Welcome, guest [login | register]

Posted by Bill S on March 8, 2007 at 7:38:22 pm EST
In reply to Headlamps & Lithium batteries posted by Karman on March 8, 2007 at 2:32:14 pm EST

Lithium AAs are NOT rechargeable. They are a different chemistry from rechargeable lithium cells. The AAs are close to the "standard" 1.5 volts of any AA (actually slightly higher than alkalines when fresh, which can cause problems in some applications, like Garmin's 60CSx GPS receiver), vs close to 3 volts for lithium rechargeables. They do last longer, but you still end up throwing them in the landfill (or, here in Palo Alto, the recycling container).

The big advantages of Li AAs are 1. they work much better in cold temperatures (like -40 deg), 2. they last longer (depending on the application, but often enough to make up for the cost difference from alkalines), and 3. they have a much longer shelf life (10 years vs about 2-3 years for alkalines).

Your choices in rechargeables in the AA size for headlamps are NiCd and NiMH. The latter (NiMH) has a slightly higher voltage than the former (NiCd), but both are less than alkalines at full charge. NiMH will recycle more times than NiCd before you have to discard them (yes, you do have to discard them eventually, usually a few hundred charge cycles). The rechargeables come in various capacities (amp-hours), so look carefully at the packages when you go to buy them - you might still end up carrying a pack-full of spares on a long hike. Or, you can do like me and carry a solar battery charger. Oh, yeah, the fast charge versions (15-min) tend to have less capacity and require AC to get the fast charge (it takes as long as the regular rechargeables on the solar panel or anything other than the special fast-charge unit).

As far as problems with headlamps, there are no problems using lithium AAs with filament-type bulbs (standard or halogen) nor with most LED headlamps (none in my experience, but I wouldn't want to speculate on the newest special LEDs). The only problems I have encountered with lithium AAs have been certain Garmin GPS receivers and the strong caution Canon puts on certain of their point&shoot digital cameras (like Barb's 620).

Replies

View: flat | threaded

• Re: Headlamps & Lithium batteries - James Voortman (Guest) 15:47:38 04/16/2007
• Re: Headlamps & Lithium batteries - Tom D 20:59:24 03/09/2007
  • Re: Headlamps & Lithium batteries - Blackbeard 18:21:11 03/10/2007
    • Re: Headlamps & Lithium batteries - Blackbeard 18:23:33 03/10/2007
      • Re: Headlamps & Lithium batteries - Tom D 22:40:26 03/10/2007
        • Re: Headlamps & Lithium batteries - Bill S 12:16:51 03/12/2007

Post a Reply

Before replying, please read the complete thread.