AA size vs C size NiMH for my bike lights

[Jemsquash]

I've recently bought a Dynotte 5w LED light which I've been running off 4 2650mAh batteries (. I was thinking of getting some C size batteries as my logical thinking is the bigger they are the more charge they store. This was a motivating factor in getting the light that runs off standard voltage batteries.

When looking for C cell batteries I have struggled to find anything over about 2500 mAh. Am I missing some fundamental understanding of batteries here?

I would expect C cell batteries to be in the range of say 2500-4000 mAh.

I suppose I could understand AA batteries having a considerably larger market than C and perhaps that has driven the prices down for AA. I however still think it's the same technology and should not have such a big impact.

 

[3Sensei]

I've recently bought a Dynotte 5w LED light which I've been running off 4 2650mAh batteries (. I was thinking of getting some C size batteries as my logical thinking is the bigger they are the more charge they store. This was a motivating factor in getting the light that runs off standard voltage batteries.

When looking for C cell batteries I have struggled to find anything over about 2500 mAh. Am I missing some fundamental understanding of batteries here?

I would expect C cell batteries to be in the range of say 2500-4000 mAh.

I suppose I could understand AA batteries having a considerably larger market than C and perhaps that has driven the prices down for AA. I however still think it's the same technology and should not have such a big impact.

I've used these guys before...they ship quickly and the batteries and chargers they carry are top quality. Hope this helps.

http://www.thomas-distributing.com/cbatteries.php

How do you like the light so far?

 

[Jemsquash]

Thanks for that link, it's a great help. Doing a google search inundated me with results so that I could not find anything reasonable.

I've enjoyed the lights so far. An aquaintance has an old cateye twin (10 + 10w?) and I'd say it is sort of comparable. His spot beam is probably a bit brighter in the centre and thus could probably project further ahead. The spread is comparable in size, however the spread of the Dinotte is very consistent and white. Weight is totally incomparable, the Dinotte is super light.
I'm still not sure about outrunning it above 30km/h, most of the hills I cycle on have street lights or lights not too far away.


Without having cycled with decent halogens before I can't really compare.

 

[jur]

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productVie...&pageNumber=&priceMin=&priceMax=&SUBCATID=583

Hope the linky works - from jaycar.

 

[Jemsquash]

I just thought that I'd give anyone who's interested an update on my Dinotte lights.

I've been using them for a while now and I still think that they are excellent. Last night I was riding next to someone with a nightstick 10w+5w halogen. The centre beam was just a tad brighter on the nightstick. The beam on the nightstick was quite narrow though. The dinotte had a much more even spread of light. I would say the two lights are very comparable in light output, however he was saying he only gets an hour on that setting vs 1:40 is what I get.

As for the blinky side of it, I don't think that you could get a brighter blinky. When I turn it on at dusk I can see street signs flickering about 500m away. When coming up behind cars at traffic lights, I often see the drivers looking around until they spot me.

 

[kleng]

I just thought that I'd give anyone who's interested an update on my Dinotte lights.

I've been using them for a while now and I still think that they are excellent. Last night I was riding next to someone with a nightstick 10w+5w halogen. The centre beam was just a tad brighter on the nightstick. The beam on the nightstick was quite narrow though. The dinotte had a much more even spread of light. I would say the two lights are very comparable in light output, however he was saying he only gets an hour on that setting vs 1:40 is what I get.

As for the blinky side of it, I don't think that you could get a brighter blinky. When I turn it on at dusk I can see street signs flickering about 500m away. When coming up behind cars at traffic lights, I often see the drivers looking around until they spot me.

I get about 3.5hrs at full power from my Cygolite dual cross but the battery pack is bigger than the dinotte, it puts out about 20w according to the manufacturer.

 

[geoffs]

I've recently bought a Dynotte 5w LED light which I've been running off 4 2650mAh batteries (. I was thinking of getting some C size batteries as my logical thinking is the bigger they are the more charge they store. This was a motivating factor in getting the light that runs off standard voltage batteries.

When looking for C cell batteries I have struggled to find anything over about 2500 mAh. Am I missing some fundamental understanding of batteries here?

I would expect C cell batteries to be in the range of say 2500-4000 mAh.

I suppose I could understand AA batteries having a considerably larger market than C and perhaps that has driven the prices down for AA. I however still think it's the same technology and should not have such a big impact.

What you want is a lithium polymer battery pack. 4 cells will give you 5000mAH @7.2v and weigh less than the NiMH.
Check out www.batteryspace.com.

Cheers

Geoff

 

[dcullen]

.

When looking for C cell batteries I have struggled to find anything over about 2500 mAh. Am I missing some fundamental understanding of batteries here?

I would expect C cell batteries to be in the range of say 2500-4000 mAh.

I suppose I could understand AA batteries having a considerably larger market than C and perhaps that has driven the prices down for AA. I however still think it's the same technology and should not have such a big impact.

Some folks actually use AA cores and just add an over rap to create a "C" sized battery - but really just a AA in disguise. As others have pointed out there are real C sized batteries out there with a mAh rating that reflects the increased size.