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Old 04-29-2018, 08:26 AM
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Methos1979 Methos1979 is offline
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Default For those using rechargeable batteries for pedals... Updated with solution!

Specifically AA (or similar). What are you using for brands/models? Is there anyone doing Li-Ion AA rechargeables yet? A quick search of Amazon showed most everything was Ni-Mh or the really old Ni-Cd stuff. The few that did claim to be Li-Ion were for the 9V only.

Anyway, looking ideally to find a 6 or 8 bay charger (Boss VE-8 takes six batteries, I think) and then some decent batteries. Might just Wally World or the hardware stores to see what they have. I liked the models on Amazon that had LCD displays that showed battery charging status. It would be nice to actually 'see' the status of the charge and know when your rechargeables are not taking a charge anymore!

Last edited by Methos1979; 07-05-2018 at 08:02 AM.
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Old 04-29-2018, 09:16 AM
fotofantom fotofantom is offline
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I always use Thomas Distributing (https://www.thomasdistributing.com) for rechargeable NiMH batteries and chargers. Don't know if they have Li-ion. And here's a recent AGF thread on an alternate way to power pedalboards: https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=507068
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Old 04-29-2018, 09:15 PM
lkingston lkingston is offline
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NiMH batteries begin with 1.2 volts instead of the 1.5 volts of an alkaline battery. The voltage on a disposable battery drops much quicker than an rechargeable though at a given mAh rating so this isn’t the practical advantage that it would seem. In fact, you will get more time out of a fully charged NiMH battery than you will out of an alkaline battery of similar capacity.

One advantage of an alkaline battery however is that it holds it’s charge. You can put an alkaline battery on a store shelf for years, and when you go to use it, it will still have a full charge.

Regular NiMH batteries lose about 10% of their charge a day. To combat this, there are new LSD (low self discharge) batteries that improve on this greatly. They still lose their charge, but at a much slower rate. You can identify these because they will say “pre-charged” on the packaging.

The original LSD batteries were branded “Eneloop”. At one time this was a Panasonic product, but I believe the ownership has changed. As other companies rushed to mimic this formula, Eneloop continued to improve, and then we got the “Eneloop Pro” batteries which come with higher mAh ratings.

So which should you get? I have regularly used rechargeable batteries (mostly in wireless microphones) for many years for both my video and audio work. I wouldn’t say that I am an expert, but I can talk about my experience.

Regular NiMH batteries come in much higher mAh capacities. They can be charged very quickly and have a life of many charge/discharge cycles. The only thing wrong with them is that they lose about 10% of their charge a day. I charge them up right before (or the day before) each time I use them. I use them for one gig, then recharge them right before the next.

I also use Eneloops. I still feel that they are the best LSD batteries. They are slightly less mAh and I charge them on a separate slower charger. These are perfect if you are playing for short periods at home and want to charge your batteries only occasionally. You can charge your Eneloops and use them for a couple of weeks just like you would with Alkalines. Then charge them overnight and use them again for a couple of weeks.

The one product I don’t recommend is the Eneloop Pro. They are rated for something like 500 recharge cycles instead of thousands. That is their rating. I have had them fail and lose performance long before that. I still have a bunch of them, but I will never buy them again.

Now, 9v batteries are a different story. If you take a disposable 9v apart, you will find that it’s made up of six very skinny AA type batteries. With a NiMH rechargeable, each of these cells is 1.2 volts, so the overall voltage is 7.2 rather than 9v. Some time ago, manufacturers figured out a way to cram 7 slightly skinnier cells into the same size case. 7 x 1.2 = 8.4 volts. Then they figured out how to stick 8 even skinnier cells in and that brought it up to 9.6 volts. Add LSD technology and you have a winner!

Tenergy makes a 9.6 volt LSD 9v compatible battery. You can also buy chargers that sense the battery type and charge 7.2v, 8.4v and 9.6v batteries correctly.

You can also buy li ion 9v batteries. Li ion batteries are great except for one problem. They make your battery meters useless. They will show a full charge right up to the moment they die, and then they will just die. There is no “I see three bars on the battery display so I will definitely get through this gig” with li ion. You have to resort to keeping track of when you last charged them.

So what 9v batteries should I use: I tend to use 9.6 NiMH batteries for things like my Boss AD-2 which has a life of about six hours. I put a freshly charged battery in before the gig and use it once on a charge. Tech21 pedals on the other hand have very low battery drain. I will use a LSD Tenergy 9.6 battery in that and recharge it sometime after the power LED gets really dim. I have one reverb delay pedal which has a crazy high current draw and I have a li ion battery in that so that it will make it through a gig.

One more thing. Don’t use crappy battery chargers. You want something that charges each battery individually and slows dow to a trickle charge as it nears full charge and then switches off completely to avoid overcharging. I use separate slow and fast chargers and only charge my Eneloops on the slow charger. Regular NiMH batteries can be charged either slowly or quickly without damage.

Yeah, it’s kind of PITA to do it right, but I go through a lot of batteries. Rechargeables save me money as they save the environment!
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Old 04-30-2018, 07:18 AM
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Great post, Laurence - thanks! I was hoping you would chime in as you said you ran the VE-8 with rechargeable batteries when you had it. I spent a fair amount of time surfing Amazon yesterday, reviewing the various chargers and found a good amount of the information you posted buried in the various product write ups and reviews. I ended up buying the most recent EBL 12 bay charger which has all the bells and whistles such has over-current protection, over-heat protection, short-circuit protection and will detect non-rechargeable and defective batteries. It is a 'smart charger' as well with displays for each battery and charges each battery separately. It detects when each battery is fully charged and then switches over to trickle charge mode.

There are 10 bays for AA and AAA batteries and two bays for 9v. I don't plan to use 9v rechargeables as I don't use them for anything except the PARA which runs for 200 hours on a single battery and rarely gets used anyway. For batteries I selected the matching EBL 10 pack in tropical colors. I like this as I can more easily identify 'bad' batteries and remove them. They are 2500 MaH batteries rated to take 1200 charges that have anti-leak technology and are slow discharge on non-use, claiming to still have 75% charge after 3 years.

My plans for usage is pretty much what you do - charge the night before use and then back into their storage pack until the next gig. I vaguely remember you saying that you got around six hours with a freshly charged set? Is that right? Our gigs rarely go over three hours so I'm sure we'll be fine. Anyway, I'll be getting both that AA and the S1 battery this week so I plan to test run the full-battery setup a couple times during the week and then assuming all goes well with that then I'll use it this weekend at the acoustic brunch gig. With this setup I'll carry the S1 and the guitar in its gig bag with just the VE-8, mic and two cords. Talk about minimal!
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Old 04-30-2018, 06:00 PM
krisls krisls is offline
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Been using plain ol' Energizers for some time now. I have a bunch that I charge up and keep a few 'spares' in the case. My Maton takes 2 AA's ( the old Tak cooltube took 4 ) and I charge after every gig and have a spare cradle just in case. Also carry a couple of 9v which I don't use often, but my AKG headset waist pack takes them. Also run the original Street cube on these no prob.

Charger/s I have two of the little box ones that you get in the supermarket, they take AA's, AAA's and 9v charge up and shut off with green lights on then off when charged.

Not had an issue in several years. Still using the original batch I bought too.

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Old 05-01-2018, 07:50 AM
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Just wanted to thank everyone, especially that epic post by lkingston, on this topic. I'm finally playing enough where this is becoming an issue, and I use units with batteries whenever I can. Tip of the hat.
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Old 05-01-2018, 08:39 AM
M Hayden M Hayden is offline
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A better solution might be an outboard power supply.

Using dummy batteries (at least in units that need a battery across the terminal to operate) and then powering with an outboard power supply like a Voodoo Labs or Chameleon reduces the chance of a battery leaking and ensures proper current. With this setup, it hasn’t been necessary to replace a battery in several years 😀
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Old 05-01-2018, 06:08 PM
lkingston lkingston is offline
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Default For those using rechargeable batteries for pedals...

I did find these Li ion AA batteries:

https://www.batteryjunction.com/ipow...iABEgLpEfD_BwE
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Old 05-01-2018, 06:23 PM
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Methos1979 Methos1979 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lkingston View Post
I did find these Li ion AA batteries:

https://www.batteryjunction.com/ipow...iABEgLpEfD_BwE
$60 for the charger, $90 for 10 batteries = $150 - pass.

I'll stick to your original suggestion - Ni-Mh!
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Old 05-01-2018, 06:34 PM
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Methos1979 Methos1979 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M Hayden View Post
A better solution might be an outboard power supply.

Using dummy batteries (at least in units that need a battery across the terminal to operate) and then powering with an outboard power supply like a Voodoo Labs or Chameleon reduces the chance of a battery leaking and ensures proper current. With this setup, it hasn’t been necessary to replace a battery in several years 😀
An outboard power supply would negate the main reason for going battery powered (for me, at least) in the first place - simplicity and absolute minimalism. Just one more thing (likely more) plus more wires.
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Old 05-02-2018, 06:41 AM
lkingston lkingston is offline
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Yes, extension cords and breakout boxes, more setup and tear down time and more stage clutter.
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Old 05-02-2018, 07:10 AM
Ruppster Ruppster is offline
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Why don't you by a rechargeable brick that powers everything? I have two of them; one for a small pedal board and one for my big one. Pays for itself in the long run and you only have to charge one unit for the entire board....
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Old 05-02-2018, 08:51 AM
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Methos1979 Methos1979 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruppster View Post
Why don't you by a rechargeable brick that powers everything? I have two of them; one for a small pedal board and one for my big one. Pays for itself in the long run and you only have to charge one unit for the entire board....
Read the last two posts prior to yours - the answer to your question lies there.
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Old 05-02-2018, 03:14 PM
Ruppster Ruppster is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Methos1979 View Post
Read the last two posts prior to yours - the answer to your question lies there.
Not sure I get it...The rechargeable brick is less expensive, a one-time cost, you can plug your existing power supply in it, it's easy to recharge and you don't have to worry about positive-negative, voltage issues.

Its a reasonable solution, albeit one of several options, but for me it is a simpler, cleaner, solution. But...whatever works for you.
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Old 05-02-2018, 05:45 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruppster View Post
Not sure I get it...The rechargeable brick is less expensive, a one-time cost, you can plug your existing power supply in it, it's easy to recharge and you don't have to worry about positive-negative, voltage issues.

Its a reasonable solution, albeit one of several options, but for me it is a simpler, cleaner, solution. But...whatever works for you.
For me, it's all about having the absolute minimal amount of gear to schlep. For the minimal set up that means the Bose S1 (has a battery) and then the VE-8 (takes 6 AA batteries). I don't need to power anything else. So having a brick to power the VE-8 would be an extra thing to need to carry around plus the cord. I'd be adding. If I was looking to power a bunch of different pedals, that would be horse of a different color.

Now, if I wanted to also take along my Mooer Ocean Machine pedal, then the outboard battery pack starts to make sense since it (the Mooer) does not take batteries.
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