Lithium guides you?

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Lithium guides you?

Postby cavewine » Nov 21, 2005 7:46 pm

I have never used lithium batteries (the non-rechargable kind, AA) before.
I'd like to find out how effective they are in comparison to a regular old alkaline, from someone who uses them (or has in the past) .

Could you tell me:

1. What light you use them in
2. How long the lithiums provide caving-usable light
3. How long alkalines last in the same setup

Your responses (if any :wink: ) will be a big help to me. And be much appreciated.
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Postby Andy Shoun » Nov 22, 2005 11:07 am

I don't have much insight, but I've used lithium AA batteries in lights, but not for caving. I have one of the old small Princeton Tec led headlamps and use it backpacking. Using lithium batteries makes the light lighter, gives much better run time and cold weather performance. I was going on a 4 day winter backpacking trip where weight and cold weather were factors. They worked so well I left the batteries in and they did not go dead until 12 months later after about 30 days of camping use. I use NiH rechargeables for my regular caving light.
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Postby Scott McCrea » Nov 22, 2005 11:53 am

I used to use Lithium AA in my Petzl Mega. The Mega could use either 3 AA's or C's. I found that 3 Lithium AA's lasted about as long as 3 C's. But, the weight was significantly less. 3C's was literally a pain in the neck. Now I use NiMH rechargeables. They are much cheaper.

I still use Lithium AA's in the lights I keep in the truck, since they don't loose their charge very fast and they are not effected by cold temps. Lithium AAA's are available now too. I use those in my wireless thermometer.
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Postby cvr602 » Nov 22, 2005 7:39 pm

Lithium non-rechargeable is the main battery I use for all of my caving gear and camera stuff. I use them in a Duo and I get between 2.5 to 3 times the normal expected range of life by alkalines on bright halogen. They dim fairly fast, but not greatly low. I did however notice, that the light is VERY bright on new batteries compared to alkaline. I suggest that if you have enough money to spend on them, which is around $10 for a 4-pack, then by all means get them. It actually evens out or even lowers the total you spend on batteries if you use Lithium.
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Postby cavewine » Nov 23, 2005 12:07 pm

Excellent! Sounds like a good value, and ideal for extended trips.
Thanks for the info.
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Postby David_Campen » Nov 24, 2005 3:59 pm

I use Lithium AA cells in my Petzl Duo/8 LED. I can get 8-12 hours from them in near freezing temperatures.

You can see discharge curves for Lithium vs Alkaline AA cells at 0.5 and 1.0 amp drains here:
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=64660
Look about 1/3 of the way down the graphs at the ones titled -"AA Lithium VS Alkaline at 0.5 Amp Rate" and "AA Lithium VS Alkaline at 1.0 Amp Rate".

Also at Candlepower Forums I have seen it mentioned that you can buy the Energizer Lithium AAs at Sam's Club in 12 packs for less than $2.00 per battery - it might have been about $18/12 pack.

If you are a member of Candlepower Forums you can buy BatteryStation branded Lithium AAs for $1.00 each in lots of 20.
http://www.batterystation.com/cpf.htm
At least one person has mentioned getting a dead cell in the BatteryStation Lithium AAs so it may be advisable to test them before depending on them on a cave trip.
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