Rechargeable battery

[Jeescook]

Whats better Nimh or li-ion and will a crystal focus 3 fit in with the batterys?

[Dark Navel]

From what I have read while researching how to make battery packs:

"There are NiMH chargers that can fully charge four cells in 15-30 minutes. Fully charging the same capacity Li-Ion battery pack will take several hours.
Li-Ion battery packs have a number of technical advantages over NiMH batteries, including a much lower self-discharge rate, greater energy density (in terms of both weight and volume), far better low-temperature performance, and a greater maximum number of charge/discharge cycles."

AND

"Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMh) can be recharged quickly and easily, do
not suffer from "memory effect" and do not need to be fully discharged
before recharging.

Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) batteries are the most advanced technology and do
not suffer from "memory effect", do not have to be fully discharged
before recharging, and deliver more energy per charge than NiMH or
Ni-Cd chemistry batteries. Li-Ion batteries also tend to be more
expensive to buy and replace."

[xwingband]

There is no difference to a driver whether it's li-ion or NiMH. Darth Navel posted a good summary, but really it's up to your LED and space. We can't tell you what to use if you don't have a space.

If you said I have 1.25" diameter and 4" for batteries, what is the max I can fit? It'd be a better question.

[Malaki Skywalker]

On average how long does it take for a Li-Ion to charge?

[xwingband]

On average how long does it take for a Li-Ion to charge?

In general I've seen ones in the 500mAh range. You take the capacity and divide it by the charging current.

You can't rapid charge li-ions. NiMH you can... realize though that's a real crappy way. You get like a 80% charge that way.

[DACOTA]

I had a simple question, what does mAh stand for? I know mA is miliamperes but is mAh miliamp per hour or not? And is their a difference in the mAh vs. the actual current flow? Sorry i'm still learning all I can about electricity and its acronims.

[Luke-SkyMarcher]

The 800mAh 7.2v Li-ion the store sells takes about 35 min with the store's charger.
Running a lux V on a CF, this takes about 20 min to discharge.

On a similar note, do any of you guys know if it would be "safe" to wire two of these packs on parallel to increase run time?

-Luke

[savyas]

I had a simple question, what does mAh stand for? I know mA is miliamperes but is mAh miliamp per hour or not? And is their a difference in the mAh vs. the actual current flow? Sorry i'm still learning all I can about electricity and its acronims.

mAh is indeed milliamp hours. think of it as a measurement of how long the battery will last. A simple way to look at it is comparing a AAA battery to a D - they both provide the same voltage, but the D will last much longer, thus it's mAh rating is much higher.

[Dark Navel]

Luke: To answer you question is it safe tom run Lith in parallel with NIMH... I wouldn't chance it. Lithiums have a tendency to catch fire and blow-up if not properly charged/discharged. There is something else about when mixing those 2 types together there won't be an equal energy consumption from all of the batteries at the same time which could cause issues. Those issues could be as simple as permanatley sucking all the life from the NI-MH's and then they won't hold a charge or worse yet the fire/blow-up situation from the lithiums. I would hate to see a hilt destroyed because of this. With this said I would stick to one type or the other and DON'T MIX THEM. It's not worth chancing it.

DN

[xwingband]

Luke: To answer you question is it safe tom run Lith in parallel with NIMH... I wouldn't chance it. Lithiums have a tendency to catch fire and blow-up if not properly charged/discharged. There is something else about when mixing those 2 types together there won't be an equal energy consumption from all of the batteries at the same time which could cause issues. Those issues could be as simple as permanatley sucking all the life from the NI-MH's and then they won't hold a charge or worse yet the fire/blow-up situation from the lithiums. I would hate to see a hilt destroyed because of this. With this said I would stick to one type or the other and DON'T MIX THEM. It's not worth chancing it.

DN

He meant two li-ion packs in parallel which is fine.

[Hasid Lafre]

Iam sure tim could put to packs togeather for ya.

[DACOTA]

mAh is indeed milliamp hours. think of it as a measurement of how long the battery will last. A simple way to look at it is comparing a AAA battery to a D - they both provide the same voltage, but the D will last much longer, thus it's mAh rating is much higher.

Ok I got that, now since mAh just applys to your runtime would the mAh rating be the same as the total amount mA's in a battery or would it be a different number?

[savyas]

V=IR So if your voltage is a constant 1.5V you can tweak I (amps) and R (resistance) up and down as you like. As R goes to infinity, amperage goes to 0. As R goes to 0, amperage goes to infinity.

So in *theory* you could draw a huge amount of amperage with a very small resistance, for a very short period of time.

That's all theory, of course.. But in practice amps are a point in time measurement - not a total capacity. mAh is capacity - the number of amps you can draw in an hour.

I must admit, I'm a horrible teacher :(

[DACOTA]

Ok I kind of got that, no matter, I will fully understand in time. I do believe that wattage is total power capacity or consumption though. I guess it boils down to if my sabers continue to work at the max effeciency.

I do need to buy a voltemeter that can read Milliaperes though, that would greatly help. Thank you for your help.

[sfer1]

If space wasn't a problem, which one of these two rechargeable battery packs would be better to power a Lux V LED?

7.2V 800mAh Li-ion Rechargeable battery pack
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/72V-800mAh-Li-ion-Rechargeable-battery-pack--P216.aspx

7.2V AAA 1000mAh NIMH Rechargeable battery pack
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/72V-AAA-1000mAh-NIMH-Rechargeable-battery-pack--P174.aspx

[Atomic]

The higher the mAh, the longer the run time, so the AAA pack has an edge. If size is really no problem, this pack:

http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/72V-AA-2600mAh-NIMH-Rechargeable-battery-pack--P173.aspx

has more than double the capacity. It's only a 1/2 inch longer than the AAA pack.

[sfer1]

I believe that pack is wider and thicker than the AAA pack. Space might be a problem with that one.

I get the higher the mAh, the longer the run time, but aren't Li-on batteries better because they don't have a memory effect?

Considering all the factors, which ones are a better option?

[Mad Hatter]

He meant two li-ion packs in parallel which is fine.

Is it okay to charge two parallel li-ion packs at the same time in a saber using the normal charge port?