1000mah
is the same as 1.0 'Amp Hour', so a cell/pack that is rated
at 3300mAh can also be referred to as 3.3Ah.
'Amp hour'
ratings are used to describe how much power can be extracted
from a battery system over a given timeframe.
So, for example,
a 3 Ah battery pack will provide 1 amp continuously for 3 hours,
or 3 amps continuously for 1 hour, and so on.
When selecting
a battery pack, find out what kind of current (Amps) your application
will be drawing, and select an appropriate battery pack.
Note that
if you need additional runtime, you can always add an identical
pack in parallel (positive to positive, negative to
negative) to double your Amp Hour rating, yet keep the same
voltage. Add as many packs in parallel as you need to get the
Ah desired. Example: two 3000mAh 12V battery packs in parallel
will produce 6000mAh @12V.
Hooking up
multiple battery packs in series (one cell/pack's positive
to another's negative, then use the remaining positive and
negative for your load), multiplies the voltage, but the overall
Ah stays the same. Example:
two 3000mAh 12V battery packs in series will produce 3000mAh
@24V.