Duracell 2750 battery question.

[PHOENIX_SCANNER]

My theory is that most of the new breed of ultra-high capacity aa batteries die sooner and are more prone to early failure of one of lets say four batteries of a set. The old 2000 mah batteries seemed to go on forever, if not giving a very long cycle.

When 2400 and 2500 generic batteries started showing up I noticed a lot of bad things happening. Powerex / maha batteries have surprised me so far though, no weird stuff. They are "only" 2700 mah though. However maha claims their 2700 mah batteries blow away others claiming even higher numbers and that their number is "honest". These cells are supposed to match energizer lithium cells in cameras from what I hear. Who knows.

I can tell you my portable scanner use is VERY hard on batteries often using the lcd screen and keypad light, as well as volumes 70-80 percent up for long periods of time, and I can use my scanner for days without every seeing the battery icon. There is always a spare set of powerex cells charged and ready to drop in when the time comes. No partial discharging here. I run them till the scanner shuts down before switching.

Universal Radio had a small charger I saw in their catalog that would be perfect for a real control freak. It was small and under $50 and had a lcd readout of all specs for each battery and charged one at a time if needed. Looked really nice and if I wasn't so happy with my maha setup I would buy it.

 

[macdude22]

My theory is that most of the new breed of ultra-high capacity aa batteries die sooner and are more prone to early failure of one of lets say four batteries of a set. The old 2000 mah batteries seemed to go on forever, if not giving a very long cycle.

They are more prone to failure, to increase the available materials to hold the charge, they had to thin the walls and reduce the thickness of the separator. The ultra high capacity batteries like the Duracell 2650s are very fragile and easily damaged, causing them to very high self discharge. I have old 1400 mAh panasonic cells that are still working hard after hundreds of cycles.

The new breed of LSD cells like eneloop and hybrid appear to be very robust and rugged. It's generally regarded that eneloops are the best but generally people are having good experiences with most brands of LSD cells.

 

[unitcharlie]

The new breed of LSD cells like eneloop and hybrid appear to be very robust and rugged. It's generally regarded that eneloops are the best but generally people are having good experiences with most brands of LSD cells.

How do these cells hold up in a PSR 500? I will be using the thing for 10 to 12 hours a shift... very unhappy with the Duracell 2650mAh flavor, they work well for about six months, as noted, and then one or two in a set die.... bought some CTA 2700mAh cells just because they last a whole shift in my PRO 97 but unhappy with them in my PRO 96--get less than 10 hours out of them...

 

[gd9704]

FWIW, I just installed a set of Powerex 2700's from Thomas Distributing in my PSR-500, I'll report later on how they hold up..........

 

[macdude22]

How do these cells hold up in a PSR 500? I will be using the thing for 10 to 12 hours a shift... very unhappy with the Duracell 2650mAh flavor, they work well for about six months, as noted, and then one or two in a set die.... bought some CTA 2700mAh cells just because they last a whole shift in my PRO 97 but unhappy with them in my PRO 96--get less than 10 hours out of them...

Well that'll depend on the current draw of the PSR-500. My Pro-162 seems to last 10+ hours on a set of eneloops if there isn't much going on. Last nights storms, it was constantly tripped with someone talking so it was suckin down juice (I also have the light on, uses a bit more juice).

Those extra mAh in stuff like the maha 2700s and the duracell 2650s can come in handy for extended run on a lot of devices, but in my mind it's not worth the trade off of diminished robustness. If I jar a cell a little bit I don't want it to die. I'd probably carry an extra pack of lower capacity LSD cells before I would use the uber high capacity batteries (my lights and radios tend to get jarred sometimes). That's a personal preference, but you really cant get away from the choice of either higher capacity/easily damaged or lower capacity/more robust.

 

[Zaratsu]

How do these cells hold up in a PSR 500? I will be using the thing for 10 to 12 hours a shift... very unhappy with the Duracell 2650mAh flavor, they work well for about six months, as noted, and then one or two in a set die.... bought some CTA 2700mAh cells just because they last a whole shift in my PRO 97 but unhappy with them in my PRO 96--get less than 10 hours out of them...

If you are charging them in the scanner, rotate them like you rotate the tires on your car. Take the batt closest to the contacts and put it furthest back, lather, rinse, repeat.

Discharge is uneven, and results in cells charging to diff capacities. Or at least that is what I had read a few times from the batt experts around here and other places.

 

[slicerwizard]

IIRC the wife bought you that one right? (Damm I gotta good memory!..& no life).

Yeah, it's all her fault. I sent her links to others like the LA CROSSE BC-900, but she probably bought it six months prior - wimmen are like that

I kept a pair of batteries I bought with a portable scanner back in Dec of 1995. They last pretty much till late 2001.
And nowadays I get 6 months at best?
lol.
Here are the specs:
They were radioshack brand Hi-Capacity NI-CAD, 1.25 V 1000 mAh.

Yeah, older, lower capacity cells are certainly tougher than today's offerings. I still have some no name (they're just green with "Ni-MH Battery - MADE IN JAPAN" printed on them) cells that I picked up dirt cheap at Active Surplus back in 2001; they've been living in my Pro-43's the entire time, being fed by a calibrated float charge. To this day, whenever I go mobile with them (they're discriminator audio sources), the cells still last 12 hours or so - which is vital when I'm stuck in Casino Rama's parking lot while Santa spends the day abusing the penny slots...

 

[Zaratsu]

Its funny Andrew, I kept a pair of batteries I bought with a portable scanner back in Dec of 1995. They last pretty much till late 2001.
And nowadays I get 6 months at best?
lol.
Here are the specs:
They were radioshack brand Hi-Capacity NI-CAD, 1.25 V 1000 mAh.

Can you order from Amazon to .ca? Probably depends on the retailer.

but try here. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_g...arch-alias=aps&field-keywords=eneloop&x=0&y=0

Sanyo's Canadia east distributor
http://www.competition-rc.com/catalog/

Sanyo Canada Batt webpage
http://ca.sanyo.com/en-CA/batteries/


Good luck! and have a good trip down here. I hope you get to see some nice things around NY/MA. If you want any hints on tourist things, let me know and I'll try to suggest a few. Maybe if you post in the NY or MA rr.com forums, you could get a fellow enthusiest to pick-up and meet you with the batts/charger you need in exchange for poutine or herr's ketchup chips.

 

[unitcharlie]

Thanx for the info.... I rotate them between scanner and charger but they only last about six months.... will try the location rotation. My primary scanner hangs around my neck all night long so it takes bangs and bumps and is out there...
gd9704: can't wait for your report... I had a set but let someone use them and they never returned.... was leaning toward the Powerx or some Sanyos.

 

[EJB]

Can you order from Amazon to .ca? Probably depends on the retailer.

but try here. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_g...arch-alias=aps&field-keywords=eneloop&x=0&y=0

Sanyo's Canadia east distributor
http://www.competition-rc.com/catalog/

Sanyo Canada Batt webpage
http://ca.sanyo.com/en-CA/batteries/


Good luck! and have a good trip down here. I hope you get to see some nice things around NY/MA. If you want any hints on tourist things, let me know and I'll try to suggest a few. Maybe if you post in the NY or MA rr.com forums, you could get a fellow enthusiest to pick-up and meet you with the batts/charger you need in exchange for poutine or herr's ketchup chips.

Dan-Conn:
It is a in&out trip. Its sad enough we wont see our daughter for 6 weeks.
Upstate NY might be beautiful but from the thruway it is lame till you pass Syracuse.
Western Mass, and the Hudson river valley are indded beautiful.

Thanks for all the info though. I might have isolated the bad cells.

 

[EJB]

Yeah, it's all her fault. I sent her links to others like the LA CROSSE BC-900, but she probably bought it six months prior - wimmen are like that



Yeah, older, lower capacity cells are certainly tougher than today's offerings. I still have some no name (they're just green with "Ni-MH Battery - MADE IN JAPAN" printed on them) cells that I picked up dirt cheap at Active Surplus back in 2001; they've been living in my Pro-43's the entire time, being fed by a calibrated float charge. To this day, whenever I go mobile with them (they're discriminator audio sources), the cells still last 12 hours or so - which is vital when I'm stuck in Casino Rama's parking lot while Santa spends the day abusing the penny slots...

Could worse Andrew she could be abusing the dollar slots!!!
Women are good for other things though, i think
LMAO.

 

[gmclam]

NiMH AA Batteries

Yeah, older, lower capacity cells are certainly tougher than today's offerings. I still have some no name (they're just green with "Ni-MH Battery - MADE IN JAPAN" printed on them) cells that I picked up dirt cheap at Active Surplus back in 2001

I too have some older green batteries that are outlasting anything I bought of a higher capacity including the DuraCell 2650s. I purchased mine at Harbor Freight, I think they were 4 for $1. They are "Chicago Electric" brand (Harbor Freight's brand) and 2000mah.

 

[jackj]

If you are charging them in the scanner, rotate them like you rotate the tires on your car. Take the batt closest to the contacts and put it furthest back, lather, rinse, repeat.

Discharge is uneven, and results in cells charging to diff capacities. Or at least that is what I had read a few times from the batt experts around here and other places.

Why do you say that? The current that charges the cells isn't used up before it get to all the cells. It makes no difference where in the battery string the cell is placed. If the battery is on charge for the proper amount of time and charged using the proper amount of current, all the cells will be charge the same amount.

Jack

 

[iMONITOR]

I've had excellent results with Radio Shack's. The green ones. I think they're 2100 mAh.

 

[SCPD]

Don't throw those Nicads and NiMH batteries away yet

When dealing with a rechargable battery that won't charge much anymore, try this:
Completely drain the battery in the device, recharge, and repeat. Try this up to 5 times before finally pitching the battery.
I have saved a few batteries that I thought were dud for good. Read this on a Honeywell Batteries website.
What I do is program the local weather channel in, crank up the volume, and put the radio in the garage for a couple of days.

 

[N1SQB]

The charger makes all the difference in the world!

Howdy!
If you are going to be using rechargeable cells , the right charger can make all the difference. I have been using the Duracell 2650s for a few years now. I switched from the Energizer 2500 rechargeables. I was using a fast charger for a while. The batteries were getting cooked. I purchased a Maha MH-C801D charger. Those same batteries, after some conditioning and soft charges, are now running strong without a problem. I now have 16 of them. I tested them on my high drain digital camera and they have not lost their touch. Still maintaining a charge for a long time. The charger allows me to see each cells individual status. I can detect wich battery has issues by just a glance at the LCD display. I will say by experience, the charger makes all the difference. I now recondition all my batteries once a month and they work great. my original set of 4 is almost a year old now. I also use the Sanyo 2700 cells as well. I love them too but they are too expensive to buy in bulk. Its easier to just go to local Walmart and grab the Duracell's off the shelf.

Manny

 

[macdude22]

Howdy!
If you are going to be using rechargeable cells , the right charger can make all the difference. I have been using the Duracell 2650s for a few years now. I switched from the Energizer 2500 rechargeables. I was using a fast charger for a while. The batteries were getting cooked. I purchased a Maha MH-C801D charger.
Manny

Agreed, Maha makes some of the best chargers. I have an 808M and 9000C (overkill for the casual user but i'm geeky like that). I believe the 801D is the same circuitry as the 808, just for AA/AAA only, you can save a few bones if you don't need C/D. Generally any Maha charger will take great care of your batteries.

 

[Zaratsu]

Why do you say that? The current that charges the cells isn't used up before it get to all the cells. It makes no difference where in the battery string the cell is placed. If the battery is on charge for the proper amount of time and charged using the proper amount of current, all the cells will be charge the same amount.

Jack

Yeah thats what I thought. I'm no electrical engineer, but just basing this on discussions in the GRE forum and in a few other discussions. It seemd like a "in a vacume, which would hit the ground first? a hammer or a feather?" type thing, but people were backing it up and I just assumed they knew a bit more about the topic than I did. Maybe they are right. I do know that batteries can be charged/discharged in series or in parallell, but not sure how to apply those concepts to batteries. Maybe it is a heat issue? who knows. It seemed simple enough of a thing to do about the same frequency that I change my smoke detector batteries or flip the mattress. :lol: Technology is going to give rise to some weird human rituals a thousand years or so down the road. On the winter and summer equinox you will be flipping your mattress, changing your smoke detector batteries, rotating scanner batteries, rotating your tires, changing the urinal cake, etc.:lol:

 

[gd9704]

So far my Powerex 2700s are working just fine in my PSR-500. I'd say they're lasting 12-14 hours with lots of backlighting and LED action.

What's interesting is that I've been going through my rechargable battery collection and I just found out that an old Powermax 1800mah battery i've been using for years is (has been?) dead as a doornail! My old Powermax charger couldn't tell the difference, but my new Maha 801D knew and told me right off!

Who knows how long I've been beating this dead horse? Here is where using a "smart" charger really shows it's value--you can weed out dead cells. I'm having fun "conditioning" the older batteries in my collection.......

 

[N467RX]

I know it's a little bit off topic, but are they 2750 or 2650?