When I test a set marked as 2.775 mWh in an Opus 3100 v2.2 configured for simple Discharge @ .300 mA, the results are in the ~1,700 mAh range, about what I'd expect. There's no indication from the manufacturer that these have the low voltage feature that some other rechargeable 1.5v LiIon cells have.
When I test another brand marked as 2,700 mWh, same Opus 3100 v2.2 & same discharge parameters, the result is always "null". These cells are purported to have a low voltage feature that will trigger the battery-low warning on the device in which the cells are being used, a feature not present on the above cells.
My guess is the low-volt feature is somehow conflicting with the discharge termination result on the Opus, resulting in a 'null' result.
Is there any way to test cell discharge capacity on these cells when the the low-voltage warning feature is built into the cell, hopefully without buying a break-the-bank dedicated capacity tester?
I haven’t tested the 2nd variety of cells you reference, but I have tested 4-5 others. All of them work with the following discharger, which is considerably more accurate with capacity than chargers with capacity testing. It also does IR with repeatable accuracy, though this feature is useless on 1.5v lithium due to the electronics. Yeah, some expense, but not bank breaking, and a better tool IMO. I seldom use my chargers for capacity testing anymore and I have 3 different brands that will do that, including the Opus
Huh? Got lots of both, use both. IMO, the 1.5v don’t have a convincing place in ‘general’ use, but they do have an occasional superior use for SOME applications. And they can be simply used as a AA in the regular manner.
For the rare application that NEEDS 1.5v, but not a lot of current they work well.
Mostly I use them in motion activated night lights because: 1. The ones I have are on the narrow side of standard so go in and out of the light better.
2. They don’t dim, until they simply go out….suddenly when low voltage protection cuts in.
Reports are that electric door locks seem to do well with them. No personal experience.
If you don’t know if you need them, you probably don’t need them.
Their significant cost penalty is another problem.
I use them in remote controls. Most of mine won’t work on the lower voltage of the NiMh cells.
The wifes insulin pump uses them for the same reason.
Have a few clocks that use them. Weather station and weather radio back up batteries.
I don’t use them in flashlights though they worked just fine in a few that I tried them in.
They have been around for quite a while and you can grab some from Amazon so, not really rare either.
Tons of uses for them but, they are a little pricey.
Wife & I each have identical Canon cameras that take two AA's. They're brutal on alkies, and whine about wanting fresh cells in seemingly no time with 1.2v NiMh. They really, really want 1.5v. Lithium primaries work much better than either but are pricey & nowhere near drained when deemed consumed by the cameras. The cameras work great with the rechargeable 1.5v lithium cells, generating many more shots than with any other chemistry. The test devices such as mentioned by flydiver look like exactly what I need, are well within budget and, feed my inner tool junkie . Appreciate the suggestion.
Be aware that the electronics CAN get hot if too much current is demanded of the 1.5v Li. My Tenavolt start to max out @ 1.5A and fall on their face @2A. This limitation is typical, better for some brands than others.
Check the specs, IF you have them. They often specifically say to not use in cameras and especially flash units as the draw may be too heavy for the electronics to deal with.
If you are using in a camera and getting good performance, then you would seem to be ‘in the window’.
I wanted to use them in an external strobe, powerful one. Would not work.
slmjim - the capacity tester I have is one of a myriad of them. I’ve had it 2+ years so there may be better options. I think HKJ may have tested a few. I’ve not checked recently. My limitation is my unit maxes out at 2.6A and 8.5v, so I can’t test some packs I have. Works fine for individual can cells, and I’ve even cobbled together a holder that I can use to test most 3.7v phone and camera batteries. Of note, the vast majority of cheap replacement batteries for phones and cameras are lackluster to awful. They almost never are as good as original.
I picked up some of the Hixon AAA 1.5v cells from Liion and so far so good. I have several 3xAAA headlamps that have given the best run times with NiMH cells but the boost from 1.5v lithium primaries is nice (as is their voltage stability)…but they’re pricey. One Milwaukee headlamp which is actually pretty nice has an irritating step down that happens a bit too quickly as alkalines drop off - lots of complaints about that by general public customers who didn’t understand what was happening. So these 1.5v li-ion cells seem to be a winner for these lights. I got twelve cells and only have a half dozen cycles on them so far. I need to do some run time and output comparisons with them and Eneloop Pro AAA cells. Worst part about them is the blinky light show of the cells and charger lights combined….
Be interesting to get a capacity test on them. I’ve had 3 different brands. None have exceeded 400mAh at 0.2A draw. The DeleePow were so poor (320-350) I returned them, though mostly all off them have been between 300>400 at 0.2A. Most start to fail at 0.5A. Haven’t had any make it to 1.0A. Of the ones I’ve tested none get close to claimed specs.
I do like that they don’t dim in lights. Never tried them in a 3xAAA light. Might do that.
I don’t mind the ‘light show’. Everything is charged in the basement.
1.5 volts rechargeable lithium batteries are not good choice for radio receivers because converter inside them make a noise which has bad impact on receiving sensitivity and make big interference especially in receiving amlitude modulation waves MW or SW.
. Appreciate the suggestion.