. I'd think that would be about borderline as to whether I should use alkalines, and I think the only reason that I continue to use the rechargeables is because they're already in the light and that I can charge them in about an hour.
 

Bullseye00

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I just tried 2 *NiMH* rechargables in my River Rock 2AAA. They work, but the beam is significantly dimmer than with alkalines. I'll have to get some fresh alkalines and fresh charge some NiMH batteries and do an endurance test.
 

WNG

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I use AAA 750maH NiMHs in my RR 2AAA fine.
And I also couldn't run AA NiCads in my RR 2AA. Freshly charged cells that worked in another 2AA Lux type LED light. They are Japanese-made Panasonic cells, but only 500-600maH rating. I assumed the cells didn't provide enough current.
A pair of 1600maH NiMHs worked fine.
 

Genxsis

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Sep 17, 2005
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My Ni Cads are pretty old, so that may have something to do with the fact they didn't work very well. Probably the regulation too, since they work just fine in my Minimag/niteize light just fine, which is not regulated.
 
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