Minitower internal power

[russ.will]

I suppose this would apply to anybody with a mount capable of taking internal batteries, but my Minitower v2.0 can take 8x AA batteries.

Now, I do generally run whichever mount I'm using from my 22Ah golf trolley battery, but  lets assume that sometimes I'd like to run it off internal power for a few reasons. I'd also like to start switching the rest of the household over to rechargeable power, so there is another angle.

I must say, the state of the art of rechargeables seems to have come on leaps and bounds since I last gave them a shot. Not only do they seem to hold charge for a lot longer (good for remote controls) the capacity of them and their discharge profiles seem to have pushed them into the realms of useful. My MTv2 draws about 300mA when tracking and that's a lot of solar viewing from a 2500mAh capacity.

So does anybody here have experience and tips with respect to Sanyo/Panasonic Eneloops? If so, what do you charge them with? I seem to keep seeing the same 4-cell charger recommended, but it seems to crop up as a clone ranging from £35-70. This would seem odd, were it not for exactly the same thing happening in this hobby!

Thanks in advance.

Russell

[russ.will]

Not one person using rechargeables? What will the children of the far east eat, if they aren't earning their crust in the Lithium mines? Shame on you!

Russell

[101nut]

Ok, I admit to using the odd rechargable - I've currently got about 25-30 of them in circulation!

Personally I no longer use anything other than eneloop style for AA or smaller. I think they are far too expensive in larger sizes and use NiMh instead.

I have now gone to torches with AA-D converters in them as I hate picking up a torch with 5 NiMh D-cells in it and the cells have gone flat ... I get decent usage time (especially with LED torches), a much lighter torch and also long charged shelf life with "cheap" AA cells.

I don't use eneloops - I have 7dayshop 'own brand' and GP Recyko both of which have lasted well, have a decent capacity and reasonable self discharge rate.

The only disadvantage of these cells is a lower terminal voltage than "standard" dry cells. Some things, eg cameras designed for lithiums, seem to cope well with them compared to alkalines (which many cameras absolutely hate) due to their low internal resistance but the cells can apparently "die" earlier if the equipment is particularly voltage sensitive. Horses for courses really - I couldn't live without them! :-)

My charger is an Ansmann Energy 16 (various sizes of the unit are available). It's expensive but I like the incredible charging flexibility. Many chargers only take cells in pairs which is a pain, this allows singles and all sizes from AAA to D and pp3. It charges quickly (but not too quickly) and had clear status for each cell. I don't like the 'wall wart' type of charger as they can get very warm and cook the cell ...

AndyG