Which tagged NiCd battery is this?

[Lobster]

I have an old rechargeable torch (FWIW: ) which has soldered-in and now clapped-out NiCd batteries: it was very effective for many years and so I'd quite like to repair it with new batteries.

I've got it in bits now and exposed the batteries; however they aren't the same physical size as 'ordinary' ones so I'm struggling to know what to look for in terms of finding replacements. I'm sure someone here will recognise them:

There is a pack comprising two cells mounted end-to-end encased in that rigid white plastic heat-shrink type stuff, with a solder tag at either end. Has sticky label with "Energizer" and a long serial number,

41B030AC17601 9641, which Google doesn't recognise!. Dimensions of each cell are about 41 mm long x 20mm diameter. Does this sound familiar?

No clue as to Ah rating. Charger is 240V / 2.5W; 4.8VAC / 120mA

Are they usually bought as a pair already made up as a pack, or will have to buy 2 cells separately and get the duct tape out?

Thanks for any pointers David

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Sounds like Sub-C cells. These are the most common size used in power tools etc. They can be bought singly with tags on them for soldering. Any of the usual electronics suppliers - even Maplin. Or they certainly once stocked them.

[John Rumm]

Sounds like a standard tagged "Sub C" Cell.

Available in a wide range of capacities and qualities...

Usually bought individually:

that I would recommend GP batteries - they are usually crap)

[Tabby]

sub-C size are very common. To find the cell capacity in Ah, multiply

0.12 by the number of hours it needs for a full charge. If its trickle charge only, 1.3Ah will be fine.

Duct tape will be no good, you need to make a proper electrical connection, tape just doesnt provide enough force. Tagged cells will make this much easier for you.

NT

[Dave Liquorice]

I thought a "Sub C" was shorter than 41mm but yeah a C of some sort.

Not as crap as a lot of batteries out there including Energizer branded ones.

[Lobster]

Ah: "sub-C" - the missing buzzword! (had never heard of it, unsurpringly).

Does the Ah rating matter as regards my charger; is it simply that the higher the rating the longer it will take to charge and the longer the charge will last? I've found some convenient/suitable-looking 2.5Ah cells online - will they be OK with my charger?

Sure - didn't mean that I'd use duct tape to form the electrical connection, just to sheath the soldered-together pair so the will fit in the same slot as the old pack, within the torch's body.

Thanks David

[T i m]

Most RC model (rather than toy) shops will sell both cell sized (diameter) heat shrink and also straps to solder across non tagged cells (as used with many top spec and diy racing packs). However you will really need a big iron to solder them properly.

You could also buy the cells there etc.

Cheers, T i m

[Lobster]

Thanks. If I go for already-tagged cells, as I'd intended, then will a conventional iron suffice, as I'd assumed (that's what I have).. is it just the attaching of tags to a non-tagged cell which needs the extra power?

David

PS Christ on a bike, WTF has happened with the latest version of my Thunderbird newsreader? Have they gone into partnership with M$oft? When I just pressed 'send' on the above post, I got warning messages: "Found an attachment keyword 'attaching'" - "Did you forget to add an attachment?" "Oops I did"?............ Before we know it there'll be dancing paperclips too.

[Andy Dingley]

Indeed. It might work to start with, but the rubber adhesive on tape will creep pretty soon and lose contact.

I have however bodged this in the past with superglue. You need to glue two spots at the side (adding a springy metal bridge is easiest) and make sure there's a glue-free contact in the middle. I don't recommend this (tagged cells are as easy to buy as untagged), but it did the job when needed and lasted the life of the cells.

[Tabby]

We dont know much about your charger. If its a fast charger then maybe not. If its a 14 hour charge, yes, if its an always on trickle charge, yes.

right, standard iron ok for tagged cells.

NT

[The Natural Philosopher]

Unlikely to buy single cells.

Try here

these are not tagged, but can be still used: the technique is to abrade and pre tin the surfaces to be soldered with a big hot iron, then laying two cells in a channel use a hammerhead tip to heat the solder between two cells, then slam them together as the iron is removed.

Better to buy fro the USA for cheaper cells

guys will also sell you a pre soldered pack made to your specs with flying leads, if the problems of constriction are beyond you.

I got a price of $12 for a two cell sanyo 1700 sub-C pack...

[T i m]

Hmm, my two local places sell singe cells in pretty well all the sizes but they aren't necessarily the best VFM. Often the matched (racing) sets come as 6 cells loose in a cardboard box (with their test characteristics written on each cell).

I think I've built as many a set from singles as I've converted say a

7.2V 'stick' into a 'saddle pack' (for where the battery is two 3 cell packs placed either side of the car).

Cheers, T i m

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Lobster saying something like:

Nicads are dropping off the radar and unless you want to change your charger too, you'll need to keep to that technology. As an example,

Look under Radio Control, Single Cells and see they're all NiMH nowadays. A replacement charger is cheap enough, though.

[Lobster]

AFICS it's just a standard wallwart, which came with the torch: always took a "long time" to charge the torch, so presumably they should be OK...

David

[Tabby]

Yes, if its slow

NT

[Dave]

Are these also known as 1/3 C's?

Dave

[John Rumm]

Nope, that is smaller still.

[Dave]

Thanks, I've lost track of odd sized rechargeable these days.

Dave

[Fred]

Aren't they the makers of recyko batteries? I thought they were quite recommended here?

[Fred]

How does nimh recharging differ from nicad charging? I had a charger for aa, c, and d cells and it had a switch to select between nicads and nimhs. I often wondered what it did. I notice newer chargers don't seem to have a switch.

In this case, would swapping a nicad of x Ah for a nimh of the same Ah rating necessitate a new charger? Especially for items that are trickle charged, wouldn't the charging be the same?