Higher capacity batteries in strobe

[js1221]

I recently purchased a SeaLife YS-25DX. It is an older strobe, made when batteries did not have the capacity they do today. The instructions for the YS-25DX say to use batteries rated at 1000 mA or less. Would it be harmful to use a battery with high capacity, specifically the Panasonic BK-3MCCA8BA eneloop AA 2100 Cycle Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeables.

 

[aviator8]

It should be just fine

 

[bvanant]

No worries, it is hard to understand how battery capacity (not voltage) could be a problem.
BVA

 

[Chris Ross]

Eneloops are specified for UW strobes due to less heat build up - lower internal resistance. The manuals I found said they are AAA not AA?? AAA are often only 1000 mAHr.

 

[fmerkel]

Found this spec: Battery requirement: 2 X AA Alkaline (3V), Ni-Cd (2.4V), Ni-MH (2.4V) batteries]
Quality LSD AA like Eneloop will work great. No problem.

 

[Interceptor121]

Eneloops are specified for UW strobes due to less heat build up - lower internal resistance. The manuals I found said they are AAA not AA?? AAA are often only 1000 mAHr.

NiMh batteries do get hot as the lower internal resistance means higher drain currents. Eneloop has low self discharge and last longer in your cupboars but a brand new NiMh will have higher capacity and actually produce more shots
Once you put in storage though it will leak considerably more and have a shorter useful life
Heat wise there is no benefit of eneloop vs others and when charging they actually tend to produce a but more heat than other nimh

 

[bvanant]

The higher capacity NiMH batteries that are not low internal resistance at least in my hands using a computer controlled batter tester that simulated an Inon Z240 charging circuit did not yield anywhere near as many flashes as a lower powered eneloop. Experimentally at least I tested some 2700 mAh batteries (new and fully charged) and they actually made about 30% fewer flashes than 2100 mAh Eneloops. The higher capacity ones of course are better for low current constant light use (like a video monitor back) but in my tests not for high current uses like charging capacitors in a strobe.
Bill

 

[fmerkel]

I tentatively agree with @bvanant. I have a number of chargers that test capacity and recently a more accurate capacity-internal resistance checking electronic. That has been an eye opener.

If you have a brand name/quality/new high capacity/non-LDS NiMh it 'may' get more cycles...initially... than something like a stock 2000mA Eneloop. That will not last long as the high cap battery will degrade rapidly and internal resistance will shoot up. Been there, been disappointed by those. Never again....

Even 2450mA Eneloop (and similar, Fujitsu, Imedion) will degrade faster than stock Eneloop but they hold up pretty well and will provide more shots for a couple years.

 

[Chris Ross]

I have seen posts stating INON specifies eneloops to deal with heat buildup in the strobe, it says as much on page 21 of the basic manual. If the charging rate is set by the capacitor and it its charging circuit rather than battery resistance then having lower resistance in the battery will result in less heat generation by the equation Power = I²R. This seems likely as regular And eneloop style NiMH batteries both achieve quite similar recycle times.

This also explains the situation reported above where high drain results in less capacity. Heat is proportional to current squared, so in high drain situations you generate more heat, to minimise the heat generated having low resistance helps. Generating heat chews up battery capacity.

 

[tarponchik]

I use Panasonic Eneloops I bought in 2015 for my Intova ISS2000 flash and they work very well for me. The package I got is still available from Amazon. Just as a warning, Panasonic's Manual forbids using these batteries "in closed compartments". Which I ignore, of course. Who'll be able to find an open compertment for 4xAAs?!