topic Re: replace nimh batteries with lithium in Point & Shoot Digital Cameras

replace nimh batteries with lithium

wlexxx — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 19:53:14 GMT

i have an oldish powershot a560

i am tired of it claiming batteries are dead when they aren;t

i was thinking

it takes 2 AA batteries

i have been using eneloop rechargeables

what if i replace them both with one 14500 lithium cell?

will fill one cell holder with aluminum foil so it conducts

the voltage will be 3.7V instead of the max that 2 carbon-zinc cells could do, which is 3.30..

is the camera going to work, not work, complain, blow up, burn up, lose some functions, be damaged permanently?

wle

Re: replace nimh batteries with lithium

wlexxx — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 17:18:19 GMT

anyone?

Re: replace nimh batteries with lithium

Tiffany — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 17:44:16 GMT

Hi Wlexxx!

Welcome to the Canon Forums! The Forums aren't intended for immediate assistance. If your question is of an urgent nature, please feel free to CONTACT US either by phone during business hours or email 24 hours a day!

Re: replace nimh batteries with lithium

wlexxx — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 17:49:01 GMT

oh
well THAT was fast, anyway..

aren;t there ''civilian users'' on here?

wle

Re: replace nimh batteries with lithium

wlexxx — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 17:50:06 GMT

here is a related question:

is there ANYTHING you can do to make the old powershots run longer on a set of NiMH batteries?

as we all know, when the camera thinks they are dead, they are not really dead

wle

Re: replace nimh batteries with lithium

John_ — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 01:01:42 GMT

that 0.4 volt difference just might be enough to short out a back biased diode or even a forward biased diode would have a larger voltage drop across it than its rating. Also I assume those 14500 batteries have a higher MAH ( I didnt look that up) opposed to 2 AA's ? Think of it as a garden hose ( the circuits) rated at X amount of pressure (AA batt voltage). Now you increase the pressure on that hose (14500 batt voltage) that hose (the circuits) could fry. Maybe fry slowly it depends on the tolerances of the circuit lans and the components. The voltage can be compared to the pressure and the milliamps to volume of water.

My advice find an exact match voltage with a higher MAH rating or its a gamble.

If your trying to start at a higher voltage so it takes longer to reach the threshold voltage where that camera senses the batteries are dead you are likely to damage something.

Re: replace nimh batteries with lithium

smack53 — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 13:57:33 GMT

Don't use the lithium cell. One of my co workers fried an A590 doing just that. Just make sure your batteries have an MAH rating of 2500 or more for longer life. MAH is milli amp hour, and like a car battery gives you an idea of how long the battery will last compared to other batteries. Keep the display time to a minimum, and even turn off the photo review to save battery life. Zooming and a lot of autofocus will drain the batteries quickly, so keep those things in mind when using the camera. And when you do recharge the batteries, make sure the batteries are as drained as possible and charge them fully. Even if you have to use the batteries in another electronice device to make sure they're "dead", it is important to fully deplete rechargable batteries to prevent them from getting a "memory" and not fully recharging. And only recharge the batteries when you actually intend to use them to get the longest life out of them.

Steve M.

Re: replace nimh batteries with lithium

wlexxx — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 14:02:11 GMT

did he use 1 cell or 2? i mean what was the voltage supposed to be, and what did he try?

(i am sure if you put 2 in, the resulting 7.4V will kill it, i am asking about 3.7V)

thx
wle

Re: replace nimh batteries with lithium

smack53 — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 15:15:18 GMT

Used only one cell. I am fairly sure it was 3.7v. Since this took place over a year ago I don't remember all the particulars except that he wound up buying a new camera.

Steve M.

Re: replace nimh batteries with lithium

wlexxx — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 15:21:04 GMT

wow

thanks

i won;t try then

also there is another reason not to try

2 nimh cells have about 4000 mah of energy

1 lithium 14500 cell has about 700 mah

point being, it still might not last as long as 2 nimh anyway

especially if you just used one cell

wle

Re: replace nimh batteries with lithium

wlexxx — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 12:12:30 GMT

ok thanks

i won;t do it

another problem is, 1 lithium rechargeable would last about the same amount of time, they don;t have enough mAH [energy storage] anyway, compared to 2 AA n imh cells

wle