Batteries... AGAIN.

[billsstills]

Energizer 2500mAh AA rechargeable batteries. That's what I used in my flash the other weekend and so did my business partner (Tony Nadin).
I usually charge the whole lot of them twice. I think I've learned that its best to do that. I have two original chargers which charge for 15hrs then turn themselves off so I can leave them and go do other stuff. I have two new chargers with the same batteries (from when I bought more batteries), the new chargers charge for eight hours then turn themselves off.
When I double charge these batteries they last long enough but I forgot to do that this last wedding so they practically just died before I got any value out of them. I did leave them sitting around a few days before I used them? I don't know if they lose power that fast...

I bought a few packets of Energizer Lithium disposables of which I gave a pack of ten to Tony before I sent him off to the grooms place. Tony said that he was fine with his rechargeables but I suggested it was better to be safe so he took the disposables and went.

By the time we both merged at the Chapel I told him that my rechargeables had failed he said that his were almost out so we were lucky to have the disposables.

The disposables lasted the rest of the night I refreshed one set while Tony's lasted the night.

There's an excellent article in a photographic magazine here about battery types and using charger-analyzers, which can check a batteries condition as well as discharge them.
I've been meaning to get one of those for some time, I better pull me finger out and do just that.

Any further comments would be appreciated.


Bill.

[DougAxford]

A lot of us switched to the La Crosse charger. It's the only thing I would ever use now.

I've found that one dead cell is usually the culprit with AA's and the La Crosse tells me exactly what cell is going bad. No need to toss all of them when one is bad.

Doug

[billsstills]

if I remember correctly that charger was discussed in another thread some months ago... I'd better look for that thread or type the name into Google.
Business things are moving along well I don't want this kind of simple problem.

Thanks Doug.

[Ashley_Karyl]

I have a uniross sprint turbo charger that will fully charge a set of batteries in 15 minutes and comes with an adaptor to work in a car. The Nimh Hybrio batteries work well for me because they don't run down between charges like normal rechargeable batteries.

The higher the mah setting, the quicker they start to lose their life, so while that shouldn't be a problem if you charge them and use them immediately you may find them very short lived if they are sat unused in the flash unit for just a few days. Personally, I think you should find a faster recharger and take along a few sets of batteries.

[MathewLodge]

After problems with cells that discharge themselves when stored, I purchased Sanyo Eneloop AAs. They're designed not to lose their charge, which really helps when you need flash batteries at short notice.

I also got the LaCrosse charger based on recommendations of the folks here -- it works a whole lot better than the super-fast chargers but is definitely more complicated to use. I'd concur that it is excellent for finding dead cells.

[KevinStecyk]

For those wanting the La Crosse Battery charger, they're on sale:

LA CROSSE BC-900 Battery Charger w/ LCD DisplayDeluxe Travel..

[Dennis_Vied]

Interesting info. Sometime back I bought some Ray-O-Vac NMh AA rechargeables because they advertised a 15 minute recharge time, (with the proprietary recharger). I use them for my flashes because they provide quick recycle times with high current. Their charge life isn't good, as they will lose charge in the stored flash, so for a carry around flash, I use Duracell disposables, because of their long shelf life.

If I am planning a photo shoot, I use the freshly recharged rechargeables. It's true, they do recharge in 15 minutes.