D battery NIMH- Amazon basics D, or Tenergy Centura?

Amazon Basics D battery

Tenergy Centura D battery

I keep these for lanterns and a Fenix TK70 and don’t actually use them but I do charge them on my MH-C 808M charger in Conditioning Mode once a year.

I just bought 8 of the 10,000 mAh Amazon Ds and have 8 of the 8,000 mAh Centuras coming on subscribe and save, the question is should I cancel the Centuras and order more Amazon Basics?

I hope to get many years out of these with very little actual use, which is better and more dependable?
Am I treating them properly for longevity?

If you don’t use them then buying them doesn’t seem that great an idea. Most rechargeable lights these days use lithium in. Just have a few alkaleaks around if you occasionally want to run something from D cells. Or if you have a light that uses four D cells and not so high current, maybe you can run it off a USB power bank.

I do believe though, that there were some Maha D sized NiMH that were 12,000 mah or something like that. I’d probably buy those if I were buying NiMH D’s.

Added: I have to say those prices (Amazon and Tenergy) are lower than I expected. I thought of NiMH D’s as being $12+ per cell.

I like to stick with low self discharge rechargeables, so I have the Centuras. They’re maybe 6-7 years old and have held up reasonably well (unlike the Centura AA cells which were junky and have mostly been thrown out). Never tried the Amazon Basics.

Here’s an old cpf thread (with links to others at the bottom) about D NiMH cells:

They like the Mahas that I mentioned, that are around $14 each :(.

Perhaps not the answer you are looking for but its at least an option. What about running LSD AA cells, like eneloops, in a D adapter?

Another opinion, but not based on direct experience.

I have some of the Amazon C-cells, that look like that, with claimed 5000mAh. Made in China. That does not necessarily mean the D-cells come from the same factory.
After 3 cycles they almost make the 5000mAh at 0.5A draw, which frankly surprised me. Had them less than a year so no reliability data. Seem well made and a reasonable price.

I’ve got a lot of Centurion AA/AAA. They are “OK”. Cheaper than Eneloops and similar top end cells, don’t live up to the specs when new, and lose capacity faster over time with use.

The best D-cells I’ve ever had were old Radio Shack, 4000mAh. I hammered those cells for years in a 4x scuba light. They are over 15 years old and still functioning, but limping noticeably. Newer D-cells with higher mAh have not held up nearly as well.

I’m not an alkaline fan (dislike them actually) but I have a number of Dorcy 3 or 4 D-cell outdoor sensor lights in areas I can’t wire, plus some need a ladder to change out. Been running them that way for years. For a light that’s standby and not used routinely I’d probably just have alkaline cells available.

Yep, that's what my family does.

This is the 3 AA to D battery adapter that we use:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MEF4K44

I now have the 8 Amazon Basic Ds at 10,000mAh which are supposed to have 80% after 2 years uncharged, to go along with my Tenergy low self discharge bought in 2014. I will also buy the 8 new Tenergy lsd coming from subscribe and save.

My impression is that the Amazons might work best for showing off my TK70 and using it during a blackout for lighting or as a “Keep off my lawn” light in an emergency but that the Tenergys might be a prudent buy for long term confidence in their consistancy and dependability. The 8 Amazons cost me $40.74 while the 8 Tenergys cost me $32.12 which is how this big buy came to be, the Maha Powerex are just too expensive for me.

I like the luxury of using Ds where Ds are called for in my TK70 and favored lanterns/work light and having enough that I am covered for a long term blackout and can recharge them anytime or anywhere that electricity would become available.

I do have ALL of the AA and AAA adapters, single cell to D adapters, 2 cell to D, 3 cell to D, 4AAA and single AA to C, spacer cells, AAA to AA, etc. etc. those I use for my lessor lanterns, radios, boom box, lesser flashlights, for lending to neighbors and such.

I’ve had a poor impression of Tenergy products in general, but if you’re having good results with them then that’s great. I do like the idea of the multi AA adapters. I had forgotten about them.

All I know about the Tenergy Ds is that they seem OK, but I haven’t tested them in a formal way, they work, but if they are working well, or great, or are just adequate, I don’t know.

The Tenergy AAs I bought in 2011 seem pretty good.