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lighting - the trip around the world

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lighting - the trip around the world

Old 12-05-20, 01:49 AM
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msyrek
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lighting - the trip around the world

What lighting do you recommend for a multi-year trip?
Will such typical Chinese solar lamps work?
Is it better with batteries?
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Old 12-05-20, 09:28 AM
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5V USB rechargeable light

There are phone chargers available worldwide so choosing a light set that is rechargeable and runs off a 5V USB charger would be the way to go. I'd buy one of the inexpensive sets available from China because the small charger that may come with it is a universal voltage charger good for 85-240V input.
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Old 12-05-20, 10:12 AM
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Sounds like a good use for a generator hub.
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Old 12-05-20, 10:45 AM
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I agree with VegasTriker that ability to charge devices with a USB charger that works on multiple voltages is ideal. Add a mix of outlet adapters, not sure where you are but I checked your profile and I think you are in Poland. You would probably be looking for adapters for UK, China, USA, etc. You could wait and buy adapters as you need them.

You might consider a dynohub and a USB charger that can convert that hub power to USB power. As you are riding and when your lights are off, you can put that extra power into a power bank for those times when you do not have a power supply for several days at a time. There are more USB charger options available in Europe than there are in my home country (USA), so I will not recommend a specific USB charger. Son dynohubs have the best reputation but are quite expensive. If you get a dynohub, do NOT submerge it in a stream crossing.

Some people prefer solar power over dynohubs, I have not had good luck with that but that is an option you may consider.

Bike touring, I almost never use a headlamp on the bike when I am touring. I have started to carry a light in my handlebar bag that I can strap onto the handlebar when necessary instead of installing a light on the bike. But for riding near my home, I am using dynohub powered headlights that are fitted to several of my bikes, the one that I would rely on if I was going to do a multi-year tour would be the B&M IQ-XS that is mounted on a bike.

I almost always have a battery powered taillight on for safety purposes. In countries where you can use flashing taillights, that may be a good idea. Where they are illegal, then a solid taillight makes sense. I have two battery powered taillights on my touring bikes, on one tour a light died from water ingress (rain) and corrosion, a spare came in handy. Your taillight if you have it on during the day should be energy efficient enough to last for a week without a charge since your ability to recharge it may be limited. Avoid the really bright ones that need to be charged every day.

If you also wanted a dyno powered taillight (solid on, not flashing), you wire the taillight to the headlight, thus that light would be turned on and off with your headlight. I suspect that the dyno powered lights would be turned off most of the time so you can charge batteries, but if you want such a taillight, I think the B&M Secula Plus that is seatpost or seatstay mounted is a very good choice.

You would want a good headlamp to wear on your head after sunset when camping. There are many available in Europe that are not sold in my country, thus I will not suggest a brand or model.

When touring, I want all of my electrical devices to be charged with USB power because I use a dynohub and USB charger for most or all of my power. Other electrics besides bike lighting include the headlamp (for my head), camera, cell phone, GPS, and possibly a UV water treatment device (Steripen). That said, I often use rechargeable AA and AAA batteries, but I have a charger for those batteries that is powered by USB.

After my last tour a year and a half ago (pre-Covid), I wrote up a summery of my electrical equipment and usage on a different forum. That trip was five weeks, if you are interested in reading that, it is at:
Electrics that I use for bike touring - what works for me.

Have a great trip.

ADDENDUM ADDED DEC 7, 2020

Above I suggested the B&M Secula for a taillight, but on second thought a B&M Top Light that is attached to the rack may make more sense.

Last edited by Tourist in MSN; 12-07-20 at 10:26 AM.
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Old 12-05-20, 12:49 PM
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I recommend these.



These have a solar charger. They can also be charged via USB port, if not exposed to enough sunlight. They contain an 18650 battery. I would get the model with a built in horn. These are the brightest light and the largest battery of the solar lights I have used. They can easily be detached from the bike and used as a flash light if you are camping. If I was doing a long trip, I would put 4 or 6 on the front of my bike. They don't add much weight. If you need to ride many hours in the dark, you can use one, then another, and another. 4 should last all night.
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Old 12-05-20, 03:03 PM
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Originally Posted by alo
I recommend these.



These have a solar charger. They can also be charged via USB port, if not exposed to enough sunlight. They contain an 18650 battery. I would get the model with a built in horn. These are the brightest light and the largest battery of the solar lights I have used. They can easily be detached from the bike and used as a flash light if you are camping. If I was doing a long trip, I would put 4 or 6 on the front of my bike. They don't add much weight. If you need to ride many hours in the dark, you can use one, then another, and another. 4 should last all night.
That is a battery light that has a solar panel attached as a gimmick. If the light is run down how many weeks will it take to recharge the 18650 using the solar panel?

PS, OP has posted a bunch of rapidfire questions in a number of forums. Prepare for the subsequent spam posts...
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Old 12-05-20, 05:17 PM
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Originally Posted by znomit
That is a battery light that has a solar panel attached as a gimmick. If the light is run down how many weeks will it take to recharge the 18650 using the solar panel?
Have you ever used these lights, or are you just guessing?

I use solar lights, and I plan to continue using them in the future. I do most of my riding during the day time. The lights are there for when I do ride after dark. The lights are always charged (by sunlight) and working.

While I have not run the battery completely flat, and timed how long it takes to fully recharge it (so I am guessing), I would be surprised if it is not fully recharged in one day, on a sunny day.

When you have cloudy days, or keep your bike inside, they can also be charged by usb.

I would be interested to hear responses from others who have actually used these lights.

I also suggest people buy one and try it.

People who have actually used something have a better idea than those who just guess, or make assumptions?

I know some people want very bright lights, and use battery packs containing a number of batteries to power them. When it comes to lights using a single battery, I believe these solar lights are among the best on the market.

Last edited by alo; 12-05-20 at 05:22 PM.
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Old 12-05-20, 07:43 PM
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See the terrible Amazon reviews, though you keep pushing that particular light so I think you know quite a bit about it.
https://www.amazon.com/Rechargeable-.../dp/B07GLG981R

For a round the world you'll be wanting autonomous light and power so probably a klite system with cache USB battery.
https://www.klite.com.au/product-pag...kepacker-ultra
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Old 12-07-20, 09:49 AM
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For a long trip, I would have a few lights, to be ready for failure. Even on a couple of my bikes I use for shopping and commuting, I have two sets of lights. One is powered by batteries, the other by dynamo. The dynamo lights have proven to be more reliable, but I like the flashing mode of battery lights which is not available on dynamo lights.
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Old 12-09-20, 04:53 PM
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Dynamo powered for sure. Do some research it should become obvious.
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Old 12-09-20, 09:16 PM
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Yeah, most people who install dynamo lighting don't end up regretting it. I can't believe I waited as long as I did. The reliability is unmatched. You don't realize what a pain it is to charge your headlight until you can stop doing it. I just get on the bike and roll.
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Old 12-09-20, 10:54 PM
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Get a dyno setup, switch it on, get on with life.
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Old 12-10-20, 07:48 AM
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I certainly do not regret getting dyno powered lighting for use around home and for brevets. But for bike touring I find the dynohub is much more valuable for USB power to charge up devices.

My last tour, five weeks in summer 2019, the bike I used is an S&S coupled bike. To fit it into an airline sized case requires complete disassembly. Taking it apart and putting it together again is a time consuming hassle. And since on several bike tours I never even used my headlamp, I decided not to install a headlamp on my bike at all on my last trip. Thus, the dynohub was 100 percent for battery charging.

My headlight that I never used on that trip is one that I could strap onto the handlebar, it had no battery in it, instead you plug a USB cable into a power bank to power the light. And I never used the light in those five weeks. But, you never know when you will encounter a tunnel or a late night trip to the pub, so I will certainly bring that light on future trips. When I rode the Katy Trail years ago, I do recall using a headlight one night and there were tunnels when I rode the GAP and C&O trails where a light was needed.

Taillights, I use two, one is usually off and the other in flash mode. Planet Bike Superflash and Planet Bike Superflash 65. Each runs on a pair of AAA batteries. In flash mode, it was still bright after a week, but I charged up the AAA batteries weekly, just to make sure they stayed bright. I have a USB powered AA and AAA NiMH battery charger for that.

If I do a tour on a bike other than my S&S coupled bike (I have three touring bikes), then I probably will have dyno powered lighting installed on it. But, it is very possible that the lighting will never be used or maybe only used in fog. Again, the primary use of the dynohub would be battery charging.

My point is that dynohub usage is very different for touring than it is for other biking. Yes, the thread was started with lighting as the sole topic, but lighting is only a small part of electrical usage on a long bike tour.

I was always looking for places to plug into on my last tour without a dynohub. Photo below, a nearby vacant campsite was used for several hours for me to charge up my NiMH batteries, camera batteries, tablet battery, etc. A three into one outlet adapter comes in really handy for that to get more stuff plugged in at once.

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Old 12-10-20, 10:42 AM
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True, the almost-free 5-or-so watts available from a dynamo might be more valuable for charging. You could actually run more than one dynamo. For example, one could be your front hub and you could use a sidewall dynamo which you flick on when you need to. I don't know how noticeable the overall drag would be. For sure you would notice it. There are even a few dynamos for rear hubs but they are rare and probably not viable in this case.
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Old 12-11-20, 06:16 AM
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Originally Posted by noglider
True, the almost-free 5-or-so watts available from a dynamo might be more valuable for charging. You could actually run more than one dynamo. For example, one could be your front hub and you could use a sidewall dynamo which you flick on when you need to. I don't know how noticeable the overall drag would be. For sure you would notice it. There are even a few dynamos for rear hubs but they are rare and probably not viable in this case.
I think all the dynhubs put out about the same power since they are all built to German lighting standards.

But the USB chargers vary a lot. Wattage depends on the USB charger you are using. Touring, I use a Sinewave Revolution. Near home on exercise rides, I have measured 2.5 watts out of it on ground that was fairly flat. The electric meter I was using did not record time when there was no charge, thus stop lights, stop signs, and other stops do not count in that time. From that I am assuming 2 watts per hour. On hilly terrain where I am much slower, probably cut that average in half with a lot of variation. On the quick downhills you do not make up the power you lost on the slow uphills. If I am using the granny gear on my triple or the low range on my Rohloff when climbing, I assume zero power output.

THere are two chargers out there, Forumslader and Cycle2Charge, both of which claim much higher output than the Sinewave. And there are several other chargers out there too, but to the best of my knowledge only those two claim more output than the Sinewave. There is not a lot of data on comparisons, there might be others too that I am unaware of. The market for these devices is pretty small, so you do not have a lot of comparisons. And very few users actually measure output from the equipment they own.

I have heard from one Forumslader user that he could feel the drag from it when he was riding and producing power. I can't feel the extra drag from my Sinewave when I am using it. A lot of the dynohubs are running efficiency around maybe 50 percent, total drag is roughly double the power output. But the USB devices have very little power loss. So, if I am getting 2.5 watts out of my dynohub, that likely is 5 watts of total drag. A racer that is competing for time might feel that level of drag but I can't, especially on a bike loaded down with camping gear.

I also have a B&M Luxos U, that has a small built in battery so it is hard to get a good measurement of power out of it since you can't measure how much power is going in or out of the internal battery, but I am quite certain that it produces a lot less power than the Sinewave. I think the circuitry in it is likely similar to the Werk.

I know someone that put a dynhub on a trailer for touring, I do not not use a trailer when touring. But Sidewall dyno or Velological, I can't imagine even thinking about using one of them in addition to a dynohub.

5 watts would be nice, but more realistically on a good day you can cut that in half and on many days, halve that again. Steep hilly days, assume zero.
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Old 12-11-20, 09:39 AM
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Thank you! When it comes to charging on a bike, you are the man.
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Old 12-11-20, 02:20 PM
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A typical setup would require three different devices -- front light (white), back light (red) and a flashlight (white) used at camp. On a long trip, it would be reasonable/necessary to carry spares.

This is why we no longer use dedicated bike lights, relying instead on several (2-3 per rider) rechargeable LED headlamps (Hi/lo intensity, fast/slow flashing, red/white color). If we need bike lights, it is a simple matter of strapping a lamp where needed and to configure it according to the situation. Having several units brings redundancy in the short run (i.e. battery goes out in one unit, swap with another) and the long (one unit is broken/lost/stolen, there is plenty of spares to do the job and we have plenty of time to find a replacement if we think it is useful/necessary).

In our experience, lights are usually used around camp, less so when riding. We prefer to avoid single use devices and maximize redundancy when possible. Single use batteries have advantages, but I'd argue that rechargeable win the day in our case (because we have several lights at our disposal, therefore no likely scenario where swapping a fresh set of batteries saves the day).

So -- 3 USB rechargeable headlamps.

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Old 12-11-20, 10:31 PM
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Those Chinese solar lights are useless, don't waste your money.

There are only three things you can do.
1) buy a battery light and carry extra batteries and always be buying more, not the best option but doable and the cheapest in up front costs.

2a) buy a solar charger and a power bank. This is the method I use but I'm not on a year-long tour either, but it works great and is the second cheapest thing to do besides #1 above. I ended up getting a RavPower 16 watt Charger, this brand for the price had the highest efficiency rating of any other solar charger, this charger will charge my iPhone SE in 3 1/2 hours, it takes 3 hours to charge plugged in. I don't believe this particular charger is sold anymore, while I did find it on Ebay they wanted about twice what I paid for mine. In my research leading up to buying this particular unit is that I found out you need at least 3 panels to be effective, I got a 3 panel one due to weight, 4 panels with around 24 watts will work better but weigh more. Of course these only work with the sun, so on cloudy days you could be in trouble if you need something charged. The solar panel can be used at the campsite or if properly secured can be mounted onto the rear of the bike opened and can be charging while you ride.
2b) With a solar charger you should get a power bank for cloudy days, I opted for the Aukey 10,000 mah with 18W delivery for fast charging. These are not expensive, I paid $30. I was able to charge my phone and my two lights and still had over 3/4ths of my battery left. I did decide on the iPhone SE because of it's low mah battery which means less power is needed to fully charge it, the bigger the phone the bigger the battery the more it's going to take to recharge it. And today's LED lights use small batteries as well thus they don't take a lot power to recharge.
3) The last choice is the most expensive by far, costing in the range of $700 vs $80 for 2a and 2b option. This option is the hub dynamo, which will require the purchase of the hub of course, and a new wheel will need to be built, but these can work quite well regardless if there is sun or not as long as you are pedaling. Of course with this system, you probably should also get a power bank just in case you are camped for more than a day and thus not pedaling and therefore not charging.

You do need to be mindful of the lights you buy, you need to calculate how many hours into the night will you be riding, most people who tour do not ride at night, but whatever you do you need to check to see how much battery do you need in your front light, you don't want an energy hog; back lights are usually pretty good with power use.

The other thing you're going to want to be able to recharge is a campsite light, I opted to get an inflatable solar light called MPowerd Luci, do not get the one that recharges other stuff, the panel is too small to do a bit of good, the panel size on the Luci is only good to recharge itself and nothing more, so save your money and don't get the ones that can charge other stuff. Why inflatable? because it packs down to less than a 1/2 of an inch, also because it's vinyl it weighs almost nothing. These lights are very efficient, I had mine on for 4 hours one night on high, the charge indicator lights never went below the full indicators which is 4 bars. While it puts out 75 lumens on max setting it's plenty to read by inside a tent.

I do carry a small Nebo Tino flashlight that has two modes, flashlight, and area light, it uses 3 AAA batteries, so I carry a spare set of bats for it.

Of course I'm just making suggestions, not saying all my stuff is right for you, but it works for me.
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Old 12-12-20, 06:54 AM
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Originally Posted by noglider
Thank you! When it comes to charging on a bike, you are the man.
I wish that was not true. It is all self learned because I could not find a few easy to understand sources of information. But I am retired, thus had time to look for this stuff and try to figure it out.

There is a serious lack of information on USB charging from dynohubs out there. This publication has has several articles over the years, but they publish rarely and when they do it is written at a technical level. But some of their information is the best you will find.
https://4aluetprp45eml4ape5b5g3wde--...ranslate.goog/

I think this is still the best dynohub comparison out there, and it is quite a few years old.
https://www.cyclinguk.org/sites/defa...ub-dynamos.pdf

Even with those articles, you are on your own to figure out how to wire it and how much you can expect to get out of it. I paid less than $5 USD for the meter I use to measure output from a USB charger, but those are still hard to find, I got mine on Ebay, shipped from asia, pre-Covid shipping was a month, now often much longer.

So, I wish I was not "the man" on this stuff. There are several electrical engineers or electronic engineers on this forum, but they pretty much write posts intended to be read by their colleagues, not by the general public. I am an engineer by training, but as a geological engineer my electrical training was minimal and I can't understand some of posts on this forum that were written by EEs.
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Old 12-12-20, 08:00 AM
  #20  
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Originally Posted by gauvins
A typical setup would require three different devices -- front light (white), back light (red) and a flashlight (white) used at camp. On a long trip, it would be reasonable/necessary to carry spares.

This is why we no longer use dedicated bike lights, relying instead on several (2-3 per rider) rechargeable LED headlamps (Hi/lo intensity, fast/slow flashing, red/white color). If we need bike lights, it is a simple matter of strapping a lamp where needed and to configure it according to the situation. Having several units brings redundancy in the short run (i.e. battery goes out in one unit, swap with another) and the long (one unit is broken/lost/stolen, there is plenty of spares to do the job and we have plenty of time to find a replacement if we think it is useful/necessary).

In our experience, lights are usually used around camp, less so when riding. We prefer to avoid single use devices and maximize redundancy when possible. Single use batteries have advantages, but I'd argue that rechargeable win the day in our case (because we have several lights at our disposal, therefore no likely scenario where swapping a fresh set of batteries saves the day).

So -- 3 USB rechargeable headlamps.
I am not going to say what I do is better, just different.

For headlamps (to wear on my head) in the campsite, I prefer ones that use AA or AAA batteries. If the batteries are low, i can swap out the batteries quite easily. I really do not want to be depending on a headlamp and find that I should have charged it earlier.

Since my GPS takes AA batteries and my taillights take AAA batteries, I already carry spares.

One that I really like is a Kathmandu. I have never seen these for sale in USA, I found mine on a free shelf in a hostel in Iceland. It had an exhausted single AA battery in it. I swapped batteries, and it worked. I like it because it only takes one AA battery It is bright enough for camp chores, but not too bright to waste power.

My second favorite would be a Black Diamond, I think the model is a Storm. Uses four AAA batteries, it is easily dimmed to save power.

And I have several others that I have accumulated over the years, but the two above are the go-to ones I choose from to take on trips.

I use a Powerchimp USB powered AA and AAA charger to charge up my NiMH batteries. The single green light on it with three red lights means that three of my batteries are still charging, the fourth is charged.




My favorite batteries are the Ikea white Ladda rechargeables, a close second is Eneloop rechargeables.




On a bike I want more focused more powerful lighting. On my S&S bike, I use a light that I plug into a USB powerbank, no internal battery, the light straps onto the handlebar. The light I use was cheap on Ebay, shipped from Asia. Photo below.




On my other non-coupled bikes, I have a dyno powered light fixed to the fork. I think for future touring I would fit a B&M IQ-XS, it appears to be a robust light with metal housing, quite affordable with a good light pattern, I have that light on my rando bike at this time.

Two days ago I did an exercise ride, wanted to get one last ride in before a storm hit. (Looking outside right now, the falling snow is falling horizontally.) And I timed my ride badly, rode the last two and a half hours after sunset. The dyno powered light gave me great power to see where I was going at speed. Previously, I have also tested that USB powered light at speed on a bike, it was adequate at the low power setting.

I understand the concept of minimizing redundancies, I try to do that too. But for the different lighting patterns I want, riding or in the campsite, I want seperate lights.
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Old 12-12-20, 09:25 AM
  #21  
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Actually, the LADDA batteries are BETTER than the Eneloops according to testing I've seen and the LADDA are extremely inexpensive to buy, they are also made in Japan, not China which accounts for why they are the best rechargeable battery you can buy, Chinese rechargeable bats are the worst you can buy.

In my own personal experience, the Eneloops do not hold a shelf charge as long as the Ladda, and they discharge a bit faster when using. I've also had a couple of my 8 Eneloops go bad, they will not take a charge after just 4 years, I have not had that issue with the LADDA yet, and I have 12 of those. I have a Phillips Saferide 80 light that uses 4 AA batteries, and the LADDA batteries last about 20 minutes longer than the Eneloops do. The reason I have some many rechargeable AA bats is mostly due to toys the grandkids use.

A 4 pack of AA Eneloop batteries with 2000 mah rating will cost you $13 on Amazon (not including a charger), while the LADDA with a 4 pack will cost you only $7 with a 2450 mah rating. Keep in mind that you can find higher mah rating batteries made in China, I had a set of Powerex 2700 mah batteries, their junk, they didn't hold a charge even as long as the Eneloops that have 700 less mah's, and after 2 years they wouldn't take a charge anymore. I found out later in a test I saw that none of the Chinese made batteries perform even close to those made in Japan, so make sure you buy only made in Japan batteries. Another odd thing, even standard alkaline batteries made in China don't hold up as long and will leak over time vs those made in Japan or the US, how do I know about the leaking? I've bought both Energizer and Duracell batteries from Walmart, little did I know they were made in China while others of the exact same brand and model are made in the USA, those Chinese ones all leaked and either ruined the device they were in or I had to clean the crud off the contacts, so you have to look at the battery to see where it was made especially if you will be putting in a device where you'll need it for a long period of time, if you know you will be using the battery fast then it won't really matter.
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Old 12-12-20, 02:43 PM
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Originally Posted by rekmeyata
Actually, the LADDA batteries are BETTER than the Eneloops according to testing I've seen and the LADDA are extremely inexpensive to buy, they are also made in Japan, not China which accounts for why they are the best rechargeable battery you can buy, ....
Just make sure you get the white Ladda batteries. Sometimes you see some others, like here.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/IKEA-4-Pk-R...-/264761050403
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Old 12-12-20, 04:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN
Just make sure you get the white Ladda batteries. Sometimes you see some others, like here.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/IKEA-4-Pk-R...-/264761050403
Yes, that is correct, and Ikea sells the white ones as does Amazon, but Ikea is cheaper than Amazon!
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Old 12-14-20, 05:51 PM
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Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN
I am not going to say what I do is better, just different.
[... snip ...]
What you suggest is actually quite good.

One of your previous post had inspired me to look into this kind of a setup, the main benefit being that it avoids charging a battery (bank) to charge a battery (device). However, while researching AA/AAA chargers, I've discovered high acceptance battery banks, i.e. banks that you can recharge with a Power Delivery wall charger. At 30W (I believe that you can find some that will take 45W if not 60W) it meant that I could store enough energy to last for a week in less than 30 minutes. I currently travel with a 95Wh bank but will perhaps switch to two smaller banks if possible, for the sake of building redundancy.

The dynohub vs wall outlet question has no simple answer. I know that I would read a thread on energy management with considerable interest.
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Old 12-14-20, 09:20 PM
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Originally Posted by gauvins
...
The dynohub vs wall outlet question has no simple answer. I know that I would read a thread on energy management with considerable interest.
Part of my preference for devices that will operate on AA or AAA batteries is that I also go camping on canoe trips and kayak trips. When you do not see an outlet for two weeks and lack a dynohub to make more power, you either bring lots of batteries or try solar.

I did bring a solar panel and AA/AAA charger on one trip, but when I got home I decided that I had neglected to make one more measurement before the trip, the weight of the solar system was roughly equal to the number of batteries that I actually charged with it. Thus, life would have been simpler if I simply brought more batteries and left the solar system at home. That is what I do now on those kinds of trips.

When you are out of cell range for two weeks, it certainly does reduce your energy requirement.
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