Carwyn Edwards

Forum Replies Created

Viewing 5 posts - 16 through 20 (of 25 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • in reply to: BEST AA RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES #17577
    Carwyn Edwards
    Spectator

    Hi Andrew

    Wouldn’t class myself as an expert in electronics and batteries, but I would be wary of anyone selling a AA-sized rechargeable battery with a capacity rated >2850 mAH… as far as I’m aware that’s pretty much the maximum capacity you can currently get in an AA-sized NiCd or NiMH rechargeable battery due to limitations with the chemistry and the size.

    You can get lithium-based disposable batteries (not the same as rechargeable lithium ion batteries) which have a rated capacity of 3500mAH for AAs, but these are expensive compared to normal disposable alkaline batteries, but they apparently keep their charge in the cold and they don’t self-discharge in the same way as other batteries so maybe good for a spare torch in the bottom of a pack?

    Some manufacturers recommend against using certain types of batteries in their lights too, I have a Petzl Actik CORE, which Petzl say can use alkaline, lithium or Ni-MH batteries (or a petzl-specific rechargeable battery pack), whereas Alpkit apparently recommend against using Lithium disposables in their torches (according to this thread on UKC anyway: https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/gear/rechargeable_batteries_and_headtorches-486163)

    There are a lot of sellers on eBay/Amazon and other online marketplaces that will advertise impossibly high mAh ratings for all sorts of rechargeable batteries, so i’d probably stick to a name brand (e.g duracell) to try and ensure you’re getting the actual named capacity. Panasonic make some batteries under the ‘Enerloop’ brand name which get a lot of good reviews, apparently they work better in the cold than other equivalent rechargables and don’t lose their charge as quickly in storage (apparently), they are pretty extortionate tho (£18 for 4 AA on amazon at the moment).

    Modern LED torches will likely all have some internal electronics to maximise efficiency and make the light level consistent throughout the battery life of the light (as well as providing different light levels, flashing modes etc). Battery voltage tends to drop as they get used up and LEDs tend to like having a consistent voltage to work correctly.

    In your example of a torch powered by 1 AA battery, there’ll be some electronics there to ‘boost’ the voltage up from the battery-supplied ~1.5V (which in practice for a alkaline battery, could be from ~1.6V to ~1.0V, depending how much juice is left) to what the LED needs, which from memory is around 3.6Vish for a white LED. This boosting process isn’t that efficient, which means some of the battery capacity is going to be ‘wasted’ in the process, which makes a direct comparison hard. I’d reckon the burn time on a single AA head torch is likely to be less than 1/3 of a comparable 3-AA light tho, for the same light output due to those losses.

    in reply to: Parthian Lock-in: Sunday 12th of November 6pm-9pm #17520
    Carwyn Edwards
    Spectator

    OK, so just had confirmation from Sam at Parthian:

    The lock-in is going to be *Sunday November the 12th from 6pm-9pm*.

    The cost for climbing and coaching is going to be *£10 per person.*

    In order to confirm your place, please send £10 to the club bank account with the reference: your initial, surname and Parth (my example would be cedwardsParth). 
    If you need the bank details, please see the Whatsapp or give me a shout. 

    We will need a minimum of 20 people to make the event work so please send your payment *ASAP* so we can confirm the booking with Parthian. Once we have a better idea of numbers I’ll  confirm the coaching set up with Sam. 

    On the food front, there doesn’t seem to be a great choice of places close to Parthian that will still be serving food after 9pm: I think getting some pizza delivered during the session might be the best bet, details TBC closer to the time!

    in reply to: Parthian Lock-in: Sunday 12th of November 6pm-9pm #17515
    Carwyn Edwards
    Spectator

    Hi all

    Just an update on this: we’ve had a lot of interest in the lock-in, which is great.

    From the availability that people have given me, it looks like either the 11th or 12th November is the best date: I’m just double-checking with Parthian and will confirm asap.

    We’ve got around 20 people interested so far, which is awesome but pretty close to the minimum that Parthian need to make the session work so if anyone else is interested please let me know!

    I’ll post payment details once I’ve heard back from Parthian on dates.

    Cheeeeers

    in reply to: Parthian Lock-in: Sunday 12th of November 6pm-9pm #17496
    Carwyn Edwards
    Spectator

    ooh, good shout on the Roosters taphouse!

    in reply to: This week 10th to 15th of October 2023 and Parthian events #17489
    Carwyn Edwards
    Spectator
Viewing 5 posts - 16 through 20 (of 25 total)