XTAR 1.5V 4150mWh AA Lithium Battery 4-Pack with LC4 Charger $38.30 + Delivery ($0 Prime/ $59 Spend) @ XTAR direct via Amazon AU

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XTAR 1.5V 4150mWh AA Lithium Battery 4-Pack with LC4 Charger $38.30 + Delivery ($0 Prime/ $59 Spend) @ XTAR direct via Amazon AUAffiliate
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FrugalFreddy on 29/07/2024 - 07:52 amazon.com.au (790 clicks)
Last edited 29/07/2024 - 10:30 by 1 other user
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Fast charging lightweight cells. I haven't used any 1.5V Li AA batteries before, they might require a special charger but I'm not sure (in the current deal the charger is only $7 more than the 4 cells on their own). I also watched a video where they can cause radio interference with RC gear but that doesn't worry me. My use case is for devices that don't run well / or at all with the 1.2V put out by NiMH batteries and where I don't want to risk leaking alkaline batteries ruining expensive gear.

ATL according to the camels. Even if they are turn out to be superior, it'd be hard to justify replacing all my eneloops - as with many OzBargainer's, I am heavily committed in that regard.

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Comments

  • 0 0 0 on 29/07/2024 - 08:01
    +8

    Oh that's sneaky marketing using uncommon units

    Capacity: 4150mWh(approx. 2500mAh)

    • DmytroP on 29/07/2024 - 08:12
      +12

      Wh is a much better unit, as the energy battery can store, not just a sneaky marketing. Otherwise, would you prefer to know the mAh of the original cell used in this battery, or after step down converter to 1.5V?

      The same with laptop batteries, if multiple cells are connected in parallel or sequentially, Wh would stay the same (related to how long the laptop would work) but Ah would be different. The same with car, the 800V battery may have half Ah compared to 400V battery, at a comparable range due to the same energy stored.

      • cmoddoo on 29/07/2024 - 10:19

        Agree, big batteries are measured in Wh. Only little batteries are measured in mAh which gets confusing when different voltages comes in play.

        If you want to trick a customer, it would be easier to trick them with the mAh figure than Wh where there's nowhere to hide.

      • thisisscotts on 29/07/2024 - 10:19

        Yeah I'm surprised we don't use Joules.

        • MojoMiwo on 29/07/2024 - 10:57

          14,976 Joules
          ( joules = watt-hours × 3,600 )

      • semaj on 29/07/2024 - 10:20

        Ideally where Ah is listed next to an advertised voltage it should be the Ah at the advertised Voltage.

    • eug on 29/07/2024 - 08:13
      +7

      4,150mWh at 1.5V is 2,766mAh.

      For comparison, an Eneloop is 2,280mWh (1.2V, 1,900mAh). An Eneloop Pro is 2,940mWh (1.2V, 2,450mAh).

      It's uncommon but actually more useful as it takes into account voltage. Laptop batteries also use Wh when stating capacity.

      • Sleepycat3 on 29/07/2024 - 09:46
        +1

        The advantage of these 1.5V Li-Ion batteries are that the voltage is maintained for a lot longer above the minimum required for the device compared to Eneloop Pro's 1.2V. So you can get better usable capacity than an NiMH.

    • FrugalFreddy on 29/07/2024 - 08:14

      Thanks, I didn't pick up on that, not super high capacity at all. I removed that from the description.

      • eug on 29/07/2024 - 09:09

        Well they are quite a bit higher capacity than an Eneloop at low to moderate discharge currents.

    • Sleepycat3 on 29/07/2024 - 09:47
      +1

      I have these batteries, and in their defence, 4150 mWh and 2500 mAh are both printed in the same font size, side by side on the battery. So you can see both numbers at a quick glance. If you read it left to right on the battery, it shows 2500 mAh first, and then 4150 mWh.

    • Sleepycat3 on 29/07/2024 - 09:54
      +1

      The mAh reporting came about with NiCD and NiMH, because they had a voltage that was lower (1.2V) compared to alkaline cells (1.5V). Hence they used mAh to confuse consumers that they had the same capacity when compared to alkalines of the day.

      Alkaline AA cells had about 2200 mAh when discharged at 100 mA. So it would have been beneficial to figure out a way to report a similar energy capacity for NiCD and NiMH. For the same 2200 mAh "capacity", an alkaline battery would have 3300 mWh, whereas a NiMH would have 2640 mWh. Using mWh would have been disastrous for NiCD/NiMH, we would have stayed with alkaline batteries and it might even be possible that rechargeable alkaline technology would have been developed further.

    • bamzero on 29/07/2024 - 10:42

      Still kinda sneaky because while the lithium cells inside might be 4150mWh thats not what's usable after conversion losses.

      That's my review on the smaller 2700mWh ones. I ended up getting the 4150mWh too and running the same tests (only at 500mA this time) but never ended up adding a review.

      They averaged around 3300mWh and 2300mAh, although ran for around 1 hour at 1.1V and 500mA before shutting off vs the 8 mins of the 2700mWh version.

      Also to answer OP's query about chargers, yes they require a special charger. The LC4 one included will only charge these 1.5V Li-Ions, the L4 will also do NiMH.
      Same with the LC8 and L8 (to add further confusion there is also a BC8 which seems to be the same as the L8) The LC models only have a single LED indicator whereas the others have individual slot LEDs however for the Li-Ions doesn't matter as they have their own LED on the battery itself to indicate when charging is finished.

      • eug on 29/07/2024 - 10:52

        Still kinda sneaky because while the lithium cells inside might be 4150mWh thats not what's usable after conversion losses.

        I think the difficulty with stating a capacity is that the efficiency of the buck converter depends on the current drawn (as you know).

        Cell capacity is unfortunately not the most straightforward thing so I'm not sure if giving the best post-conversion-loss figure would be much better.

        I personally prefer knowing the cell capacity so I can guess the runtime myself based on typical converter efficiencies for the current I'd be drawing.

        Also to answer OP's query about chargers, yes they require a special charger.

        Interestingly the special part about the charger is that the charging circuitry is built into the cell, so the charger only has to send it plain ol' 5V.

  • mapax on 29/07/2024 - 08:17
    +1

    What’s the difference between the OP and this xtar pack for $34.30? https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0C1FSXQKG/

    • Remorhaz on 29/07/2024 - 08:23
      +2

      2700mWh vs 4150mWh cells

      • mapax on 29/07/2024 - 08:26

        Thanks. Without my glasses I thought the chart said 2700mAh cells.

  • BargainHunterJohnnyB on 29/07/2024 - 08:20

    How can a lii-ion battery be 1.5 volts when each cell is usally 3.7-4.2 volts?

    • 0x0001 on 29/07/2024 - 08:27

      I would guess a built-in Stepdown converter.

      • BargainHunterJohnnyB on 29/07/2024 - 08:35
        +1

        I wouldn't rely on these for high current applications

        • Lief on 29/07/2024 - 09:06
          +1

          You're right it says on the page the max discharge is 2A.
          Eneloops can output more than that, im not sure how much but i've seen reviews test them at 3A.
          Looking at the math (max output of these is 1.5v x 2A = 3W and an eneloop pro is 3.06Wh), if you have anything that drains your eneloops faster than about 1hr/cell, these wont be suitable.
          So if your device takes 4 cells and only lasts an hour or something, stick with eneloops.

  • Helios504 on 29/07/2024 - 08:33
    +6

    Main benefits of these are constant 1.5V output for the majority of the capacity. Great for devices that are voltage sensitive and need the extra 0.3V over what a 1.2V NiMH can give you. Also, I think some devices wont report battery charge remaining due to the constant 1.5V.

    There is an additional downside though, devices that are sensitive to RF noise should avoid using these. The step-down converters can generate RF noise which interferes with sensitive equipment.

    Surprised these are in stock, I looked a while ago and they seemed hard to find.

    • eug on 29/07/2024 - 08:49
      +3

      These also have a clever feature that drops the output voltage to 1.1V when it's running low to allow devices with low battery indicators sense the low battery. Looks like a good idea.

  • bdl on 29/07/2024 - 08:40
    +2

    These work well with blood pressure monitors that don’t work with 1.2v rechargeables

    • spock on 29/07/2024 - 08:52

      No they won't last your better off using energizer batteries from my experience.

    • John Doh on 29/07/2024 - 10:30
      +1

      Which monitor? My omron runs just fine on 1.2V eneloops or 1.5V alkaline.

  • klaw81 on 29/07/2024 - 08:53

    I have a smart door lock that hates 1.2V rechargeable cells because thinks they're nearly flat and gives low battery warnings all the time.

    I hate buying alkalines and just throwing them out every few months - reckon these would be a good substitute?

    Alternatively, does anyone know of Lithium packs that are designed specifically to be a drop-in replacement for a 3x or 4x AA?

    • eug on 29/07/2024 - 09:07
      +3

      I have a smart door lock that hates 1.2V rechargeable cells because thinks they're nearly flat and gives low battery warnings all the time.

      That actually sounds like a good use case as these stay at 1.5V until there's about 20% remaining according to this 500mA discharge graph from this review, when it drops to 1.1V so your device will report a low battery.

      The only question is what the self-discharge rate is and whether it'll be low enough to not be an inconvenience.

    • cplagz on 29/07/2024 - 09:08

      Yes they are a good option, my digital torque wrench went work with eneloops due to low voltage and I got these and they work fine

    • damion on 29/07/2024 - 10:36

      The amazon listing literally has a smart door lock as promo image!
      Is it actually the same as your lock by any chance?

      • klaw81 on 29/07/2024 - 11:11

        No, but that's cool

  • altomic on 29/07/2024 - 09:10
    +2

    the charger is reasonable. I use one currently

  • Sleepycat3 on 29/07/2024 - 09:42

    These work great for VR headset hand controllers, which also don't work well with 1.2V. Another use case is for AA clock batteries.

  • GordonD on 29/07/2024 - 09:45

    I got a bunch of another brand of these 1.5V lithium rechargeables for all my wireless mice and keyboards.

    I got the ones that don't need a recharger. They have a micro-USB socket on them and come with a cable that is USB-A at one end and 4 micro-USBs plugs on the other, so you can recharge them 4 at a time off any USB-A charger or socket.

    I was a bit disappointed when the most-used mouse stopped working suddenly after only a month, and the batteries in it needed recharging. Sure, they just needed recharging, they weren't dead, but I would have expected more capacity in these lithium rechargeables. So I swapped that pair with a pair in another mouse, and the replacements went for months before needing recharging, which is still rather less than single use batteries.

    So its great not to have to throw batteries away after a single use. Just recharge them. But they don't seem to have the capacity claimed. And they aren't suitable for high discharge uses.

    • eug on 29/07/2024 - 09:57
      +2

      I got the ones that don't need a recharger.

      Those have lower capacity than cells that do need an external charger as the socket takes up space that would otherwise fit a higher capacity cell internally.

      But they don't seem to have the capacity claimed.

      Looking at reviews that measure the capacity, this one does have the capacity claimed, taking into account buck converter efficiencies.

      However with very low-drain devices like your mouse, the cell's own self-discharge becomes the limiting factor. The buck circuit has to be active all the time so devices with soft power switches or deep sleep modes will work.

      And they aren't suitable for high discharge uses.

      Yup, they're probably best suited to low to medium drain devices.

      BTW if your device uses two AAs you could use a 14500 cell plus a dummy cell. That would eliminate any buck converters and you'll get the full benefit of lithium ion chemistry.

      • Sleepycat3 on 29/07/2024 - 10:11
        +1

        14500 lithiums are 3.6V though, that might too high above the 3.0 - 3.2V that those devices would be designed for.

        • eug on 29/07/2024 - 10:41
          +1

          LFP 14500 cells are 3.2V. I probably should have linked that in my previous comment!

    • Sleepycat3 on 29/07/2024 - 10:09

      I use AA NiMH with my mouse (Logitech Performance MX) and it is such a high drain device that I have to swap batteries every week. It's the nature of the mouse, as I also have a Logitech Triathlon Mouse M720 and that will last over a year on the same AA NiMH battery!

  • Sidor on 29/07/2024 - 10:00

    These are not that cheap, aren't they?

    • Sleepycat3 on 29/07/2024 - 10:12

      They are cheap for what they are. Many devices need 1.5V per cell and won't work with 1.2V. This is where these batteries come in.

  • repeat on 29/07/2024 - 10:10

    Can these be used with a camera flash/Speedlite?
    I am using 2 Godox TT685II which each use 4x AA, and have been using eneloop pro recently.

    • Sleepycat3 on 29/07/2024 - 10:16
      +1

      The Godox TT685II is designed for NiMH batteries as it is a very high drain device. So you are essentially on the best batteries for it. The only way you can go better is if your Eneloop Pros are made not in Japan. You can still find the original Eneloop Pros made by Fujitsu's factory in Japan. Most recently, they are the ones sold by Ikea as the white 2450 mAh rechargeables.

      • repeat on 29/07/2024 - 10:18

        Thanks, great idea.

  • techno2000 on 29/07/2024 - 10:20

    Based on the reviews on the internet for this,seems like wishful thinking. Something as reliable as eneloop but with 1.5V ? Nope.

    Seems unreliable and expensive and doesnt do what it says on the tin.

  • John Doh on 29/07/2024 - 10:32

    Will the world ever change over to using Lithium batteries, or will they forever be stuck with 1.5V AA. Most devices need 3V anyway.

    EDIT: Never mind, li-on batteries are less safe anyway.

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