Capacity of Duracell AA cell versus NiMH

[Sammy]

How does the capacity of a Duracell-brand AA cell (Duracell ordinary
or Duracell ultra) compare to one of the high-capacity NiMH cells (eg
2100 mAh)?


I am assuming, of course, that any applicance using the cells would
work down to the 1.2 volts of the NiMH.

 

[bob.dung@gmail.com]

In my sony digital camera, a P100, crap..!
A set of duracell lasted about three hours last work night out. I
wasn't counting flashes and pics etc, just general use but the sony
supplied batteries last at least twice as long, probably alot more.

 

[Ian Stirling]

In uk.d-i-y Sammy <noone@no-where.com> wrote:

How does the capacity of a Duracell-brand AA cell (Duracell ordinary
or Duracell ultra) compare to one of the high-capacity NiMH cells (eg
2100 mAh)?


I am assuming, of course, that any applicance using the cells would
work down to the 1.2 volts of the NiMH.

Basically, unless the drain is very small, not well.

 

[Mathew J. Newton]

Sammy wrote:

How does the capacity of a Duracell-brand AA cell (Duracell ordinary
or Duracell ultra) compare to one of the high-capacity NiMH cells (eg
2100 mAh)?


I am assuming, of course, that any applicance using the cells would
work down to the 1.2 volts of the NiMH.

According to http://www.battery-force.co.uk/detail_DUAAXX004A.html a
Duracell 'Plus' AA has a capacity of 2600mAh however as anyone with a
high-current device like a digital camera will know there is *far* more
to 'real world' capacity than simply comparing this figure.

What is the context behind your question?

Mathew

 

[Christian McArdle]

How does the capacity of a Duracell-brand AA cell (Duracell ordinary
or Duracell ultra) compare to one of the high-capacity NiMH cells (eg
2100 mAh)?

It depends on current drain. Alkalines are vastly superior in low drain
appliances, such as clocks or smoke alarms, to the point where NiMH would be
useless. In high drain appliances, such as DVD players with integral
screens, the alkaline would be in chocolate teapot territory.

The changeover point where one is better than the other is very much in the
direction of low drain. Any appliance that uses remotely much electricity
will much prefer NiMH, even with the lower nominal voltage. In fact, the
alkaline will produce a lower voltage for most of its discharge cycle in any
medium to high usage application. 1.5V is only available when the battery is
totally fresh and not being discharged to any extent. Any depletion in the
cell, or any current drain will result in rapid voltage drop, often even to
0.8V or so. This doesn't happen with NiMH. They can produce almost full
voltage until very nearly depleted, even at high current levels.

Christian.

 

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article <96B397B4678021A7D4@204.153.244.156>,
Sammy <noone@no-where.com> wrote:

How does the capacity of a Duracell-brand AA cell (Duracell ordinary
or Duracell ultra) compare to one of the high-capacity NiMH cells (eg
2100 mAh)?

I am assuming, of course, that any applicance using the cells would
work down to the 1.2 volts of the NiMH.

It really depends on the current being drawn. With high current devices
which would flatten the NiMH in say an hour of continuous use, the
Duracell might just die earlier. Go to say 6 hours of continuous use, and
the Duracell will last about 1/3rd longer.

--
*Therapy is expensive, poppin' bubble wrap is cheap! You choose.

Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

 

[Dave Platt]

In article <96B397B4678021A7D4@204.153.244.156>,
Sammy <noone@no-where.com> wrote:

How does the capacity of a Duracell-brand AA cell (Duracell ordinary
or Duracell ultra) compare to one of the high-capacity NiMH cells (eg
2100 mAh)?

They're roughly comparable, under conditions of moderate load (e.g.
100 mA or so). The Duracell performance spec indicates that a MN1500
AA alkaline cell has a service life of around 20-22 hours at 100 mA...
and this assumes that the battery can be drawn down all the way to 0.8
volts per cell. This work out to around 2000-2200 mAh, and this
figure seems to be good for discharge rates from trickle-load up to
around 400 mA.

The service life of an alkaline decreases significantly under
conditions of rapid discharge. At a 1-ampere rate, the MN1500 reaches
the 0.8-volt level after only 1 hour, resulting in a useful capacity
of only 1000 mAh. I assume that losses from the cell's internal
resistance (stated to be "usually less than 1 ohm") are responsible
for the reduction in capacity.

I am assuming, of course, that any applicance using the cells would
work down to the 1.2 volts of the NiMH.

If they don't, they'd have problems with alkalines in the latter
portion of the discharge curve, too.

--
Dave Platt <dplatt@radagast.org> AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

 

[Paul Hovnanian P.E.]

Dave Platt wrote:

In article <96B397B4678021A7D4@204.153.244.156>,
Sammy <noone@no-where.com> wrote:

How does the capacity of a Duracell-brand AA cell (Duracell ordinary
or Duracell ultra) compare to one of the high-capacity NiMH cells (eg
2100 mAh)?

They're roughly comparable, under conditions of moderate load (e.g.
100 mA or so). The Duracell performance spec indicates that a MN1500
AA alkaline cell has a service life of around 20-22 hours at 100 mA...
and this assumes that the battery can be drawn down all the way to 0.8
volts per cell. This work out to around 2000-2200 mAh, and this
figure seems to be good for discharge rates from trickle-load up to
around 400 mA.

The service life of an alkaline decreases significantly under
conditions of rapid discharge. At a 1-ampere rate, the MN1500 reaches
the 0.8-volt level after only 1 hour, resulting in a useful capacity
of only 1000 mAh. I assume that losses from the cell's internal
resistance (stated to be "usually less than 1 ohm") are responsible
for the reduction in capacity.

I am assuming, of course, that any applicance using the cells would
work down to the 1.2 volts of the NiMH.

If they don't, they'd have problems with alkalines in the latter
portion of the discharge curve, too.

All good info.

I have an AA NiMH with a specified capacity of 1700 mAh. Some NiMHs go
up to 2400 mAh. Alkaline AA cells can go up to 3000 mAh or more.

One thing to keep in mind is that the capacity vs voltage
characteristics of alkaline and NiMH cells differ significantly.
Alkaline cells' voltage ramps down slowly whereas NiMH cells hold a
stable voltage until they reach a few percent charge, then their voltage
drops rapidly. The load equipment's tolerance for low voltage will
affect the amount of power it can use from each battery type.

This effect also leads to the annoying behavior that some equipment has
where the battery appears to go dead very rapidly following the 'low
battery' indication or the battery level bar graph begins to show a low
level.

--
Paul Hovnanian mailtoaul@Hovnanian.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
Error reading FAT record: Try the SKINNY one? (Y/N)

 

In alt.engineering.electrical Dave Platt <dplatt@radagast.org> wrote:

| They're roughly comparable, under conditions of moderate load (e.g.
| 100 mA or so). The Duracell performance spec indicates that a MN1500
| AA alkaline cell has a service life of around 20-22 hours at 100 mA...
| and this assumes that the battery can be drawn down all the way to 0.8
| volts per cell. This work out to around 2000-2200 mAh, and this
| figure seems to be good for discharge rates from trickle-load up to
| around 400 mA.

My noice-canelling headphones run from a single AAA battery. I bought
an 8-pack of Duracell MN2400B8 (AAA) in late June and have put about
80 to 90 hours on the first cell (still have 7 in the pack), and it's
still running fine. So this must be drawing a lot less than 100 mA.

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Phil Howard KA9WGN | http://linuxhomepage.com/ http://ham.org/ |
| (first name) at ipal.net | http://phil.ipal.org/ http://ka9wgn.ham.org/ |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Watson A.Name - \"Watt Su]

"Christian McArdle" <cmcardle75@nospam.yahooxxxx.co.uk> wrote in message
news:4300c154$0$6469$ed9e5944@reading.news.pipex.net...

How does the capacity of a Duracell-brand AA cell (Duracell ordinary
or Duracell ultra) compare to one of the high-capacity NiMH cells
(eg
2100 mAh)?

It depends on current drain. Alkalines are vastly superior in low
drain
appliances, such as clocks or smoke alarms, to the point where NiMH
would be
useless. In high drain appliances, such as DVD players with integral
screens, the alkaline would be in chocolate teapot territory.

That's the first time I've heard of that, so I had to google it.
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001333.html
I've heard the teats on a boarhog one and fish needs a bicycle, but not
a chocolate anything. Seems like most of the younger folk haven't even
seen a fireplace so that one's kind of nonsensical to the average joe.
And then there's the average American, who drinks more coffee than tea,
however that depends a lot nowadays, since there seems to be a kick in
tea consumption now that they are promoting its health benefits -
antioxidants, etc. But then most tea is bought in teabags, so teapots
seem to be getting rare...

But I'd _love_ to have a chocolate teapot, it'd be very useful to me, to
nosh on!

The changeover point where one is better than the other is very much
in the
direction of low drain. Any appliance that uses remotely much
electricity
will much prefer NiMH, even with the lower nominal voltage. In fact,
the
alkaline will produce a lower voltage for most of its discharge cycle
in any
medium to high usage application. 1.5V is only available when the
battery is
totally fresh and not being discharged to any extent. Any depletion in
the
cell, or any current drain will result in rapid voltage drop, often
even to
0.8V or so. This doesn't happen with NiMH. They can produce almost
full
voltage until very nearly depleted, even at high current levels.

Christian.

 

[Watson A.Name - \"Watt Su]

"Dave Plowman (News)" <dave@davenoise.co.uk> wrote in message
news:4d9ae7585adave@davenoise.co.uk...

In article <96B397B4678021A7D4@204.153.244.156>,
Sammy <noone@no-where.com> wrote:
How does the capacity of a Duracell-brand AA cell (Duracell ordinary
or Duracell ultra) compare to one of the high-capacity NiMH cells
(eg
2100 mAh)?


I am assuming, of course, that any applicance using the cells would
work down to the 1.2 volts of the NiMH.

It really depends on the current being drawn. With high current
devices
which would flatten the NiMH in say an hour of continuous use, the
Duracell might just die earlier. Go to say 6 hours of continuous use,
and
the Duracell will last about 1/3rd longer.

It used to be that with all C, D, and probably AA cells, the battery
useage measurements were made with the assumption that the load was
going to be a prefocus incandescent lamp, i.e. the load was going to be
a flashlight. Seems like times have changed and portable electronics
gizmos are as common as the flashlights.

BTW, today I was reading in Popular Mechanics that in 2008 they will be
using LEDs for auto headlights, something about the Audi might have
them. However for the last five years, red LEDs have been used in tail
lights.

They also had an article on how well the gizmos worked for increasing
the gas mileage on your vehicle. They tried several different gizmos,
the magnets on the fuel lines, and the vortex turbine gizmo in the air
intake, etc., and *none* of them increased the gas mileage. Some even
made it worse! P.T. Barnum was right.

> --

 

[Watson A.Name - \"Watt Su]

<phil-news-nospam@ipal.net> wrote in message
news:ddrgfk32gsk@news4.newsguy.com...

In alt.engineering.electrical Dave Platt <dplatt@radagast.org> wrote:

| They're roughly comparable, under conditions of moderate load (e.g.
| 100 mA or so). The Duracell performance spec indicates that a
MN1500
| AA alkaline cell has a service life of around 20-22 hours at 100
mA...
| and this assumes that the battery can be drawn down all the way to
0.8
| volts per cell. This work out to around 2000-2200 mAh, and this
| figure seems to be good for discharge rates from trickle-load up to
| around 400 mA.

My noice-canelling headphones run from a single AAA battery. I bought
an 8-pack of Duracell MN2400B8 (AAA) in late June and have put about
80 to 90 hours on the first cell (still have 7 in the pack), and it's
still running fine. So this must be drawing a lot less than 100 mA.

Must not be very noisy. ;-) What brand and model are they?

> --

 

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article <11g5tq226929o86@corp.supernews.com>,
"Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun wrote:

But then most tea is bought in teabags, so teapots
seem to be getting rare...

You can still use tea bags in a teapot. The idea of putting one in a cup
is much newer than tea bags themselves, and a disgusting way of making
proper tea.

--
*24 hours in a day ... 24 beers in a case ... coincidence? *

Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

 

In alt.engineering.electrical "Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\"" <NOSPAM@dslextreme.com> wrote:
|
| <phil-news-nospam@ipal.net> wrote in message
| news:ddrgfk32gsk@news4.newsguy.com...
|> In alt.engineering.electrical Dave Platt <dplatt@radagast.org> wrote:
|>
|> | They're roughly comparable, under conditions of moderate load (e.g.
|> | 100 mA or so). The Duracell performance spec indicates that a
| MN1500
|> | AA alkaline cell has a service life of around 20-22 hours at 100
| mA...
|> | and this assumes that the battery can be drawn down all the way to
| 0.8
|> | volts per cell. This work out to around 2000-2200 mAh, and this
|> | figure seems to be good for discharge rates from trickle-load up to
|> | around 400 mA.
|>
|> My noice-canelling headphones run from a single AAA battery. I bought
|> an 8-pack of Duracell MN2400B8 (AAA) in late June and have put about
|> 80 to 90 hours on the first cell (still have 7 in the pack), and it's
|> still running fine. So this must be drawing a lot less than 100 mA.
|
| Must not be very noisy. ;-) What brand and model are they?

EarHugger[tm] EH1420-NC

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Phil Howard KA9WGN | http://linuxhomepage.com/ http://ham.org/ |
| (first name) at ipal.net | http://phil.ipal.org/ http://ka9wgn.ham.org/ |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Hamie]

Sammy wrote:

How does the capacity of a Duracell-brand AA cell (Duracell ordinary
or Duracell ultra) compare to one of the high-capacity NiMH cells (eg
2100 mAh)?

It all depends on the drain. Alkaline do well in very small drain
applications. e.g. digital clocks etc, where they'll last for years.
NiMH batteries do well in higher drain situations. And will outlast most
alkalines in things like camera flashes etc.

I am assuming, of course, that any applicance using the cells would
work down to the 1.2 volts of the NiMH.

If it uses alkalines it has to. Alkalines only provide 1.5V when they're
brand new. They quickly degrade to around 1.2V for most of their
lifetime and then drop off rapidly to nothing when they're dead.

NiMH on the other hand start at 1.2V and drop only a little during their
disharge cycle.

H

 

[Christian McArdle]

If it uses alkalines it has to. Alkalines only provide 1.5V when they're
brand new. They quickly degrade to around 1.2V for most of their
lifetime and then drop off rapidly to nothing when they're dead.

Actually, alkalines steadily decline from 1.5V to around 0.8 when dead. They
don't particularly hang about any particular voltage figure, although the
chart is not entirely linear, so the drop is slowest around the 1.2V mark.

Christian.

 

[Watson A.Name - \"Watt Su]

"Dave Plowman (News)" <dave@davenoise.co.uk> wrote in message
news:4d9bd64a4cdave@davenoise.co.uk...

In article <11g5tq226929o86@corp.supernews.com>,
"Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun wrote:
But then most tea is bought in teabags, so teapots
seem to be getting rare...

You can still use tea bags in a teapot. The idea of putting one in a
cup
is much newer than tea bags themselves, and a disgusting way of making
proper tea.

Well, I get the feeling that anything having to do with tea here in the
'states' hasn't agreed with Brits since we dumped it overboard into the
Boston harbor. ;-)

Now the big kick here is to promote green tea as having healing
capabilities because of the antioxidants in it. As far as I can see,
it'd take at least a gallon of it a day to do any good.

I don't drink either, but I also get the feeling that most 'Merkins
drink coffee and think that tea is for sissies.

--
*24 hours in a day ... 24 beers in a case ... coincidence? *

Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

 

[Baxter]

"Watson A.Name - "Watt Sun, the Dark Remover"" <NOSPAM@dslextreme.com> wrote
in message news:11g91fp95bvjs54@corp.supernews.com...

"Dave Plowman (News)" <dave@davenoise.co.uk> wrote in message
news:4d9bd64a4cdave@davenoise.co.uk...
In article <11g5tq226929o86@corp.supernews.com>,
"Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun wrote:
But then most tea is bought in teabags, so teapots
seem to be getting rare...

You can still use tea bags in a teapot. The idea of putting one in a
cup
is much newer than tea bags themselves, and a disgusting way of making
proper tea.

Well, I get the feeling that anything having to do with tea here in the
'states' hasn't agreed with Brits since we dumped it overboard into the
Boston harbor. ;-)

Now the big kick here is to promote green tea as having healing
capabilities because of the antioxidants in it. As far as I can see,
it'd take at least a gallon of it a day to do any good.

I don't drink either, but I also get the feeling that most 'Merkins
drink coffee and think that tea is for sissies.

Well, there's some of us Americans that appreciate good tea. Do note that
Portland (OR) has at least two tea companies creating their own blends of
tea (Tazo, The Tao of Tea), and several teahouses. (note that Starbucks now
owns and sells Tazo).

Personally, loose tea is better than tea bag tea - though there are some
very good bagged teas (like from Tazo). Twinnings tea is utter crap - on a
scale of 1 to 10, Twinnings Oolong is a -2.

Lipton loose black tea is ok for every-day use, but I can get just as good
black tea at a local Asian market for less than a quarter of the price of
Lipton.


--
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Data Collectors www.baxcode.com
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[TokaMundo]

On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 06:02:45 -0700, "Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun, the
Dark Remover\"" <NOSPAM@dslextreme.com> Gave us:

"Dave Plowman (News)" <dave@davenoise.co.uk> wrote in message
news:4d9bd64a4cdave@davenoise.co.uk...
In article <11g5tq226929o86@corp.supernews.com>,
"Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun wrote:
But then most tea is bought in teabags, so teapots
seem to be getting rare...

You can still use tea bags in a teapot. The idea of putting one in a
cup
is much newer than tea bags themselves, and a disgusting way of making
proper tea.

Well, I get the feeling that anything having to do with tea here in the
'states' hasn't agreed with Brits since we dumped it overboard into the
Boston harbor. ;-)

Now the big kick here is to promote green tea as having healing
capabilities because of the antioxidants in it. As far as I can see,
it'd take at least a gallon of it a day to do any good.

There are more antioxidants in chocolate. Red wine is a good one as
well.

ALSO... HEMP SEEDS! Quite a bit actually. Let's see...

Omega 3, fairly high content, protein, second only in amount to
soy...

Feed the world's hungry masses, I say!

I don't drink either, but I also get the feeling that most 'Merkins
drink coffee and think that tea is for sissies.

Probably a subconscious reaction not too dissimilar to that which
you describe in the first sentence of your response.

Tea is for intelligent folk. More than a cup of coffee a day can do
your body quite a bit of harm. One can drink tea practically
incessantly and see no ill effect... well teeth, maybe.

 

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article <hqd9g1h1uoavvmd313vqf5lcgp3526sten@4ax.com>,
TokaMundo <TokaMundo@weedizgood.org> wrote:

Tea is for intelligent folk. More than a cup of coffee a day can do
your body quite a bit of harm.

I should be dead, then, given I drink about 8 per day. And mugs, not cups.

--
*If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled? *

Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.