# Best rechargeable AA / AAA batteries for bike lights?



## ewarnerusa (Jun 8, 2004)

Hello. I have been riding at night now for a year using a bar-mounted Li-ion powered CREE LED light and a AAA battery powered Cateye light mounted on my helmet. I want to start using rechargeable batteries in the AAA battery powered headlight. I went to the local Batteries Plus store and walked out with a Nuon brand charger and 4-pack of AAA's (charger came with a 4-pack of AA's, too). Now looking at reviews, it seems like these Nuons are very poorly rated. Ironically, I went to Batteries Plus thinking that I would get better product from a specialty store than the rechargeables at department stores or Costco. But it seems like the batteries that are most universally rated well are the Sanyo Eneloop that are carried at Costco! I haven't used these Nuon batteries yet, so I can't comment yet on how they work for me. 

Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone here had advice on rechargeable AAA batteries for LED lighting use. Thanks.


----------



## Kir (May 30, 2013)

Eneloops or Turnigy LSD from hobbyking.com
I prefer turnigy, higher capacity, cheaper.


----------



## androgen (Apr 28, 2005)

Eneloops are the best. I also tried the Eneloop XXX which is more expensive, but i didn't like it. The XXX was getting hot when charging so i had to slow charge it and it took about 20 hours to charge this way ( AA size ). So i went back to regular Eneloop. the XXX will give you a little more run time but for me the regular one is better.

the reason i love Eneloop is if you lose one and then find it a year later it is like new, but if you lose a regular rechargeable and find it a year later you probably won't even be able to charge it because it will have self-discharged past the point of no return.

i will not buy anything other than Eneloop now, and i will probably throw out all my other rechargeables.

to me Eneloop is the only TRUE rechargeable battery. the others are only rechargeable until you forget to charge them once and then they're paperweight.

i have been using recheargeable Ni-Mh AA batteries since about 1995 and of all the various brands i tried so far only Eneloops still work. from all the other brands at least some have stopped working already. now this could be because i have been buying Eneloops more recently, or it could be because Eneloops are better - i think it's probably both.

by the way for chargers i recommend Maha / Powerex MH-C9000. i love mine. i also have the LaCrosse charger which isn't bad either, but not as nice. i also have an older Maha / Powerex charger ( model 401 ) which is a decent charger, but a little outdated by now. i would stay away from generic chargers - you don't want to ruin your batteries.


----------



## androgen (Apr 28, 2005)

this video was just uploaded yesterday - it answers your question:


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Personally I use three brands of Low-self-discharge ( LSD ) NiMH rechargeable AA's. Sanyo Eneloop's, Duracell and Everready Energizer's. Listed capacities will vary but I really can't say one is better than the others. To find out that stuff I usually go to Candle Power Forums ( CPF ) where people will independently test various batteries. 

Ever since Sanyo introduced the Low-self-discharge ( LSD ) NiMH AA battery other companies have followed suit. That of course is to be expected. Just like with Li-ion cells there are going to be manufacturers that will claim to have super high capacity cells. Since I don't keep up with the newest of AA cell manufacturing perhaps I'm missing something. If I really wanted to know what was the best I'd look over what's on Candle Power Forums ( CPF ). That's where the true battery geeks are. When you see a thread on CPF with several batteries listed and a discharge graph of each, you know you are in battery geek country.  I'm still using the Eneloop cells
I bought when they first came out. Honestly I forgot how long ago that was but they still work great. The ( LSD ) Energizer's I just bought last year. They work fine 

Oh, btw...I've bought all my rechargeable AA's and AAA's at places like Best Buy and Walmart. "Batteries Plus" is not the place to buy batteries if you are looking to save money. Not too long ago I bought a couple button cells from BP. I think they were almost $3 a piece. Then I find out I can buy them on the Chinese web sites for about two cents a piece. :eekster: My Atozi spoke lights run off of 3xAG3 button cells. Looking on the web there are places that sell them at prices like 100 for $1.99.


----------



## znomit (Dec 27, 2007)

I like eneloops but will buy any LSD NiMH. 
I have a set of XXXs for when I need a bit more power.


----------



## ewarnerusa (Jun 8, 2004)

Thanks for the great responses folks. Looks like Eneloops is a consensus here as well. I guess I should look at reviews BEFORE shopping!!
If I start buying Eneloops for additional batteries, will my Nuon charger be OK? It is a model number NURECH4-4B Intelligent Charger (Class 2 Power Unit), I noticed that each battery location has its own charging/charged LED and they do all work independently. 
Input Voltage: AC 100-240V ~60/50Hz 10W max
Output Voltage: AA - 1000mA (2 batteries), 500mA (4 batteries)
AAA - 600mA (2 batteries), 300 mA (4 batteries)


----------

