Hey Gang,

Does anyone here have experience using rechargeable D cells in their BBX?

I am torn between the following two types of technologies:

Older Technology Rechargeable Alkalines, stating 1.55v, 13,000mAh!

or

Newer Technology Rechargeable NiMH Batts, stating 2900mAh, 1.2v.


From looking at the numbers, the Rechargeable Alkalines look like a no-brainer. But they are discontinued (for some reason).

Online research in other electronics forums indicates that if you let them drain below 50% of charge that it could cause them to have difficulties fully charging (although seller states no memory effect).

Are any of you using rechargeables? And if so, what kind and how is the life of these?

Thanks for any input you can provide. These batts are not cheap, so it would be good to know I'm spending my money wisely.

Keep boomin'

jt

interesting. did you see the 9v lithium ones, with mad mah ratings - 1200mah

regular 9v's are like 200mah...

id like to see a link to those alkalines if you have one

Yea, Litium-ion would be the best for sure.

I think I'm going to give the Alkalines a try. (I don't have them yet)

Back in 81, I remember I tried those first generation Nickel Cads, not sure who made them (was it kodak?) but they were yellow and were only rated to 1.2v. They would not last even an hour of normal playtime in the GF-9292 back then. Even when they were fully charged they would only register about 2/3 full on the boombox batt level meter because of the 1.2v rating.

Granted, rechargeable batteries have come a really long way since then..., but looking at the mAh ratings and voltage, I've got to give the Alks a try.

D size 10000 mAh NiMH Rechargeable Battery

here's what i have been mulling over as I allready have and use Rayovac Renewal D cell's presently

Hi DM4U,

How do you like those Rayovacs? That's what I'm thinking about getting...

jt

Personally I would use the type that don't need to be fully drained before a recharge.Those types will have a shorter life if you recharge them with power still left in them.Also I would imagine they could probably go bad at different times leaving you to sort out which of the 8(?) D cells in your blaster is being problematic.On the other hand the much more expensive ones that have power memory can be recharged safely with power left in them.You will need a different charger for those.Radio Shack sells both types.A drawback of the ones that have memory is that they are ridiculously expensive.Still I think they would probably be worth the expense long term.In fact I was going to get some of these until I realized that I am always removing my boxes battery covers to keep them from rattling.This is especially necessary on many larger bass heavy boxes.Of course I imagine this problem can vary from box to box.However I personally feel it is just too much money to spend if I can't use them in all of my boxes.I absolutely hate when boxes rattle and buzz.

Thanks for your thoughts and info.

FYI: Here is the link to the batteries I'm getting. I made a bulk deal with the seller for 10 D-Cells and 4 C-Cells and got a pretty good discount. Seller has 99.9% positive feedback, and excellent communication. I am pretty sure I'll get my goods. He has a limited supply of these, so if you're interested, act fast.

Alkaline Rechargeable Boombox energy pellets

Good D Cell Ni-MH cells should have a rating around 8000-9000 maH.

Another thing to be aware of is Alkalines drop voltage as they drain. This means they are only 1.5 volts when fully charged and actually end up under 1.2 volts near the end of their life cycle.

NiMH maintain 1.2 volts through most of their cycle and as others have pointed out have a very minimal memory effect. This means you don't have to fully discharge them before recharging.

I bought 10 Tenergy NiMH 9000mAh D cells for my TRC-931 about 3 years ago. Got them from http://www.all-battery.com for $58.99 and their fast charger for $29.99. They are fantastic! Not only do they last forever, but they deliver more juice than your standard D cell, too.

They're up to 10000mAh capacity now, and I would definitely recommend them.

OK, so I ended up getting my new batteries in the mail yesterday.

He shipped super fast and I got them in about three days. He has LOTS of rechargeables on ebay.

The seller's description states these are rated at 13,000 mAh and 1.5v, but I can't find the mAh claim substantiated anywhere on Rayovac's site. They do say 1.5v on them, though.

So... my initial reaction is very positive, but its also too early to say for sure if these are a good long term solution.

I do like the fact that these start at 1.5v instead of 1.2v, though. And the claim for 13000 mAh didn't hurt either.

They are discontinued. Why, I don't know. Makes you wonder, if they are so good, why did they discontinue them? I thought I'd give them a shot anyway.

They're in my M70 making noise right now and they did peg my battery meter fully to the right when I first put them in and still do after using the box at low to moderate volume off and on all day. I gotta say that its a nice feeling not to lug the cable and indiscriminately put the box wherever I want without the nagging worry about running the batteries down. I hate buying batts and then throwing them away. Its money straight down the tubes and not very helpful to the environment either.

L8R,

jt

Excellent JT, keep us posted on the performance. This is something any true collector should have if they use the boxes for more than just display.

How much did they cost? Good NiMH bats and a charger aren't cheap.

What Kind of a discount did they give you as these go for about 4.38 for the "D" size and I would buy 30 or 40 of the "D"'s myself ... James

quote:

Originally posted by JT:
Thanks for your thoughts and info.

FYI: Here is the link to the batteries I'm getting. I made a bulk deal with the seller for 10 D-Cells and 4 C-Cells and got a pretty good discount. Seller has 99.9% positive feedback, and excellent communication. I am pretty sure I'll get my goods. He has a limited supply of these, so if you're interested, act fast.

Alkaline Rechargeable Boombox energy pellets

I got 10 D's and 4 C's for $52, plus $10 shipping. Total $62.

In local stores I was seeing 2 x D's going for around $15 a pack...

As for the rayovac universal charger, here's a link to another pretty good deal. Charger with 4 D's, 4 C's & eight AAA's for $25

universal charger & a buncha batts.

Not bad at all JT.

Those Rayovacs don't list the mAH rating. Even if the D's are 8,000 to 10,000 mAh after shipping the deal isn't so good at nearly $40. It's an OK deal but not great.