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?"

Comments

What about rechargable akaline?

[gotr00t]

Remember that Rayovac sells rechargable akaline batteries as well, and like Ni-MH, are not AS bad for the environment as Ni-CAD.

Moreover, they do have a distinct advantage: they're cheap and of high capacity, though not good for many recharge cycles. While a pair of Ni-MHs cost about $8, a pack of 4 rechargable akalines costs about the same price. Like regular akaline batteries, they have pretty high capacity (about 2200(I think) mAh for a AA, compared with the low 1000's range for most Ni-MHs), and actually come charged, with a long shelf life without discharging itself.

I use these batteries for most of the things that don't work with Ni-MH (graphing calculator, small electronic devices), as these have the usual 1.5 volt, instead of the 1.2 volt on most rechargables. Their downside is the fact that they can only be charged 10-20 times before they leak (the package said 40).

Re:Save the environment..

[The_K4]

There's not much in the way of real copper in pennies any more. See here So you'll need pre 1837 pennies to get pure copper!

Re:All About the Same

[Kaa]

Most of the brands of rechargeable batteries have about the same performance.

Bullshit. First, there are different kinds of rechargeables -- NiCd, NiMh, Lithium, to name a few most widespread. Their characteristics are quite different. Second, as usual you typically get what you pay for.

But not buying batteries from an electronics store is good advice. They are horribly overpriced there, any brand...

Rechargeable batteries, like toothpaste, is a commodity product.

Toothpaste? You mean you alway buy the cheapest toothpaste you can find?? :-)

When you buy a product, you indirectly support the value system in the country of origin.

I do? How interesting... Is it one of those "if you do drugs you support terrorism" rants?

"Made in USA", "Made in Japan", or similar Western-country label is usually a safe bet in terms of (1) the quality of the product and (2) the value system in the country of origin.

Thanks for a good laugh... To start with, Japan is not a Western country. To continue, US produces large amounts of very shoddy products. "Made in USA" is definitely not a guarantee of quality. And what was it about value system again?

Re:All About the Same

[willtsmith]

NiMH recharcheables make Alkaline rechargeables look pretty week. They make normal alkaline batteries look weak as well.

I've had very good luck with Ray-O-Vac. Ray-O-Vac also makes higher capacity line of NiMH batteries than other manufacturers (check the labels for the mAh rating).

Re:Actually WalMart is excellent

[Unordained]

Wal-Mart Wages Don't Support Wal-Mart Workers, Stan Cox, AlterNet, June 10, 2003

Yup. They save money on their suppliers. But never would they think to do so on their employees, no ... Workforce is the most expensive part of a business; no reason to expect they wouldn't try to trim the edges there.