Best Powerful Aa Batteries!

[Malakite]

Hi Guys,

I have purchased an old RC car that requires 'AA' batteries (X8)!. I remember as kids when I had one, buying normal batteries were useless, my friend had Uniross rechargeable ones and his car flew in comparison! I thought I'd ask if its down to particular akes of battery or more so the type (I imagine) of rechargeable battery that you use?

Any help would be fabulous, many thanks in advance

[redzone]

ditch em and run a lipo flatpack like you do in a transmitter

[Malakite]

ditch em and run a lipo flatpack like you do in a transmitter

Err care to explain further?!

[TA-Mark]

Energizer "AA" 2500mAh Ni-MH cells I use in the likes of the Nikko Venus and Turbo Jet Hopper. I still charge them in a delta peak charger designed for Ni-MH (not the charger Energizer recommend which is neither timed or delta peak). Batteries back when these vehicles came out were 800mAh at most and Ni-Cd.

Duracell and GP also have a similar capacity cell. I've not seen any decent capacity 9.6v packs made up.

I also use these same cells in my transmitters and they last for a week easy. I do drive A LOT! (3 to 8 packs a day).

[redzone]

Err care to explain further?!

if you're originaly running 8 aa batteries, and you have a lipo charger, you can run a flatpack 11.1v lipo in the same spot as the aa's went, my LHS sells quite a few different styles of packs, they use them in spektrum transmitters etc.. should be able to find something to fit this if you're lucky

[Malakite]

Hi yes mine is a Nikko also! So will the Lipos make it even faster then or just last longer?? Also does anyone have a link so I can see what they look like/where to buy them from/how much they cost? Also are you saying that my Energiser battery charger (that came with the energiser rechargeable batteries) will not charge other batteries to thier maximum/in the correct way??

[TA-Mark]

The Energizer chargers don't charge their own batteries very well. There's no timer, no delta peak. It's up to you to keep track of how long they have been in there. Sometimes they under charge, sometimes over charge. I had 2 of them chargers and tossed them in the rubbish. The charger that comes with the Duracell Ni-MH "AA" does have delta peak detection and will shut itself off when the cells are charged.

You CANNOT use a Li-Po to replace "AA" cells in a toy RC car. Not without tearing out all of the standard radio and fitting 1:18/1:10 radio, motor, servo etc. Follow the wiring, the car does not run on all 8 cells usually, only 5 of them (6.0v to the motor), the other 3 cells are radio.

[Grubby]

I got my AA's from maplins they are only 2000mah ni-mh batterys but if its value for money your after i can't fault them? I just charge them in a transmitter from my liproplus.

[Malakite]

The Energizer chargers don't charge their own batteries very well. There's no timer, no delta peak. It's up to you to keep track of how long they have been in there. Sometimes they under charge, sometimes over charge. I had 2 of them chargers and tossed them in the rubbish. The charger that comes with the Duracell Ni-MH "AA" does have delta peak detection and will shut itself off when the cells are charged.

You CANNOT use a Li-Po to replace "AA" cells in a toy RC car. Not without tearing out all of the standard radio and fitting 1:18/1:10 radio, motor, servo etc. Follow the wiring, the car does not run on all 8 cells usually, only 5 of them (6.0v to the motor), the other 3 cells are radio.

Right ok that is making more sense now that's what I first thought! So what AA batteries and charger would you recommend as the best? Also as Grubby says - are these good batteries? I'm nore interested in lots of power rather than run time as they can be recharged So am I right in thinking I need to look for Ni-MH or Ni-Cad - also what's the difference? My friend aways used Ni-Cad and they were the best I thought!

Thanks!

[TA-Mark]

Ni-Cd "AA" cells have a very poor discharge rate compared to Ni-MH "AA" cells. Quality does matter when it comes to high draw devices like digital cameras or toy RC cars. A transmitter is not a high draw device so not so important. The higher capacity (mAh) will give a longer runtime but there is nothing mentioned on the cells about how high their discharge rates are.

Ni-Cd cells also have a bad memory effect and must be fully discharged before a recharge (0.8v per cell). Ni-MH don't suffer from this as badly.

Energizer, Duracell, GP all make rechargable cells for high drain devices. A good charger will have delta peak detection (Auto shut off, or smart charge it's sometimes called).

[cubsfan2009]

Check for Sanyo Eneloop AA's on Ebay. I've read articles that they are superior to most other Nimh AA's. I think they are 2100mah, have a very low self discharge rate, capable of high discharge rate, and come with a delta peak charger. Just what I've heard and not personal experience.

I've heard bad things about the Energizer Nimh AA's. That they are great at first but lose capacity fast and die a early life. This could be due to the poor charger that comes with them and not the fault of the battery alone.

[sirandy]

Ni-Cd "AA" cells have a very poor discharge rate compared to Ni-MH "AA" cells. Quality does matter when it comes to high draw devices like digital cameras or toy RC cars. A transmitter is not a high draw device so not so important. The higher capacity (mAh) will give a longer runtime but there is nothing mentioned on the cells about how high their discharge rates are.

Ni-Cd cells also have a bad memory effect and must be fully discharged before a recharge (0.8v per cell). Ni-MH don't suffer from this as badly.

Energizer, Duracell, GP all make rechargable cells for high drain devices. A good charger will have delta peak detection (Auto shut off, or smart charge it's sometimes called).

Mark, I have the energiser 2500mah ones as well. I am going to charge them on my Graupner Charger which is a delta peak charger. I assume that if I charge these at 2A it is good enough, but I am not sure where to set the delta peak cut off. I charged them once at 0.8A and the delta at 5mv/c but I think that was a bit low......any idea what the delta is for these?

[Malakite]

I've got that charger but how can you charge AA batteries from it? Do you need a special adaptor?

[Malakite]

Ni-Mh is the way to go then no problem! The higher the mAh means the longer they will run for - check! So I basically need to make sure the charger I use with them is a delta peak charger? How can I tell if ones are this or not, simply as they would be advertised as beig so I take it?

I must admit I have the same problem with my Energiser batteries too with the Charger, hey don't keep charge at all now, even though the lights go out to indicate the charge has finished - I presume there was always still a trickel charge going through them then??

[TA-Mark]

Single cells need the same care as 7.2v packs.

You shouldn't discharge them lower than 0.9v per cell for Ni-MH. Never leave them flat, store with atleast 50% charge, and overcharge will kill the cell.

My main charger will charge 1 to 10 Ni-MH cells and you can pre-program the cell type and settings for each mode. Start with the settings (1C charge rate or lower and peak mV) on the lowish side and slowly turn it up until the battery is at the right temperature at the end of the charge if you use a similar type charger. Under charge will not damage the cell, over charge will. It should feel slightly warm at the end of the charge.

The charger that I usually use for the "AA"s is all presets and seems to do a great job. My oldest set of 8 cells (I mark the cells with a marker so they don't get mixed up) is over 10 years old and still going strong. Out of my 88 "AA" Energizers and 26 "AAA" cells I've had 2 of each fail. I suspect from being left flat for an extended period (They were put in a childs toy).

Seems the garbage charger they sell here isn't even on the Energizer website. All the ones I see on their site have some form of delta peak.

[Malakite]

Single cells need the same care as 7.2v packs.

You shouldn't discharge them lower than 0.9v per cell for Ni-MH. Never leave them flat, store with atleast 50% charge, and overcharge will kill the cell.

My main charger will charge 1 to 10 Ni-MH cells and you can pre-program the cell type and settings for each mode. Start with the settings (1C charge rate or lower and peak mV) on the lowish side and slowly turn it up until the battery is at the right temperature at the end of the charge if you use a similar type charger. Under charge will not damage the cell, over charge will. It should feel slightly warm at the end of the charge.

The charger that I usually use for the "AA"s is all presets and seems to do a great job. My oldest set of 8 cells (I mark the cells with a marker so they don't get mixed up) is over 10 years old and still going strong. Out of my 88 "AA" Energizers and 26 "AAA" cells I've had 2 of each fail. I suspect from being left flat for an extended period (They were put in a childs toy).

Seems the garbage charger they sell here isn't even on the Energizer website. All the ones I see on their site have some form of delta peak.

Delta Peak - I think the energiser one has that as the light goes off when the battery is charged so I think that means it's a cut-off for over charging!

[redzone]

You CANNOT use a Li-Po to replace "AA" cells in a toy RC car. Not without tearing out all of the standard radio and fitting 1:18/1:10 radio, motor, servo etc. Follow the wiring, the car does not run on all 8 cells usually, only 5 of them (6.0v to the motor), the other 3 cells are radio.

Oh really thats handy to know, now i wont blow up any jet hoppers lol