Rechargeable Batteries almost buried me...

[acorean]

So after doing some reading the forum I purchased a La Crosse BC-700 charger. I had an old set of Radioshack 1800 mAh NiMH batteries and my wife got me two sets of Duracell 2650 mAh at Staples with a voucher.

Last night I had a gig and started off with the old Radio shack batteries... no problem. Those run out and I go to use the Duracells and NOTHING!!!

I put in the second set and NOTHING!!!

Luckily I had a set of regular disposable batteries in my bag and these got me through the night.

I charged the batteries when I bought the charger so probably about 45 days ago. Should these really have run completely dry???

I think I want to scrap the Duracells and pick up some Eneloops since everyone seems to swear by them.

Will these hold a charge longer? Should the batteries not have drained themselves? Help me understand so I don't do this to myself again.

[SnlpeR]

make it a habit to charge your batteries at least the day before an important gig
i have the same duracells and they seem to be "ok" when i charge them the day of or the day before a shoot

[flash69]

Sanyo Eneloops do not discharge that fast. As suggested above charge the day or night before a shoot.

[ed rader]

So after doing some reading the forum I purchased a La Crosse BC-700 charger. I had an old set of Radioshack 1800 mAh NiMH batteries and my wife got me two sets of Duracell 2650 mAh at Staples with a voucher.

Last night I had a gig and started off with the old Radio shack batteries... no problem. Those run out and I go to use the Duracells and NOTHING!!!

I put in the second set and NOTHING!!!

Luckily I had a set of regular disposable batteries in my bag and these got me through the night.

I charged the batteries when I bought the charger so probably about 45 days ago. Should these really have run completely dry???

I think I want to scrap the Duracells and pick up some Eneloops since everyone seems to swear by them.

Will these hold a charge longer? Should the batteries not have drained themselves? Help me understand so I don't do this to myself again.

didn't you get your answer :D?

ed rader

[Photo-4-Fun]

I highly recommend the eneloop's. You give up a little power (2000 mAh vs. 2650 for your Duracell's) in exchange for their low-discharge rate. I've never missed the power though.

I'll pick up a set of eneloops that haven't been charged for three months or more and they work fine for the brief time I need them at home. If I try to do that with my Powerex NiMH, they're either dead or will be quickly.

As others have already said, regardless of which rechargeable battery I use, I always charge them the day of, or day before I use them outside the home.

Chris

[ylimehajile]

Get the Eneloops for longer shelf life. They don't have the shooting power of others but are great backup batteries. I use Powerex for my primary battery and carry the Eneloops for backup because they go a long time without charging.

[hfgarris]

I too would recommend the Eneloops for camera and flash use where they may be unused for periods of time.

However, with regard to your NiMH cells, you should cycle them a few times (charge, discharge, charge) when new to condition them to achieve their top working power. Some of the better chargers have a mode which will do this for you, or your can just use a flashlight, toy, or other "discharge device" to do this before you depend on them for a photo shoot. It is still a good idea to give them a fresh charge just before you need to use them as they "self discharge" a significant amount daily.

-howard

[avbcon12]

Ive actually had a pretty good experience with the duracell 2650's. I havent waited 45 days with them btu they always seem to hold a charge for at least a couple of weeks for me.

[dan j]

I too recommend the Enloops, they did fairly, somewhat well in SYS comprehensive tests http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=677074 Enloops get a lot of word praise here from folks who own one or two other brands to compare them with. SYS test was very thorough, and the Enloops were NOT the best. Yet, folks recommend the heck out of them - based on word of mouth.

You could go with something that tested better, like the Powerex. Or, just charge your batteries the night before which works well too ;)

dan

[hfgarris]

I use both Eneloops and Powerex batteries. Yes, freshly charged Powerex batteries will out last the Eneloops in hard use, as they should since they have a significantly higher rating.

However, if they have been sitting a week or more since charging, the Eneloops will deliver more run-time since the Powerex cells are already partially discharged at the start of usage.

If they have been sitting around a month or more, the Eneloops will still deliver a substantial run-time session whereas the Powerex will probably be very close to dead and may not function at all.

I believe the Eneloops are rated at greater than 1 year shelf life storage.

-howard

[tsamarin]

I bought some Duracell 2650s to supplement my Evereadys. I don't know if they're from a defective lot or what the deal is, but they are unequivocal junk. Charged 'em a couple of days before a shoot and when I turned the strobe on: nothing! It was a good thing I had the Eveready's (not charged for a month or so) handy-they bailed me out. This has happened twice now, so I trashed the Duracells and I'm buying Eneloops now.

[ryant35]

I noticed my Duracell 2650's run out pretty fast when stored too. I've got some Calumet 2700s and the are great, and cheaper than Duracell. I've been considering making the jump to Eneloops but my Calumets work fine for me for now.

[sodalis]

I use Powerex for my primary battery and carry the Eneloops for backup because they go a long time without charging.

This is a very good strategy. I do the same and use the PowerEx 2700's, and I have a couple sets of Imedions (same idea as Eneloops) for a backup. You can't beat the 2700's when they have a fresh charge, but if I forget to charge them or get asked to shoot something on short notice I can always reach into my bag and grab the Imedions that I charged a month or two earlier.

[CanonHowitzer]

Just a little note- something everyone already probably knows.

Don't leave the the batteries in a charger after they have completed charging.
They can drain through the circuit connection.

:)

[ylimehajile]

Just a little note- something everyone already probably knows.

Don't leave the the batteries in a charger after they have completed charging.
They can drain through the circuit connection.

:)

Is this also the case with the better chargers who offer trickle charge?

[Faolan]

Don't leave the the batteries in a charger after they have completed charging.

They can drain through the circuit connection.

That depends on the charger, some chargers will do trickle charging once the batteries are fully charged. The Maha C808M works this way.