AAA or AA. Which is better

[Jedi_Knight_Zekk]

Sorry in advance if this isn't the right place to post this.
Now, I have been looking at my first saber for a long time coming now and it is getting steadily closer to being a reality. However, which battery settup is better? AAA or AA?

[Ronan]

Depends how many and of space.

[Sunrider]

Making a Li ion pack is far superior to AAA or AA. Do 2 x 18650s if room enough or 2 x 14670s (long AA size).

[Novastar]

As per usual, I agree with Sunrider. :)

I've actually been touting the praises of Li-Ion cells since (ohhhh... I don't know...) 2005, but... what do I know.

There IS some kind of thread I posted somewhere here on TCSS regarding Li-Ion advantages vs. disadvantages... but... hmm, I don't know if the thread has been posted to for quite some time. At any rate, I can actually speak with even MORE perspective now, because... I have Li-Ion cells that have been running sabers I've made since 2005... and some of the original Li-Ion cells are STILL WORKING... still recharging! :)

When you think about how many times a week I've (generally) had the sabers in use... and you figure in run-times of ~2 hours for MOST people's sabers that are running (~2000-ish mAh Li-Ions and drawing ~1-ish Amps for the LED and so forth).... ummm... it's kind of a no-brainer. I would have made LANDFILLS FULL OF ALKALINES BY NOW... and been about 50% responsible for the alkaline waste in the world (heheh). Not to mention I'd be de-constructing like 25+ sabers all the time. Would drive me NUTZ... :/

What kind of a "jedi knight" is THAT?!?! ;) All being wasteful, inefficient with his time, and non-environmentally conscious?!!? Pffff. Weak. Yoda would agree not. :D

(heheh, I'm kinda kidding though--I mean, this was best for MY situation/situations! Other people may find rechargeable Li-Ions "too much" for their needs).

[Azmaria Dei]

i would go with a single Li-Ion 18650 cell personally. i've not found too many setups that need more than that.

and Nova, i'm green! i recycle old camcorder and laptop batteries into my sabers and they normally recondition/revive/recharge perfectly healthily. ^_^ and i've found that a lot of the clearance camcorder batteries at the exchange are high output panasonic 18650 Li-Ions too! i got the last few of them for only 97 cents! ^_^

[Skottsaber]

To answer the original question:
AA is better for runtime, i.e your batteries will last longer than AAA (larger cells, more capacity).
AAA is better for those sabers that just don't have enough room for the extra size.

So it depends on which you need more, space or runtime.

[Jedi_Knight_Zekk]

okay, so 18650 cells or AA's. gotcha!

[Lord Maul]

I'm actually not a fan of 18650s in MHS hilts. They're too wide to put them side by side. I use 14670s in all of my builds. A pair of them wired in parallel will run a saber for 3 hours, with a sound board stacked on top to save space

[captain_mills]

Not trying to hijack, but on the same lines, are there battery packs for the 18650's or the 14670's? That would be convenient. I am not building in a recharge port for my first saber, and would like to be able to remove them for charging. A battery pack would help secure the batteries...

Thanks for the time!
CM

[Sunrider]

A pack can be made from parts here at the shop. Hint Hint ;)

[captain_mills]

yes, but from what I've read, most of the "packs" are just batteries soldered together and shrink wrapped, heatshrink wrapped, or taped together. I was hoping for a plastic battery case like the one TCSS sells here for the 4AAA's...

[Azmaria Dei]

they do make them but i'm not a fan of them as they add way too much to the battery.

as for fitting 2 18650s in a hilt, it CAN be done, but it takes a lot of dremeling and you need a sleeve to cover the cuts afterwards. impractical? yes. impossible? no. lots of work involved? definitely.

[Crystal Chambers]

I don't see any one answer to this question. What ever suits your needs both in the interior space of the saber and what will provide adequate efficient run time. I use and will continue to use what ever suits my needs for each build. Li Ion or Nimh. V vs MA is the way I tend to compare them.

4AA Nimh can be put in a 2 and 2 formation with the sound board on top of them or 4AAA in a tight cluster taking up less length.

1 AA size Li Ion will run an MR, or US soundboard for around an hour depending on your LED etc. Not the longest run time but a huge space saver and with a recharge port it serves me well. If you plan on running a CF then 2 Li Ion cells will do it, and nothing else that I'm aware of.

I do how ever strongly suggest using rechargeables and a port especially when you're running a soundboard. Having to move all those wires and sliding and twisting everything around can damage your wiring.

[Jedi_Knight_Zekk]

Okay so my NEXT question is this: If all I'm doing is an LED with no sound, which is the better option. Because the 18650's take a lot of work, with good run time, but I don't mind taking out the AA AAA or whatever batteries if it's less work. So, with JUST a Seoul P4 Blue LED, which is my BEST option?:confused:

[Bothrops]

Okay so my NEXT question is this: If all I'm doing is an LED with no sound, which is the better option. Because the 18650's take a lot of work, with good run time, but I don't mind taking out the AA AAA or whatever batteries if it's less work. So, with JUST a Seoul P4 Blue LED, which is my BEST option?:confused:

It's not so easy for someone else to tell you what will suit you best, especially if you haven't outlined your needs and priorities.

Keep in mind that we refer to a "battery solution" for a given build. This is a decision made from considering those various factors that are important to us, starting with the voltage needed by the specific electronics we plan to install and the run time we want, but also involving overall cost, the space available in the hilt, the convenience or annoyance of changing batteries vs. finding space for a recharge port, and even the weight balance in the hilt.

If you look at the forums, starting with this thread, but also those sections with lots of examples of decisions people HAVE made, such as the A to Z build threads, then you can find a whole variety of solutions that people have settled on. They are all over the map because of different priorities different builders have placed on all of the above factors, and also probably ones I don't mention.

Design your saber according to what you think you want. Look at what that means in terms of how things fit and how they cost, and how you intend to use it. Then weigh the options based on the answers people have already given, but finally settling on a result based on what *you* consider important.

[Azmaria Dei]

18650's aren't that hard to work with - if you use a single protected one and use a recharge port you can get 2-3 hours out of the one in the store on a single charge. that's normally my solution, but size constraints have forced me to use 14500s a few times. and here soon i'll need something closer to 5V even so i'll be making a 4xAAA NiMH pack for that one. if it's a simple stunt without sound and just an LED driven off of it either directly or with a resistor, i would personally try to get a 25500 (C-cell sized) Li-Ion and stuff that in there for like 5 hours of run time.

[Skottsaber]

I'm going to say that if you are making a stunt, and have a decently sized hilt, cram as many cells as you can get in there :lol:

[Jedi_Knight_Zekk]

I don't know if I was perfectly clear. ALL I'M DOING is a Seoul P4 Blue LED. NOTHING ELSE! And, I don't particularly want a recharge port simply because t will be a little too much work for my first saber. So, with only an LED, space-wise or whatever other factors there are, which is better? 18650s or Alkalines? I'm simply looking for a one or the other bit of guidance from the very wise sabersmiths on this site. Thank you for all the feedback.

[Sunrider]

If you like your batteries to bounce around in a spring loaded contraption, and you like to open your saber constantly to change batteries, and you want to spend a lot of money on new batteries.

Alkaline all the way. ;)

[Skottsaber]

IMO any rechargable set up is better than an alkaline one.
However.
Using 18650's in your saber will (unless you come up with something brilliant) make removing them to charge without a port really a PITA.

Therefore I recommend using AA NIMH cells or 14500s.

[Jedi_Knight_Zekk]

Really dumb question, what are AA NIMH cells?

[Jedi-Loreen]

Yep, dumb question.

Try looking in the Store, before asking a question like that:
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/NIMH-Batteries-C71.aspx

It stands for Nickel-Metal Hydride.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel-metal_hydride_battery

[Jedi_Knight_Zekk]

Oh those! Okay, I know what they are now. I looked at those when I first showed interest in sabers! I know exactly what I'll do then. Thanks J-Lo!