Rechargeable or battery lights - ?

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Location
London
Thanks for that - not quite sure what that vid says/proves (I hopped/skipped through it) but will check out his other Vids.
I have some of those 2500 non low self discharge Lidl AAs.
Though not being as well equipped as Big Clive I don't have an "explosion containment pie dish"

By the by I had the idea that the capacity stated for Eneloops was pretty trustworthy - hence the rather odd numbers their batteries quote - and that in practice they might actually sometimes exceed their modest claims.
 
Location
London
This is interesting, though be prepared for delivery by someone who sounds as if he's had several thousand volts shot through him.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jXQNY6rve8


I'd say that on balance that means the IKEAs are the one to go for.

And I wouldn't like to be retrofitting any built-in batteries from China unless very sure of the source.
 
Location
London
Just had a look at the IKEA site. It is showing two types of AA batteries, one type are 1900 Mah at £4 for 4 batteries, the other type is 2450 Mah at £6.50 for four. The pack of eight CR2035 for £1 looks a bargain.
I think I remember that one way of telling that the IKEA batteries were the rebadged Eneloops was the country of manufacture being Japan.
update - picked up two packs of the Ikea 2450 Laddas yesterday - took some finding - the LADDA batteries weren't all in the same place and by the time I chanced upon them I had pretty much decided that they didn't have any. They now appear to be grey (maybe that's what is new?) - appear to have been imported via Mexico but in spanish on the pack it says made in Japan.
I wouldn't by the way use any of the IKEA chargers I saw.
 

Tenkaykev

Guru
Location
Poole
update - picked up two packs of the Ikea 2450 Laddas yesterday - took some finding - the LADDA batteries weren't all in the same place and by the time I chanced upon them I had pretty much decided that they didn't have any. They now appear to be grey (maybe that's what is new?) - appear to have been imported via Mexico but in spanish on the pack it says made in Japan.
I wouldn't by the way use any of the IKEA chargers I saw.
Thanks for that. Reassuring that they are marked as being " Made in Japan " Our nearest IKEA is in Southampton. I've had my arm twisted on a couple of occasions and got the train there for an IKEA excursion. There's a Decathlon within spitting distance and a really great Pub, the " Dancing Man " is close by.
 
Location
London
Thanks for that. Reassuring that they are marked as being " Made in Japan " Our nearest IKEA is in Southampton. I've had my arm twisted on a couple of occasions and got the train there for an IKEA excursion. There's a Decathlon within spitting distance and a really great Pub, the " Dancing Man " is close by.
they do delivery I think so may be worth it for a good purchase.
Unless my mind was fried on checking out their web site, click and collect seemed to be a fiver which I found bizarre. Sod that.
 

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
Just by the by I use Ansmann rechargeables (AA/AAA) with an Ansmann charger. Use for various things around the house/on the bike. Have done for a few years now. Every couple of years a few of them start failing to charge/get lost and I buy some more.

They're probably a few pennies more than some unbadged equivalent but I've always got satisfactorily good service from them.
 
Location
London
Just by the by I use Ansmann rechargeables (AA/AAA) with an Ansmann charger. Use for various things around the house/on the bike. Have done for a few years now. Every couple of years a few of them start failing to charge/get lost and I buy some more.

They're probably a few pennies more than some unbadged equivalent but I've always got satisfactorily good service from them.
ansmann have a very good reputation - batteries and chargers.
 

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
Off topic a bit, but this triggered a memory. When I was a kid (60s/70s) we had a kitchen radio that took a big block battery, a few cm on each side. Replacing the battery was a significant event (we had to make our own entertainment back then). My dad would always scratch the date of replacement onto the metal casing of the battery. He probably had a notebook somewhere that he recorded how long the batteries were lasting.
 
OP
OP
simongt

simongt

Guru
Location
Norwich
Had a reply from Digital-First Retail, the firm that bought the Maplin name. They didn't assume the 'lock-stock-and-barrel from Maplin, so the products are very different. As the manny at Maplin wasn't to know he'd be out of a job in two years time :sad:, fair enough. So I'm having a dynohub & front lamp unit installed onto my Galaxy by my LBS.
Sorted - ! ^_^
 
Singles day today so many offers on aliexpress and other retailers (mainly chinese) for lights. Maybe something like 15% less than normal pricing on average as a wild guess.
 

the_mikey

Legendary Member
why are chargeable batteries 1.2 v and throwaways 1.5v???...does it make any difference to the choice on this thread versus output for a light ???

The disposable batteries may have 1.5v printed on the side, and in open circuit measurements they can read anything up to 1.6v when tested, that soon falls away when you try to draw a lot of current.

I have just tested an Alkaline battery, measures 1.51v , put it in a Moon Nova 80 led light, when on it's brightest setting the battery voltage soon drops to 1.12v dc..

Doing the same with a NiMh rechargeable, measures 1.32v open circuit, once installed in the same Moon Nova 80 light and powered on it's brightest setting the voltage falls to 1.28v and stays around the 1.2v ballpark figure until the battery is nearly completely exhausted.

For many applications NiMh cells are a better source of power, since they can usually deliver more current and have lower internal resistance, but there are always those things where you simply want to fit and forget, like a battery clock which hardly draws any current so will last a very long time, and devices that were desiged to run at a higher voltage and the electronics just don't work properly, often this is simply the result of poor design or cost cutting design, it often means the batteries never get to run flat and the device gives up before the cells are anywhere close to flat.
 

Jameshow

Veteran
why are chargeable batteries 1.2 v and throwaways 1.5v???...does it make any difference to the choice on this thread versus output for a light ???

Alkaline and simalar batteries start at 1.5v and decline steadily to 0v.

Rechargeables start at 1.2v and continue till 10% charge and then drop away suddenly. So at approx 50% the voltage is simalar.

Something to do with the chemical make up....
 
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