Need help with replacing rechargeable batteries

[Ski]

I'm not very familiar with voltages and amps when it comes to rechargeable batteries, so I was hoping some of you guys could enlighten me a bit here.

I've had some solar lights that been sitting in my front lawn for over a year now that don't work because my town doesn't sell the type of batteries listed, 3.2V 600mAh AA Iron Phosphate. I tried buying a number of named rechargeable battery brands, but they would never work, so I'm assuming they're not specked right.

So I tried looking online and discovered that these things ain't cheap and I tried finding alternative, and right away I'm seeing Nickel Cadmium, Lithium Ion, NiMh, and various amps and voltages, so I was completely lost here. But my main question is this: Is the voltage or mAh that I should be concerned about and what about the metals? I don't want to have to order the wrong pair only to discover they don't work on the lights from the get go, so any help would be appreciated, thanks....

 

[jb_hafo]

Mod something together (series or parallel) for AA AA > AA? (voltage). Though a chance it could burn out the lights (too much amperage...). Guessing...
I suppose you've tried mega-battery url's, the Hardforum links for major retailer, and ebay? Or even search the battery type with "thread" in the search bar, maybe someone else found a solution.

 

[staticlag]

The very important spec' is the voltage. You can get any battery with the same voltage and it will work.

"Regular" batteries you can buy at walmart or where ever are 1.5 volts. They will not work (both disposable alkaline and regular style rechargeable). The fact that each battery is 3.2V means it will be a speciality battery that you can't buy off the shelf somewhere.

the mAh is a rating of how long the battery will last. This would be the important factor if you wanted them to run all night or something.

The metal type can be important depending on climate and the electronics of the unit. Some metals do not handle cold weather very well (Lithium ion), others do not handle overcharging very well (Lithium ion).

Here they are for $8.49 for 2
http://www.tmart.com/2pcs-32V-600mAh-AA-Iron-Phosphate-Lithiumion-Batteries-White_p126116.html

That's the price you would expect to pay about everywhere for this type of battery.

 

[staticlag]

Mod something together (series or parallel) for AA AA > AA? (voltage). Though a chance it could burn out the lights (too much amperage...). Guessing...
I suppose you've tried mega-battery url's, the Hardforum links for major retailer, and ebay? Or even search the battery type with "thread" in the search bar, maybe someone else found a solution.

High amperage won't burn something out, high voltage will.

 

[E4g1e]

I'm not very familiar with voltages and amps when it comes to rechargeable batteries, so I was hoping some of you guys could enlighten me a bit here.

I've had some solar lights that been sitting in my front lawn for over a year now that don't work because my town doesn't sell the type of batteries listed, 3.2V 600mAh AA Iron Phosphate. I tried buying a number of named rechargeable battery brands, but they would never work, so I'm assuming they're not specked right.

So I tried looking online and discovered that these things ain't cheap and I tried finding alternative, and right away I'm seeing Nickel Cadmium, Lithium Ion, NiMh, and various amps and voltages, so I was completely lost here. But my main question is this: Is the voltage or mAh that I should be concerned about and what about the metals? I don't want to have to order the wrong pair only to discover they don't work on the lights from the get go, so any help would be appreciated, thanks....

You will have to special-order those batteries. You see, normal AA rechargeable batteries will not work at all with your lights because they deliver only 1.2V per cell while the Iron Phosphate rechargeables deliver 3.2V per cell. There's your incompatibility right there.

And even if you do find the iron phosphate batteries, usually higher mAh will give you longer run time between recharges while lesser mAh will just give you less run time between recharges. The lights have a strict minimum required operating voltage, such that normal 1.2V to 1.5V AA batteries will not work at all. (You won't harm the lights by using lower-voltage cells; the lights won't even turn on at all under the circumstances.)

 

[J Macker]

High amperage won't burn something out, high voltage will.

Indeed. Actually, amperage is only "drawn" by the device usage.

Think about it like this OP, your house probably has 20A breakers. Each outlet is capable of outputting 110v at 20A

Say you have a vacuum cleaner that is rated at 10A. it is rated to draw 10A at 110v. The vacuum will not get damaged when you plug it into an outlet on a 20A breaker.


As stated previously, the higher mah, the higher the capacity the longer the lights will last.

 

[dandragonrage]

High amperage won't burn something out, high voltage will.

Wrong for most components. Current is what burns most stuff out. Higher voltage normally causes higher current which can burn stuff out. Again, it's because of the current increase.

Energy storage devices (batteries, capacitors) don't like high voltage though.

mAh and voltage can be combined into energy (in joules) and does indeed describe how much "uptime" you'll get.

 

[E4g1e]

Wrong for most components. Current is what burns most stuff out. Higher voltage normally causes higher current which can burn stuff out. Again, it's because of the current increase.

Energy storage devices (batteries, capacitors) don't like high voltage though.

mAh and voltage can be combined into energy (in joules) and does indeed describe how much "uptime" you'll get.

One small correction:

If an energy storage or supply device cannot provide high enough current, that device will overheat and cause damage not only to the storage/supply device, but any device that draws power from the storage/supply device as well. Think of this scenario as a particular device draws more current than the supply is able to deliver or handle.

On the other hand, if a supply devices actually outputs too much current, the connected device will simply burn out or have its useful life significantly reduced. But this can only happen if the supply device has a minimum current output that exceeds the maximum input current of the output device.

 

[XenIneX]

I've had some solar lights that been sitting in my front lawn for over a year now that don't work because my town doesn't sell the type of batteries listed, 3.2V 600mAh AA Iron Phosphate. I tried buying a number of named rechargeable battery brands, but they would never work, so I'm assuming they're not specked right.

Are you sure that's not Lithium Iron Phosphate? (LiFePO4) A search on Amazon for LiFePO4 AA brings up a couple 3.2v 600mAh cells.

 

[Spades45]

^ this guy is most likely correct.

If you didn't want to go the LiFePO4 route, 3x AA NiMH cells would work. The difference is only .4v nominal. However it is probably easier to just buy the LiFePO4s than it would be to re-wire everything to accept 3x AAs.

Everything in my house that uses AA or AAA uses Sanyo Eneloops. Anything that takes 9Vs takes 9.6v Maha cells instead. The voltage isn't that important - see here: WARNING PDF LINK

 

[danieljingang]

The very important spec' is the voltage. You can get any battery with the same voltage and it will work.

"Regular" batteries you can buy at walmart or where ever are 1.5 volts. They will not work (both disposable alkaline and regular style rechargeable). The fact that each battery is 3.2V means it will be a speciality battery that you can't buy off the shelf somewhere.

the mAh is a rating of how long the battery will last. This would be the important factor if you wanted them to run all night or something.

The metal type can be important depending on climate and the electronics of the unit. Some metals do not handle cold weather very well (Lithium ion), others do not handle overcharging very well (Lithium ion).

Here they are for $8.49 for 2
http://www.tmart.com/2pcs-32V-600mAh-AA-Iron-Phosphate-Lithiumion-Batteries-White_p126116.html

That's the price you would expect to pay about everywhere for this type of battery.

This product seems to have been sold out

 

[dandragonrage]

This product seems to have been sold out

Good, because you should stick to the quality battery names like Panasonic anyway, even at several times the cost. Poor quality lithium batteries DO blow up - I've seen images of it happening with some guy's e-cig. Not good.

 

[beautifulflower]

The very important spec' is the voltage. You can get any battery with the same voltage and it will work.(مواقع تسويق فعالة)

"Regular" batteries you can buy at walmart or where ever are 1.5 volts. They will not work (both disposable alkaline and regular style rechargeable). The fact that each battery is 3.2V means it will be a speciality battery that you can't buy off the shelf somewhere.

the mAh is a rating of how long the battery will last. This would be the important factor if you wanted them to run all night or something.

The metal type can be important depending on climate and the electronics of the unit. Some metals do not handle cold weather very well (Lithium ion), others do not handle overcharging very well (Lithium ion).

Here they are for $8.49 for 2
http://www.tmart.com/2pcs-32V-600mAh-AA-Iron-Phosphate-Lithiumion-Batteries-White_p126116.html

That's the price you would expect to pay about everywhere for this type of battery.

Can you suggest a nother type?I don't prefer the metal type