AAA to AA converter???? Link please!

I disagree!

In a survivalist situation you might want to have only one size battery; but for a 72 hour PSK what does it matter what size the batteries are? I have spare lithium batteries in my CamelBack PSK. Battery consumers are specialized. The Photon, Petzl Zippka, SureFire, mini AM/FM radio, strobe light, etc. I’m not trading my cool gear for bigger stuff just so they all use the same battery. If I were stuck in a foreign country that would be a different issue. On the other hand I do avoid things that take weird batteries.

Several companies make them, converting AAA's to AA's to C's to D cells. Of course you lose capacitiy compared to the larger cells, but they will work in most cases with shorter run times.

http://store.greenbatteries.com/battery-adapter.html

And give up the performance in brightness of 123's in a Surefire? No. A Surefire e1e with the KL1 led will give you one hour at full output (similar to a 2d Maglite) and three or four more hours at a diminishing output. This is using a single 123 Lithium.

Standardize most everything else to AA or AAA, sure. Everything else EDC or BOB is standardized around them or is only a nice extra. Even the flashlights use 3 AAA's to run leds. Several places make AA battery units to run a USB charger for cell phones & PDA's

Martin,

That turns out to be a pretty good idea (I reserve 3.0v CR123 batteries as an exception - the applications are too good).

I went on the Energizer website tonight to get some data - I looked at common Energizer alkaline cells from AAAA to D and Lithium AA and AAA. Using their data for ampacity, dimensions, and mass, I did a little quick spreadsheet analysis (PM for spreadsheet if you want it - but I don't log on every day).

I realize that mAh is not power, but since all of these are 1.5 volt nominal (as opposed to a 3.0v CR123), mAh is the variable to measure when looking at total power available from a cell, so I use the term "power" in that context:

Looking at power/volume they rank this way:

1 e95 D 363 mAh/cc
2 L91 AA 360 mAh/cc
3 e91 AA 342 mAh/cc
4 L92 AAA 325 mAh/cc
4 e92 AAA 325 mAh/cc
5 e93 C 310 mAh/cc
6 e90 N 293 mAh/cc
7 e96 AAAA 272 mAh/cc

Looking at power/gram they rank this way:

1 L91 AA 207 mAh/g
2 L92 AAA 164 mAh/g
3 e95 D 144 mAh/g
4 e93 C 126 mAh/g
5 e91 AA 124 mAh/g
6 e90 N 111 mAh/g
7 e92 AAA 109 mAh/g
8 e96 AAAA 96 mAh/g

Quick conclusion: Stick to D cells and AA cells because they are very equivalent in power to weight or power to volume, with the Lithium cells having an obvious power to weight advantage. The lithium AAA is right in there as well, but it's starting to drop behind compared to the others (again, weight advantage exists).


I know that C cell bodies with D cell heads have been a darling of some, but the available energy from C cells doesn't really justify it; 3 AA cells basically "equal" a C cell for volume and capacity and 3 lithium AA cells weigh only 2/3 of an alkaline C cell.

AAA makes most sense in Lithium and is so-so in alkaline.

I was disappointed in the C cell numbers - I figured they would do better than that. but they have less than 1/2 the ampacity of a D cell. As for me - a few AAA for things like my ARC-P s and the rest is either AA or D (OK - I REALLY like the CR123 stuff we have - they are overall about the same as Lithium AA when you factor in the 3.0v)

So sticking to just AA, especially lithiums, is not a bad idea. I have not done the cost comparison, but I suspect that will strongly favor alkaline D cells, which makes them not a bad idea for applications where total weight/bulk is not as critical.

Digest this for yourself; HTH.

Tom

You should also look at the actual mAh available from each cell.

Anyway, I really wanted to standardize on AA's awhile back, due to the existence of the Lithium AA's. Unfortunately, my favorite piece of powered gear, my Petzl Zipka Plus, only takes AAA's. Now that the lithium AAA's are out, I don't worry about it anymore. I just stock both types. I just don't see the need for anything more heavy-duty, whether it's a 123 type or a D cell. I will make an exception for common coin cells, like 2032's or the like for the Photon LED lights.

So for now I have:

Petzl Zipka Plus, 3xAAA
Sony SRF-M37V radio, 1xAAA
Garmin Foretrex 101 GPS, 2xAAA
Mini Mag-Lite, 2xAA
Sony ICF-SW7600 shortwave, 4xAA
Motorola TalkAbout 6250 GMRS radios (x2) 3xAA each

and a few Photons...but that's it for electric/electronic gear for me.

Craig –

You've touched on another reason – for me and my circumstances – why I stick with AA's when feasible. I spend up to five weeks a year ~1000 miles south of the border in smallish urban areas. Much as I like Surefires, can't count on easily finding CR123's. Of course, I could tote a supply of spares, but I like to keep the load light as possible.

Dan

I agree that it is disappointing to see the trend towards built in rechargable batteries.

I try pretty hard to limit the different types of batteries in my kit. However, I haven't been able to get it down to one or even two types, but two types dominate:

123A cells to meet most of my lighting needs. I EDC a SF E2e (2x123A for 60 lumens @ 1hr) and a SF L1 (1x123A for 15 lumens @ 1hr or ~2 lumens @ ~50 hrs). These two lights provide me with three useful light levels from very low light, to medium task lighting, to fairly powerful lighting. They provide the capability of very long runtime or bright light as needed. In addition, in my kit, I carry a 3 level, 1W LED headlamp.

Then of course are the AA devices. GPS (2xAA), backup batteries for my Yaesu VX-5R which uses a propriatary lithium ion battery pack (it does not provide full capacity with the AA battery pack), BC246T scanner which thankfully uses AA batteries and a Infinity Ultra with red LED. Obviously the GPS and the radios can eat batteries. With the exception of the NiMH I keep installed in the scanner, I carry only lithium AA batteries for long storage life, bettery performance and lower weight.

I have a single AAA device in my kit. I carry an iAudio 5 combo MP3 player / FM radio. I specifically purchased this unit instead of the iAudio U2 which is almost the same except has a built in battery. I suppose I could have found a AA radio or even an AA MP3/FM combo, but I wanted a very small device that did not have a built in rechargable battery. I normally operate this guy on NiMH rechargables day to day, but carry a few lithium AAA batteries as spares.

The oddball is a pair of Glo-Toob FX marker lights in my kit for my dog and I. These use a single 12v 23A battery. I'm not thrilled about that, but these lights are small, waterproof and pretty much bombproof and the batteries are small so you don't notice a couple of spares.

So, in general, I have two primary type of cells - 123A and AA. I'll accept some AAA devices if size dictates, but prefer AA or 123A.

I consider built in rechargables a strict no-no since you can't reload in the field. N cells - no. J cells - no. AAAA cells - no.

Other than that, it pretty much has to be something I simply can't get the needed function.

I don't really like C and D cells, but mostly because they don't work well in high drain situations. Seems like it kind of defeats the point of having all that size and weight.. If I really need a D size, I'll use an AA to D adapter.

I'm really fond of lithium batteries for longer storage capability, better performance, better cold weather performance and weight savings. You can get them in all the sizes I prefer: 123A, AA and AAA.

I also am fond of NiMH batteries for high use devices and of course they come in AA and AAA sizes.

So, I guess you can put me in the AA or 123A or AAA or NO WAY catagory! :-)

-john

Keep in mind the D cell numbers are very misleading IMO. While D cells have a large amount of capacity, they provide much of their power at very low voltage.

Typically this means you will not get anywhere near the rated capacity from the batteries because 1) you'll replace the batteries well before they are dead or 2) the device will stop working because it requires more voltage than the cells will provide.

The main exceptions to this are applications which do not have large power requirements. Consider for example, running a handful of 5mm LEDs from 3xD cells. Darn thing would probably run pretty much forever.

Also, the D cell strobe lights probably make good use of the D cell because they charge a capacitor which stores up prior to discharge. As the voltage drops, it might take longer to charge up the capacitor, but the light will still be bright and it will probably run for a very long time.

Some very good information in this Alakaline Battery Shootout by SilverFox on CPF.

All in all, I'm not very fond of D cells. I think in most of the cases you'd be better off with 3 to 4 AA cells instead.

-john

i like lithium ion batteries, the removable one in cr123 size that is. Unfortunatly mine's are norminal 3.7 volt, so i can't use them in many applications, because the safety feature on my battery kicks in wenn used in a xenon lamp. Or the applicationss don't take the added voltage. But it works like a charm in my 3 watt luxeon Nuwai Q3. But you could invest in a regulated 3 volt rcr123 lithium ion if you needed too...

I actually like to promote lithium ion battery's, they are powerfull and aren't affected by cold, just like plain lithiums batteries. They are cheaper (in the long term) and beter for the enviorment than disposables. They should make AA and AAA in them, with safety's in them ofcorse.

Personally i use AAA more than AA. Most modern stuff i got are AAA. Camera, mp 3 player, headlight, etc.