Rechargeable battery advice for Wiimote please

eclectic-me-do

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I'm currently using rechargeable batteries in my Wiimote but I use the Wii an awful lot and they're running out sooner than I'd like, necessitating frequent swapping and recharging.

However, I was browsing neoGAF last night on my Wii :cool: and saw a couple of posts recommending 2500 mAh Ni-MH rechargeables as they will last a goodly time.

I'm currently using one pair of 1300 mAh Ni-MH batteries and 2 pairs of 800 mAh Ni-Cd batteries with the Uniross wall charger I bought with the Ni-Cd batteries [iirc].

So I'd like some advice on the following please:

i/ would 2500 mAh be a better bet for my purposes?
ii/ if not, what would be please?
iii/ if yes, would my current wall charger be appropriate or would I have to buy a different charger?
iv/ anything else I should consider?

I have considered the third party "charge and dock" peripherals on the market but think they're relatively overpriced for what they are. I don't mind the swapping and charging so much - I'd just like to do it less frequently.

Apologies if this is in the wrong part of the Forum - I couldn't see anywhere more appropriate.

Thanks in advance.
 
If your current charger takes Ni-MH batteries you should be fine using the 2500mAh batteries. They are the same but hold more charge (eg 2500 hours at 1 milliamp or proportional to actual power used). The only down side is they generally take longer to recharge becaue you're having to put more in.

Incidently, I came to the conclusion I'd be as well buying a big multi-pack of disposable AA's for the Wii rather than another set of rechargeables, but they're nearly all gone now and I wish I'd just got the rechargeables.

I always tend to buy recharageables with the highest mAh I can so each charge lasts as long as possible.

RDB
 
I find rechargeable batteries dont last long in the Wii, and they never show as a full charge either.
 
I use rechargable batteries, have 8 so that I can charge & play at the same time. one thing i've noticed is that they last longer if you unplug the nunchuck.
 
Some games seem to drain battery life more than others too, one that comes to mind is scarface
 
2500 mAh rechargables work really well with the wii-mote. They'll last a long time between charges too. I've got two wii-motes and three sets of rechargables. I wouldn't bother buying anything under 2000 mAh, but anything over that is fine.
 
i use 1800 nimh rechargeable AAA batteries, AAA u say, i have 4gamers remote charging stand by 10quid game accessorie about, well worth it, one remote batteries die, i use the other which is fully charged. easy
 
Thank you all for your replies - that's really helpful, I appreciate it :).

The aspect that concerned me the most was whether 2500 mAh would be okay in my existing charger. It's the best part of three decades since I learnt about electricity and I never did understand it terribly well! :blush: Thus I was not sure if the batteries and charger had to have a matching voltage [or whatever]. However, I presume from RDB's post that it would be fine; it would just take longer to get to a full charge.

So if this is the case then I'm all set and can proceed. Yes?
 
Yes, as long as your charger takes NiMH batteries (not all do). I assume from your post it does, so go ahead and dont worry about the extra mAh as it just means the batteries have more capacity and will last longer.

RDB :)
 
I find rechargeable batteries dont last long in the Wii, and they never show as a full charge either.

I think showing less charge doesn't apply to the newer type NiMH batteries which charge up to full capacity even when used many times. I could be wrong but this is my understanding of re-chargeables and I always buy NiMH ones now as opposed to the the old type (can't remember what they're called)

RDB
 
Yes, as long as your charger takes NiMH batteries (not all do). I assume from your post it does, so go ahead and dont worry about the extra mAh as it just means the batteries have more capacity and will last longer.

RDB :)

Yes, my charger takes niMH thanks :) so time for some Googling for a cheap set of 2500 NiMH batteries then! :D

Thanks mate :).
 
I use Energizer 2500 mAh rechargeables for my 360 controller and they do last for ages, highly recommend them!
 
i think rechargeable batteries are the answer since though they dont last as long you can just charge them and i suppose in the long run they will last longer and it saves buying buying new batteries every time they run out.
 
Another thing that may be worth inversting in is a faster charger. I got hold of an energizer 15 minute charger for about ÂŁ15 IIRC and it was well worth it, plus you don't have to worry about it overcharging the batteries. The place I got it from doesn't do them anymore but you should be able to find one somewhere online.

I have noticed that rechargable batteries don't last quite as long as some good brand regular batteries. I think this might have something to do with rechargeables only putting out about 1.3 Volts, rather than 1.5. But they are so much easier than having to make sure you have a set of batteries to hand.
 
I use Energizer 2500 mAh rechargeables for my 360 controller and they do last for ages, highly recommend them!

Well that's good to hear, thanks :).

Another thing that may be worth inversting in is a faster charger. I got hold of an energizer 15 minute charger for about ÂŁ15 IIRC and it was well worth it, plus you don't have to worry about it overcharging the batteries. The place I got it from doesn't do them anymore but you should be able to find one somewhere online.

Thanks for the suggestion of the faster charger but I only need one set charged at a time as I'm a one Wiimote only household :(. So I can charge one pair whilst using a new, charged pair :). Also, my charger has a cut-out feature to stop the batteries over-charging so I can leave them to it :).

I have noticed that rechargable batteries don't last quite as long as some good brand regular batteries. I think this might have something to do with rechargeables only putting out about 1.3 Volts, rather than 1.5. But they are so much easier than having to make sure you have a set of batteries to hand.

I've noticed that too and although I'm using the Wii so much at the moment that I'm having to swap the batteries every other day or so, at least I've saved myself a fair few pennies :).
 
There are quite a few myths around about rechargeable batteries so here's some clarifications:

1) Higher the mAh, the better. For AA batteries 2700 is the best around, some brands claim to go a bit higher
2) rechargeable batteries do last as long as the best disposable batteries when it comes to 'high drain' applications like a wii remote. only 'lithium' disposables last longer but they are very expensive
3) rechargeable batteries never show as fully charged in the wii remote. This is true with most brands, because rechargeable batteries have a lower voltage than disposables when fully charged (1.3 vs 1.6, the labels on the batteries show 'average' voltage). In general, battery meters do not work well with rechargeables.
4) To get the most from rechargeables, you need a 'smart' charger. These will fully charge batteries. Normal chargers will just charge for a fixed period of time, which may result in overcharging or undercharging. For example, charging 2700mAh batteries in a normal charger designed for 1300mAh batteries will result in only half charging them.
5) Unlike disposables, there's no difference between brands when it comes to rechargeables. the mAh rating tells you exactly how good the battery is.

More info from sites like www.batteryuniversity.com
 
There are quite a few myths around about rechargeable batteries so here's some clarifications...]

That's really helpful information, thanks :).

However...

4) To get the most from rechargeables, you need a 'smart' charger. These will fully charge batteries. Normal chargers will just charge for a fixed period of time, which may result in overcharging or undercharging. For example, charging 2700mAh batteries in a normal charger designed for 1300mAh batteries will result in only half charging them.

My charger is a Uniross RC101159 wall charger that came with a set of 800 mAh batteries and has a timer cut-out. Can I use this okay with the set of 2500 mah niMH batteries I've just ordered or do I need to buy a "smart" charger, do you think? I only need these batteries for the Wiimote really and so the cheaper solution the better, frankly.

Any further advice you can offer would be most appreciated.
 
I bought a smart charger with 4x 2700mAh batteries from eBay for £13 delivered recently, so i should think a smart charger on its own shouldnt cost much. The charger fully charges the batteries in about 6 hours.

If you've got a charger which is designed to charge 800mAh batteries for a fixed amount of time (and you're sure about that!), then you could just use your 2500mAh batteries with it, but charge them 3 times when they go flat instead of just once - since 3 x 800 = 2400. Not very practical though.
 
I bought a smart charger with 4x 2700mAh batteries from eBay for ÂŁ13 delivered recently, so i should think a smart charger on its own shouldnt cost much. The charger fully charges the batteries in about 6 hours.

If you've got a charger which is designed to charge 800mAh batteries for a fixed amount of time (and you're sure about that!), then you could just use your 2500mAh batteries with it, but charge them 3 times when they go flat instead of just once - since 3 x 800 = 2400. Not very practical though.

The instructions specifically mention the timer mechanism and that it "trips automatically when the charger is plugged into the power point" so it seems to be the case. I'll have a proper read of the website you mentioned [when my internets are behaving - they've been a right pain today :mad:] and do some window shopping online for a cheapish smart charger.

Thanks again :).
 
no worries. I noticed in your first post you said you're using 1300 mAh batteries with the charger that came with your 800mAh batteries. Note you'll need to give those batteries 1.5 charges to get the extra benefit from them.

I bet there's millions of people out there who have bought higher capacity batteries but aren't getting any extra benefit because they're using a charger designed for lower capacity batteries! No wonder people think rechargeables dont last very long.
 

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