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Old 2004.07.09, 09:42 PM   #1
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Alkaline VS. Ni-Cad

Is it better to run Alkaline batteries over Ni-Cad or vice versa? Is there any noticable difference? And does brand name last longer than a generic battery?
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Old 2004.07.09, 10:02 PM   #2
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Ni-cads are much better.You want to get the ni-metal hydrade rechargable batteries.Once you have a couple of sets you wont have to keep buying them like alkaline batts.Rechargable last longer per run.They also have more power and snap to them.Any good brand name rechargables are good.
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Old 2004.07.09, 10:09 PM   #3
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Thanks, lfisminiz. Does anyone else have any preference? And what kind of recharger should I buy?
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Old 2004.07.09, 11:26 PM   #4
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GP makes a good set I think they just came out with the 850mah, I still have a set of 750mah that are almost 2 years old and they are still going strong. I might be wrong but don't the nimh battery say you can recharge them 1000 times?
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Old 2004.07.10, 01:23 AM   #5
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Quote:
Is it better to run Alkaline batteries over Ni-Cad or vice versa?
Alkaline batteries weren't designed to supply the high power drains demanded by R/C cars and other modern digital equipment. Despite having a large energy capacity, alkaline batteries aren't capable of delivering their energy rapidly enough to supply your car and thus slower speeds. R/C cars demand large electrical currents from your batteries. An alkaline battery's internal resistance means that it can't provide a sufficiently large current, so its voltage drops and the car slows down.

Ni-cads are much better than Alkalines. But you really want to get the ni-metal hydrade (NiMH) rechargable batteries.

NiMH rechargeable batteries have superceeded NiCads in many applications because they have a higher energy capacity; don't incorporate Cadmium - a highly toxic element, and don't suffer a "memory effect" (gradual loss of maximum capacity).


For any device that consumes a lot of power -'eats batteries' like a R/C car- NiMH rechargeable batteries are ideal. Just use your "high" power NiMH batteries in place of your alkaline batteries or old Ni-Cad cells. Some confusion is caused by the 1.2V rating of NiMH batteries compared with the 1.5V rating of alkaline batteries. In fact alkaline batteries only supply 1.5V during the early stages of their discharge and this drops to below 1.2V for most of their life. NiMH batteries actually sustain a higher voltage than alkalines during the bulk of their discharge, usually 1.3 to 1.4V.

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I might be wrong but don't the nimh battery say you can recharge them 1000 times?
The number of times you can recharge your batteries will depend on the operating parameters, such as drain rate, battery care, etc. In general, under desirable condition, NiMH can last 500 recharges. In best condition, (0.1C charging and 0.2C discharging) NiMH can last up to 1000 recharges.

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And what kind of recharger should I buy?
There are basically 3 types of chargers for NiCD or NiMH.

First, there is the slow, or 'dumb' charger that charges at a rate that won't destroy a battery when it's full and overcharging. These chargers take 12 hours or more to charge the batteries the charger was designed for. They continue to charge at this rate as long as the charger is connected to the battery. These chargers can charge NiCD or NiMH but it's better for the batteries if they are not left charging for days at a time.

Second there is the timer charger. These chargers take about 5 hours to charge an empty battery (of capacity the charger was designed for). There is a timer that stops the charging or reduces to a trickle rate after a fixed period. These chargers can under-charge or over-charge depending on battery capacity and how far discharged the battery was at the start of charge. These chargers work at a rate that can overheat a battery that's being overcharged.

Then there are the 'smart' chargers. These generally charge in 4 hours or less. They rely on detecting when the battery is full then reducing the rate of charging to a trickle or off.

The new Smart Chargers use a method called 'negative delta V detection' this takes advantage of the phenomenon that the voltage across a cell being charged at constant current falls slightly when the cell is nearly full. This voltage drop happens because of gas being generated and reabsorbed inside the cell and also as a side effect of temperature rise. The voltage drop is much more subtle in NiMH cells so an older charger designed for NiCD won't detect the drop in NiMH and will continue to overcharge at a destructive rate.

Be sure to buy a charger designed for the new NiMH cells

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Does brand name last longer?
Quote:
Does anyone else have any preference?
Most all batteries are manufactured by a small handful of companies, so even off-brand rechargables are built by some name brand supplier, I have bought the most expensive name-brand cells, and some of the cheapest no-name cells, for me they all work the same, don't waste your money on HYPE.

Buying NiMH cells on-line (search for Rechargable NIMH Batteries) is MUCH MUCH cheaper than buying them from your local store or Hobby Shop


Hope this helped you out, if you have anymore questions just ask.
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Old 2004.07.10, 01:06 PM   #6
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Thanks DogbreathRacing. Buying these generic Alkaline batteries that I'm using right now is getting expensive! Do you know any websites off-hand where you buy these AAA NiMH batteries?
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Old 2004.07.10, 04:00 PM   #7
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I just use the Energizer Nihms, the silver and green ones. They work great. I buy them at Walmart.

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Old 2004.07.10, 04:18 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by G-Class
Thanks DogbreathRacing. Buying these generic Alkaline batteries that I'm using right now is getting expensive! Do you know any websites off-hand where you buy these AAA NiMH batteries?
you should get a GP 30min charger... or the IC3 system...
a cheap place to get batterys is http://www.batteryspace.com
how gd those batts called "powersizer" are i dont know... but they will be for sure better than alkaline
best batts ive used so far are GPs..
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Old 2004.07.10, 09:08 PM   #9
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I run the IC3 system from Wal-Mart and I have got to say I have never had a better battery and charger combo for AAA's and AA's than this. They charge in 15 minutes, can be left in the charger after the initial charge to trickle charge without worry of exploding and leaks, they are 800mah and even using the 2 cell charger you can charge a full set faster than you can run them down. the 2 cell charger runs around $20 and the batts are $13 / 4. So you are looking at less than $50 for a good dependable set of Nickel Metals.
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Old 2004.07.23, 07:43 PM   #10
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a cheap place to get batterys is http://www.batteryspace.com
Yup have bought from them, good price and fast too

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how gd those batts called "powersizer" are i dont know...
they work as good as my energizers or GP cells, and for the price are an awesome deal
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Old 2004.07.23, 07:48 PM   #11
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I run w/ NINJA every week and i agree 100%. most of us run the RAYOVAC IC3 AAA and AA, and they really o charger in 15 min. so essentially you always have a fresh set waiting on you with only 8 AAA!
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Old 2004.07.23, 07:51 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bENZinO
I run w/ NINJA every week and i agree 100%. most of us run the RAYOVAC IC3 AAA and AA, and they really o charger in 15 min. so essentially you always have a fresh set waiting on you with only 8 AAA!

did he mention they were 800 mAh?
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Old 2004.07.24, 01:21 PM   #13
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I'm gonna have to figure out what's wrong with my Z before I start buying mods like good batteries!
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