Can I have a dummies guide to batts chaps, you've lost me with the mAh stuff I'm afraid
I'm looking to run my Zebralight H51, Fenix L2D CE, digital cameras & GPS
I take it the higher the mAh number the higher the power/performance? Are some better than others for holding a charge, or the amount of recharges in a lifetime?
Yes mate, that's essentially it. The numbers are milliamp-hour and basically a measurement of how much juice you can squeeze into a rechargeable battery. The chemistry maxes out at about 3000 mAh. Most of the rechargeables these days are nickel–metal hydride, abbreviated NiMH and have a better life, lower memory effect and higher capacity than the older NiCad's which should be avoided. But high capacity NiMH batteries of up to 3000 mAh have a tendency to self discharge and loose a lot of that juice just sitting on a shelf. Sanyo - and now other makes too - started to amke some NiMH rechargeables with super pure chemistry that held their charge much longer and branded them eneloops. These Low Self Discharge batteries are more expensive than regular rechargeables, but they will hang on to the charge for many months, even years. For this reason, they are the only type of rechargeable battery that is sold already charged up and ready to use off the shelf. The down side is that they dont quite hole as much juice - usually around 2000 mAh. Recently, Sanyo have bought out some super pure versions of these super pure batteries called eneloop XX's andf these have an advertised capacity of 2500 mAh and therefore should last 25% longer than 2000 mAh eneloops - the down side to these is that they are expensive and that you cant recharge them as many times before they die - and also that they are physically heavy batteries. If you are not bothered about recharging them, then probably the best disposable AA battery is the Engrgiser Lithium. Slightly higher voltage, longest runtime, very light weight and will operate at very low temperatures, also very expensive. HTH.
Which type of battery you choose depends on what you want to use them for. If you are going camping, then any will do really, so long as you charge them up just before you go, they wont self discharge over that short time (not by much anyway). If you are going to the Arctic though, then maybe lithiums because they operate well in cold conditions. If they are for a radio that sits on a shelf and doesnt get used much, then regular eneloops are a good choice. If they are for powerful torches, then eneloops are well suited to high drain applications, but any will do, it depends on how much you use your torch. If it's an emergency torch in your car that hardly gets used but when it does, it's for a long time, then eneloop XX might be a good option. If you use the torch every day, then regular rechargeables would be best.
