battery capacity of a C cell? using 3C's in a 2D

battery capacity of a C cell? using 3C\'s in a 2D

I'm thinking of doing a tri-lux Mag light next. I already have a Lux3 3D mag, but I like the 2D form factor better. I understand 3C's will go into a 2B Maglite reasonably easily. What kind of runtime loss would I lose going with C's instead of D's? Anyone know approx capacities of each, assuming alkalines for now?

Re: battery capacity of a C cell? using 3C\'s in a 2D

the NiMH ones i have seen have capacities of 5000mAh for "C" and 10000mAh for "D", so twice as much for that particular brand (Titanium). Hope this helps.

Re: battery capacity of a C cell? using 3C\'s in a

That's kinda what I was guessing, just hoping someone might be able to verify that with Alkalines.

Re: battery capacity of a C cell? using 3C\'s in a

One of the simplest places to check is data.energizer.com

There are comparison and data sheets that make it easy to check the rated capacities of each type and size of cell. Remember that the rated capacity is usually under a fairly mild discharge. We tend to run our cells a little more severely so we can expect shorter runtimes.

The rated capacities for the normal alkalines (silver & black markings, not the e2 stuff) is 8350 for C, and 20500 for D. This is at 25mA discharge. That's about 0.1C for the D cell, hardly a strain at all.

Check out the constant current discharge graphs for a better idea of how the cells will perform under a real load. At 1A discharge with cutoff at 0.8V, the C cell lasts little more than an hour. The D manages about 7hrs. That's a fair bit of difference.

Re: battery capacity of a C cell? using 3C\'s in a

Excellent, thanks for that link, it's exactly what I was hoping for.