Not as bright on rechargeable AA?

I have a new Zebralight H51f. When using one AA primary it has a high, medium and low mode. When using a rechargeable battery (freshly charged but old) it is more like dimmer than medium, medium, and low. So high was actually dimmer than medium.

I haven't been using rechargeables and just decided to try it. Is this something I can expect with all rechargeables in this light or could it just be due to my older battery?

In other words is this because of the 1.2 V vs 1.5 V that is inherent in rechargeable vs primary AA's?

I've got a better battery charger on order as well as some better batteries.

Try a new eneloop. It depends on the battery

it's probably because of the older rechargeable.. buy new eneloops (not from china to be sure) and be happy

old cell can have high internal resistance so it can't deliver enough current to the boost driver

Most new NiMH rechargeable can match a new primary cell under load as they are charged up to 1.5v also, They just have a nominal running voltage of 1.2v

You may also need to do a capacity test on your rechargeable as it may not be taking a full charge unless you can do a discharge cycle on it to test its capacity.

IMO the only way to beat a NiMH/Primary cell for power is with a Lithium primary which runs at 1.7v and can handle current like the NiMH, But once its dead its dead and they aren't cheap.

Thanks. I usually use lithium primaries. I also have some Eneloops and a "smart" charger arriving soon from BatteryJunction.

Id say fresh non-rechargable lithiums work great if costs dont both you, But the new Loop's will be your ticket imo.

If you really have alot of NiMH rechargable batteries it may be worth looking into the Maha C9000 or La Crosse BC-9009 as both will charge and discharge and give you capacity reading of your cells, And it cycles them which prolongs their life.

But if you have less than 10 cells i think just the smart charger will serve you well enough.

I only had 4 and I'm going to throw them away. I've ordered 4 AA and 4 AAA Eneloops to give them a try (along with the new charger). My old charger was a cheap timer based charger. I'm tossing that as well. It was too bulky anyway. It was set up for AAA,AA,C,D and 9V...who recharges 9V or uses C or D today?

I mainly use AA and AAA for headlamps so it should be manageable. If it all works out well I can buy a few more Eneloops. I already have 18650's for most everything else.

the light should be 100% on a nimh rechargable on the zebra light .. on other lights it should be brighter .

Is it a nickel metal charger or a older ni cad charger ? what kind of charger is it ? what kind of rechargables are they and what's the capacity of them ? i have some 1200mah dark green sanyo's that are still tough as nails 15years old ? i also have 40 AA and AA's made in china bought a year later with higher mah that are ALL in the recycle bin..pure trash .

i think hanging on to the charger might not be a bad idea ..worse case you gut it and use it with a hobby charger to hold different size cells

OK, I got the Eneloops in the mail today along with the charger (4 AAA and 4 AA). Since they are pre-charged as was able to try them out right away.

They worked fine in my H51f (and the 4 AAA's worked fine in my Storm as well).

I threw the old batteries away. They were rebranded as Sea and Sea as I bought them in a dive store and Sea and Sea is an underwater camera manufacturer.

I guess I'll use the occasional lithium in a headlamp for the lighter weight but otherwise since these keep their charge for a long time I'll just use these.