I bought and tested 1.5 volt AA and AAA lithium batteries and compared them with the largest and cheapest alkaline (alkaline) batteries.
Many do not even know about the existence of AA / AAA lithium batteries - they are rarely found in supermarkets, because they are much more expensive than other batteries.
The price of one lithium battery is from 120 to 225 rubles.
However, such batteries are produced, sold, and in certain cases their use is justified, despite the high cost:
- work at negative temperatures;
- use in equipment where every gram of weight is important (lithium batteries are almost twice as light as alkaline ones);
- powering devices that require battery replacement with a slight decrease in voltage;
- Application where maximum capacity is important.
I tested five models of lithium AA batteries (such batteries are designated FR6) and four models AAA (FR03) and compared them with the most capacious "Photon X" alkaline batteries to date (my article on them here) and cheap "FLARX" batteries, which are sold in Fix Price stores.
I use two test modes in order to determine the maximum capacity of the battery and the capacity under high load (devices with electric motors). In the first mode, the batteries are discharged with a current of 100 mA to a voltage of 0.7 V, in the second, the discharge occurs with a resistance equivalent of 3.9 ohms for AA and 5.1 ohms for AAA, in both cases to a voltage of 0.9 V. The 3.9/5.1 ohm discharge mode is often listed in the Datasheet, so I chose the same modes so that I can compare my results with the specifications given by the manufacturers.
I tested in September 2021 (the prices in the tables are also at that time) using the Yarostanmash ASK2.5.10.8 Chemical Current Source Analyzer (my article about the device and its creator here). The batteries were discharged with a current of 10 mA to 0.8 V. Two batteries were tested.
To check the stability of characteristics in each mode, I tested two identical batteries.
The graphs are plotted using the average capacities of both tested batteries in mWh. The purple bars show the capacitance when discharged with a current of 100 mA to 0.7 V, the crimson bars show the capacitance when discharged with a resistance of 3.9 / 5.1 Ohm to 0.9 V.
AA batteries.
AAA batteries.
All results of measurements of the parameters of both instances. In addition, the difference between specimens in percent and the difference between the results of a discharge with a small (100 mA) and a large (3.9/5.1 Ω) load were calculated.
The best in all tests were Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries (unfortunately Energizer left Russia and now the rest are sold).
Russian Lithium Energy batteries, which are actually produced in the city of Yelets (many cannot believe that they are produced in our country, and not repackaged by Chinese ones) are 12% behind the winner (AA) and 21% (AAA).
Interestingly, "Photon X" AAA alkaline batteries outperformed "Energy Lithium" lithium batteries in low current discharge mode, but lithium ones still won at high current.
The discharge curves of lithium and alkaline batteries differ significantly: the voltage of alkaline batteries drops during the discharge process smoothly, for lithium during the first 80% of the discharge, the voltage drop is much less, and then a sharp drop begins voltage.
As an example, I will give a graph of the discharge of AA batteries with a current of 100 mA: blue line - Energizer Ultimate Lithium, red - Energy Lithium, green - Photon X, blue - FLARX.
This has both advantages (the voltage is higher and some devices that require battery replacement even with a slight decrease in voltage work much longer), and cons: charge level indicators in devices designed for alkaline batteries do not work correctly with lithium batteries, displaying one hundred percent for a long time charge.
Lithium AA (FR6) and AAA (FR03) batteries have on average a third more energy than alkaline (alkaline), but in some cases, devices with them can work even ten times longer.
© 2022, Alexey Nadezhin
For ten years I have been writing every day about technology, discounts, interesting places and events. Read my blog site ammo1.ru, in Learn, Zen, Mirtesen, Telegram.
My projects:
lamptest.ru. I test LED lamps and help you figure out which ones are good and which are not so good.
Elerus.ru. I collect information about domestic electronic devices for personal use and share it.
You can contact me on Telegram @ammo1 and by mail [email protected].
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