Finally broke down and bought a set: TENERGY 10,000 mAh

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Lasonic TRC-920

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For years I have heard the praise from top members here on this site raving over the power of the Tenergy 10k mAh rechargeable batteries. I have teetered back and forth, always wanting them, but for the cost, I could always get a fairly nice radio! :-D

In the back of my mind, I have always known that 5 sets of (10) Duracell's is the same price and batteries here in Italy are even mare expensive.

I had a set of the basic Energizer 2500's a long time ago and they worked pretty damn good and I got years worth of use out of them, so these have to be light years ahead.

So, I pulled the trigger a few weeks ago and purchased a set. They are on the charger now! I guess we will see how they do...
 

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Fatdog

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10,000 mAh?! :-O :w00t: I'm interested in seeing how well they work.
 

Reli

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Nice Chris! I have the white ones but they have the same mAh.

Still haven't found a charger that fits more than 4 at a time. But those chargers are cheap anyway, so you could just buy 2-3 of them.
 

jimmyjimmy19702010

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Proper, solid fill 10,000 maH D cell batteries - wise choice Chris. :-) The thing people have to realise is that if you have a set of these cells in your arsenal, you will find yourself cranking your favourite, power hungry boxes outdoors ALL THE TIME!!

Want to crank it with the Alkaline battery killing tape deck running? No problem.
Want maximum performance every session with that special ‘fresh cells’ output? No problem.
Want a power source guaranteed not to spew acid through your favorite box? No problem.

Happy times for sure!! :rock:

James .... :-)
 

JVC Floyd

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Worth every penny in my opinion another thing that's great are those D cell battery holders that hold double a batteries they come in handy when you don't want to spend a lot of money on d cells.
 

Lasonic TRC-920

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Reli said:
Nice Chris! I have the white ones but they have the same mAh.

Still haven't found a charger that fits more than 4 at a time. But those chargers are cheap anyway, so you could just buy 2-3 of them.
Hans, you have been leading the discussion on these for some time. I know that there have been others here on the site that are also using them, so I had to give it a try. I'm basically in to these for $110. The issue I found is, I really couldn't find them in blocks of 10. I bought a package deal with 8 batteries and the charger and then 2 more batteries.

As I mentioned, I had the Energizer 2500's and they were good for 3-4 hours worth of cranking in a 777 and as Jimmy said, always having a fresh set on hand was a dream come true. Those Energizer's won't get you through a day at the beach, but for a few hours at a time, they were fine and lasted for about 4 years, using them 2-3 times a week.

Hisrudeness said:
Man that charger expensive too?
NOPE, $21.99 shipped!


Fatdog said:
10,000 mAh?! :-O :w00t: I'm interested in seeing how well they work.
Me too! (damn it's great seeing you post again!) :clap:

Northerner said:
Definitely a big investment!
True, but if I can get 3-4 years out of them, then I'm good!


JVC Floyd said:
Worth every penny in my opinion another thing that's great are those D cell battery holders that hold double a batteries they come in handy when you don't want to spend a lot of money on d cells.
Time will tell and I'll complain from one end of this site to the other is they SUCK :lol: :lol: :lol:


jimmyjimmy19702010 said:
Proper, solid fill 10,000 maH D cell batteries - wise choice Chris. :-) The thing people have to realise is that if you have a set of these cells in your arsenal, you will find yourself cranking your favourite, power hungry boxes outdoors ALL THE TIME!!

Want to crank it with the Alkaline battery killing tape deck running? No problem.
Want maximum performance every session with that special ‘fresh cells’ output? No problem.
Want a power source guaranteed not to spew acid through your favorite box? No problem.

Happy times for sure!! :rock:

James .... :-)
Jimmy, I just sent my silver Predisco to the repair tech, I had a Hodge Podge of batteries in there for testing. It's a Japanese 100v, so he can't plug it in (220v here). I went to test it before shipping it off and it was dead. Freaking leaking batteries! I had to BUY a brand new set of Duracell's just to drop it off to be repaired as these were still in the mail. That pissed me off :annoyed:

Even worse, one of the things being repaired is the battery springs were totally destroyed from leaky batteries! :bang:

I'm just done with it! I'm ready to rock without restriction! :rock:
 

Transistorized

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You will enjoy these for sure. I have that exact same charger. The only way you can kill these and get a shorter lifespan would be to allow them to fully drain past 1 volt. I usually keep an eye on my battery indicator. If my box battery indicator starts to drop that signifies it's time to charge. As long as you charge them and do not allow them to go completely dead you should get a lot of use out of these.

My batteries look different but they are the same capacity as yours and I've had good luck with these.

20180425_133025.jpg
20180425_133021.jpg
 

Lasonic TRC-920

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Transistorized said:
You will enjoy these for sure. I have that exact same charger. The only way you can kill these and get a shorter lifespan would be to allow them to fully drain past 1 volt. I usually keep an eye on my battery indicator. If my box battery indicator starts to drop that signifies it's time to charge. As long as you charge them and do not allow them to go completely dead you should get a lot of use out of these.

My batteries look different but they are the same capacity as yours and I've had good luck with these.

20180425_133025.jpg
20180425_133021.jpg
Good information there! So, if I'm cranking a radio WITH NO battery meter or indicator light and it starts to show fading, I should shut down?

blu_fuz said:
Dream come true!
Joe, as you know, THESE THINGS WILL CRUSH A SET OF D's

So no better way to test'em

IMG_20180425_224342.jpgIMG_20180425_221820.jpg
Dr DER motivated me to break this bad boy out!
 

Transistorized

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Lasonic TRC-920 said:
You will enjoy these for sure. I have that exact same charger. The only way you can kill these and get a shorter lifespan would be to allow them to fully drain past 1 volt. I usually keep an eye on my battery indicator. If my box battery indicator starts to drop that signifies it's time to charge. As long as you charge them and do not allow them to go completely dead you should get a lot of use out of these.

My batteries look different but they are the same capacity as yours and I've had good luck with these.

20180425_133025.jpg
20180425_133021.jpg
Good information there! So, if I'm cranking a radio WITH NO battery meter or indicator light and it starts to show fading, I should shut down?
That makes it a little more difficult with no indicator. But yes. Absolutely. If you notice a change in performance (Sound, LEDs) check the battery voltages. The dangers of running multiple cells in series is you will always have a weaker cell that will collapse before it's neighboring cell. Depending on the radio, it may not indicate this until after that cell has gone below 1 volt. If you have a volt meter simply check them after each use. Sometimes I'll cheat a little and test each cell while they're in the box so I don't have to pop them out :-) However, when you see any of them down to 1.10 or less (even if the others are reading higher) pop them all in the charger for another charging round.

General rule I've found. .9 to 1.0 0% charge immediately | 1.01 to 1.09 5-10% left (Charge) | 1.10 to 1.2 25-35% left (will get warm but safe to charge) | 1.23 to 1.26 volts 50% depleted (will get very warm. I would not charge them yet) | 1.27 to 1.39 volts 75% to 100% charged (will get hot. Do not charge). The first two discharge cycles will be shorter. After they condition themselves you will start to see longer run times after that.

Letting them sit discharged or draining below 1 volt will start to cause damage. If a cell gets too low it can actually go into cell polarity reversal (cell reads positive on negative end and negative on positive end) and that is Really bad. The charger actually won't even charge it....it'll say bad. You can also damage them by overcharging but this charger has delta V so it is very good at not overcharging them if you stick them in at 1.2 volts or less. They'll get warm but not hot. If you throw them in with little to no discharge they'll get rather hot during charge....and that's not good either.

If you monitor their voltage, charge them when they get to 1.10 to 1.19 volts they'll last you many years and you will get the most use out of them. I have a set that is 4 years old and no noticeable change in performance.
 

jimmyjimmy19702010

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Transistorized said:
You will enjoy these for sure. I have that exact same charger. The only way you can kill these and get a shorter lifespan would be to allow them to fully drain past 1 volt. I usually keep an eye on my battery indicator. If my box battery indicator starts to drop that signifies it's time to charge. As long as you charge them and do not allow them to go completely dead you should get a lot of use out of these.
My batteries look different but they are the same capacity as yours and I've had good luck with these.
20180425_133025.jpg
20180425_133021.jpg
Good information there! So, if I'm cranking a radio WITH NO battery meter or indicator light and it starts to show fading, I should shut down?
That makes it a little more difficult with no indicator. But yes. Absolutely. If you notice a change in performance (Sound, LEDs) check the battery voltages. The dangers of running multiple cells in series is you will always have a weaker cell that will collapse before it's neighboring cell. Depending on the radio, it may not indicate this until after that cell has gone below 1 volt. If you have a volt meter simply check them after each use. Sometimes I'll cheat a little and test each cell while they're in the box so I don't have to pop them out :-) However, when you see any of them down to 1.10 or less (even if the others are reading higher) pop them all in the charger for another charging round.

General rule I've found. .9 to 1.0 0% charge immediately | 1.01 to 1.09 5-10% left (Charge) | 1.10 to 1.2 25-35% left (will get warm but safe to charge) | 1.23 to 1.26 volts 50% depleted (will get very warm. I would not charge them yet) | 1.27 to 1.39 volts 75% to 100% charged (will get hot. Do not charge). The first two discharge cycles will be shorter. After they condition themselves you will start to see longer run times after that.

Letting them sit discharged or draining below 1 volt will start to cause damage. If a cell gets too low it can actually go into cell polarity reversal (cell reads positive on negative end and negative on positive end) and that is Really bad. The charger actually won't even charge it....it'll say bad. You can also damage them by overcharging but this charger has delta V so it is very good at not overcharging them if you stick them in at 1.2 volts or less. They'll get warm but not hot. If you throw them in with little to no discharge they'll get rather hot during charge....and that's not good either.

If you monitor their voltage, charge them when they get to 1.10 to 1.19 volts they'll last you many years and you will get the most use out of them. I have a set that is 4 years old and no noticeable change in performance.
Very good advice!

Despite the rechargeables having a lower voltage, I would assume they would better handle a high amp load than Alkalines!? Especially when powering a wheely. :-)
 

Lasonic TRC-920

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Transistorized said:
You will enjoy these for sure. I have that exact same charger. The only way you can kill these and get a shorter lifespan would be to allow them to fully drain past 1 volt. I usually keep an eye on my battery indicator. If my box battery indicator starts to drop that signifies it's time to charge. As long as you charge them and do not allow them to go completely dead you should get a lot of use out of these.

My batteries look different but they are the same capacity as yours and I've had good luck with these.

20180425_133025.jpg
20180425_133021.jpg
Good information there! So, if I'm cranking a radio WITH NO battery meter or indicator light and it starts to show fading, I should shut down?
That makes it a little more difficult with no indicator. But yes. Absolutely. If you notice a change in performance (Sound, LEDs) check the battery voltages. The dangers of running multiple cells in series is you will always have a weaker cell that will collapse before it's neighboring cell. Depending on the radio, it may not indicate this until after that cell has gone below 1 volt. If you have a volt meter simply check them after each use. Sometimes I'll cheat a little and test each cell while they're in the box so I don't have to pop them out :-) However, when you see any of them down to 1.10 or less (even if the others are reading higher) pop them all in the charger for another charging round.

General rule I've found. .9 to 1.0 0% charge immediately | 1.01 to 1.09 5-10% left (Charge) | 1.10 to 1.2 25-35% left (will get warm but safe to charge) | 1.23 to 1.26 volts 50% depleted (will get very warm. I would not charge them yet) | 1.27 to 1.39 volts 75% to 100% charged (will get hot. Do not charge). The first two discharge cycles will be shorter. After they condition themselves you will start to see longer run times after that.

Letting them sit discharged or draining below 1 volt will start to cause damage. If a cell gets too low it can actually go into cell polarity reversal (cell reads positive on negative end and negative on positive end) and that is Really bad. The charger actually won't even charge it....it'll say bad. You can also damage them by overcharging but this charger has delta V so it is very good at not overcharging them if you stick them in at 1.2 volts or less. They'll get warm but not hot. If you throw them in with little to no discharge they'll get rather hot during charge....and that's not good either.

If you monitor their voltage, charge them when they get to 1.10 to 1.19 volts they'll last you many years and you will get the most use out of them. I have a set that is 4 years old and no noticeable change in performance.




As Jimmy said, that is some great info right there.

Some more questions....

When should the DISCHARGE feature be used on the charger?

Do they need a "Cool down" period before recharging?

Have you had any issues with these when using them continually? EXAMPLE: Out at the park all day with the radio ROARING the whole time, 5-8 hours.

If they are NOT going to be used, do they need to be charged before storing?

How about this situation: Fully charged, installed in a blaster, listen to music for an hour and normal volume, then let sit for a few weeks, then use again, then let sit, then use again. How do they fair in that situation?

You really have experimented with these and found their little idiosyncrasies. I had found a good pattern with my Energizers and they did last for years. In fact, the thing that killed my Energizer 2400's was I stopped using them for a period of time and then when I went back to them, they were dead. I was planning a 3 week camping trip and knew that the 2400's wouldn't last, so I bought two sets of Duracell's that ended up lasting me 4-5 months. After years of constant charging and use and then sitting (possibly while discharged) when I came back to the 2400's they were done.
 

Transistorized

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When should the DISCHARGE feature be used on the charger?

The discharge is a method use to help condition a battery. The idea is that the battery can start to develop reduced performance over a period of charge cycles. The charger will drain the battery down to the lowest acceptable voltage then immediately charge back to health. Some people notice improvement afterwards. I have only performed this once on my batteries in 4 years but it couldn't hurt to do this every now and then.

Do they need a "Cool down" period before recharging?

They really shouldn't get physically hot during discharge, however if you mean "cool down" in the sense of voltage levelling off then...not at all. A healthy cell will actually start to climb on its own after load is removed. You can actually watch it on a volt meter. It'll go from 1.09 and slowly climb to 1.12 etc. The main thing is to not over discharge them.

Have you had any issues with these when using them continually? EXAMPLE: Out at the park all day with the radio ROARING the whole time, 5-8 hours.

Actually you will get the longest run time if you use the fark out of them right after charging...lol. This is because NiMh batteries slowly lose charge every day. Off the charger they'll be at 1.37 to 1.39. After a few days with no use they'll reduce down to 1.34. After a week they'll settle around 1.31. This is another reason why after not using them for a long while people return to find the batteries unusable. The voltage creeps off to unsafe levels during storage and after a period of time in that state they're ruined. And that plays right into the next question you had.

If they are NOT going to be used, do they need to be charged before storing?

Yes. And every few months of storage the voltage should be checked. If they're found to be 1.1 volts or lower they should be topped off. Letting them creep down to below 1 volt will cause damage and the longer they sit that way the more damage is done.

How about this situation: Fully charged, installed in a blaster, listen to music for an hour and normal volume, then let sit for a few weeks, then use again, then let sit, then use again. How do they fair in that situation?

They will not be harmed by this and you will get a good amount of usage time out of them with only about 2% voltage drop per week of non usage. Only over discharged batteries will be damaged and present less than desired run time.

I almost never have enough time to continuously run them down in one sitting. I have blasted my C100 for 8 hours right off the charger without them flinching. Now granted there might only be another 2 hours left a week later when I go to use it again but they will not disappoint.

The one time I damaged a cell it was because I fell asleep with the radio on. It played all night and a cell collapsed going into reversal. It was brand new with only 2 charges on the set. It bounced back but it is now always the first D battery to fall on its face during usage and is showing reduced performance. I hated that....

A side note. One thing that does kinda suck is when you have used the set of batteries for a few hours and then you want to take the radio to the park. The batteries don't need to be charged but then there is the high likelihood since they're partially drained that they'll fall on theirface before your done at the park. Yes you could top them off but if they're still around 1.23 to 1.27 volts or higher they'll get really hot. This is where I have another set charged and ready to go....yes I know it costs a lot to have 10 more of them but this is where it pays off.

Actually I have to say...I have 3 sets of them. I know crazy but it means I never have down time...EVER...lol
 

Transistorized

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I would like to add one more thing to all if this. Unlike NiCad, NiMh batteries can be charged at any time and do not suffer from memory needing to be completely drained before charge like NiCad. HOWEVER, the type of charger you have will decide whether you can top your batteries off safely. This charger from Tenergy is considered a smart charger because it uses delta v. What is delta v? It is a system that uses voltage to determine when the cell is full. It does this by reading voltage of the cell during charge. When a NiCad or NiMh battery reaches full charge the cell will reach a peak then drop in voltage slightly. The delta v circuitry sees this and stops the charge. Problem is that with NiMh batteries this voltage change is very slight and can be missed. Once missed it can overcharge. As a backup some chargers will then stop charging after a pre programmed amount of time has passed. Well that might be fine if the battery was almost depleted however, if the delta v circuit misses the voltage drop and then runs another 6 to 8 hours before it times out while topping off a NiMh that is already 80% full it will get extremely hot and reduce it's life.

It is important to note that not all "smart chargers" are the same. This Tenergy charger is a consumer grade smart charger. The commercial grade smart chargers not only have delta v but also read the thermal heat of the battery. If the battery temperature rises x amount of degrees within a preprogrammed period of time then it knows delta v was missed and it shuts down due to thermal.

That's why I do not recommend top off charging using this charger until the cells are below 1.22. 1.21 will get warm but not unsafe. Delta v isn't a 100% guaranteed way to prevent overcharging. Overcharging will decrease life as well.

This is why some people believe that NiMh has a memory if you don't fully discharge before you charge them. It's because their charger missed delta v during charge and does not monitor temperature and caused their batteries to exhibit reduced performance. NiCad tgis is true. NiMh is not true but requires a commercial grade smart charger that has thermal shut down
 

Reli

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^ have you found a good commercial grade charger? Preferably one with more than 4 cells?
 

Transistorized

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maha powerex mh-c808m charger

This charger will charge 8 Ds and has 5 charging algorithms to prevent overcharging...one of which is also thermal.
 

Northerner

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Transistorized said:
maha powerex mh-c808m charger

This charger will charge 8 Ds and has 5 charging algorithms to prevent overcharging...one of which is also thermal.
I’ve just checked this one out. Looks a good unit, though the reviews say the PSU is a bit iffy. Might just try one anyway, have you used this one yourself?
 

Helmar

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I use the
maha powerex mh-c808m (for 8 AAA/AA/C/D-Cells)
as well as the smaller mh-c808s (for 8 AAA/AA only) since two years without any problems.

The one for D-Cells is not cheap, so one could also go for 2 chargers which cover 4 D-cells each.

Best regards
Helmar

BTW, am currently testing 10 D-Cells everActive Ni-MH R20 D 10000 mAh Professional Line which could be an alternative to Tenergy.
 
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