I'm looking for the highest capacity 9V batteries

I'm currently using Ansmann 9V NiMH batteries which have a 250mAh rating. I use them in industrial application, for my test equipment. As I work long hours the batteries sometimes don't last a shift and I have to keep checking on the charger in my (minimal) leisure time

I'm looking for 9V rechargeables which are a significant improvement on this.

I'll also need a really good charger/conditioner for them, one that looks after the batteries but that can still charge in a reasonably quick time.

Any recommendations?

http://www.batteryspace.com/li-ion9v400mah36whrechargeablebattery.aspx

Li-Ion 9V 400mAh (3.6Wh) Rechargeable Battery

Hello Frank E,

Welcome to CPF.

Most of the 9 V NiMh batteries have about the same capacity. There is a Lithium Polymer 9 V battery, but it requires a special charger, and I don't have any experience with it. It does have about double the capacity of the NiMh batteries according to the label. I also don't know if it will fit into battery compartments designed for Alkaline batteries. It may be physically a little larger.

If you happen to know what the current draw is with your equipment, you can figure out about what the run time should be from your batteries. It may be that one cell in the battery has gone bad, and simply replacing the battery will get you back into being able to last all day without having to change out.

I think Maha has (or had) a quick charger for 9 V batteries. The rest use a slow charge and terminate the charge based on time.

If you have a way to do a discharge test on your batteries, you can monitor the voltage during the discharge and determine if one cell drops out before the others. Once this happens, it is time to replace the battery. I have tried to bring these cells back to life without much success.

When I get NiMh 9 V batteries, I charge them, balance them, then run a discharge test on them. If they don't pass the test, I replace the battery and go through the process again. Once I find a battery that has reasonably matched cells in it, I get excellent life from it.

Tom

Reposting my comments from this thread: 9V Recommendations

FWIW, I've used the iPower 500mAh Li-Polymer 9v (8.4v) batteries and their four place charger since mid 2007. http://www.ipowerus.com/ They've held up very well in microphones, radios, shooting muffs and smoke detectors, and have excellent capacity and low self-discharge. I have not had one fail or go weak, to date.

I bought mine from Thomas Distributing: http://www.thomasdistributing.com/s...html?SP_id=&osCsid=vb6r7t3ncbalj5anl2ejtbfd94

They aren't cheap, so I probably would have gone with NiMh, had I not been wanting the higher capacity for mics, but I've been very pleased with them in all roles.

Click to expand...

If you decide to go this route, you'll need the correct charger, but it will also charge NiMh and NiCd, just don't forget to check the switch before inserting a Li-Poly. They seem normal size, to me, or at least I haven't run into anything they won't fit in, yet. Thankfully, there's no conditioning required with these.

Again, I've been really pleased with them. As always, YMMV.

Don't know if it's reasonable for you, but you could always wire up a battery-holder to a 9V plug, and use 7 or 8 AAA or AA rechargeables, then affix to the unit's case with Velcro, etc.. You could probably go a whole week

Thanks, I was considering doing that, though I don;t have enough matched AA cells to do it with, so I am as well getting the 9V situation sorted out fro the outset rather than spending on an interim soultion.


I can't find an ipowerus distributor in the UK. The only place that sell them is a german firm and they are more pounds sterling han they are dollars.

Frank E said:

I can't find an ipowerus distributor in the UK. The only place that sell them is a german firm and they are more pounds sterling han they are dollars.

Click to expand...

Check this thread: 9v pp3 rechargeable battery recommendation please?

I believe Parrot of Doom is in the UK, but I'm not sure where he ordered them from. Might contact him and ask.

Besides very low self-discharge, higher capacity and fewer cells to get into an imbalanced state, another advantage a lithium-polymer 9 volt cell has over its NiMH counterpart is that a volt-meter will give a much more reliable indication of the state of charge of a lithium-polymer cell.

Ordered an
1 IPowerUS 4-Way 9v Battery Charger
4 IPowerUS 9v 520mAh Rechargeable Lithium Polymer Battery

I also think that lithium is going to be the only way here for improvement. Cramming 6 AAAAs sucks for capacity. You will be able to charge lipos faster and they should last longer because of only 2 cells.

And if you can manage an external battery pack, then you would probably be set for 2 weeks with 2*18650s

Didn't realise there were 2 cells in each, but I don't know much about the electrochemistry.

Received the IpowerUS 9V Li-Polymer 520s and charger this morning. The batteries are even serial numbered ..., there's a plastic caddy to hold batteries while not in use (need moar) I like.

The battery reached full charge within an hour ( I guess from nominal 40% charge recommended for storage), though I'll leave it on trickle for a day to run it in. I resisted the temptation to charge all as I won't be using them all for a while.
(Not sure if leaving a new Li-Pol on trickle to run them in is necessary or advisable with Li-Polymers, I'll have a look through the archives and FAQs) The leaflet didn;t say anything.

I forgot to say (in cas this comes up in a search) I got the iPowerUS charger and batteries from:

www.richmondfilmservices.co.uk

No trickle charging for lipos. Its killing them :]

Took them off trickle when I saw your post. What about li ions? I've stopped leaving my battery drill batteries on trickle.

I've had these 9Vs for a couple of weeks now.
My thermocouple meter was going through NiMHs like anything, one wouldn't last a day. To be fair on the NiMHs they were a few years old and have been dropped a few times, left in modulating temperature conditions etc but otherwise looked after.

I've had a 9V 520mAh iPowerUS in the offending meter for a couple of weeks with daily usage at the same duty, I opened my bag just now to find I'd left the meter switched on from yesterday (>24 hours) and the battery low indicator isn't even on.
I'm well impressed.

T0RN4D0 said:

No trickle charging for lipos. Its killing them :]

Click to expand...

If I'm not mistaken, the iPower IP-FC904U charger Frank E ordered doesn't trickle charge lithium polyimer 9V batteries. I believe that it uses a consant current/constant voltage charging algorithm and ends the charge.

When charging nicad or nimh batteries it uses a different algorithm that may trickle charge for a hours after the main charge finishes.

http://www.ipowerus.com/Products/DC9V_Charger/DC9V_FS_Charger.htm

You are correct though, lipo batteries shouldn't be trickle charged.

Russel said:

If I'm not mistaken, the iPower IP-FC904U charger Frank E ordered doesn't trickle charge lithium polyimer 9V batteries. I believe that it uses a consant current/constant voltage charging algorithm and ends the charge.

When charging nicad or nimh batteries it uses a different algorithm that may trickle charge for a hours after the main charge finishes.

http://www.ipowerus.com/Products/DC9V_Charger/DC9V_FS_Charger.htm

You are correct though, lipo batteries shouldn't be trickle charged.

Click to expand...

Sorry for the confusion. I made a wrong assumption that the charger trickles after charge when it doesn't (I'm used to using NiMH batteries which do trickle charge).
The LED goes green after full charge. The batteries I charged didn't even get warm when charging.
It's a portable pocket sized charger with mains transformer and 12V car plug.
:twothumbs




Not sure where I put the data sheet for the charger. I think I requested an electronic copy, as I do for all datasheets but haven't received.

From ipowerus.com website:

Li-Polymer (Li-ion) Batteries Charging mode:
4 channels independent charging each 9V battery.
Super fast charge Li-ion 9V battery in 1 hour.
Auto detection, auto protection and auto stop.
Dual color LED display (Charging: Red, Full: Green)
Ni-MH (Ni-CD) Batteries Charging mode:
4 channels independent charging each 9V battery.
Negative Delta V and Zero Delta V program control.
Auto protection with voltage and timer control.
Auto detection and charging 7.2V / 8.4V / 9.6V battery.
Super Fast Charging Ni-MH & Ni-CD 9V battery in 2 hours.
Safety Protection (Dual Mode):
High Temperature, Reverse insert, Damage battery,
Non-rechargeable battery, Over Charge


Package:
9V Battery Fast Smart Charger
Universal power adapter: AC100V~240V (UL, PSE, GS/TUV)
Car Cord (DC12V)**

Optional items:
4 pcs. DC9V-500mAh Li-Polymer Batteries
4-Bay battery caddy (battery holder case for 4 pcs 9V batteries )
Travel power plug adaptor (EU, AU/CN, UK/HK)
One year limited warranty for "DC9V Fast Smart Charger":
This product carries a full one-year warranty from date of purchase against defects in materials and workmanship. This warranty does not cover damage resulting from accidents, misuse, unauthorized repair / alterations to the product or failure to follow operating instructions. If the product should become defective within warranty period and under the above-mentioned conditions, please return it to the store you originally purchased it with proof of purchase for repair or replacement free of charge.