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Which Rechargeable Batteries Do You Use?
kramer2718 asks: "I go through a lot of batteries in my digital camera, remote controls, etc. I'd like to go to the rechargeable route for the environment and for my pocketbook, but I don't know which rechargeable batteries are the best. Can anyone out there give me some advice about which brand and types of batteries work well?"
Lithium-ion ones made by Sony.
Sent from my iPhone
MAHA NiMH from http://www.thomasdistributing.com/ . I've had several that have been working perfectly for more than half a decade now.
There is batteries out there that you can recharge?
....
Wow. we learn something every day
18 pack of ray o vac NIMH's. Energizer charger.
Further, I made an effort to simplify devices around them:
1. My flashlights use them
2. My mp3 player uses them
3. The flash on my canon XT uses them
4. I bought a bluetooth headset that uses them ( 1 x aaa ) Motorola H300
5. My wireless mice use them ( both use 2 x aa )
YMMV, but NIMHs are a good way to go. LiPo and LiIon I dont think are really as common or as inexpensive.
Energizer's nickel-hydride, the recharge fast and last a pair last a couple weeks in my 360 controllers, i have 8 of them in total and doubt i will be buying batteries for a long time to come.
I use Rayovac's nickel metal hydrides. I started out with Rayovac's alkalines, which were one of the first on the market, and just stuck with them since I don't want to buy new chargers. If I were just buying today, I'd go with Energizer over Rayovac because not everyone stocks the Rayovacs, but the Rayovacs do work pretty well. I don't have any actual experience with Energizer. I don't have a speed charger, so it does take a few hours to recharge them if they're pretty deeply drawn down. I haven't seen any alkaline rechargeable in a long time, but even if you do, definitely go NiMH. The alkalines don't have a very high peak power, and if you ever drain them completely, they can't be recharged.
I still don't trust lithium-ion for regular uses, the device really needs an onboard controller just to keep them safe. Can't overcharge, voltage spike, drain too far, temp ect. However any device will be happy with Ni-Metal. Ni-Metal has the closest performance next to lithium-ion with the only drawback is weight, nickel is heavy.
I think I just cashed out all my cool points.
Seriously. I went through a phase where I bought a bunch of rechargeable AAA, AA, C, D and 9V batteries, along with some chargers.
I have since realized that I can do without most battery operated devices that take standard external rechargeable batteries. I'm thinking hard about the batteries I do recharge often, and they are in my: laptop computer, electric razor, power bit driver, automobile, and cellular phone. Hmmm.
"You're young, you're drunk, you're in bed, you have knives; shit happens." -- Angelina Jolie
I use those usb-charged batterys over at ThinkGeek. Work great in my digital camera. Too bad they can't be AAA-sized for some of my TV remotes and my TI-calc.
I have no connection to this company, other than being a satisfied customer, but what you want to do is to purchase Powerex NiMH batteries, and a MAHA - MH-C204W Smart World Travel Conditioning Battery Charger.
Then you will be a satisified customer too.
I'll create an amusing sig when I have something meaningful to post.
You didn't specify what kind of batteries the camera takes. But I'll assume it is AA.
l
I think the obvious choice will be some high capacity NiMH batteries. Now-a-days we have a wide choice of cells ranging from 1500 to 2700mAh. Obviously, higher capacity means longer run time.
You can find more info here: http://www.steves-digicams.com/nimh_batteries.htm
There is always the non-rechargable route. Just go to Costco and pick up 48 AA for $9. That will last you a lot of pictures on your digital camera!
http://www.imaging-resource.com/ACCS/BATTS/BATTS.H TM has comparisons of various brands from a year or two ago. It seems like basically PowerEx is the way to go, particularly when you take into account that they are now available in 2700 mAh versions. The highest mAh AA NiMH battery that I could find is from Accupower at 2900 mAh. However, they don't seem to perform as well as Sanyo 2700 mAh batteries, and so I would guess that they are also inferior to the PowerEx 2700 mAh ones.
The important thing to remember is that anything towards the top of a comparison list is probably going to work fine; you don't necessary need the very finest NiMH battery available on the market today. For instance, I have some Sanyo 2300 mAh batteries that work just fine.
It seems like www.thomasdistributing.com is the place to buy batteries if you're looking for a reputable online store.
I'm a big fan of "middle of the road" NiMh
I know I'm not getting the biggest bang for the buck, but lately, any of the Lithium batteries scare me and NiCad's have that memory effect (and Cadmium is a environmental baddie).
They ALL have their good points and bad points... heck good old lead-acid is great for long-term, always topped up storage like emergency lighting and car batteries.
And by the way, Offtopic I know...I really detest things that have four AAA cells instead of two AA cells... you don't get a huge saving in thickness and AA cells seem to last way longer anyway
I was going to do another "funny" post (anonymously), but I'm late for an appointment already, so here it is:
Rechargable? Heck, I stick a copper penny and zinc-coated nail into a lemon if I want a battery. None of these newfangled
So mod me funny OR insightful OR offtopic! This post has it all.
TDz.
Karma: Excellent. 15 moderator points expire sometime.
I've always just bought whatever high capacity stuff I can find that's on sale and use a nice charger. I've had cells last nearly ten years by babying them this way.
As for the batteries, NiMH have higher capacity but a pretty horrible self-discharge rate. NiCds are a bit better, but to get decent usage out of either you really need to make a habit of topping them up before going off on your little expeditions. And always, always bring some alkalines with you. Their shelf life is phenomenal.
Oh, and don't forget that the NiCd memory effect is a myth. Let it die, already.
Though I have no idea what's wrong with Joules.
Deleted
I picked up a Lenmar quick charger with 4 2700mAh batteries three years ago for $20. I can typically get 1000 shots (20% of them flash) or 45 minutes of video out of my old Canon Powershot A80. Plus it came with a 12v car adapter. I think they're relabeled sanyo batteries, which are pretty much the best on the market as far as I can tell. Charges in about 30 min (As advertised). I picked up a second set of 2500mAh batteries for about $12.
oonly down side is that they lose 2-3% of their charge per day, so it's always a good idea to have a set of alkalines on hand as backup.
moox. for a new generation.
Various NiMH cells + an Energizer 15 minute charger is what I use.
The ones I get now are made in china and are labeled as 600/300mAh for AA/AAA. I also go with older, but never used chargers from a local surplus store that go for under $5 each. I used to buy really expensive chargers and batteries, but found that it was much easier to just buy a lot of cheep ones then a few expensive ones.
The only issues with them are that I go through them faster and therefore more end up having to be disposed of properly and I have to carry more of them around for high drain devices. These issues don't really bother me as I'm sure the mAh on the cheep ones will go up over time and they are lighter then the expensive ones so carrying around more isn't too bad.
To learn about the different chemistries:
http://batteryuniversity.com/
I've found NiMH to be the best balance for all my applications.
I've had good luck buying NiMH in bulk from this company:
http://www.shorelinemarket.com/
I've purchased AA and AAAs in bulk from them (Tenergy AAs and Powerizer AAAs). While they aren't the highest capacity batteries available, they are pretty close, and I haven't been able to beat the price per cell on comparable batteries or the price per MaH.
The AAs seem to do a bit better in high-drain, as they seem to bleed a full charge in about four-six months, which means something that might run practically forever on a set (like a transistor radio you don't use often, or a small scanner), usually won't eat the batteries before they eat themselves. But they've done really well for me.
I'm not real happy with the Powerizers. They seem more like 400-500mah than 850, but alas, I can't really test them. I'm tempted to buy some of the Tenergy AAs to try, but unfortunately I've already got a bunch of the Powerizers.
I also purchased their 10-position AA/AAA charger/discharger. It works fine, but makes this annoying buzz every second or so as it charges and discharges, I'm assuming because of cheap components. Invest the extra bucks for a nice Maha.
Anyway, read up at battery university before you go making any purchases. There is a lot of good info there. Just keep in mind they are operated buy the guy who runs Cadex.
I use the Energizer NiMH witha 15 Minute charger.....all sizes. They charge up quickly and last a long time if you get the higher amp hour ones.
Gorkman
A few years back I made a big push to try to save money by using rechargeable batteries. I gave up on them. Here are my personal experiences. Your mileage may vary.
--How well devices on 1.2V rechargeable batteries varies a lot from one device to another. Some work just fine. Quite a few work poorly enough to be a nuisance. Conventional incandescent-bulb flashlights, for example, sort of work but are distinctly dim and yellowish. Many motorized devices are noticeably weak and lethargic. You can't really tell how well a device will work until you try it. And then you need to keep mental track of which devices you can use the rechargeables in. I had a cassette recorder that would play OK on 1.2V batteries, but when recording it didn't have quite enough power to hold the recording speed steady and the recordings would have some "wow" and unevenness to them.
--Rechargeables store distinctly less energy, i.e. don't last anywhere near as long on a single charge as a disposable. This creates a large nuisance factor. Even if the device is only going to be used at home, it means that if you have devices that take N disposable batteries, you will need considerably more than N rechargeables, and probably more charges than you thought, in order to have freshly charged batteries always ready to swap in.
--The nuisance factor of storing less energy is considerable. If my wife takes her camera on a vacation, she can put in an (expensive) disposable lithium at the start and that's it, she's set, no charger to drag along.
--Rechargeables lose energy if not kept in the charger. This means you can't just keep a drawerful of freshly-charged batteries available.
--Rechargeables die fairly quickly, typically in about two years. And suffer reduced capacity as they age. Yes, they do this no matter how anal you are about following whatever your favorite superstitious battery-care ritual ([always|never] discharge them completely before recharging, [do|don't] just leave them continuously charging in the charger, etc.) Individual batteries have enormous individual variation in their useful life. You can have two "C" batteries bought in the same package at the same time and one may suddenly crap out in a year, the other may be going strong after four... which makes the management problem more complicated.
ACTUAL USEFUL TIP: In my experience, smaller rechargeables were very consistently worse in terms of premature failure. AA's were terrible. D's were pretty good.
--It is like pulling teeth to get a manufacturer to replace a rechargeable battery that has failed "early." They know darn well the products aren't long-lived and will not just happily replace them on your say-so.
--Because of the various factors mentioned, you cannot just replace all the alkaline disposables in your house with rechargeables, so you still need to have a drawerful of alkaline D's, C's, AA's, and AAA's as well as finding space for a charger or two and another outlet strip and so forth.
--Because rechargeables require a certain amount of attention... what does it mean when the charger is showing a flashing red light? a steady green light? etc... and because so many of us develop our own personal rituals ("the charger on the left is with the charged batteries that are ready for use and just being kept topped up...") you can't really share rechargeables with other family members—even adult members, certainly not kids—except on the basis of "every time you need a battery come see me."
--Because the rechargeable batteries themselves are expensive, and because the chargers are expensive (and because it's never completely clear whether it's safe to use any charger other than the one designed specifically for the specific batteries) and because the batteries tend to fail in a few years, it is not at all clear that you actually save money using them in a general way.
Obviously, if you have a battery-hungry device that you use all the time that runs fine off 1.2V rechargeables... say one that you use so often that you replace the batteries every week... you may save money.
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
If, like me, you typically only use AA or AAA batteries, just go to your local department store and get the bundled 4-pack of Energizer NiMH batteries and charger for $15-20. Spring for the better, more expensive charger (or buy one online) only if you're constantly going through batteries or need sizes other than AA and AAA.
When buying the batteries themselves, go for the highest capacity they have in stock, 2500mAH or higher. Compared to alkalines, they pay for themselves after just a few recharges and each charge lasts about as long or longer than your typical alkaline battery. Most NiMH batteries are rated to last up to about 1000 charges. In my case, that means I have a better chance of losing them before they go permanently dead.
You can't replace alkalines with NiMH in all situations, though. NiMH batteries lose their charge at a rate of about 1% per day, so this takes them out of the running for low-drain applications like remote controls, digital clocks, and smoke alarms. Things that you'd never change the batteries in more than once a year. They also don't replace NiCad batteries in especially high current draw devices like RC cars.
Another possible con is that devices which contain built-in battery meters (MP3 players and PDAs) are calibrated for alkalines. Thus, when you put in an NiMH battery, they usually show the battery as being only 80% right out of the charger. However, they will stay at that level for quite a long time and then start to drop off quickly when the power is almost gone. When your device says you have about 20% left on your batteries, you probably only have a couple of minutes before they die completely. It's not a smooth discharge curve like alkalines.
But on the whole, the savings are worth it. I used to pay more in batteries for my GameBoy Advance than I did for the unit itself and the games. Now, after a $30 investment in a charger and batteries, I just rotate through the same set of batteries.
I use lead-acid batteries.
I'm pleased with the performance of Sanyo's Eneloop batteries. They're rechargeable and have the capacity (middle of the road at ~2000 mAh) of NiMH with much better self-discharge properties. Sanyo claims they'll hold 85% of their charge after a year. I haven't had them long enough to test that claim but the low self-discharge rate is the reason I purchased them for my Wii controllers. It's not often three other people show up but when they do I don't want to be swapping batteries and/or charging, the remotes should just work even if they've been sitting idle for a few weeks.
A few other companies are releasing hybrid batteries, they'll be showing up in retail outlets with greater and greater frequency over the rest of the year.
Potato. To recharge it you just drop it on the ground and wait.
This guy's the limit!
For batteries...I EWPROD&ProdID=564 - Free Shipping and cases
http://www.all-battery.com/index.asp?PageAction=V
http://www.shorelinemarket.com/aaponiba.html - Shipping and cases extra
I don't have a specific charger recomendation, but I would agree that a good charger is key.
A bit off topic, but Nintendo advises for the Wii remote not to use rechargeable batteries. Since those things seem to suck an alkaline down in about a week or two of play (among everyone who has been using it recently), I thought rechargeable would be the way to go.
Is there any reason a device like this should not be using rechargeable batteries? Has anyone had positive or negative experience using rechargeables with the wiimote? If so, what type of batteries and what charger are you using?
To contribute, I use Energizer NiMH rechargables in my wireless mouse. I use a low end Merkury recharger I was given for free (I don't have the official Energizer one) and they seem to last on average about 3 weeks. The batteries physically are a little heavy, but it doesn't bother me that my mouse has a little weight to it.
...excellent electrical performance (low storage loss and more than 85% power out to power in ratio, aka. efficiency), the obvious disadvantage beeing their weight. With proper maintenance (checking acid concentration and refilling) they may last forever, especially if used in temp. above 0 deg. C and below 25 deg. C.
The proper question would have been: "What is your favourite battery for purpose X ?" where X is clearly defined.
...to use rechargeable batteries for remote control (the IR type used for TV-sets). Been there, tried that, does'nt work: discharge rate is too big for that. You use rechargeable for high power consumption equipment and normal for low power consumption equipment. Unless your motivation is purely eco-motivated but even then it may be better to use normal "green" batteries for your remote.
By the time they need replacing, technology will have moved on, and the answer may be "something else". But this answer seems OK to me for now.
After seeing this, I went to Consumer Reports, and to my disappointment and surprise, they don't have much on rechargeable batteries, even with my subscription there. Basically pick a nickel-metal hydride, but they don't compare manufacturers.
Any ideas on where to find a non-biased moderately scientific comparison?
I am, and always will be, an idiot. Karma: Coma (mostly effected by
- avoid "famous brands", like Duracell, Philips etc. You pay premium for the name while the quality doesn't change.
- Capacity - same as with HDDs except you get amper-hours per dollar, instead of gigabytes/$. If you want to bother, calculate mAh/$ ratio for all available and pick the best. If you don't, the rule of thumb is to pick a notch or two below the highest available on market. With smaller you pay extra for costs common to manufacturing any capacity, with bigger you pay extra for cutting edge.
- make sure you get a matching charger. Some don't work with lower capacities, some with high. Good bargains for rechargables+chargers can be found. Chargers without auto-off suck.
- all rechargables discharge by themselves over time. If you use them in remotes etc, prepare for recharging bi-weekly or so. Sucks. Use in devices you use a lot. It still pays with wireless mouse/keyboard too.
- It's good to get two sets for each device, one charging, one in use. If you want the cheaper way, get one set of normal cheap batteries for time when the rechargables recharge. Remember to replace as soon as the rechargables are charged.
- Despite what they say on the packages, you can recharge standard single-use Alkalines - about 2-5 times (as opposed to hundreds with rechargables) with a slow charger. Just in case, place the charger with batteries down, on a surface that's easy to clean and not expensive, don't leave unattended and if it's not auto-off, unplug before they reach designated full capacity (that's when they start to heat up and are most prone to explode.)
Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
I picked up a bunch of AA and AAA batteries a few years ago from Radio Shack and Fry's, they charge in 15 min and work well in high-draw things like cameras, and low-draw things like remote controls (in the remote I recharge them every year or so).
I use Radio Shack batteries in my Microsoft Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer. Although they need charged like once a week, it's better than replacing it with new batteries every 4 weeks.
The prices at Thomas Distributing are VERY high, in my opinion. The charger recommended is $70. The batteries are more than twice what they cost during a sale at Fry's.
Overnight Battery Charger With 4 AA Ni-MH Batteries, $11.99, regular price.
http://www.usbcell.com/
Wow. Just reading some of these comments, you'd think that rechargeables are horrible. I use them everywhere. Remotes, flashlights, wireless mouse, wireless keyboard, toys, lcd clocks, caller ID boxes, volt meters, you name it.
The answer is to buy cheap NiMH batteries, like so: 24 @2600mAh for $30, free shipping, free cases
Also find yourself a good charger, and this discussion seems to be filled with them. There are different onces for different needs. Be it you need 8 charging at once, C/D size and 9 volt, or you want one with a good conditioner.
At $1.25 per battery [final price, shipped], even if all the haters are correct about 'wasting NiMH batteries in low draw devices', you're still ahead of the game. And people are very satisfied with Tenergy brand batteries, and they're 2600mAh.
The real key to being happy with rechargeables is, first to buy them for all your items, and then (most important), buy those few extra batteries to fill up your battery charger. Then, when your toy/remote/whatever runs out of batteries, all you do is swap the new ones in the charger for the depleted ones in your device. Having a constant supply of charged up battiers is the key to being happy with rechargables. Very little education required for others in your household. ("If you take some batteries out of here, put your old ones back in here.")
I think the only way I'd switch away from rechargables is if I had an exceptionally high-draw item that I needed to last longer between battery changes. Like an 80s boombox if I wasn't inclined to carry a second set of batteries with me. Not that alkalines would solve the issue either, though. Just push out the depletion a little further.
I haven't tried these myself, just read an article in the paper, and looked at the web page and put them on my 'to try' list.
. shtml
Normally NiMH batteries discharge so rapidly when not in use that you pretty much need to remember to charge them the night before you want to use them, which is a pain when taking spare batteries on, say, a backpacking trip.
Rayovac has new 'hybrid' NiMH battery that ships fully charged and is supposed to hold a charge much longer in storage.
http://www.rayovac.com/recharge/hybrid_technology
I use 4 AA NiMH batteries in my camera (a Canon S1). I have some 2500 mAh energizer batteries that I will not use in it and I have some 1800 mAh sanyo ones that I use regularly. Why? because of variances in the batteries and their self discharge rate.
When my wife wants to take a picture of the kids doing something cute we need the either the batteries in the camera to not be discharged, or for there to be a charged set of batteries ready to go.
So I bought a bunch of 2500mAh batteries thinking these would be a good thing. but they didn't seem to last as long when shooting and they were often discharged after sitting for a while. I found out a couple of things, the first is that after using these batteries for a while I would end up with one cell that was discharged more than the others. This was enough for the camera to say that I had low batteries. The other thing was that if I charged up a set of these batteries, a week later the wouldn't have enough charge to run the camera. These batteries had a very high self discharge rate.
So at the end of it, its no good to have high advertised capacity if its not going to be there you
I have had good luck with sanyo batteries. The new sanyo eneloops have a low enough self discharge rate that out of the package they have a usable charge
I brought 4 CRV3 rechargeable batteries and a recharger all branded by Juice for a decent price on eBay. I think rechargeable lithium is the way to go for cameras if your camera is compatible (apparently, some have a slightly higher voltage than regular CRV3 lithium but they are working fine in my Pentax DSLR).
In my experience, when a battery suddently dies, it's because it has gone into reversal (polarity has reversed). Once batteries reach this state, chargers won't recharge them. Cheap batteries (Hama) have this problem much more frequently than Duracell or Energizer (I can't speak to other brands). I've fixed "dead" batteries by installing them backwards in a flashlight with good batteries and turning the flashlight on for ~30 minutes. The "dead" batteries can then be recharged. Disclamer: I've done this for about a dozen batteries and it has worked fine. YMMV ps - Ever notice that the crapiest batteries (Hama) have a name similar to the best recharger brand (Maha)? Going for consumer confusion?
I use Energizer 2500mAh AA/AAA batteries in all my remotes and for me they last well over six months. I use the Energizer Compact Charger for recharging and while it takes forever (12 hours) to recharge four batteries, they seems to work okay without noticeable capacity loss over the last few years.
I pretty much use Eveready NiMH batteries in everything I use, including my digital camera. I may hsave blought about 6 alkaline in the last year when I forgot to recharge in one device or another
http://www.thomas-distributing.com/new-products.ht m
6000 mAH C cells and 11,000 mAH D Cells. I've used earlier versions of the Powerx C & D cells and they work great.
4th of July, Sony. Rest of the year, Energizer.
Are you sure it's a 15 minute charger? That would mean charging each cell at a multiple C, which would destroy them pretty soon. The best way to charge NiMH cells without shortening their life is by slow-charging them. Never use chargers that supply more than 1/4 of the cell capacity. The best method is always buying 2x or 3x the batteries you need and put them in a slow charger, in the long run you will spend *much less* than buying less batteries and shortening their life through fast chargers.
Avoid at any cost all chargers advertising full charges in less than 4 or 5 hours; the ones requiring a full night or more at 1/10 the cell current (ie 250 mA for 15 hours for 2500 mA cells) are the best.
Also, avoid those fast chargers that come in the same blister with the cells. The reason they're so fast is pure marketing: ruining your batteries will force you buying replacements soon. Get a good slow charger from a company that doesn't make batteries and you'll be happy.
Energizer charger model CHM24: http://data.energizer.com/PDFs/chm24.pdf
Energizer NiMH batteries (silver in color): http://data.energizer.com/PDFs/nh15.pdf
I've used these exclusively for several years (the same batteries) and they work great in all applications.
You can find these everywhere: online, drug stores, supermarkets, department stores, etc.
Charge time on this charger model is 15 hours - but this extends the battery's functional lifespan. These batteries are cheap enough that I keep several more than I need in all my devices at any given time, so I never have to wait for a charge.
Have had a pair of these AAA in a TV remote since 2004- still going without a charge. Haven't bought batteries in 3 years.
I'd second many people's comments. NiMH batteries are very very nice these days, and have far more capacity then they used to. http://thomasdistributing.com/ is good, and if you want cheap batteries, http://batteryspace.com/ is good, but their ratings are 400 mAh or so above their actual capacity. Sanyo or PowerEx is certainly good if you have the money, and 2500 mAh Energizers are a good locally available option. The real key is to get a good charger. I just got one of the new Maha MH-C9000 chargers (http://www.thomas-distributing.com/maha-mh-c9000- battery-charger.php) and it has the ability to do break-in charges, discharge, refreshing, etc. You can also just put batteries in it and it will charge them with a safe rate.
. php?s=04cb1ed93243098d9b7795bae32555cb&f=9)
For applications like remotes, or other devices you want sitting around for a long time and ready to use, there are new NiMH batteries that have much lower self discharge rates. Eneloop batteries by Sanyo (http://www.eneloop.info/) have performed the best, and they can be picked up locally at Ritz camera locations as well as ordered online for a little less. They only lose a little of their charge over a years time. For more information about rechargable batteries, try the batteries forum over at candlepowerforums. (http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay
These are NiMH batteries that can be charged in 15 minutes, AA and AAA. We got them because my wife's digital camera uses two AA batteries. Since it takes longer than 15 minutes for the camera to use up a charge, she never runs out of camera juice as long as she is near a car or electrical outlet.
The charger is much more important than the batteries you're putting in it. Most brands perform just fine, for a while. Knowing when a set (or an individual cell) is past its peak is the key. I picked up a LaCrosse BC-900 charger just over a year ago, and it's awesome. Most chargers leave you "blind" as to the actual capacity, they just tell you "this one's full!". Being able to really test the batteries is great. I found a neglected set in a box that I hadn't touched in about 4 years. Some of them had failed short. After a moment with a benchtop power supply I'd awoken them, but none would hold much charge. (showing ~500mAh capacity) So I tossed 'em in the LaCrosse for a refresh cycle, and after a few days they were all performing within a few percent of their original rating. No other charger would've given me the information I needed, or the automatic refresh cycle, to bring those back from the dead.
My BC-900 melted last week. It was the rev-32 firmware, which apparently wasn't careful enough about stopping activities when a cell overheated. It took out a Powerex 2300mAh cell, which was sputtering and smoking and stank up the whole end of the house. I've got an email in to LaCrosse right now, but even if they won't replace my (three months out of warranty) unit for free, I plan to pick up a new one (running rev 33 firmware) as soon as possible. A near-fire hasn't diminished my love of this charger, that's how revolutionary it is.
It may not be the best solution from an environmental standpoint, but I recently purchased a charger that claims to safely recharge most alkalines (not 9V) along with NiCD and NiMH. The "Battery Xtender" seems to differentiate between these automatically and safely charge alkalines by doing so slowly...veeerrrrryyyyy slowly. ~8 hours on AA batteries, with no obvious difference in charging times for name-brand batteries and the off-brands. I've tried boldly ignoring directions on other chargers in the past, and alkalines normally get very hot before they pop and leak. A few survived and worked (which only encouraged further experiments), but not many. With the new charger, alkalines don't get warm to the touch. I have not used it enough to notice long-term changes in battery life, so my opinion on the product may change by this time next month.
batteryxtender.com
Potato-nickel-penny piles. Canadian pennies and nickels work better than US ones.
They recharge? I just keep buying new phones.
Everyone is born right-handed; only the greatest overcome it
I've had the same problem - duracell nimh's (just purchased a couple weeks ago) were too tight in my camera flash.
I had the brilliant idea to remove the plastic outer wrapper to make them a bit slimmer. Don't try this, it's a fine way to short out the batteries against one another. Luckily i didn't damage the flash.
Does anyone happen to have a set of recent energizer nimh's and a fairly precise measurement tool, to check the diameter for me? Sam's Club has them at an attractive price and the battery test web site mentioned above reviewed them strongly.
i'll try to check back here but i'm danpritts on yahoo if anyone happens to be able to do this. thanks!
I use NiMH's and haven't bought new batteries in years. No new landfill, no new costs, etc. I'm committed to rechargeables and I'm ready for the next level. Anyone have a good solar battery charger/battery combo to recommend?
;)
(and I can do a Google search, I'm wondering if anyone has any personal experience
Conclusion: Buy cheap, but not suspiciously cheap, no-brand or weirdo-brand batteries from a high-volume retailer (e.g. the "private" brand of a large webshop specializing in batteries).
Both Energizer and Ray-o-vac have 15 minute chargers, but it requries you have the special batteries to go with it. In the Ray-o-vac model, there's built in electronics on each 15-minute battery that govern how it behaves during recharge. I'm not sure if the Energizer works the same way. I'm interested in other Slashdotter's experience with them.
I've been eying this technology myself, but basically decided to avoid it, since I'm OC enough to always keep a set charged and ready anyway. As a photographer, you don't get pictures - no big deal, as a bicyclist I get run-over and DIE. Hence the OC behavior.
There's a problem with this. First, you're not supposed to mix-n-match batteries once they've been used in seperate devices. We have a 3-AA remote controlled car, several 2-AA mice, and several 4-AA bike lights. We have to partition those and keep them seperate. You have to train house members NOT to mix-n-match.
I've taken to writing names on each group of batteries (Amanda, Betty, Cathy...), and also ids (1/4, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4). Use the Amanda-4s all together and all in the same device. I also buy lots of different brands, because they appear different. Amandas are Energizer, Betties are Ray-o-vac, etc.
I have a cardboard box with 3 pockets. In the left is the "goods", where house members pick up new batteries. On the right are the "bads", where I store empty batteries. In the middle is the "hmmms", where we stick batteries we don't know about. In my copious free time I test and rebin those.
Okay, I lied, I have that box split in to two sub-boxes (2x3), so that the top row is for Alkalaine and the bottom row is for rechargables.
I bike. A lot. I depend on LED Bike lights to keep me alive every night. Alkaline AAs are 1.5 volts. I would like to use NiMH AAs and AAAs, but at 1.2 volts they're just not bright enough. :(
There's no law of physics that says NiMH has to be 1.2v. As we all know from high-school physics, putting two batteries in || effectively gives you one battery with double the voltage. NiMHs have made such huge strides in power storage, but have made no effort to come into voltage conformance with the AA and AAA standards? Why the heck is that?!
I haven't personally tested these but they claim their NiMH batteries have a much lower self-discharge rate. http://www.rayovac.com/recharge/hybrid_technology. shtml
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php ?t=138632
I was going to try to make D batteries out of 3 AA batteries but I haven't gotten around to it yet.