Rechargeable batteries?

[Doc Harry]

Doc's advice on chargers and batteries is great, altho perhaps more than some want to mess with. My home bud & I use Maha conditioning chargers and I gave units to my daughter & grandson. They're not smart chargers, but at least they can drain before charging. Two important reminders I think...

1: Start the discharge cycle when you put the batteries in, even if you think they're dead, as they're usually not really.

2: Don't leave batteries in the charger longer than needed. Those plastic storage boxes that Thomas Dist throws in are great, especially for travel.

The airlines and TSA suggest keeping batteries in your carry-on/roll-on bags, but forget that! Pack them safely & securely in your checked bags. Most battery losses seem to happen at security gate screening when returning from Caribbean/Latin American countries. Lithium batteries have some risks, but NiMHs are much safer. Just pack them well.

Er..... I disagree to some extent.

If you keep you batteries on a smart charger at all times, they will stay optimally conditioned.

Lithium batteries must be put in carry-on luggage, not in checked baggage.

Yes, the rest of the batteries should be in your checked baggage. In places like Cozumel they will confiscate all batteries in your carry-on luggage as you leave the country.

 

[DandyDon]

Thanks Doc. That MH-C9000 charger does look sweet. It'd be nice to do the extensive break-in and have analyzer capabilities.

 

[RonFrank]

The Best Rechargeable Batteries and Chargers Of 2012 >> MetaEfficient

Here is one review. Many batteries come from China. They are cheap and work. They may not provide max burn times but generally provide 90% or better performance at 1/6 the cost. Here is a recent conclusion.

"Bottom line: Chinese 1800mAh battery 25% less capacity and 1/6 the cost. Decide for yourself."

I like the Maha charges. The chargers are more important, as a battery that is not properly charged will not work well. Pay for higher end Chinese batteries and they work very well. If you want more capacity but a 2800mAh battery. It may not be as good as a name brand 2800 but should beat a high end 1800.

​

 

[PfcAJ]

Cheap Chinese cells also typically have a shorter overall life. Less charge/ recharge cycles. Buy it nice or buy it twice.

 

[emoreira]

+1 for Eneloops. They last longer, they stay charged long after being charged.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Alright I went to the link and was disturbed to see this comment at the bottom of the page:

LSD accu underwater
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 06/21/2011 - 19:19.
I was fully satisfied using Sanyo Eneloop with my YS-110a and I was very surprised when i had seen this topic in eneloop Handbook from official site:
"Can eneloop be used in underwater light?
Please do not use eneloop and SANYO Ni-MH batteries on underwater
light and sealed application. SANYO Ni-MH batteries contain a gas
release vent, which allows releasing hydrogen, when the battery is
misused. For normal usage, gas will not be released but hyper-electric
discharge or short circuit can cause inside of the batteries gas pressure
to rise and gas will automatically be released. This gas contains
Hydrogen and sealed devises cannot diffuse the gas. So if there is any
firing source like sparks, it might cause bursting or fire."

Could anyone comment these? Has anyone seen such a case?
Do other LSD and normal NiMh accu have the same trouble?

It is all the more suprising,while i have seen Sanyo Eneloop in recommended list for some underwater flashes(Z-240 for example)

reply


Can anyone comment as to the validity of this?

All batteries release such gas, in fact, one of my camera got flooded, not from water seeping in, but by one of the normal NiMH battery blowing up, releasing whatever gas to high enough a pressure that it pushed the oring of my camera out of its position where water started flowing in.

As for my Sea & Sea strobe, they recommend specifically Eneloop batteries.

Yes, the rest of the batteries should be in your checked baggage. In places like Cozumel they will confiscate all batteries in your carry-on luggage as you leave the country.

I can attest to that. I was on a connecting flight though Bogota to Quito in Ecuador, no rechecking of luggage, just a security check where they found 16 or so eneloop AA batteries that I had in my carryon and confiscated all but 4 of them. My wife went to beg them and I had to show them all my equipments that used AA (along with some other cameras that I said needs those batteries) in order for them to return them back to me.

I was under the impression NiMH was fine, but there was a limit on Lithium Ion batteries, and told them so, but they didn't care about that.

 

[buddhasummer]

That's true of any of the NiMH batteries.

But I've been using Enloop NiMH batteries for underwater strobes and lights for several years without any trouble. All I can say is that if you are concerned about hydrogen gas then you shouldn't be smoking or playing with matches when you open you camera or strobes to change the batteries.

I will add that sealed NiMH canister lights have been in widespread use for many years, and I've not heard of anyone spontaneously combusting as the result of a battery change.

It's hard to post after you've spontaneously combusted

 

[DandyDon]

Now, the TSA does state within TSA: Safe Travel with Batteries and Devices

Keep batteries and equipment with you, or in carry-on baggage - not in your checked baggage! In the cabin, flight crew can better monitor conditions, and have access to the batteries or device if a fire does occur.

Doing so simply leaves you open to losing them to carry-on security agents. The problems seem more common when returning to the US from other countries than when leaving the US, but it can happen anywhere. Security agents in other countries for flights to the US do not follow TSA regulations exactly, but do agree to use TSA standards or something like that - but a lot of it ends up with them making their own rules that may overstep original intent. Pack your alkaline and NiMH batteries in safe & secure protective packaging, then in checked bags. I put mine in an outside pocket so that if an agent wants a closer look after X-ray or Catscan, it's easy for them. Never lost any that way, but I have know of many who lost batteries while trying to carry them on returning to the US.

Or it may be just a nice way to improve local resources...?

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Now, the TSA does state within TSA: Safe Travel with Batteries and Devices

Doing so simply leaves you open to losing them to carry-on security agents. The problems seem more common when returning to the US from other countries than when leaving the US, but it can happen anywhere. Security agents in other countries for flights to the US do not follow TSA regulations exactly, but do agree to use TSA standards or something like that - but a lot of it ends up with them making their own rules that may overstep original intent. Pack your alkaline and NiMH batteries in safe & secure protective packaging, then in checked bags. I put mine in an outside pocket so that if an agent wants a closer look after X-ray or Catscan, it's easy for them. Never lost any that way, but I have know of many who lost batteries while trying to carry them on returning to the US.

Or it may be just a nice way to improve local resources...?

If they open your bag for inspection, anything else of value that is conveniently within sight could disappear. I recently had my regulators in a check in luggage (due to flight with 2 layovers with mucho walking between terminals, along with carry-ons that already included cameras, strobe, housings, hardcase, laptop, all our winter wear that we wore to the airport) and I noticed that TSA inspected my luggage and my reg bag was not completely closed. When I got to my destination, I noticed my uwatec bottom timer missing. I thought I left it home, but when I got back, it wasn't there. One of my layover was in Miami airport and I noticed they were selling saran wrapping your luggage as a service. I thought what a scam, it must be for people who travel home with cardboard boxes as luggages or whose luggage was falling apart. Now I know why people do that.