cold weather lighting

Anyone notice when the weather is very frigid that Ni-MH "AA" batteries result in a very dim light
being cast? I rode tonite with a Headlamp that was so dim I thought it was at any second it would
shut down. Once inside the apt the lamp jumped to full blinding brilliance. I will try Duracell AAs
Wednesday and see if it was just the Ni-MHs. I ONLY use a Headlamp so car drivers see me
coming...hopefully so they won't open their car doors ahead of me and riding tonite several cars
doors swung open due to my almost non-existent lamp. Got so bad I rode with my Index Finger pointed
skyward for several miles.

Headlamp is a Mongoose (made by Bell) 4.8 Volt using 4 AA Ni-MH batteries. I have been selling these
lamps, but never rode with one myself....I'd hate to have to attach a warning sticker of (not to be
used in cold weather....since all we are getting IS cold weather brrrrrrrrrrr).

Oh Yeah....on my return a car cut me off and I gave it a blast from my Falcon air horn to get their
attention...then gave the car the finger, then he turned on his flashing Dashboard lights and siren
for about 3 seconds, rolled down his window and gave me the finger right back and drove away...Note
to self: watch out for Un-Marked Police Cars!

 

> Anyone notice when the weather is very frigid that Ni-MH "AA" batteries result in a very dim light
> being cast? I rode tonite with a Headlamp that was so dim I thought it was at any second it would
> shut down. Once inside the apt the lamp jumped to full blinding brilliance. I will try Duracell
> AAs Wednesday and see if it was just the Ni-MHs.
>

If you want to stick with rechargeable, you may want to use Ni-Cads on cold days. In general Ni-MH
batteries are superior to Ni-Cads: Ni-MH usually have more Amp hours (last longer per charge), Ni-MH
can go through more charging cycles before they're toast (about 1000 or more), you don't have to
completely drain a Ni-MH before recharging (like you should with a Ni-Cad to prevent damage).

However, a Ni-Cad does have a couple advantages too:
1. They're cheaper than Ni-MH
2. A Ni-Cad has less internal resistance than a Ni-MH. Therefore a Ni-Cad can produce higher
Amperage (current) than a Ni-MH--which is a very nice advantage on a cold day!

 

If the batteries aren't in a pack separate from the light, kludge something together so you can put
the batteries inside your coat . "bandjhughes" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > Anyone notice when the weather is very frigid that Ni-MH "AA" batteries result in a very dim
> > light being cast? I rode tonite with a Headlamp that was so dim I thought it was at any
second
> > it would shut down. Once inside the apt the lamp jumped to full blinding brilliance. I will try
> > Duracell AAs Wednesday and see if it was just the Ni-MHs.
> >
>
> If you want to stick with rechargeable, you may want to use Ni-Cads on cold days. In general Ni-MH
> batteries are superior to Ni-Cads: Ni-MH usually have more Amp hours (last longer per charge),
> Ni-MH can go through more charging cycles before they're toast (about 1000 or more), you don't
> have to completely drain a Ni-MH before recharging (like you should with a Ni-Cad to prevent
> damage).
>
> However, a Ni-Cad does have a couple advantages too:
> 1. They're cheaper than Ni-MH
> 2. A Ni-Cad has less internal resistance than a Ni-MH. Therefore a Ni-Cad can produce higher
> Amperage (current) than a Ni-MH--which is a very nice advantage on a cold day!

 

Joshua Goldberg wrote:
>
> Anyone notice when the weather is very frigid that Ni-MH "AA" batteries result in a very dim light
> being cast?...

Very basic chemistry lesson. Batteries do not store electricity, but produce it through chemical
reactions. The rate at which the particular chemical reaction that produces electric current will
vary with temperature - increased temperature, higher output.

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side) RANS "Wavewind" and Rocket, Earth Cycles Sunset and
Dragonflyer