Batteries - 2500mah Or 2700mah

[MiL0]

I just went down to Argos to pick up some batteries for my gp2x (arriving tomorrow!) and they had 2 obvious choices. One was a 2500maH Energizer battery set with charger and the other was a Uniross 2700maH charger with batteries. Both the same price but the Energizer one takes 8.5 hours to charge the batteries whereas the Uniross only takes an hour. I went for the Energizer pack because I remember reading something about slower charging being better for the batteries plus I don't trust the Uniross name as much... did I make the right decision?

Thanks and sorry if this has been asked before - I did search :]

 

[craigix]

I have found the longer chargers charge better (and you can just leave it over night).

However 1 hours is a lot quicker even for a less charge. I guess it depends how you want to use the gp2x, I need to use it away from home during the day so for me a longer lasting charge is better.

 

[krosfyah]

Personally, I use a 1 hour charger and have never had any complaints or felt the need to switch to a longer charge time. I think the whole thing about longer is better is nonsense providing you don't buy some cheap crap.

What was the price difference?

 

[WarmFluffyUK]

I bought the 7DayShop 2700maH Batteries and the 7DayShop V-8000 Battery charger. And I am VERY impressed. The batteries charge in about 30 mins and the charger has a built in fan to keep them cool. The batteries last ages and I am very happy with them all.

 

[MiL0]

Personally, I use a 1 hour charger and have never had any complaints or felt the need to switch to a longer charge time. I think the whole thing about longer is better is nonsense providing you don't buy some cheap crap.

What was the price difference?

same price - 20GBP

I haven't opened it yet so I could take it back and swap it but tbh, I don't mind the long charge time as I'll be charging them overnight. The only thing I really cared about was how long they'll hold their charge.

 

[Alex.]

the charger has a built in fan to keep them cool

Now that's one fancy charger. I use Sanyo 2500mAh's, and their charger does its thing to a pair in 1 to 2 hours. The charge life is spectacular, so as long as you go with a good brand, don't be scared of fast chargers.

- Alex

 

[krosfyah]

In theory, the 2700s would last a bit longer, but I haven't noticed that much difference between my 2600s and 2800s really. Stick with the Energizers if you don't mind the charge time it's a decent brand. Bear in mind though you can make significant savings on that price if you buy online in the future.

http://www.tantronics.co.uk/acatalog/energ...charger_aa.html

 

[milky]

i got the unicross charger and batteries from argos.
and it takes 2 hours to charge the 2700s and they last about 5 hours playing games.
i have no complaints about them.

 

[BradN]

Supposedly NiMH and Li-Ion are better suited to fast charging than NiCd, so I wouldn't worry about using it at all.

 

[drokkeh]

I have the 2700Mah Uniross baterries pack of 4 was £14.00.

Charge time is poor due to having a rubbish charger, really need to get a bette rone. But the batteries themselves are fine, good long use.

 

[Redeeman]

the charger has a built in fan to keep them cool

Now that's one fancy charger. I use Sanyo 2500mAh's, and their charger does its thing to a pair in 1 to 2 hours. The charge life is spectacular, so as long as you go with a good brand, don't be scared of fast chargers.

- Alex

good brand is very dependant on how their use pattern are, they all have different internal resistance.

but in the case of speed charging, the most crucial part is the charger, if it doesent do its job right, the batteries will not be very happy

 

[dennis20014]

I have a energizer charger w/ 2500 batteries as well, and they work just fine. I leave them to go over night and there's no problem. My charger even supports triple a batteries as well.

 

[Ranma13]

This is the charger I got:

http://thomasdistributing.com/maha-powerex...ery-charger.htm

The site makes it look cheapy but it's actually a VERY good battery charger. It's a fast charger and a slow charger in one. What it does is it fast charges the batteries to 90% in about an hour, and then slowly trickle charges it up to 98-99% over 4 hours if you leave it in the charger. There's also a discharge and recharge mode which can recondition seemingly dead rechargeables. It's supposed to be used for digital cameras and all the reviews I've read for it gave it very positive ratings.

 

[krosfyah]

Yeah, the chargers that can discharge the batteries first are great.

 

[WarmFluffyUK]

Yeah, the chargers that can discharge the batteries first are great.

That's not an issue with NiMH batteries, as they don't have a memory effect and therefore do not need to be totally discharged like N-Cad batteries do. Or so I have read.


P.S. This is the charger I got, note the round bit in the middle, that's the fan, it cools while charging, and after charging it stays on until the batteries are cold.

Charger

 

[krosfyah]

Yeah, the chargers that can discharge the batteries first are great.

That's not an issue with NiMH batteries, as they don't have a memory effect and therefore do not need to be totally discharged like N-Cad batteries do. Or so I have read.

I think that's right, but I also read about a voltage_depletion_effect. Not sure how true it is but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to discharge them completely now and again.

Edit: Gah, I can't get that link to work properly. Click "Do NiMH batteries have memory effect?" on the page that comes up.