D size Ni-MH batteries

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Pablo

Pablo

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Oct 28, 2002
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Everson WA - Pacific NW USA
I just got a nifty small battery charger. Of course I will do the standard AA and AAA cells. I bought some cheapo Harbor Freight Ni-MH D cells (package says 1500mAh (?) but the charger paperwork says 5000) but I'd like to get some good ones....I notice eBay sellers have D Size with 10000 mAh!!

Has anyone messed with these? What is the standard mAh capacity for Ni-MH D cells?
 
Pablo, we go through heaps of batteries.

Had NiMH AA and AAAs, and 9v charger and was happy with that, using adaptors to put these into the the C and D toys (with a 2400mAh AA, life was even reasonable).

Bought a "rezap" charger a few weeks ago, that will do NiMH, NiCad, Rechargable Alkalines, Standard Alkalines (get limited runs out of them), and Ti batteries, in AA, AAA, C, D, 9V, and 6V (and also those dinky half sized AAs).

Won't do the 10Ah D sized batteries, pulling up at 4.5AH.

Comparing the sizes of the AAs and AAA 2400mAh, I reckon 3-5 Ahs should be about right for the Ds.
 
The harbor freight cells are probably just low quality NiMh AA cells inside a D sized can. Energizer does this same thing by selling 2500mah D cells. 11,000mah is about the best you can get in a NiMh, and they are good batteries if you get a good brand. They are however pretty expensive.
 
Secondmonkey, good point about the little battery in a big body...it would be feasible to make a cradle for 4 AAAs in parallel in a D sized case and get 8-10Ah

Pablo, crack one of them babies open and tell us what's in there.
 
the hf d cell is a sub c in a shell.
dont expect much.
their aa cells test out poorly in my maha c9000.
i can set you up with panasonic 8ah nimh d cells but they have a shorter + contact that may cause problems in some devices.
they are high rate type made for power tools and electric bike power packs.
charging the high capacity cells requires a charger that can supply 500 ma or more to do the job in reasonable time.
i just use a slower charger and rotate a set.
what are you using these in?
 
Grab a D cell by the "waist" and see if it's heavier on one end or the other. That would indicate air space.
 
I'm 100% certain there is just a smaller battery inside. The Chinese have been doing that with capacitors for years!
crackmeup2.gif


I'd like to get some more Ah D's for my portable radios and most importantly the auto open trash can. Takes 4 D's. I just now put the cheapie 1500's in there. Seems to work! Let's see how they last.
 
My work van came with just the basic AM/FM radio. I prefer listening to BOT whilst driving. A 30$ boombox rides shotgun. I used to get a months listening out of a 12pack of Duracell D batteries. Then I rigged up a 12volt lead/acid backup battery rated for 7 AH. I get about 3-4 days out of it before it needs a recharge. I'm in the security alarm biz, so I'm using genuwine junk parts and batteries. For flash lights, I've switched to LED bulbs, way better battery life.
 
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I figure radios and that trash can should be easy on batteries. The 90 day natural expiration will probably get you before use will.
 
a friend works for a city that banned hooking up anything in the trucks and they have no radio's.
we installed a load of these d cells into a portable stereo and drilled a hole for a jack.
now once a week he just plugs in a wallwart overnight.
goodbye $20 a week battery bill!
btw he drives an automated can dumping truck and the stereo was found on top of a can.nothing wrong with it either.unless the former owner couldnt afford the batteries to feed the sucker.
 
Hardwire the trash can. It should not need batteries. Is it mobile? Does it have to function during a power outage?

Get one of those radio shack voltage-adjustable wall warts. Multi-speed trash!
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Hardwire the trash can. It should not need batteries. Is it mobile? Does it have to function during a power outage?

Get one of those radio shack voltage-adjustable wall warts. Multi-speed trash!


The thought had crossed my mind.....I could run power from under the sink....put an outlet in the end of the cabinet.....I will do this if the battery thing gets too irritating. So far the cheapie NiMHs are doing great. I may buy set of NiCd (for about 1/2 the price for the same mAh) to rotate....
 
Just be careful with certain chargers....if the charger does not provide enough charge voltage it will shorten the life of your NiMh batteries. Overheaating and overcharging shorten the life of NiMh cells.

Good for battery companies, bad for your wallet.
 
Brad, do you know which is a good charger for AA and AAA NiMh batteries? It need to run off 110V-240V, 12V would be a nice extra but not necessary.

4 batteries at a time, 8 would be nice if it didn't make it much bigger or heavier.

Should also be small, it's for travel.

I got an Ultra Last UL-INOV2 which is perfect for what I want if it holds up and charges correctly, but have only had it 2 days so don't know how reliable it will be. So far so good on this one, but the first two I brought home were DOA.

How can I tell if it fully charges the batteries? It does shut off before it fries them, they are just a little warm after if shuts off.
 
One of the guys on a forum I belong to (crazy about batteries, etc. like this one is on oil) bought one of those and says that it is misleading.

The one he bought is labeled as a 90 minute charger, when it really is a 3 hour charger. He hasn't said anything about the charger being bad, just that the labeling was misleading.

I'm kind of biased since I own two chargers from them, but the Maha chargers are really good. They are expensive (around $60)compared to chargers you'll see at Fry's, Wal-Mart, etc, but they do a great job charging.

I've got about 70 AA and AAA NiMh so I spent the money on some good chargers after my other charger ruined some of my batteries.
 
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