D Cell battery current

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Dutchman 19 years ago

I have a Duracell D battery that has a voltage of 1.5V. I am curious on how much current I can expect to draw from this batter. Wikipedia shows that for a standard D cell alkaline battery the capacity is

20500 (mAh). Does this mean that each battery should be able to provide 20 A h?

My system draws about 1A so it should run for 20 hours? Unfortunately the battery doesn't seem to be giving me back that much current and I was hoping if someone could explain what is going on. In fact when I first power up my system there is a surger of current drawn and the D cells don't seem to handle that well.

How can I figure how much current the D cell battery is rated to provided? I don't see anything on the packaging.

If I need more current with the same batteries what should I do? Line them up in parallel? Will this double the current?

Thanks for your thoughts.

-Henk

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Michael A. Terrell 19 years ago

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Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I\'ve got my DD214 to prove it. Member of DAV #85. Michael A. Terrell Central Florida

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Phil Allison 19 years ago

"Dutchman"

** Only if discharged over a long period - like 100 hours.

Plus you call 0.9 volts the end.

** See the maker's data:

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Be lucky to make 3 hours.

** See the maker's data:

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** Use a NiCd or NiMH rechargeable.

A D size one of of them will give you 1 amp for 5 hours or more.

.......... Phil

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Don Lancaster 19 years ago

Huh?

Total energy storage of NiCd or NiMH is much less than primary batteries. Although higher current, time to discharge is much shorter.

Lithium D's provide best energy density with high current.

Many thanks, Don Lancaster voice phone: (928)428-4073 Synergetics 3860 West First Street Box 809 Thatcher, AZ 85552 rss: http://www.tinaja.com/whtnu.xml email: don@tinaja.com Please visit my GURU\'s LAIR web site at http://www.tinaja.com

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Phil Allison 19 years ago

** Utter bollocks.

Go look up the data instead of citing fallacies.

Recent AA NiMH cells have more capacity than AA alkalines.

Sanyo NiMH D cells are rated up to 8.5 AH with a 10 amp discharge and 7 AH at 40 amp discharge.

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....... Phil

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BobG 19 years ago

The ma-hr rating is taken at a current that is 1/10th of the rating. You cold measure the short circuit current 'real quick' with a small resistance. You caould also time how long it takes to discharge thru a

1 ohm R for example.

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Dutchman 19 years ago

Thanks for the great info guys!!! :)

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Martin Riddle 19 years ago

Google the 'Peukerts effect' it applies to lead acid batteries, and in some cases can be applied to others. The limiting factor for discharge current is internal resistance.

Cheers

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joseph2k 19 years ago

How about you bother to check the datasheet that presented previously. The alkalines were comming in at over 20 Ah.

JosephKK Gegen dummheit kampfen die Gotter Selbst, vergebens. --Schiller

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Phil Allison 19 years ago

"joseph2k = Criminal Pile of Stinking S*IT "

** Try ACTUALLY reading the F****NG thing !!!!!!!!!!

YOU vile slimy pile of autistic, psychotic

KIDDIE ROOTING EXCREMENT.

....... Phil

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David L. Jones 19 years ago

The "capacity" is totally dependent upon the load current and the voltage at which your system determine the battery to be "dead" at. So the capacity of a cell is *not* the same at different load currents. Look at the data and graphs for an Alkaline D cell:

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For a *constant current* of 1A, an Energizer D cell will last just over 7 hours to 0.8V. If your device only works down to 1V per cell, then that drops to 3 hours life.

Dave.

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D Cell battery current

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