Battery Help

[Marcus Geezer]

Gents,

I'm looking at buying rechargeable AA's for my New Canon flash, which got me thinking that if I'm looking for the best rechargeable batteries that holds charge over a period of time and has a slow drop off rate, why the hell cant I use them for pball?

I know, I know, before people start saying there are a million threads which have this info and it shouldnt be done, etc, etc, I think battery technology has moved on now to the point where it may be feasible to use rechargeables in your hopper.

Now the batt of choice for many photographers is the Sanyo Eneloop. not the highest power being 2000mAh, but hold their charge over a period of time and output near optium voltage for longer than all others.

And... before anyone says buy a bonepack (which is only 800mAh surprisingly enough?), the output of these is the equivalent of 6 x AA's where I have a Reloader B2 where it is recomended it has 4 x AA's.

I'm buying some anyway for my flash, but if these are viable for paintball will buy some extra.

Has anyone got any comments?

 

[Dusty]

Duraloops, aka Duracell Active Charge are a low self discharge battery also suitable for high intensity usage.

They are rebranded Eneloops, which I also use in my flashlights when necessary, and as a bonus Sainsbury's had them on offer recently. Normally £14 per pack of four, reduced to £4.50 per pack in store only.

http://www.component-shop.co.uk/

Have a nosy at their special offer, comes with a carry bag, charger, 8 aa eneloops and 4 x aaa with battery holders, £35 well spent in my case with all the kids toys etc.

Definitely the way to go, however for people who are new to rechargeables, be aware they don't die gradually, it is max output for as long as possible, then they die quickly.

For your particular requirements with photography, I advised my brother (link in sig) and he bought 24 of the Duraloops from sainsbury's and hasn't looked back since. Faster, almost instant recharge rates on his Nikon flash through the life of the batteries which is inmportant for him doing weddings, but he did say when they do run out, they do it very quickly.

 

[Marcus Geezer]

Thanks Dusty. I'll have a look at that offer and will deffo get eneloop (or duraloop from Sainsburys) for my flash.

So on the basis that these output near optiumum voltage till they stop, would anyone like to step up and claim 4 of these would be ok for a good days play using a Reloader B2 board?

 

[Dusty]

I'd say yes.

Buy two sets, you can charge them and leave them. After a year they still (claim) to retain 85% charge.

 

[Marcus Geezer]

Thanks Dusty. On that recomendation I'll buy extra sets for pball.

Cheers.

 

[Dusty]

The way to look at it is this, if they turn out to be a bag of ****e, you can still use them in the house. Look around and you'll be amazed at how many things use batteries which could be rechargeables.

Stuff the environmental issues, look at the money you'll save

 

[Marcus Geezer]

Of course i was only thinking of the environment..........

 

[Marcus Geezer]

Sorry for the double post but I thought it good to post up a few findings.

As above and mainly for camera use bought a uniross charger complete with its own batteries and some Sanyo Eneloops.

Notably these and other rechargeable batteries have a nominal voltage of 1.2V whereas a standard AA is 1.5V. Checking the voltage of the uniross batts straight from the charger they came out at 1.42 volts but after being left overnight on the kitchen top measured at 1.38volts. Can see these being very poor in any equipment that needs a bit of longevity and umph!

The eneloops when charged are at a very consistent 1.45 volts. I'm gonna give these a go in my reloader B next time out and see how I get on and post up the results. For a hopper thats capable of 20bps+ it should be able to feed at 10bps even with this slight reduction in voltage? Only one way to find out.

 

[Dusty]

You will also notice an increase in performance after a few charge and discharge cycles I am reliably informed.