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FrozenGate by Avery

WHICH BATTERIES???

  • Thread starter Thread starter timelord
  • Start date Start date
T

timelord

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Pulsar lasers do not use lithiums as this will blow your diode. Use alkalines or rechargables if you wish.

Green lasers have better a diode and use a driverboard in them so they can tolerate lithiums.


Feel free to post all your experiences with batteries and your lasers  ;)
 





I use Energizer NiMh 900mah AAA batts in most of mine - alkaline C size in my Aries....I have never tried Lithiums in my lasers, as I have heard that can kill them ? Can anyone tell me if this is true, and if os, for which brands ?
 
SenKat said:
I use Energizer NiMh 900mah AAA batts in most of mine - alkaline C size in my Aries....I have never tried Lithiums in my lasers, as I have heard that can kill them ?  Can anyone tell me if this is true, and if os, for which brands ?
Click to expand...

Only the pulsars died with lithium as the diode is on the limits of it's power threshold and don't use a driverboard to regulate the current. Hence when lithiums are used with their 1.7volts + more current the diode gets fried...
 
A poster by the handle of SilverFox over at Candlepower Forums has done extensive load testing of batteries with the help of others sending him samples to test, and has compiled the results in these threads, with graphs and everything. It's a great resource to help you find the best battery for your new laser. 8-)


NiMH Battery Shootout thread:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=79302

Li-Ion Battery shootout thread:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=117117

Alkaline Battery Shootout thread:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=64660

CR123 Battery Shootout thread:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=67078
 
Thanks Raganok i'm glad i made this a sticky, thank you very much for you positive input to our forum.. [smiley=thumbsup.gif]
Cheers for the links too. [smiley=dankk2.gif]
 
Here are some threads I saved and find valuable... they show how a good set of NIMH will almost be " just as good " as lithum

the intial volts is not what its all about because that only last milliseconds as the load of the device quickly pulls it down.
So its the voltage under load that really tells the story.

Lithium only has a tiny edge on load voltage, and when you consider that you may be working of the bottom part of your partially depleted lithium battery, I consider keeping charged NiMh a better option for real practicle use.

If I was going to do a one time test or shootoff to compete, then Lithium would be worth the expense.

Another thought..... battery under load thats small may be good in one set of batteries, but crap out if the load goes higher and that same battery that had "less" voltage under a light load may actually hold up better under a heavy load.

Here are some interesting links.. the load here is a bulb.

http://www.lasercommunity.com/viewtopic.php?t=8393

http://www.lasercommunity.com/viewtopic.php?t=1246
 
Yeah, windstrings, load is very important. If you check out the energizer spec sheets on alkaline and lithium batteries, you will see that under low load like the lightbulb in that post, there is very little performance difference between the two. Where lithium shine is very high load applications like lasers, where they hold strong levels many many times what an alkaline can. The voltage can help give you an indication of it, but the important thing is to judge how much power (current & voltage) is consistently put out such that the laser is not getting underpowered.

Liths are the king over rechargeables too, but of course the price gets in the way. As someone who's had over 25, 4 packs of E2 lithiums, I can attest to that :o. I don't like rechargeables too much though as I just find them to be unreliable. Dead ones, ones that don't keep charge well, etc. Even though the performance lacks compared to liths and rechargeables in some cases, and this is just personal opinion, I've recently taken to just buying loads of alkalines in bulk (or using external power). Unlike liths and rechargeables, they are cheap enough that when the power starts waning on me, I have no regrets just dumping them in the nearest trash can and putting new ones in. I guess each is good for different people though depending on how you use your laser.
 
I agree how "much" load always determine which mule can carry the load the fartherest.

I keep "charged NiMH in my unit and rarely shoot over 5 - 10 seconds... unless I'm trying to do some kind of demonstration.
It would indeed be fun to see that same test with more bulbs in parallel to see if the patternes stayed the same.

Just like cheap speakers, amps etc etc.. batteries are often rated based on thier mah rating with a very low load.... some of the older technology batteries actually can crank out the amps "faster"... just not as long due to heat issues.

Lithium e2's are indeed sweet batteries and I'll take your word for it if you say they hold up longer under load as I've never tested the two.

that test in the links I provided were using "fresh" batteries and never tried to see what would happen after 500ma was pulled out of them.... or even 750ma.... but I don't care tooooo much about that since mine are always fresh. I try to only buy top notch rated batteries.... the max mah is not always the best... For instance I have some powerex 11000mah D cells that perform really well for my Herc, but if they were rated the way most other companies rate, they would be considered 12000mah.
Commercial companies are more likely to give you an honest rendition of performance and be built to take punishment better verses those that only sell to the public.

I'm sure you may know about this already, but I got this MAHA MH- C808M battery charger I really like that may help keep your rechargables on the top shelf.... Its a little spendy, but really nice with 8 independent charge cell holders and modes to "condition, slow charge, or fast charge.... Modes are all global between the cells.... in other words you can't pick different modes at one time between cells.
It also has LCD display.
But you "can" start a new charge or condition in one while another is in the middle or done etc.
http://www.thomas-distributing.com/maha-mh-c808m-battery-charger.htm

*Lithiums wouldn't be a bad choice.. especially if you really didn't use your laser much or was in competition.... you would benifit from the wonderful shelf life of not draining.
*Alkalines seem a bit weak to me right out of the gate as soon as a load is placed on them.... I really think *NiMH rechargables would serve better under load for most uses if you don't go crazy and have extreme runtimes.

Just about any battery will work fine if you know its weaknesses and work around them
 
Have you heard about the fast drain rechargables? I think amondotech or batterystation sells them. They sound perfect for lasers for maximum power, if you are not too concerned about how long the run time is.

Neo
 
neocacher said:
Have you heard about the fast drain rechargables? I think amondotech or batterystation sells them. They sound perfect for lasers for maximum power, if you are not too concerned about how long the run time is.

Neo
Click to expand...

I think the "sub C cells" for instance or like that.. its actually older technology, with a little less mah, but very high discharge rates.. I'm not sure they have it in othe sizes.
 
I have also read lately that the nickel cadmium batteries have a very high flow rate, much higher than nimh. However the mah is about half of a nimh.

Neo
 
neocacher said:
I have also read lately that the nickel cadmium batteries have a very high flow rate, much higher than nimh.  However the mah is about half of a nimh.

Neo
Click to expand...

NIcad is very persnickity on how you cycle and take care of them.. they are a pain in the butt.. and they even have a high incidence of leaking...... forget that in my laser!!!

Its old technology.. there are better alternatives.....unless they are under controlled circumstances.
the "only" advantage I can think of at all over NiMh is shelf life... but I can think of lots of disadvantages..
 
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