Best AA lithium cell for Gerber IU

edison

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What's the best AA lithium cell to use in a Gerber Infinity Ultra (white LED) for EDC? I want a lithium cell primarily for weight reduction because the light will be worn around my neck. Is the Energizer "PHOTO Lithium" 1.5V a good choice for this purpose? I'm new at this so I don't know if a 1.5V or 3.6V cell is the proper choice for this torch. Thanks.
 

capnal

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OK, actually I think the claim by Energizer that they are making the world's only AA sized lithium is still valid.

What other brand of lithium would you be referring to?
 

edison

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Are the Energizer PHOTO Lithium cells of lower physical mass than alkaline AAs? I'd assume that they are, but I want to know for sure before buying. Any chance anyone here has actually measured for this, as in alkaline/nimh/lithium cell masses? Is there a big enough difference that I should care? Remember, this thing will be hanging around my neck most of the time.
 

edison

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[ QUOTE ]
capnal said:
OK, actually I think the claim by Energizer that they are making the world's only AA sized lithium is still valid.

What other brand of lithium would you be referring to?

[/ QUOTE ]

Good question. I don't exactly know, except that I remember reading a thread about runtimes with the ultra-g using a lithium cell and 3.6V AAs were mentioned. I've also either heard or read from other sources about the existence of AA sized lithium cells of higher voltage. Perhaps they are not technically AA cells, but they are the same size. Hopefully one of the experts will chime in soon, things like this are usually common knowledge to them.
 

Steelwolf

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Currently, there is only one lithium cell available which is a direct replacement for AA alkaline cells. That is the one made by Energizer, given the designation L91.

There are other AA-sized cells available, but they are 3.6V and are meant for long-life, low-drain applications, like running the onboard clock of various electronic devices such as that found on your computer. Some people have found that they can just about drive 1 to 2 5mm LEDs directly using this cell, but I wouldn't really bother.

The other common lithium cells available are based on a 3V chemistry. These are the ones you normally put in to your cameras. They aren't really AA-sized. They are actually based on fractional sizes of the now defunct A-sized cells, so they are actually a little fatter than AA.

Lithium cells are lighter than alkaline, NiCd, NiMH and lead-acid cells of equivalent volume. They should be, since lithium is lighter than all the other metal bases used in the other chemistries. And lithium is a highly reactive metal, so cells based on this chemistry tend to have more energy than cells of equivalent volumes based on other chemistries.
 

Gandalf

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[ QUOTE ]
edison said:
Are the Energizer PHOTO Lithium cells of lower physical mass than alkaline AAs? I'd assume that they are, but I want to know for sure before buying. Any chance anyone here has actually measured for this, as in alkaline/nimh/lithium cell masses? Is there a big enough difference that I should care? Remember, this thing will be hanging around my neck most of the time.

[/ QUOTE ]

I just weighed a Lithium Energizer L91: 14.26grams
An alkaline Energizer weighed 24.31 grams.

So the weight dfference is quite significant; about 40% lighter.
 
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