High Drain D Cell

mk2rocco

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Jan 26, 2015
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Hello CPF,

I've been on the hunt for a set of rechargable high drain D cell batteries. So far it seems that Tenergy NIMH D cell batteries are the best I've found so far. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Mk2rocco
 

tatasal

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Jan 25, 2012
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1,192
Hello CPF,

I've been on the hunt for a set of rechargable high drain D cell batteries. So far it seems that Tenergy NIMH D cell batteries are the best I've found so far. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Mk2rocco

I don't know how much draw are you looking for, but my old Fenix TK70, which reportedly draw 9 amps @ turbo can easily be handled by my Tenergy Centura and Powerex Imedion.

The TK70 is one of the few lights produced that does the Turbo mode until the cells cannot sustain anymore before it goes down to High.

If I am not mistaken, niMh cells are inherently high drain. My TK70 will drop (from Turbo to High mode) in seconds if I use 'only' alkaline.
 
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Gauss163

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Oct 20, 2013
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Another possibility to consider are Li-ion based D cells (e.g. by ZNTER). I don't recall seeing any reviews of these larger format cells, so it's not clear how well they will perform. Probably much better than NiMh, though you may lose low battery warnings unless they've updated them so that the voltage drops off when they are near empty (iirc one manufacturer already does that).
 

Gauss163

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I would probably go 26650 if I wanted to go with lipos. For this project I need to stay with NIMHs

In case you didn't know, they are Li-ion internally, but they step-down the output voltage to NiMh/Alkaline level. So they are drop-in replacements for D cells. The AA size seems to have many good reviews, but I haven't seen anything on the C or D size cells.

These Li-ion versions - if designed well (e.g. using efficent buck regulators) - can have much higher capacity than Alkaline/NiMh versions due to the much higher energy density of Li-ion. Ditto for power.
 
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fneuf

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I also wonder where we can find tests/comparisons of D NiMh cells? I can't find any discharge curve.
 
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