Important factors to consider are:
- The overall running time you need between battery charges
- The space you have available for everything to fit, and
- Sometimes the most difficult things — your budget constraints and timeframe to get everything up and running
NiMH vs. LiIon
For batteries, the safest type is NiMH. They don’t have the instability and hazards of fire and explosion that LiIon batteries have, (although a couple of shows have chosen to use LiIon and no horrible accidents have been reported).
There are two types of NiMH
- The original off-patent formula, and
- A patented formula that is controlled by an offshoot of Sanyo.
This Sanyo NiMH formula has been licensed to various other brands, so the key to recognizing it is that they have a long shelf-life for charge. This means you can buy them with a pre-existing charge which will last several months. They will also withstand many more charge cycles and maintain near original capacity for a much longer time than the off-brand versions mentioned above.
Purchasing and Extra Information
When ordering Sanyo branded products, it is recommended to ask for custom packs using Sanyo Eneloop cells. They are readily available using AA and AAA size cells for a wide range of voltages. One cell is 1.2V, so 10 cells in a pack gives you a 12V battery.
This link is to an article written about batteries and current draw. Although not exhaustive, it is a good place to start
A trusted retailer is www.batteryspace.com