[ale] [OT] any experience with low self discharge NIMH batteries

[Alex Carver]

On 3/4/2013 21:04, Ron Frazier (ALE) wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> A few months back, we had a thread here about new advanced LED
> flashlights.  I bought one that has the giant 1/4 in LED inside, and is
> bright enough to be competitive with an incandescent krypton bulb.  Love
> the flashlight.  Works great.  However, it's powered by only 2 AA
> batteries and they're dying 6 months later.  I'm considering using NIMH
> rechargeables there.  The problem with that is that, left on the shelf,
> standard NIMH batteries lose 10 % - 30 % of their charge per month.  So,
> you could pick up the flashlight and not have it working when you need it.
>
> Enter Low Self Discharge NIMH batteries.  These are relatively new. They
> claim to lose only about 15 % of their charge after a year.  So, you
> could get away with charging the flashlight batteries only every 6
> months or so.
>
> Two main brands of LSD NIMH seem to dominate.  Eneloop by Sanyo and
> Imedion by Powerex (Maha Energy).  I've used some standard Powerex NIMH
> 2700 mah batteries and I like them, but I have to charge them if they've
> been sitting a while.
>
> Does anyone have any experience with the LSD NIMH batteries.  Is it a
> good idea to use them in a flashlight, or stick with Duracells at $ 3 /
> pair, or other alkalines?  I know Fry's and Home Depot / Lowes sometimes
> sell batteries in packages at lower unit cost.  I haven't done a price
> analysis on those.

For something like a flashlight that can handle deep discharge try one 
of the lithium iron (that's Fe not a typo of 'ion') formulations.  You 
can pick up AA versions at the hardware store next to the solar powered 
garden lights.