Solar Light Batteries

auntyS

Hi. First post ,not very techie. I want to replace batteries in solar garden lights. The ones in now are Ni-Cd AA600mAh 1.2v , can I replace with Ni-Mh and can I use 2100mAh - what difference would it make? Any help please? Thanks

esuhl

Firstly, I'm not 100% sure whether it would be safe to use the new battery, but...

Ni-Cd cells are nickel cadmium, and Ni-Mh are nickel metal hydride. NiCd cells are older, cheaper technology, and work much better if you fully charge, then fully dis-charge them before fully charging them again. NiMh cells aren't affected so much if you don't charge and dis-charge them fully each time.

The mAh (milli-Amp hours) value is a measure of how much potential energy the cells can hold (so if you put two otherwise identical batteries into two identical devices, the one with the lower mAh value would go flat soonest).

I think that so long as the voltage and current ratings are the same, they should (at a guess...) be okay. Are you able to check with the manufacturer?

Avoriaz

Any standard AA size rechargeable should work fine.

For garden solar lights I would get the cheapest available.

Performance is not really critical.

evilgoose

I've swapped the batteries in my solar lamps, I couldnt get the exact match (the voltage is the key really, so replace with like for like voltage). In theory the higher mah should mean they stay lighted for longer, but will take longer to charge).

Maplin sell cheapish ones.

BexTech

Is the charging circuit designed to charge Ni-Mh and not just Ni-Cd?

auntyS

Thanks for your help, and the explanation from esuhl . I understand the difference better now.

nomoneytoday

I replaced mine with 2100mah NiMH from Aldi. They are £3 for a set of 4
You don't need 2700mah top flight ones for garden lights