AA rechargeble batteries....which ones?

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floydie

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#173797 6-Jun-2015 23:09

i am being driven mad by our electronic door lock which takes 4x AA batteries. it seems to be draining the batteries and when the solenoid activates it seems to drag the voltage low and the unit resets itself.

I'm after some decent rechargable AA batteries that dont cost the earth like enrloops or maybe a 6volt lithium pack that will fit in the space of 4xAA batteries??

( i have also thought about adding a power cap to try and stop the voltage brown outs)

any ideas?

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meow
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#1318478 6-Jun-2015 23:12

Your only answer is the Eneloops.

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timmmay

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#1318520 7-Jun-2015 07:06

Eneloops are the only ones I buy these days. I used to buy higher capacity batteries, but I sacrifice that to get the lack of self discharge of the Eneloop. I have around 80 AA batteries for my camera flashes - the charger you use is almost as important as the cells. Maha C9000 is the king of chargers, but they have other models that charge more cells (C801D) and LaCrosse are good too. The one that comes with Eneloops is meant to be pretty dumb and too fast - 2h is the ideal time to charge batteries, no faster, and not too much slower.

Huntakillaz

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#1318534 7-Jun-2015 08:31

have just been lookin at the same thing seems Xtar chargers are just as competitive if not better (http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?400085-Test-Review-of-Charger-Xtar-VC4)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TVE1O0Q/?_encoding=UTF8&colid=30SKZEJ7WTA2J&coliid=I2K8VMSVX7QK2D#

As for batteries still reading through on the best enloops, though usage of them matters somewhat too for what type you'd want it seems.

http://budgetlightforum.com/forum and http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?9-Flashlight-Electronics-Batteries-Included are the best places for info
Also http://lygte-info.dk/

andrewNZ

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#1318543 7-Jun-2015 08:46

ive never compared, but imedion is supposed to be as good as eneloop.

BUT. If browning out is the issue, rechargeable is probably not the answer. You're going to end up with a 4.8v supply instead of 6v.

what type of doodad is it exactly, and more importantly, what batteries are you using now.

Edit: a battery powered door lock sounds like a very poo idea!

andrewNZ

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#1318546 7-Jun-2015 08:50

timmmay: Eneloops are the only ones I buy these days. I used to buy higher capacity batteries, but I sacrifice that to get the lack of self discharge of the Eneloop. I have around 80 AA batteries for my camera flashes - the charger you use is almost as important as the cells. Maha C9000 is the king of chargers, but they have other models that charge more cells (C801D) and LaCrosse are good too. The one that comes with Eneloops is meant to be pretty dumb and too fast - 2h is the ideal time to charge batteries, no faster, and not too much slower.

When i went looking, some LaCrosse chargers had a bad habit of literally melting down, and taking the batteries with them.

timmmay

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#1318548 7-Jun-2015 08:56

I've used two Maha chargers for years, quite reliable.

floydie

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#1318574 7-Jun-2015 09:47

it's a kaba ef680 door lock. Its a cool lock, has pin access or mifare prox which is cool as you can put a mifare prox sticker on the back of your phone etc and just hold it to the lock to get in. it has a key too so you can override the electronics .

It has chewed 3 sets of batteries in about 6 months, first set that came with the lock lasted 4 months and then the next two not long at all. not sure if its a fault with the lock or just crap batteries.
but i suspect that the eveready's were old. i figured a lower voltage but with better "burst" current ability would be better than ones that die when loaded.

i have a good RC car battery charger (imax B6) which i use to charge everything that can be charged...lipo's ,Nimh, nicad, Pb

i may look at drilling the door and adding a permanent power supply to the lock if it persists

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k1w1k1d

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#1318581 7-Jun-2015 09:56

"If browning out is the issue, rechargeable is probably not the answer. You're going to end up with a 4.8v supply instead of 6v.

What type of door lock is it exactly, and more importantly, what batteries are you using now?"

Could you please reply to these questions that andrewNZ asked?

Oops, you replied while I was typing(slowly).

You didn't say what batteries you were using, just that they were Eveready.

Might be an idea to try some fresh alkalines, eg Energizer.

andrewNZ

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#1318582 7-Jun-2015 09:58

Stop using EverReady batteries for a start! they are cheap for a reason.

Go buy a set of energiser, or better yet energiser lithium and reevaluate when they run out in 12 months or so.

timmmay

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#1318616 7-Jun-2015 10:47

Try lithium cells, they're a higher voltage.

robjg63

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#1318624 7-Jun-2015 11:05

The problem is always that the voltage drops as the battery is used.
The battery still has life, but the voltage has dropped below the required threshold.

No idea if this is for real, but if this does as claimed and comesx to market it will make many people (not the battery manufacturers) happy:
http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/batteriser-voltage-booster/

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floydie

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#1318815 7-Jun-2015 18:53

chucked in some energisers and will see how that goes.
i wish someone would make a hard case lithium battery that fitted in the space of 4 AA batteries side by side.

Niel

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#1319694 8-Jun-2015 20:21

Rule #1 for non-rechargeable batteries is to use only Alkalines. Cheap source is the Varta bulk packs at Bunnings, and they are not bad.

Alkaline batteries have a higher terminal voltage and higher capacity and much longer shelf life than NiMH. All ni-based batteries have a high self discharge over the first couple of days after charging, and then over a month or two thereafter. Eneloop or whatever else classified as low self discharge (LSD) does have a lower self discharge, but it also has a higher impedance so you get a higher voltage droop.

At work we have tested a large range of NiMH AA batteries and settled on these for price and performance (both, not performance traded off against price), however the price we pay is a lot less than the list price. Keep in mind the price is excluding GST.
http://nz.element14.com/ansmann/5035201/battery-rechargeable-nimh-aa/dp/1453781

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#1319712 8-Jun-2015 21:12

what about energizer rechargables?

Oblivian

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#1319725 8-Jun-2015 21:31

Parental got some PureEnergy Alkaline Rechargables from 1-day at one point.

Neglecting to note the type. And the fact they need a special charger *facepalm* (RAM technology)

After many shelling out for 4 pack of AAAs for my hungry Logitech Remote, now switched to Eneloops to go with my remote flash triggers

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