has anyone used a Z240 type 3 with regular rechargables?

Here is a list of discharge curves for a variety of batteries including many AA's.

Interesting link Craig. Thanks.

I found this link below by looking at the old postings.

http://www.inon.co.jp/cgis/news/img/Manual/CompatibleBattery_OperationalLimitationOnFlashing_FocusLight_for_Z-240_Type3_1_2_1_En.pdf

They list other batteries that are compatible for use with the Z240. Costco had the Eneloop package with a charger, 8 AA and 4 AAA's and those plastic doohickeys for C/D conversion but for almost $30. I already have a charger. Thomas Distributing has both the Eneloops and the Maha Imedions, which were also listed as acceptable. I wound up getting the Eneloops since they are almost priced the same. Glad I read wetpixel and found this topic posting before I took a chance and fried my new strobes. My thanks to all.

Costco had the Eneloop package with a charger, 8 AA and 4 AAA's and those plastic doohickeys for C/D conversion but for almost $30. I already have a charger. Thomas Distributing has both the Eneloops and the Maha Imedions, which were also listed as acceptable. I wound up getting the Eneloops since they are almost priced the same.

The Costco package used to sell for about $25. After I got back from Indonesia in October, the price had gone up to about $28.

Keep your eyes open for the coupons Costco sends out. I recently was able to purchase one of the Costco Eneloop packages for around $20 using the coupon. I don't know if they will send out coupons again for the Eneloops, but if they do, you can pick up another set of Eneloops quite cheaply. Unfortunately, you can only use the coupon to buy one set. I tried to purchase more than one but was told the coupon was good for only one

Still, it was quite a bargain.

Ellen

You will note that the Eneloops are only one of two AA batteries that have a respectable discharge curve with a 10A load. The Elite 1700 is the highest current AA battery I've seen and I've purchased sets of those for use with my Inons. For my focus light I'm using conventional 2700's to get the burn time. Charger is the same for both.

Craig, do we really need low impedance/high load batteries for the Inon? Doesn't the capacitor circuitry limits the power draw to a certain load? (I have no idea what that number is though) How much recycle speed gain is there in real terms?

I don't know what is really necessary and I don't know what the maximum current draw is though it could be measured without a lot of pain. I doubt the recycle times would improve greatly with very high current batteries over ones Inon recommends but who knows. Yes, the charging circuit will limit maximum draw but what that draw is may vary with battery voltage.

One thing that's interesting is how many recycles and how fast are the recycles with various batteries. Inon recommends Eneloop and some similar versions but those batteries are typically rated at 2000-2100 and have a 1900 mA minimum capacity. The Elite 1700s are a little less but their design might make their performance as good or better than Eneloops. I will have both and plan to pay attention on the next trip.

I don't know what Inon's power supply rating is but I do know the rated cycle count and recycle time with 2700s (320 charges, 1.6 seconds). At 100% efficiency and no power lost in the batteries that's 146 Ws (but it's not that good). If you assume 70 Ws of actual power then that's over 10A of current draw at 1.1V to charge in 1.6 seconds. Up that to 100 Ws and you are getting closer to 15A. Then there's the modeling light that draws an amp. At a 10A draw the Eneloops derate to 1550 at 0.9V while the Elite 1700s are 1650. Sanyo 2700s are about 1600 but have worse voltage sag. I expect faster recycles AND more fires per charge.

So I guess it's really the case that Inons need high current cells. I suppose many of us get away with it because we don't use the modeling light and we shoot at reduced power especially with cropped sensors and ISO 200 base for some of us. Inon didn't specifically require it until the newest generation so it must be borderline.

I'm looking to go with rechargables for several toys (marine radio, gps and, of course my YS60) and have decided that the eneloops are probably the way to go. So far I've justbeen using the Duracell ProCell non rechargables that we get through my work.

I've been looking all over for the eneloops down here in Chile and can't find them anywhere. According to wiki, there are several brands that are just eneloops rebadged as something else. The only ones I've been able to find are the sony's and am going to pick some up tomorrow when I visit the city.

Here's a link to the full wiki article: LINK

and here's the list:

Low self-discharge NiMH batteries are marketed with over twenty different brand names, but only actually manufactured by five companies: Sanyo, Gold Peak, Yuasa, Vapex and Uniross.[2][6]

 

Sorted by brand name and product name:

AccuPower AccuLoop

AgfaPhoto direct energy

Alcava All in One

Ansmann maxE

Conrad Electronic Endurance

Duracell ActiveCharge

Duracell Pre-charged

Gold Peak ReCyko

GS Yuasa eNiTIME

Hähnel Synergy

Kodak Pre Charged

Maha Powerex Imedion

Memorex MemoReady

Nexcell EnergyON

Panasonic INFINIUM[7]

Panasonic R2

Powertech Enekeep

Radio Shack Precharged

Rayovac Hybrid

Sanyo Eneloop[8][9][10]

SBS BiReady

SKB ready2use

Sony CycleEnergy[11] (manufactured by Sanyo[12])

Sunmol AnyEnow

SWISSBATTERIES accubattery

Titanium Enduro

Uniross Hybrio[13]

VARTA Consumer Batteries Ready2Use

Vapextech Instant

everyone, thanks for all the replies. it looks like the maha 2700's might be ok, but the sanyo eneloops are great batteries, and the cost is small enough that you might as well get them.

I have been using duracle 2650 recharchables for the last 2 years, they've been working great. I just bought 16 maha 2700's, now it looks like I'll be buying some sanyo eneloops.

since we have a lot of battery/rechargeable experts on this thread, I thought i'd ask -

I've been using a duracell 15-minute fast charger (with a fan for cooling) with my duracell 2650 rechargables, it works great. does anyone know if it will cause any problems if I use it to charge the sanyo eneloops or maha 2700's? I can't imagine there is anything special about the duracell rechargables that allows them to be used in the "fast" 15-minute recharger, but I'm not sure.

thanks,

scott

Another Question Re the Enloop Batts

can i charge them in a regular NIMH Smart charger or do i have to buy a Sanyo charger ,

i currently have a 10 station AA batt charger and it would be cool to be able to charge the new enloop batteries in it without having to transport another charger around .

Regards

Matt

Another Question Re the Enloop Batts

 

can i charge them in a regular NIMH Smart charger or do i have to buy a Sanyo charger ,

i currently have a 10 station AA batt charger and it would be cool to be able to charge the new enloop batteries in it without having to transport another charger around .

 

Regards

Matt

If it charges NIMH batteries it will be fine for eneloops.

BIll

If it charges NIMH batteries it will be fine for eneloops.

BIll

thanks bill