Cave Diving Backup Lights / Rechargeable Batteries

[Doc Harry]

But I know that I would rather err on the side of caution.

So... Trusting an unknown is being more cautious than trusting a known?
Got it.
Dogma is not science.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

So... Trusting an unknown is being more cautious than trusting a known?
Got it.
Dogma is not science.

Neither is sarcasm.

We have "known" alkaline batteries for decades, rechargeables are relatively new.

My objective here is to gather factual evidence supporting or not supporting the use of rechargeables.

 

[Doc Harry]

My objective here is to gather factual evidence supporting or not supporting the use of rechargeables.

Fair enough
Rechargeable batteries = known volts, known mAh, known charging history
Throw-away batteries = Nothing is known

Facts

 

[tbone1004]

Neither is sarcasm.

We have "known" alkaline batteries for decades, rechargeables are relatively new.

My objective here is to gather factual evidence supporting or not supporting the use of rechargeables.

similar to what @Doc Harry said though. With any of the rechargeables and a GOOD charger, you can put them on a cycle test. It will fully charge, discharge, then charge again. It will report how many mAh it was able to draw out of the cell. You do that once a quarter or every 6 months and you KNOW how much life is in those batteries. You could also just burn test them and record the minutes then recharge and good to go. There is variability in alkaline batteries, not a lot, but unless you check the voltage before every dive, you simply don't know.

I don't get to cave dive nearly as much as I'd like so I cycle test all of my batteries before a trip just to make sure. If you're diving a few weekends a month, then maybe cycle them once a quarter. These batteries are all going to die of old age before they die of recharge cycles, so don't worry about that taking away one of your "cycles".

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

With any of the rechargeables and a GOOD charger, you can put them on a cycle test. It will fully charge, discharge, then charge again. It will report how many mAh it was able to draw out of the cell.

Wow, I had no idea...I have just been "burn testing" in my fish tank. Can you point me to such a smart charger? I have one but it does not cycle and report mAh draw.....

 

[tbone1004]

Wow, I had no idea...I have just been "burn testing" in my fish tank. Can you point me to such a smart charger? I have one but it does not cycle and report mAh draw.....

This is the one with the best user interface that I've used. I have some others that are "nicer" but they're a PITA to use and this is easy. It will do lithium and nimh

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Ba...uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

 

[Doc Harry]

Look at the MAHA smart charger from Thomas Distributing

 

[Doc Harry]

NEW Maha Powerex MH-C9000PRO Professional Charger Analyzer

 

[tbone1004]

Look at the MAHA smart charger from Thomas Distributing

that one only does AA/AAA though, won't do the 18650's in the backup lights.

 

[Doc Harry]

that one only does AA/AAA though, won't do the 18650's in the backup lights.

I am both a cave diver and a dry caver. I started using only rechargeable batteries (and using a smart charger) about 13 years ago. Other than my HID canister light for cave diving, all of my caving batteries are AA or AAA. I also use 12 AA batteries at a time in my underwater camera system. I have multiple MAHA chargers and dozens of rechargeable batteries.

The old 2000 mAh Enloops that I bought 13 years ago have finally been retired, but the newer 2500 mAh Enloops are fantastic.

I am going to get the charger that you recommended.