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Rechargeable Batteries - Yes or No?

TheFifthElephant asks: "I currently use quite a few devices that require various size batteries and I feel horrible just tossing them when they die. I saw a recharger at a retail store today and was thinking to myself how much waste it would reduce by using rechargeable ones. Which units have you used happily and/or which units have you heard of/read about satisfying someone else? Are the more expensive units better? What chemical rechargeable batteries last the longest/recharge the most?"

28 of 896 comments (clear)

  1. Save the environment.. by Gherald · · Score: 5, Funny

    Use Potatoe/Lemon batteries!

    1. Re:Save the environment.. by NETHED · · Score: 5, Funny

      Everyone, DAN QUAYLE is a slashdot reader!!

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      --sig fault--
    2. Re:Save the environment.. by Chambers81 · · Score: 2, Funny

      they actually had to obtain permission from some government agency (i'm not sure which). Amusingly enough, I don't think the secret service would have done anything to me. Seeing as dad was an agent and all. That would have been amusing. "Tony, we're arresting your son and his entire chem class for destruction of pennies."

  2. I use monster brand by Soothh · · Score: 5, Funny

    I use monster brand and it does me well, I hear there are better though. Monster costs quite a bit thought but so far works great for me, and seems to recharge pretty fast

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  3. I like the rotational kinetic battery by Directrix1 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I find the batteries that hold the greatest charge the longest are the magnetically levitated in a vacuum flywheel electric motor.

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    Occam's razor is the blind faith in the natural selection of least resistance and in universal oversimplification. -- EF
    1. Re:I like the rotational kinetic battery by DeepDarkSky · · Score: 3, Funny

      They have great energy density, but try finding one in AA battery size. In fact, try finding one in D size!

      The smallest I've seen of these are the size of large bucket - maybe about 2 gallon size.

      Can't exactly put that in a wireless mouse, now, can we? Not to mention the gyroscopic effects of the battery in portable applications.

    2. Re:I like the rotational kinetic battery by Directrix1 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Not to mention the catastrophic effects of the flywheel if it gets hit to hard and touches the edge :-P. Its a battery that doubles as a bomb!

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      Occam's razor is the blind faith in the natural selection of least resistance and in universal oversimplification. -- EF
    3. Re:I like the rotational kinetic battery by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Slashdot readers typically have very strong wrists (a curious side-effect of strenuous web-browsing)

      Uh, yeah. That's the ticket. Web browsing.

  4. Satisfying someone else... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Which units have you used happily and/or which units have you heard of/read about satisfying someone else?"

    My wife has this vibrating thing, something Rabbit, she's always saying it satisfies her...

  5. Dilithium Crystals by Foofoobar · · Score: 2, Funny

    I use dilithium crystals when I can which have a shelf life of 10 years at full warp. Engage!

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  6. where is the CowboyNeil option... by warpSpeed · · Score: 2, Funny
    Rechargeable Batteries - Yes or No?

    [ ] CowboyNeil charges my battery

  7. Satisfying batteries by rigmort · · Score: 4, Funny
    "...which units have you heard of/read about satisfying someone else?"

    My wife seems to be "satisfied" by energizers while I'm away...

  8. Let's sing a song... by Hogwash+McFly · · Score: 4, Funny

    You say Tomayto, I say Tomahto, you say Potatoe, we spell it correctly... ;)

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  9. Re:NiMH by dnoyeb · · Score: 3, Funny

    I use NiCd and NiMH. The NiCd are old ones that are still good and I wont toss em till they die.

    My son has lots of electronic toys, I fill all with rechargables. I put rechargables in anything that gets frequent use, and use standards in things that dont.

    frequent use:
    kids toys
    pager
    remote controls
    vibrator
    Rotating Tie-rack
    non-frequent use:
    smoke detector
    battery-backups
    Flashlight

    You find Li batteries in equipment that tends to be charged daily. From the daily charge I highly suspect they don't hold charge too well, but they probably have high life cycles. Probably why they don't go in pagers and other stuff that does not have a built in charger.

    Cordless telephones
    cellular telephones
    Cameras
    computers
    PDAs

  10. Re:Nickel Metal Hyride by WTFmonkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    They can't be that bad for the environment, I mean those little Cadmium Cream Eggs are SO GOOD around Easter-time.

  11. Re:not to nit pick... by JonathanBoyd · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well, if the imperdance is entirely real, then it's a resistance.

  12. Re:NiMH by poot_rootbeer · · Score: 5, Funny

    NiMH batteries are great but they have the downside of losing charge very quickly "on the shelf" so you can't keep a bunch of charged MiMH batteries ready to use.

    Is that the "Secret of NiMH"?

  13. Re:NiMH by SeanAhern · · Score: 4, Funny

    Is that the "Secret of NiMH"?

    I smell a rat...

  14. Re:NiMH by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Unfortunately, NiMH batteries come with a price. The super-intelligent rat bastards who developed the technology are currently being investigated for patent infringement and corporate espionage. It appears they weren't just stealing electricity from the farmer while they concocted their devious plans in the rosebush. If you wish to promote the use of corporate espionage and IP theft, then by all means use NiMH batteries. For you to poop on!

  15. Re:Screw the environment you posers by slyxter · · Score: 5, Funny

    I like how you feel the need to threats at random moderators that are completely anonymous to you 3 lines after you mention others having issues with their penis size.

  16. Re:NiMH by kzinti · · Score: 3, Funny

    When you get up into the exterme draws, like high performance electric motors for R/C airplance and cars, or even full size electric vehicles, the lower resistance of the NiCad makes up for the reduced energy density in run time.

    Yep, NiCd cells can REALLY dump current. Ever short-circuit a fully charged NiCd just for grins? I did this one time, with a cell that came out of an old gadget of some kind. The cells were the kind with wires soldered to either end; I stripped the wire ends, twisted them together, then stood back to watch the fun. In no time, the insulation on the wire was smoking, then bubbling and melting off. But soon something happened I hadn't counted on: the solder on the battery tabs melted and the wires fell off. At this point, I decided maybe it wasn't such a smart experiment after all and I gave it up.

  17. Re:Save the environment: Shoot a ... by itallushrt · · Score: 1, Funny

    Kill a hippie.

  18. Re:All About the Same by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Okay, comma splice master.

  19. Re:Comparison of various batteries. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I fear I can't read it, I might need to enter my phone number.

  20. batteries?!!! Pfah! by hyperphys · · Score: 2, Funny

    Wireless power.

    Hmmm....now, that's the good stuff!

  21. Re:Actually WalMart is excellent by HR · · Score: 2, Funny

    >>>Personally I prefer to shop at Target because it's not quite so "White Trash", <<<

    Ummm so you consider yourself a slightly better species of "White Trash"?

  22. Re:All About the Same by FFFish · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hey, commas are, like, the best invention, ever, except for, maybe, the semicolon; I like semicolons, too, because they're great for, say, joining disparate thoughts.

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  23. Re:Rechargeable alkaline by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Are you fucking insane, apart from the fact that this guys post is originally about saving the world by not throwing out batteries and you are suggesting he throws out batteries which are already leaking. I suggest that the next time you charge your batteries you stay in the room for the entire process and don't stop the charging when they leak.