Lithium ion AA rechargeable batteries?

[Ian]

I have quite a large collection of NiMH rechargeable batteries and some are over 20 years old and still work!

I use AA NiMH batteries in my trail camera even though the instructions specifically say not to. They actually work but at 1.2V instead of 1.5V for alkalines, they are shown as running out of capacity right from the start, even fully-recharged.

I've had the trail cam running for about 10 days and it continues to work on NiMh batteries during that time. Stills are fine, but I'm finding the reliability of the video clip recording, shot immediately after the still, is problematical, I think this is because the low voltage tricks the camera into abandoning the recording early. So clips are normally 30 seconds to start with, but get shorter and shorter over time. This is, I'm sure, why the trail cam manufacturer recommends not to use rechargeables. Fortunately, I'm more interested in the stills, generally.

It recently struck me that as you can get 1.5V lithium ion rechargeable batteries, these might be better. Lithium ion batteries produce a native 3.7V but they have an integrated converter to reduce the voltage to 1.5V. They usually need a special charger, or they have USB ports in them for direct charging from a USB power source.

On paper, they don't offer much better charge capacity than NiMH, but they produce a more normal 1.5V, and power is maintained until the battery minimum charge safety switches the battery off (lithium ion batteries don't like being over-discharged).

To cut a long story short - does anyone use lithium ion rechargeable AA (or AAA) batteries, and what about their use in trail cameras? I've heard they aren't suitable for flash guns.

Ian

[ronidog]

Ian the following is based on my experience

I have used these Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA LR6 L91 Batteries | 10 Pack for years in the trail cameras and audio recorders in all sorts of weathers as recommended by the camera manufacturer and professional trail camera users. They have a high charge retention and work well in a wide range of temperaures.

Rechargeables are not recommended by number of the manufacturers and retailers. However some cameras are now able to use Eneloop Pro rechargeables as these have a high charge which will last.

I have used Eneloop pro rechargeables in the newest of my trail cameras. The were the only ones recomended by the camera retailer. The cameras were not being left outo the fells for more than a few weeks and the battries worked well.

I use eneloop recgargeables on my Olympus 600 and 700 flashes as recommended by wex or srs I think.

see eneloop pro - Panasonic

[Ian]

I should have mentioned non-rechargeable lithium batteries, which have been around for many years - they last long and are oddly light in weight. Energizer is the most famous brand. They perform very well but are very expensive and you can't recharge them. I have some Eneloops as well, in fact any rechargeable NiMH batteries that are labelled pre-charged or ready to use are the same as Eneloops, using the later low self-discharge NiMH chemistry. But these have the same nominal working voltage of 1.2V. This is where the problem lies. The AA (and AAA and PP3 9V) rechargeable lithium ion batteries you can buy now have a modified voltage, down from 3.7V to 1.5V, which should theoretically work better in my trail camera.

[linus1884]

When i was reviewing NiMh batteries last year for my Godox flash i did watch a few YouTube videos however they weren’t very positive as the batteries were more expensive and had less capacity, didnt last as long, also required a new charger. They were also not recommended for camera flash.

I did end up getting the ReCyko Pro batteries with a smart charger to recondition them, these have lasted me well very similar to the Eneloop Pro.

https://uk.gpbatteries.com/pages/recyko-pro-rechargeable-batteries

I had another look on Youtube, this reviewer seems to like the xtar brand maybe things have improved with Lithium ion AA?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeyG9FBBBoI

Just a final thought are you using a smart charger to recondition your NiMh batteries?

[Ian]

When i was reviewing NiMh batteries last year for my Godox flash i did watch a few YouTube videos however they weren’t very positive as the batteries were more expensive and had less capacity, didnt last as long, also required a new charger. They were also not recommended for camera flash.

I did end up getting the ReCyko Pro batteries with a smart charger to recondition them, these have lasted me well very similar to the Eneloop Pro.

https://uk.gpbatteries.com/pages/recyko-pro-rechargeable-batteries

I had another look on Youtube, this reviewer seems to like the xtar brand maybe things have improved with Lithium ion AA?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeyG9FBBBoI

Just a final thought are you using a smart charger to recondition your NiMh batteries?

GP is a very well established and respected battery manufacturer. I also have some of their batteries in my collection, though not the ReCyko Pro branded ones. But they are still 1.2V NiMH.

Thanks to the link to the video - there are dozens of similar videos. I was hoping to find someone here who already uses the Li Ion rechargeables and to find out what they thought from their experience using them. But they do look temptingly good, particularly for trail camera use. Xstar is a good brand - their smart battery chargers are very well regarded.

Ian

[linus1884]

Amazon has mixed reviews but what concerns me is the quality control, seems there is a higher than average rate of failure of the earlier white branded versions. One youtuber had his blink camera damaged due to battery leaks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cflif0ToQ9Y

Theres some great technical comparisions and test results from this youtuber which i enjoyed watching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGzFSvn-mXs

Have you heard of the Paleblue brand? They have a UK shop and offer a limited warrenty on the batteries too. https://paleblueearth.co.uk/ I had been considering them before i went for the ReCyko brand.

[Ian]

Not heard of Paleblue - I will have a look.

[Ian]

Amazon has mixed reviews but what concerns me is the quality control, seems there is a higher than average rate of failure of the earlier white branded versions. One youtuber had his blink camera damaged due to battery leaks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cflif0ToQ9Y

Theres some great technical comparisions and test results from this youtuber which i enjoyed watching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGzFSvn-mXs

Have you heard of the Paleblue brand? They have a UK shop and offer a limited warrenty on the batteries too. https://paleblueearth.co.uk/ I had been considering them before i went for the ReCyko brand.

Some excellent videos from On the Fritz, a massive amount of work done there, but I hope that hasn't been too much as he's only produced the two videos.

I think I will eventually get a set of 8 Li Ion rechargeables for the trail camera, but it's quite hard to justify the cost of being a reputable set and, likely, a charger. We'll see! I agree, you need to buy a reputable product.

Ian

[linus1884]

Ian not sure if you managed to get your Li ion rechargables for the trail camera but this popped up when i was searching for something else on Amazon, Ansmann are a decent brand from what i remember. They have AA Li ion rechargables with in battery charger.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Batteries-Connection-Rechargeable-Suitable-Controllers/dp/B0CB4NDML5?crid=1BYX5JW6WV3AY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.AVTnT_L-jiQ2oxDBLOFGNsao1Zq7mE1kDVbDW0IPybvl-aVy9zTRUXd8Z5mzXyRL3myy1LVs6XcRqc2bly1UWPQ3rrb-wuq8RHPWU1-0LSGLiyVSwtBfUh6OfGg_uFqIALsChNiDaLQUDWn7biiUPNfHw0YZzw5zZPIALVQpru7m3aa_jMiHH1iia3MzXm2yXs7NULNIQYS3Xj9b36hIaTc-uz0EYziNyg9P0KhAJDo.ORn6Ko-R-QvdUfTxzU13lZuEdZAu1GAULlifoFBp8HY&dib_tag=se&keywords=ANSMANN+4+x+Mignon+AA+Batteries+Li-Ion+with+USB+Type-C&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732550879&sprefix=ansmann+4+x+mignon+aa+batteries+li-ion+with+usb+type-c%2Caps%2C100&sr=8-1

[Ian]

My rather ancient Ansmann battery charger has started to play up (I think) - often what I consider to be perfectly good AA or AAA NiMH batteries are rejected as faulty by the charger, forcing me ro reinsert the batteries to recommence the charging cycle. Sometimes this needs to be repeated, but eventually the battery gets charged.

I recently discovered that Xtar's new VX4 universal charger will also charge their own lithium ion 1.5V AA batteries. I've dropped the Christmas present hint for this charger, which also has advanced battery condition analysis and battery revival capabilities. Can't wait!

Ian

[MJ224]

Do you still believe in Father Christmas, Ian...

[Ian]

Oh yessss!🎅🦌

[linus1884]

The Xtar VX4 is a bit fancy! the reviews look very positive! 😁

[Ian]

The Xtar VX4 is a bit fancy! the reviews look very positive! 😁

And very reasonably priced.

Ian

[Ian]

Clearly Santa reckoned I've been good


As the Xtar VX4 can charge/discharge capacity test, I'm putting all my NiMH batteries through it.

No 1.5V lithium ion AAs yet to try.

My trail camera did survive 3 weeks outside, including some sub-zero nights on NiMH AAs despite the manufacturer saying not to use rechargeable batteries.

I suspect the old charger I have been using didn't charge the batteries properly, so it will be interesting to see if the new one is actually better.

Ian

[blackfox]

Be extremely careful messing with any sort of rechargeable batteries, when I worked for Remington many years ago we used to send out different types to customers for feedback reports , one left on charge melted its way through a wooden sideboard .luckily never caught fire .. I also note recent reports of house fires from electric scooters/ bike batteries , and the ever increasing amount of car fires from e.v’s and hybrids

[Ian]

Be extremely careful messing with any sort of rechargeable batteries, when I worked for Remington many years ago we used to send out different types to customers for feedback reports , one left on charge melted its way through a wooden sideboard .luckily never caught fire .. I also note recent reports of house fires from electric scooters/ bike batteries , and the ever increasing amount of car fires from e.v’s and hybrids

Both my old and n new charger will reject batteries that don't behave as expected. The ones I'm charging at the moment are NiMHs, so very unlikely to catch fire. EV and Hybrid battery fires are usually because of physical (accident) damage - the analogy being when a petrol car's fuel tank gets ruptured. Anecdotes of eBike and eScooter battery fires are usuallt down to poor quality batteries and/or physical damage.

But these are energy storage devices, so caution is always wise to be in one's mind.

Ian

[Ian]

These are identical batteries bought at the same time about 2 years ago - labelled 2300mAh.

Two conform, but two have below par capacity, probably because they were left in a fly-scaring fan at the end of the summer and not recharged, so sat discharged for too long. They're still usable but will go into a box for less than good batteries.

Ian

[Harold Gough]

I have the same problem with my FL-300R flash, which I use for all my macro. I use disposable AAAs.

Harold