![]() I reckon they have a cycle life of between 10 and 20 recharges at the very most but some die after just three or four cycles and yes I am using a Powergenix smart NiZn charger. I have a drawerful of dead and nearly dead Powergenix NiZn batteries. NiZn cells do have some specialized uses, I’m just not sure that Nerf blasters are one of them yet. However, do know this: if you’re chasing after performance gains, you’re better off starting down the road of actual blaster modification than you are trying to simply sub in different batteries. I’ll continue testing the usefulness of these batteries, so opinions may change. My opinion? Stick with the low self-discharge NiMH batteries if you want to save money and have blasters that will work even if you forget to charge them until a month later. In the end, I’d prefer reliability over any slight performance gains. Running higher voltages does run the risk of frying boards inside if they can’t properly step down the voltage and limit the power feeding into them. While I’m sure someone will try throwing these into a “C” adapter to use in a Regulator, etc, Nerf blasters are made for use with alkaline batteries. Not all electronics are made to handle higher voltage inputs.Especially in off brand blasters that tend to wire straight to the motors without any extra parts in between. Granted, the risks are minimal for such a small step in voltage, but it’s still a possibility. Even with a higher voltage, you might run into issues with battery trays heating up (due to their resistance), or a sensitive thermistor slowing things down due to the increased current demand through all those tiny wires. There’s simply a limit to the performance gains you can get out of a battery swap.Or at least one that can be programmed to meet its needs. ![]() ![]() There’s a reason you really don’t see hobby-sized NiZn packs – cell failure rates mean most people will just have a pack they want to throw away. ![]() Even with improvements, the batteries can still short internally and simply fail after fewer charging cycles than other batteries. NiZn cells of this size just don’t seem to last as long.NiZn batteries still have a fairly high self-discharge rate, meaning that they will lose charge just by sitting there unused. When we have high capacity, low self-discharge NiMH batteries that can sit in a bin for months and still power a blaster just fine, other options don’t seem as appealing.However, there are a few things to consider before deciding you should adopt them. The NiZn batteries I tested did what I expected, running the blaster motors faster. Using an Adventure Force Double Trouble (which runs hot for a blaster), the velocity jumped from 92fps to 100fps. The stock Stryfe I tested fired 62-65fps on both alkaline and NiMH batteries. If they can supply the increased current demand, then you can keep the motors from lagging between shots. That being said, if you’re simply feeding current to flywheel motors, they can potentially drive the motors at higher speeds. This means that, without the proper circuitry to step down the voltage, they do have the potential to fry cheap circuit boards. NiZn batteries operate at a higher voltage than alkaline batteries. Note that I tested these batteries in particular, from HobbyKing. Generally, NiZn cells work well with robust electronics that don’t like the lower voltages provided by NiMH. Among other things, the Zinc electrode has a nasty habit of forming dendrites within the cell that can eat away at capacity and eventually render the battery useless. Early batteries used in vehicles didn’t have long lives in terms of the number of charging cycles, while later (better) attempts met other kinds of resistance – the rise of reliable NiMH and Lithium Ion batteries. However, the tech has seemingly fallen in and out of favor over the years. It’s an old technology, with Thomas Edison himself holding a 1901 patent on a rechargeable NiZn battery system. However, it follows a similar profile as NiMH, holding a steady voltage while under use until it reaches the low end of its capacity. Charging is different (and requires a separate charger). ![]() Nickel-Zinc (NiZn) batteries are similar to nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, but work at a higher voltage NiMH has a nominal 1.2V, while NiZn has a nominal voltage of 1.65V. ![]()
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