Poundland vs Poundworld NiMh rechargeable cell showdown.
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- Опубликовано: 5 сен 2017
- One of these outlets may be telling little porkies about the capacity of their NiMh rechargeable cells. Can you guess which one?
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They've got Poundland, Poundworld, now they need PoundTown.
PoundCity, PoundPlanet, PoundPlace etc.
Против Глобал b
also a 99p shop, never been there but i imagine they are pretty much on par with tatarama poundland / world tat....just cheaper.
+johnik sushibar
There was a chain of 99p stores but they got bought by Poundland a few years ago. Inflation jumped by 1%.
PoundSand, PoundN.Korea, PoundDingDongUn, 10PoundBBQSammich, PoundEnemaAtGunpoint
This is the dumbest, most brilliant battery capacity test rig. You deserve a technical Emmy for it!
Excellent video Clive. Your battery testing device is a work of pure genius.
I agree! So awesome. I always learn so much from big Clive
1100mAh is really modest for AA NiMH cells. Cells with claimed capacities of 2500mAh were on sale at least 12 years ago, and the ones purchased all delivered at least 2200mAh when tested. Some of them are still in use here, and delivering 1200-1400 mAh. Some died long ago - damaged and one totally destroyed by the supplied charger, before I knew any better! - but they've all been in regular use since new. Thanks for the heads-up with the Poundland ones, Clive; they're worth the price.
your Ah-o-meter is the work of an ABSOLUTE genius. i really want one like it.
Great review Clive and appreciated. Living in Canada we don't have any Pound.....here. These are the kind of reviews that are needed to educate all of us. Thank you !
Clive got me back into 'gubbins' after a 50 year break. This time he's too late. I bought 6 Poundland AA's and ended up buying 16 more. They really are good for garden lights. I had 5 (one died last year) and they have faithfully been lighting up every night for over 6 weeks now. Every garden light now has these things hanging inside or (outside wrapped in cling film ) and they are worth every penny. So far after many videos Clive has not dropped a single clanger. You really do know you stuff mate. Thanks.
1:59 - No. Not a "small fraction of the energy of the alkaline cell". The capacity of the cell from 1.2 V to .75 V varies with current but is much smaller than above 1.2 V. The majority is above that.
So... travelling with limited room for stuff, but you did bring your Ah-o-meter? Puzzling... :)
i heard that clive owns and makes the "fake riddex" rodent reppeller which only really had a led light xD
Clive, I think you should do a massive test of all the cheap-o rechargeables you can find. It would be a great service to the community. Build multiple load clocks, livestream it over several hours.
Anyway, would have been interesting to see these opened up and their internal construction scrutinised. Also, fire is always good
Gavin Lewarne He has done both in the past (obviously with the cells sold at the time).
I know, but who doesn't like the potential for more fire and personal injury?
Tremendous testing. I have been using both brand of cells in my Gamepad. and have noticed that the poundland cells appear to last a lot longer. Thanks for confirming my suspicions. Great stuff.
Bought one time batteries (non rechargeable) in Poland for my camera ... I wasn't even able to take one picture (without flash) before they gone flat. I swear you could hear a button cell rattling inside of it. No weight at all ... (but full price)
Even if the capacity isn't the best I'm kinda amazed at how you can get some rechargeable batteries for a pound.
I love both the choice of subject and the test method, sheer genius.
A two transistor constant-current load would make a great little project!
Clive's videos end abruptly as a bagpipe recital.
I was at a poundworld a little while ago that had converted into a poundworld plus or something, the same shop but they now sell stuff thats more than a quid as well as the usual range of £1 items. theyve updated their power banks, they come in the same single cell case as the crappy old £1,
ah no, you get the case and the charge/boost board too, hence "power bank", and the cells are perfectly good. but the key point is that theyre from poundworld and they actually have the capacity they claim.
Here in Ireland we have Dealz (poundland equivalent ..apart from everything is €1.50) which sells the fusiomax brand, might have to pick up some just to see ;)
I bought a 4 pack of NiMh AA batteries in Lidl for €4 just because it said 2500mAh on the packet.. It'll be interesting to see how fast they drain without use
On the Isle of Man it's Dealz too. At £1.20.
Bigclivedotcom
Well isn't that a steal.. I don't suppose you saw the camping light in Lidl on your travels? It's a dynamo light with an internal NiMh battery and radio.. might be worth a look? :)
Good luck with the supermarket ones, of all the NiMH I've had, those seem to let me down by going high resistance - my usual charger would dutifully sit there passing just enough current to keep the charge indicator on, but a better charger (I now own a MaHa MH-C9000, fiver from a charity shop - Yay!) found them out, in fact they were too bad for it to even recognize and measure.
Just wipe the 'dust' off my scales *sniff*
Very interesting. Keep the price down and profits up no matter what the cost. Loose customers fast! Well done Clive, another investigative report.
Friendship with poundworld has ended. Now Poundland is my new best friend
I like your lighting rig, it's simple but effective. Also like the clock idea. Simplicity is elegance :)
Poundland is much more reputable as a company than Poundworld
+Dan Bana They definitely take electrical safety more seriously. Poundworld has sold some very dodgy stuff in the past.
7dayshop sell very similar 800mah AA cells 8 for £2.99 delivered on eBay which is a good alternative for those who can't make it to the pound shops. They test out at exactly 800mah which I can't complain about. Only 15 grams though.
Edit: At least they used to, they're now £3.69, the greedy barstewards.
RS are also selling 8 for a little under 4 quid. It's a good price for clocks, remotes and other low power stuff
Big Clive -- the ultimate gadgeteer! Marvellous video -- thank you very much ;) !
I live in America and these videos have created a large rivalry for me.
"Oi Lee Chin? - Yes, Mista Poundworrd? - Remember the waste lead you guys've been spilling into your rivers? - Yes, Mista Poundworrd! - Start filling some in the rechargeables we've been ordering from you, there's a guy on the internet recommending to buy the heavier ones. - Yes, Mista Poundworrd!"
Until watching these videos I used to buy Duracell without question. I remember the tests on Simply Duracell, being shown up for the rubbish they are, beaten by a Pound-land cell!! Keep up the good work Clive. I watch with interest.
Yeah, names like Energizer and Duracell were exceptional when all their batteries were made with the same high quality, but then they saw the market in having both budget and premium batteries with the premium being what was once their regular product and the budget one being just cheap shit like any other but at a price that is only budget compared to their premium batteries.
Typical moneymaking.
Great videos ,I love poundland stuff !!! Hope one day my RUclips channels will take off like yours . Keep up the good work clive !!
When I run the poundland batteries through my battery tester which runs through various cycles, they come out as close to what it says on the pack as possible. 800mah fully charged. I will test some more though as this was years ago, I keep looking to see if they have bought out new ones. Poundland should get an award for having the most accurate battery mah,,, try maplins, go on, I dare you.
I think one mistake is to assume that these things remain constant. This is an illustration of the value of recognized, known brand names. It's about consistency, not the totally worthless "coolness". A known brand has an enormous incentive to keep a product as consistent as possible so that everyone always knows what they are getting. A no-brand product can change at any time without warning. I buy such things myself, with the understanding there is no guarantee.
I've tried these Fusiomax cells in a Xtar VC4, the capacity from flat to full has always registered +/- 10% of the package rating which is good. However the shelf life between charges seems to vary greatly between packets, some self discharge in less than 24hr and some stay charged for weeks.
However the best cheapo cells I've found so far are the 2300mAh Lidl Tronic cells, that the VC4 estimates capacity at ~2550mAh and hold charge for weeks without an issue and usually found at £2.99 for 4 so only 50% more than Poundland for more than 50% greater capacity.
I use and test these too, and agree that they are best for things that you do not use often but also do not mind charging up before use. Like a radio that you rarely use except when you are out in the garden for instance.
acreamymoose When dealing with shops like Poundworld and Lidl, it's important to say when a good or bad product was bought to avoid confusing similar but different promotions.
Can't stop laughing about your battery tester i a good way. Brilliant.
Reed switches for telecommunications switching fabric disappeared in the North American telecommunications network over a decade ago. They were the last analog voice technology, Every analog line is converted to digital as soon as possible and all the trunking is digital now.
mentatphilosopher Reed switches are digital 1-bit devices. The circuit that connects the computerized telephone exchange to the "last mile" subscriber copper pair often still contains a miniature relay to protect the electronics from electrical events at the customer premises or along the line.
John Francis Doe As far as I remember there are no reed switches on the current 5ESS line cards. Protection is currently done in the electronic cross connect frames because that is nearest to the outside plant. I'll ask the hardware guys or take a look. The reed switches in the 2ESS (Bell Labs) and 2EAX (Automatic Electric Labs) priced themselves out because of the copper in the coils and the gold used on the contact surfaces. There was a massive number of them in an urban configured switch. They also made a nice swish noise when switched in mass during a network diagnostic run.
Now PoundWorld are closing down I had to check back to remind myself as to who's cells Big Clive recommended. Glad to see they were PoundLand ones. Need to get some more.
Big Clive... your just a wealth of information
YOU'RE. YOU ARE.
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YOU'RE. YOU ARE.
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YOU'RE. YOU ARE.
YOU'RE. YOU ARE.
Oh no I'm nailed by the grammar checker
Good job 👍
He's right, though.
Great info, and great to know I've bought the right ones
800-900 mAh for an AA cell seems like a bit of a joke and I'd expect there to just be an AAA cell inside.
I have sort of found the holy grail of AA batteries and started using cheap PKCELL batteries from china, The green ones are low self discharge, and the AA models come in 2200Mah versions.
It's around 13-14 euro's for 10 of em, and in low-power appliances like remotes, clocks, gamepads and so on they really shine due to their low self discharge.
Another gem ! love it.
I use those Poundland batteries for stuff like my bike lights. I've been recharging them for a few years now and no issues. They hold charge for plenty of time for that type of thing.
As always, Great video
I have a similar clock except that it's the size of the black box, 1 AA battery length ^ 2. I got it at a workplace that was going out of business with the permission of my boss. In any case I did not use it because I do not like the ticking and my bathroom is the only room without at least one clock and I do not need one there.
Now I have a use for it, thanks.
Quite amazing you can get rechargeable batteries for a pound. At dollar tree you get either heavy duty or alkaline (in small quantities). That extra .50 cents goes far.
Choose alkaline over the "heavy duty" zinc chloride cells. They offer better value in terms of the much higher capacity and are less likely to leak than the zinc ones.
bigclivedotcom my experience with the dollar tree 6 pack heavy duty batteries is that they are worthless. Ended up getting the 2 pack alkaline.
I've gotten some that were DOA.
bigclivedotcom, they're so light and have such a low capacity that it makes me curious if they aren't really a AAA battery inside a AA casing.
I've got eight of the Poundland fusion Max AA and use them in my large Sunpak flashguns, four at a time. They provide plenty of power and even on full power the ready lamp is glowing amber a second or so after very many firings. Also as they are not super high capacity they only take about an hour to charge (at one amp charging). For £1 a set they're very good value for money, oh and yes they do hold they're charge for a very long time!
Lidl have recently been selling Ni-Mh AA cells for £6.00 for Eight cells at 2400mAh. I haven't had time to test them, but the first thing I noticed was that they were quite heavy. Not weighed them as I haven't got a scale to weigh grams.
That clock made me laugh so much. Now I'm kinda curious about the transistor discharge circuit.
Wonder how the new range of IKEA NiMh cells hold up, we have them now in low and high capacity version for both AA and AAA.
I was wondering about HFs because when they have 50% off sales I buy them for small shit. I suppose some one would have to mail him some.
I haven't done any testing, some people online say they're rebranded enloops as theyre made in Japan. I don't know but I find them quite good in my camera flashes and the 12 battery charger they have is really useful for someone like me who uses lots of batteries, even if it's a bit slow.
Guess I will have to pick up some sets and mail them.
The old green/silver IKEA Ladda cells are pretty good. The new ones are supposedly the same as the Sanyo Eneloop (the Eneloop brand has been sold to Panasonic) and are very good too. If you take the price into account, then the IKEA NiMH cells are a bargain!
I tested mine, fresh pack ladda labeled at 2450mha and out of the pack of 4 I got capacity ranging between 1640 - 2859mha I used a liltokala charger test function. Make of that what you will
You need to make a really nice version of that clock/discharge meter, that would be a neat sort of thing to have around I think for alot of people.
Very Liking the PoundLand ones...
Lasted for ages straight out the packet!
Reed switches - also used in home security (door and window contacts)
I don't know what phone you're using, but that image is terrific. You're terrific!
Moto G4 with Open camera.
Good bot
I suspect that the lower capacity ones are actually 'AAA' cells in a new case. It might be instructive to take a hacksaw to them to see what is inside. Many of the D size cells (those not 4000 mAh) were actually C cells inside of a bunch of cardboard. You could tell them apart from their weight. Oh, yes in the USA we have all sorts of 'dollar' type stores.
Poundworld cells also have the colors on "powercell" swapped between the good and crap cells.
A decade ago, I bought a bunch of dark-green-top Energizer AA's with a 2650 mAh rating. They all discharged almost immediately just sitting on a shelf (within a day they were down to something silly like 1.25v from 1.35-1.40). Total garbage.
That was the last time I bought Energizer's. For a while, Duracell White-tops were remarked Eneloops and I still have most of them working well after 7 or 8 years (with moderate use, of course). Great cells that keep 70-80% of their charge for months, even if their theoretical rating was much lower than the Energizer's (2000 mAh, iirc)
Would it be possible to use the Joule Thief circuit to get a quartz clock to squeeze the last bit of juice out of a cell?
@@Krokozyabrik Cheers man. :)
Clive, Is there any chance of you discussing the different types of desolder braid? We used to have one type at work (many years ago - now retired) that worked perfectly whilst others were downright useless trying to do the same job. Do you have any tips for which size to use, different width for different jobs etc.?
You have to do a comparison with the lidle tronic batterys. Great video BTW
Hi Clive - love your vids and the humour.
On the subject of poundland AA cells, the wording on the batteries advises to "follow the charging time" but nowhere - either on the packaging - or on the battery itself, does it state the recommended charge current or time.
Ive plumped for the 10hr rate for 14hrs should be ok?
4:30 *I use these in my household (wired Landline) Phones and find ok unless you want to make a call over 2 hours and in which case batteries might struggle a little. I'm ok with that but the wife often complains - say no more.*
I've been using Poundland's Fusiomax batteries for a while, pretty good batteries
Would you ever test Recycko cells? I've bought mayn of them on Amazon both in AA and AAA flavour and have seen them being longer lasting than lower quality cells. I'm interested in knowing if they have the capacity stated. My recent purchase was 2 x 4 packs of AAA cells rated at 950mAh.
Hi Clive, I've used the Poundland rechargeable batteries for various applications they seem fairly reliable, but have in the past bought Lidl's 4 pack of cells at £2.99, their most recent offering was 2500mah, I've used then in my Sony minidisc Walkman, they last for hours and hours, but they are a slightly bigger diameter, I found this out when I originally bought a set for a scanner receiver and found when trying to fit the last cell it wouldn't fit in!
i had this a baby monitor i got had bad nimh batteries so chucked them bought new and the new ones were a very tight fit (i had to force them in. so i googled AA battery size and found this en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AA_battery#Dimensions there is a surprisingly large tolerance on the size of an AA battery data.energizer.com/PDFs/LR6CL_EU.pdf
My little travel mouse that takes 1 AA is an absolute bitch to get a rechargeable battery out of. An alkaline fits just nicely though.
One of the advantages of the lower capacity cells is that they don't need to cheat the case size tolerance. They fit more items.
I put a set of 2300MaH Energizers in an old halogen maglight and the size is so big I can't get it out! It's been sitting in there 2 months now...can't get a stiff wire in from the other end. PITFA!
John Possum Maybe a neodymium magnet could pull it out?
Be carful taking that clock out and about with you 😀
A guy I met at primary school, I think he was a bit bigger than us so I didn't challenge his nonsense, claimed to be able to tell if a battery (sorry, "cell") was full or not, by judging its weight in his hands. Those would have been zinc/carbon cells at the time.
I bought 4 of the Poundworld 800mAh ones. They tested all over the place. 360, 730, 880 and 920.
+Zapp3012 Many fast chargers terminate way too early with low capacity cells.
And if you pair them up you may end up with reversing the polarity of the weakest.
Take a look at ikea's new cells, they have two types, and they have a big weight and capacity diffrence
How do you determine when its time to throw a cell out? Particularly those you get in solar garden lights, I've taken the cells out for testing and after a full charge and being left to sit for a few days a couple of them dropped below 1.2v by themselves whilst others had dropped to around the 1.25v mark.
Most NiMh cells will drop down to around 1.2V after a full charge. The most common failure of the cells in solar lights is to lose capacity and the ability to supply current. Keeping in mind that these cells are getting 365 charge/discharge cycles a year and being exposed to very high temperatures in the summer, it's a good idea to routinely replace them every two or three years.
I wonder what it would take to install a backlight or backlit display in that scale...
That's a case for the batterizer! ;)
SCNR...
I'm not sure your clock adaptation might work under some circumstances, I know if you put too much voltage into them they can run backwards, or even actually slow down
it's purely for niMh AA cells
phonotical The clock movement is powered by a separate disposable battery. The battery under test is *only* powering the electromagnet that holds the reed switch closed. The reed switch interrupts the battery feed to the clock, so the clock stops when the battery no longer has enough oomph to operate it.
Ive found that cheap rechargeable NiMH batteries last about 10-15 recharges and named brand NiMH last for a bout 30-40 charges but none of them have the mAHr rating stated.
Richard Kaz I've never owned rechargeable batteries that did not state their capacity. You're doing something wrong if they only lasts up to 40 charges.
got some cheap 2.4ah ready-to-use nimh from a discounter and was surprised by power and capacity. tronic eco. 27.7g. the springy contacts in the cell holder dont spring no more...
Hey Clive, what sort of AA cell would you recommend for outdoor use, where the temps range from -26C to 46C (and also it's quite humid)? Would it be beneficial to tape off the ends and conformal coat a battery, so far as water ingress goes?
+Josh G That's quite an extreme range. It would require a specialist cell. Check the lithium non rechargeable specs.
It would be interesting to see how they compare to the Lidl Tronic AA rechargeables.
Finally - a product that would actually benefit from Batteroo's Batteriser !!!
you'd break the battery though after the first use. it'll break when you use it down to 0 volts.
I was thinking more about alkaline cells if the clock stops working at 1.2v
theres many products that would benefit from the batteriser. its not that bad actually. might as well use a joule thief though. but i guess the batterizer is more convienient.
The batterizer works pretty well with things that have a "high" cutoff voltage. the train dave tested has quite a low cutoff voltage because it is just an electric motor.
The problem was the marketing didn't reflect that.
The clock is a work of genius. :)
How much are they in Jolly ol'? Low self discharge duracell/enlope/energizer are about $2 @piece and have 2100mh power.?
Very enlightening.. I have been spending money on AA rechargable, attempting to find a good capacity which last in my AOR radio, to replace the old Ni-Cd's It seems that the higher capacity "2500 mAh NiMH are fatter in diameter by about 0.3mm. as it's quite a tight fit battery compartment, they will not fit, side by side, as is the way they go in. I have not found the fusionmax in poundland for some time, they only seem to stock Kodak. 750 mAh, which do fit the radio & seem to do a reasonable job. Having had a rummage in my battery box, found a set of Fusionmax which I must have purchased some time ago. 800mAh. Having just found your video highlighting the virtues of Fusionmax, I will give them a try against the Kodak. I am unsure about charging them within the radio, as it was originally designed to work with Ni-Cd's. ?? Oooh! These Kodak Alkaline look nasty!! ruclips.net/video/7tHie7Ea3iU/видео.html
It probably uses trickle charging for the cells, which should be OK with NiMH cells. You'll find that the extra high capacity cells do cheat the diameter a bit. Staying down in the 1500mAh area should result in a better fit.
@@bigclivedotcom Thank's Clive, You're the best. 💯
@bigclivedotcom Is the bounce test for batteries (which I would assume goes off of weight, lighter = bouncier) and actual way of measuring whether a batteries dead or not?
The bounce test does actually work.
It has nothing to do with weight. A dead alkaline weighs the same as a new one. It's the hardness of the innards that changes.
Sounds like PW changed manufacturer to a significantly cheaper one. Notice when the store says that their own brand of generic food stuff suddenly have changed recipe, but still taste as good as before...
Unfortunately in the USA you'll never see rechargable cells being sold for a measly dollar. We have different dollar store brands, some where absolutely everything is dollar and others where they have items ranging upwards of a dollar. For the stores where everything is 1 dollar, you won't see rechargable cells. You'll have only "Heavy Duty" cells in packs of 4 or Alkaline in packs of 2.
Any chance that you'll take a look at the LiIon based, USB rechargeable, 9V batteries?
Alkaline AA and AAA often come on offer around here, so I just stock up then (and convert what can be, electrically and fitment wise, to 18650's) , but the 9V ones are always, comparatively, expensive... and USB is so much more convenient/available everywhere, than another dedicated charger.
Clever Clive!
The dollar store in my area did the same thing a few years ago.
Poundworld is creeping into Twopoundworld!
I prefer the older Poundworld Powercell 1000mAh because they did last a lot longer and keep their charge than the Fusiomax 800mAh. However, I use neither, because I invested in Energizer recharge 2,000mAh, £6 pack of 4 and they are fantastic, worth the money.
NiMHs have the added advantage over alkalines of having lower internal resistance, at least when newer.
They perform significantly better in my drone transmitter than alkalines, for example.
Flying my Hubsan, a set of alkalines will last about three to five ten-minute flights before entering "limp home" mode. A new set of NiMHs will last long enough that I lose count of how many flights I've had. Even aging NiMHs will outperform the alkalines.
800mAh is around the capacity that good AAA cells have. I'd expect double or triple from AAs. Even Eneloops with their low self discharge, I've just charged one up, and my (admittedly cheap and potentially crappy) charger showed me it pumped 2.3Ah into the thing.
The weight is an important metric since it costs more to ship heavy stuff so the cost save is in the material and the shipping. If that changes then they could throw a chunk of lead/steel/other to make it heavy. So one take away I have from a number of battery videos, yours and several other channels as well as my own testing, is that weight is kind of indicative of capacity. I lean towards LiFePo batteries these days. Maybe you could do some solar tech videos? Although you're not in the best location for solar and maybe you don't have roof access or something...
Can you paint mAhs at equal distance on the clock face in this test?
can u make your own AA battery's clive ?, order the chemicals and metals and put one together
hey clive, how about lobbing some 7dayshop nimh's through your Amp-o-meter ? They do high capacity cells at a good price and it would be neat to see if they stack up to the claims :) I could send some aaa's and AA's if required as i bought a load for projects here.
I know you do a lot more informative and interesting videos but I'd like to see you rate/test more cells from other brands and providers.
as a photographer i only use Eneloop but these might come in handy for things like Guitar Hero Controllers ^_^
Do a review on the Znter / Sorbo USB rechargeable AA / AAA cells? Seem an interesting concept (far longer cycle lifespan than NiMh), and VERY convenient charge options. The AA's are a genuine 1250mAh, and charge FAR faster than any NiMh equivalent.
Charge faster? What are you smoking? 2h charge time vs 1h or less for NiMH. Only about half of NiMH's capacity. A terrible current source (only 1A max) and rather sensitive to heat.
Well, 1250mAH is better than those Clive's reviewing right now, AND the Znter cells have a pretty long cycle lifespan. Two hours charge? Make that no more than an hour and a half, and that constant d/c voltage right up to the very end is pretty useful. A four-cell pack can comfortably drive a 5W Cree headlamp for hours then there is the significant convenience of "USB plug and charge" functionality. If you want lots of capacity then 18650 is where you look, not AA (or NiMh), and to get your "one hour charge" you will have had to invest in a decent (so expensive) charger. These cells are an interesting development. Mine have now lasted well past 1200 cycles (with no loss of capacity) and I'm very sold on the convenience issue of "plug and play" recharge (as, I note, are the other 77 happy owners via Banggood! www.banggood.com/ZNTER-1_5V-1250mAh-USB-Rechargeable-AA-Li-Po-Battery-reviews-p1069778.html. Will these replace NiMh? Probably not, but this design WILL carve out its own niche, and for certain applications, these are very hard to beat.
"A four-cell pack can comfortably drive a 5W Cree headlamp for hours"
So a 7.5Wh source can power a 5W load "for hours"...
I can get 2 hours continuous runtime. So, maybe my "Genuine 5W Cree" is not quite so "5W" (well, it is a Chinese Boruit lamp after all, and these maybe "Chinese Watts" :-D ) or maybe my four contain "quite a bit over 7.5Wh". Whatever, I DO get 120 minutes runtime (and on "1W" output I'm getting a very reliable 9 1/2 hours runtime). The only real disadvantage of these cells is that once they stop, they stop dead - no advance warning of dimming, so obviously not ideal for use where sudden loss of lighting would be a safety issue. Great for pot-holing (but I always carry additional light sources for safety reasons).
I tried this with a 2 transistor constant current drive.
My kill switch is a comparator running on a 5V regulated supply waiting for a 0.9V threshold, and for testing I used that supply also for the load and set it up to 100mA so I wouldn't have to fuss with heatsinks and so a AA battery drains in less than 12 hours. Also at 100mA I won't have to make the sense resistor out of unsolderable heater wire.
-However, when I switched to the B.U.T.T. (Battery Under Tortuous Testing) as the current source I got fluctuation from 90-110mA.
Hoping it evens out to a useable average, or that it improves when I move from breadboard to chinese veroboard.
Only thing I can think of is that wires are too long/thin interfering with a rail and/or too much gain and noise in my [current enable] circuit.
I think I'll go try dampening the enable somehow as having 5V through 470R onto base might be a bit harsh when collector sits at AA battery levels.
1k enable (formula says it should be 600R) did the trick, dead stable now at 101mA.
Can you please do a review on AA 14500 Li_ion batteries..?
Open the good cell and the bad cell to compare them pretty please!
Your a genius pal
Sometimes the sneaky rats wrap an AA cover around a AAA core. Cheapo "Panasonic" and "Sony" branded cells from these places are often made like this. Have a look inside the cheaper ones.
The quick test is to pinch them hard in the mid-section between the thumb and forefinger. If you can crush them easily - you have a 'ringer.' :(