Batteries for UW lights

[Hintermann]

I know that this is not strictly an UW photography question but I hope that others would not mind.

I am planning to buy a Beuchat Phare 5 LED dive light. This uses 6 AA batteries and NiMH rechargeables are accepted. The torch has power of 1070 lumens and in order to get the best effect out of it, what power AA NiMh batteries should I use? I have several 2900 mAh AA batteries but will this be too much for a torch? I'd like maximum brightness without hurting the torch mechanism.

[bvanant]

Read my article on batteries and chargers. You are confusing power with capacity. 2900 mAh means that the battery could run at 1 mA for 2900 hours but it has the exact same voltage as any other AA rechargeable battery. The current flow through the lamp is determined by the guys who build it and using 2900 mAh batteries will give you the exact same output as using 2000 mAh batteries (if they are charged to the same voltage) but the 2900 mAh batteries might last a bit longer. In any case, I would recommend that you use Eneloop style (low internal discharge) batteries.
Bill