Rechargeable batteries

[HJ]

Anyone got any advice on what are the best rechargeable batteries to use with cycle lights? Just standard AAs, not fancy proprietary batteries for fancy light sets.

 

[PatrickPending]

NiMh (nickle metal hydride) - work fine with all my LED lights, been fine in halogen AA barttery based lights too. The more MA hour the better. Avoid cheap supermarket brands

 

[HLaB]

I think something with a high mAh value is best, I've been using Energizer the last couple of years and I've had no problems with them.

 

[Amanda P]

Maplins do some very good nickel metal hydrides of their own brand. They do them at a special price from time to time - worth keeping an eye on their web site.

Cheap NiMhs tend to fail prematurely: avoid them.

Oh yes, and get a good charger - NiMhs are sensitive to unintelligent chargers that just pump in a fixed current indefinitely. You need a clever charger that senses the batteries' temperature and state of charge and tails off the charging current to suit if you want your batteries to last well.

 

[Slim]

For a while now I've been using Uniross Hybrios. The capacity is not as great as some rechargeables but they hold their charge a lot better. Regular rechargeables lose power just sitting on the shelf. If your batteries are to be charged and used frequently then ordinary rechargeables would probably be fine. If your lights are low consumption (most modern LED lights are pretty good) then I'd definitely go for the Hybrios.

Oh! and I'll second what Uncle Phil says about chargers.

Have a look at this one... http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/technoline/technoline-bl700.asp

 

[Tynan]

the really cheap one from Hong Kong on ebay run out in half the time as name brands, that said they're really cheap, as for holding charge, I bought a 6 slot charger so I take them straight out of it

 

[Andy Pandy]

On-one sell vapextech rechargeables (2700 mAH), which I think are very good. Run longer than other brands I use. I also have found that my slower charger seems to charge the batteries better than my rapid 1 hr charger. Not sure why.

 

[Downward]

I bought a 15 min charger from E Bay (Uniross) and taking 15 mins to charge it isn't that important that the batterys last cause you can just charge them in double quick time.

 

[HJ]

The reason I ask is because last year I bought a Uniross Globe Trotter Pocket Travel Charger and a couple of packs of Uniross Ni-MH 2100 batteries (they were on special at my local Maplins). However when I tried using them in my old Cateye Micro halogen light (so old I can't read the model number) I found that they only lasted for about 15 minutes. Using conventional alkaline batteries in the same light, it run for about an hour and a half. So I was wonder where I went wrong.

 

[DLB]

i think the best you can get are the new uniross HYBRIO batteries. They come charged and hold 70% of their charge over the period of 1 year if not used. With LED lights they last ages.

In my opinion they are so much better than other rechargeables.

 

[LondonCommuter]

I've been using Sanyo eneloop NiMh batteries for the last year or so. They claim to last fully charged when unused for a lot longer than other batteries. Very happy with them. Amazon or other internet sites have good deals and you can usually get a dedicated charger too.