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?"

Comments

MAHA NiMH.

[Anonymous Coward]

MAHA NiMH from http://www.thomasdistributing.com/ . I've had several that have been working perfectly for more than half a decade now.

Re:MAHA NiMH.

[rvw]

You should indeed buy NiMH batteries (not NiCd). I've used Sony and several B-brands, all of them working okay. But beware that not only the batteries are important, but the charger can make a big difference as well. All these batteries suffer from memory-effects (even if they claim NiMH does not). After a while they seem to wear out. At one moment, you charge them, want to use them, and they stop working after a second or so. Then you need to discharge (refresh) them completely. In fact, you should have done this long before. Special rechargers offer the function to discharge them completely before charging. This discharge draws them empty completely.

I use a Sony charger, like the Sony BCG-34HRMF4 Super Quick Charger.

Re:MAHA NiMH.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm afraid you're mistaken about the "memory effect". There never was a memory effect in consumer-grade batteries, NiCd or NiMH. What people experienced, and what was called "memory effect" was in fact overcharging due to crappy timer-based chargers.

When you put a partially-charged cell into a timer-based charger, the charging circuit won't shut off until well after the cell is cooked, thus the directions to fully discharge the battery before recharging.

However, with modern electronically controlled chargers (Such as the Energizer 30 or 15-minute NiMH charger) this is no longer an issue, and the wear on the battery caused by deep cycling far exceeds any risk of overcharging the cell.

My suggestion is to use NiMH cells in anything that tends to wear down the batteries fairly quickly (cameras, portable electronics, etc) and get a GOOD charger; a charger rated for 30 minutes or below will be electronically controlled and will maximize cell life. Be prepared to spend $50 on a charger.

For any low drain applications such as remote controls, smoke alarms, flashlights etc, your best bet is to use the non-rechargable lithium batteries that have recently become available in AA and AAA sizes. Unlike NiMH, NiCd and Alkaline to a lesser extent, Lithium batteries do not self-discharge over time, so they're perfect for applications where you want a long shelf life between uses. Lithiums also perform well in high-drain devices, but other cell types are much less expensive for such uses ('titanium' alkaline or NiMH).

(captcha on this post is 'loosing', no wonder nobody around here can spell 'losing')

NIMH here

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Rayovac's OK, but I'd say Energizer

[Yooden_Vranx]

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.

www.thomas-distributing.com has it all

[holden caufield]

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.

Comparison site

[ximenes]

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.

The charger matters more

[Clueless Moron]

A cheap-ass charger overheats your batteries and drastically shortens their lifetime. A negative delta-V charger (like a MH-C777PLUS or that ilk) detects the teeny teeny tiny little voltage drops that NiCd and NiMH batteries do when they reach peak charge and stop right there.

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.

I've given up on 'em.

[dpbsmith]

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.

Re:I've given up on 'em.

[Kalak]

Battery Recycling and Disposal Guide for Households

Re:I've given up on 'em.

[pacmanfan]

Whoa whoa whoa. Lots of misinformation here. -You really should look at flashlight output curves with alkaline cells, and then NiMH cells. While they tend to start out brighter with alkaline cells, that tends to quickly change, and NiMH cells will stay brighter for longer. The brighter the flashlight, the more this difference is amplified. -I wouldn't say rechargeables store DISTINCTLY less energy. Technology has improved, and they are now storing nearly as much energy as alkalines. I look for them to surpass alkalines sometime this year. The catch is useable energy. As currents increase, alkalines really start performing poorly. I know that with a piddly 1A current draw, NiMH cells will very noticeably outperform alkalines. I've got a flashlight pulling 3.3A, and alkalines barely last 10 minutes in it. My NiMH cells last over 40 minutes. -I'm not sure what the shelf life is of NiMH batteries, but the majority of my 4 year old cells are working fine. The reason some aren't is because I ran them too low in large battery packs (8 cell series configuration), and every now and then a weak one will reverse charge in that scenario. Now that I don't try to milk every last joule out of them before I put them on the charger, I haven't had any more problems. In my experience, capacity doesn't start noticeable dropping until at least 100 charge/drain cycles. -Complaining about a two-color status LED requiring attention? Come on man, this is Slashdot, FFS! Solid red light means it's charging, flashlight red light means it couldn't charge because of a problem, and green indicates the batteries were successfully charged. How hard is that? Even my father figured it out, and I had to show him the power button on his new TV remote the other day. And while we're on the topic, it's perfectly safe to charge any NiMH battery in any NiMH charger, regardless of brand. I'd just stay away from off-brand chargers, and even off-brand cells. Just like I don't use no-name alkalines. Cost-wise, it's something everyone has to figure out for themselves. For me, it was simple. Duracell/Energizer alkaline: ~$.60. Energizer 2500mAH NiMH cells: $2.00. Even including the electricity to charge them, the rechargeables pay for themselves in just 4 charges. There's the charger cost to consider too ($20), but recharging 4 AAs just six times covers that, by my math. I still use alkalines in my alarm clock, but that's about it. And to the other child poster: NiMHs actually do lose energy just by sitting, and in fact at a greater rate than NiCD. I believe NiMHs lose about 30% of their energy per month, while NiCD is more like 18%. This is NiMH's chief drawback IMO, but it's not significant to most people. I just use alkalines in my clocks and remotes, and NiMHs in everything else.

Energizer NiMH

[Eil]

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.

So many rechargable haters!

[AtariDatacenter]

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.

What make a bad battery

[gradbert]

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