NiMH battery powered PVs

[TomCatt]

Just wanted to let you know that there is an alternative to Li-Ion batteries (whether ICR/IMR, Ultrafire or AW) for powering a PV. NiMH rechargeable batteries are the ones you find at Walmart, grocery stores, pharmacies, etc.

Also a number of vendors are offering a NiMH 4 cell battery 'pack' that is similar in size to a Li-Ion 18650 battery - here's one at madvapes 4.8 Volt NiMH Battery Cell.


One ECF member has a tutorial for putting together a PV using AAA size NiMH batteries (4 of them for a total of 4.8V):
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/battery-mods/106016-how-build-puck.html

I have made a few of these PVs and have been very satisfied with their performance (just look at my sig ).

For those who have been considering quitting vaping due to recent news articles and discussions here on ECF, I just want to state that there are alternatives.

 

[kenetix]

Yep I have 2 of these. 1 aa and 1 aaa. The aa lasts all day long. Kind of big though is the only draw back.

 

[DC2]

I'm using those Madvapes batteries in my Chucks and have been wondering about their safety profile.
I really, really, really like them by the way.

There is nothing on the Madvapes site that I could find though, and Googling has yielded some mixed results.
Can anyone offer up any battery expertise on the subject of these batteries?

If not, I'll post up a question in the Madvapes forum.

 

[six]

The cropduster from cropduster901 uses a flat pack ni-mh batt built in. It's the same sort of battery you'll find in a lot of RC airplanes, boats, etc.

 

[LucentShadow]

Yay for the Puck, I say. I built a slightly smaller 4 AAA version, substituting a 510 connector and a 2 AAA box for the guts, about a month ago, and love it. Battery life is better than a standard eGo on that.

I'm building a 3 AA version using a 1 AA box for the guts (both boxes from GoodProphets.) Since I don't find myself vaping at 5v much, I'm keeping the size down on this by making it 3.75. The battery life on this should be about 2.5 times that of the AAA box, and it's only 1/4" taller and thicker than the other. The width is the same.

One thing I'd like to point out, it's still a good idea to be careful with any rechargeable, and make sure not to completely drain them. With any 'stacked' or series battery configuration, if one battery happens to completely discharge in the group before the others, it can cause damage. Nimh batteries tend to be much less energetic in such situations, though.

 

[Stubby]

So when is someone going to come out with a four battery AAA and AA MiMh mod for those of us that...... don't even own a soldering gun and have no interest in getting one or learning how to use it....... or building a mod. I did contemplate trying to build it but...... not going to happen, I looked over the instructions for the Puck and it seems simple enough. You could even do it with 5 batteries and have a 6 volt VV. I already have the batteries and even a La Crosse BC 700 charger.

Hopefully in the near future some enterprising fellow will make NiMh e-cigs available to the rest of us.

From what I can understand NiMh would not likely work well with LR devices (though batteries like the Eneloop do have a 2C rating), but do very well with Higher resistance. Fortunately there is plenty of choices. Much more so in the last year then there has been in the past. Hopefully the time for NIMh has come as it is a good deal safer and much more user friendly and robust then Lithium.

 

[DC2]

I'm using those Madvapes batteries in my Chucks and have been wondering about their safety profile.
I really, really, really like them by the way.

There is nothing on the Madvapes site that I could find though, and Googling has yielded some mixed results.
Can anyone offer up any battery expertise on the subject of these batteries?

If not, I'll post up a question in the Madvapes forum.

Last chance for anyone with NiMh battery knowledge to chime in before I am forced to post on the Madvapes subforum...

 

[conan]

NiMh batteries on cordless drills are inferior to lithium ion ones.

 

[GERGOZ]

NiMh batteries on cordless drills are inferior to lithium ion ones.

where did that come from ? lol

 

[technicianx]

nihm= 8 track player lithium= mp3 player ... If someone built nihm mods it would be like throwing away a compound bow to hunt with a spear. I just can't see why anyone would? If it floats your boat, go for it I guess?

 

[Stubby]

nihm= 8 track player lithium= mp3 player ... If someone built nihm mods it would be like throwing away a compound bow to hunt with a spear. I just can't see why anyone would? If it floats your boat, go for it I guess?

I think you need to do some research before coming up with a foolish statement like that. NiHm is different from lithium, but to say it is somehow inferior is simple not true. It's a proven technology that is a good deal more user friendly then lithium. The reason it hasn't been used in e-cigs has more to do with the fact that when e-cigs first appeared people wanted them to look like..... real cigarettes. You can't do that with NiHm. I think we are past that today.

NiHm actually has some advantages over Lithium for e-cigs, and a few disadvantages, but nothing that can't be worked around. There is also the fact that you can get them everywhere, some of the more advanced designs can take up to 1500 charges, and even AAA last as long or longer then lithium. AAs can last for days.

 

[GERGOZ]

nihm= 8 track player lithium= mp3 player ... If someone built nihm mods it would be like throwing away a compound bow to hunt with a spear. I just can't see why anyone would? If it floats your boat, go for it I guess?

well...two that just jump right out at me are...

SAFER AND CHEAPER

oh, and yeah, i can get them 24/7 at walmarts

but hey, if you got it to spend and dont mind the risks of lithium...
AND it floats YOUR boat, go for it i guess ?

sorry, nimhs are all i use, and ya kinda struck a nerve, lol

seriously, i apologize, that wasnt like me at all

gervis

 

[technicianx]

well...two that just jump right out at me are...

SAFER AND CHEAPER

oh, and yeah, i can get them 24/7 at walmarts

but hey, if you got it to spend and dont mind the risks of lithium...
AND it floats YOUR boat, go for it i guess ?

sorry, nimhs are all i use, and ya kinda struck a nerve, lol

seriously, i apologize, that wasnt like me at all

gervis

No offence taken. I can understand cost wise how it would appeal to some and yes they're safe. It's just my opinion nimh is inferior. We're still advancing lithium cells they get better all the time. My traxxas REVO rc can run on nimh cells or lithium. It will only get optimal performance with lithium cells. Nimh discharge way faster and perform nowhere near the level and consistency that lithium cells do. I would assume the same to be true with e cigs. I didn't mean for my comment to be sarcastic in nature. I just don't see the point.

\edit/

But if it works for you thats all that really matters.

 

[GERGOZ]

No offence taken. I can understand cost wise how it would appeal to some and yes they're safe. It's just my opinion nimh is inferior. We're still advancing lithium cells they get better all the time. My traxxas REVO rc can run on nimh cells or lithium. It will only get optimal performance with lithium cells. Nimh discharge way faster and perform nowhere near the level and consistency that lithium cells do. I would assume the same to be true with e cigs. I didn't mean for my comment to be sarcastic in nature. I just don't see the point.

thanx technicianx, been a stress filled weekend, already, lol

i guess when i first started vaping, it seemed i was gonna end up spending
more money on batts than i was on nicquid and attys/cartos and it really
peed me off...different mods took different batts which i had to have 2 sets
of and chargers AND get them online.

i was already freakin out about tryin to find an adv, for cryin out loud, geez !

at that point, i decided i wasnt going to get hand-cuffed by stinkin batteries.
i gave nimhs a try, they worked and i never looked back.

i have had a couple sets of nimhs rotating for almost a year and not a single
problem.

not to mention, if the batts go dead in the tv remote, i just go into my stash
until i can get to walmart ! lmao !

gervis

 

[technicianx]

thanx technicianx, been a stress filled weekend, already, lol

i guess when i first started vaping, it seemed i was gonna end up spending
more money on batts than i was on nicquid and attys/cartos and it really
peed me off...different mods took different batts which i had to have 2 sets
of and chargers AND get them online.

i was already freakin out about tryin to find an adv, for cryin out loud, geez !

at that point, i decided i wasnt going to get hand-cuffed by stinkin batteries.
i gave nimhs a try, they worked and i never looked back.

i have had a couple sets of nimhs rotating for almost a year and not a single
problem.

not to mention, if the batts go dead in the tv remote, i just go into my stash
until i can get to walmart ! lmao !

gervis

I may have to try this now just to test it and see how it stacks up against different batteries. Just to test and have another backup. If the apocalypse happens nimhs may be easier to obtain...

 

[Stubby]

I may have to try this now just to test it and see how it stacks up against different batteries. Just to test and have another backup. If the apocalypse happens nimhs may be easier to obtain...

Make sure to read up on the Puck as that appears the best bet at the moment. You need 4 AAA or AA (though that gets big) to make it work. My feeling is the e-cig makers have gotten into tunnel vision with Lithiums. There seems to be a lot of excuses as to why NiHm won't work, but none of it holds up to close scrutiny.

 

[VapourMonkey]

I agree with Stubby, I wish someone would manufacture puck style mods, I love the idea but mine would look like homer simpson built it if I tried.

 

[pmoraldo]

love my 4.8v nimh's in my Reo grand they're all i use in it currently

 

[milo hobo]

I think that it is not merely possible, but necessary to look into these batteries. I could imagine a couple of interesting ways to utilize these batteries in series to meet our needs, even stuffed into a tube mod. Take three AA's, put them into a plastic thing a mah jig to run them in series, and pop them into a tube mod, and you've got something around the size of an 18650, give or take. Violent failures averted, but I would still like people who know electric engineering to take a look before handing it off to people, but I would use it.

 

[cbrociuos]

nihm= 8 track player lithium= mp3 player ... If someone built nihm mods it would be like throwing away a compound bow to hunt with a spear. I just can't see why anyone would? If it floats your boat, go for it I guess?

^^this. also nimh batteries vent more violently than lithium. ive seen some go while being charged (we used to use them in rc). they sound like a 12ga shot gun when they "go off". i wouldnt want to be near it, much less in front of my mouth. if you dont fully discharge nimh batteries every cycle they will develope a memory and lose compacity (maybe not as quick in a low drain app. like an e-cig, but they still will lose compacity). your also stacking more cells to get the required voltage. your going to have risks with any battery powered device. you just need to be aware.

im not putting anyone down for using nimh. if your happy with them more power to you. what ever keeps you away from analogs.