Batteries - new father needs your advice

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brewthunda

Joined
Apr 20, 2004
Messages
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I have my first kid arriving in a month or so. We received an automatic baby swing that takes 4 D batteries and it made me realize that I should be planning for a lifetime of battery powered devices.

Anybody have some good advice? It looks like rechargable D batteries are pretty expensive. Should I just go with non-rechargable? Where's the best place to buy batteries? What's the best strategy for buying and using batteries?

Thanks in advance!
 
Get rechargeable ,you'll save lots of money. ...Kids run on power provided by piezo electric crystals . That's why they need lots of hugs ,it recharges their batteries !
 
If you are buying normal batteries, buy Duracell, manganese alkaline batteries, they do last longer. Rechargeables make more sense if the item is going to be well used or in high discharge uses like walkmans (do poeple still use those?) See how long your Duracells last and then make the decision. If you buy rechargeables, but Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) they hold more power and don't suffer from 'memory effect' that Nickel Cadmium do. You can buy a charger that will take AAA, AA, C and D size. I did have one of the charger that charges Duracells and did have some success, but some batteries did recharge and some didn't. You can get a few extra charges out of the Alkaline batteries, but they don't last forever.
 
Those battery powered swings go for quite a while on a set of batteries. So while it might not be worth it for the swing eventually you'll want to invest in rechargables. I have two boys, 3 & 5, and I change the batteries in something for them just about everyday it seems. We have about 20 rechargable AA's and two chargers. They have saved me a lot of money.

Jamie
 
Andrew Taylor said:
.....If you buy rechargeables, but Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) they hold more power and don't suffer from 'memory effect' that Nickel Cadmium do.......
Click to expand...

Our household is a battery manufacturer's dream! We switched to NiMH rechargeable batteries a few years ago and have not had ANY of the problems we had with NiCad's.
 
Hey Brew
Went through the same process as you with a child. Congrat on endless smile and happy days with your baby!
I used Duracell or Energizer alkaline batteries for myswing. It actally works for a while and I believe I only changed the battery once till my child grew out of the swing.
For all the other stuff such as baby monitors and baby toys, I got a Maha battery charger (401F)? I believe. Got Energizer rechargables AA batteries from Walmart (4 AA, 2500 mA) for $10 per pack. I bought about four packs.

A lot of baby stuff use AA batteries. The Maha charger charges AA or AAA only. For the time being, I am only using AA and AAA batteries, including for my own personal stuff such as flashlight and GPS use. But, as my child grow older, I think many of the larger toys will use C and D batteries. I am eyeing this charger right now.
http://www.thomasdistributing.com/maha-mh-c808m-battery-charger.htm

But read this forum for more battery and charger info:
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/?Cat=
 
I happened to go into Shoppers Drug Mart today. They had a plug in charger, a car cig lighter attachment and 4 x AA NiMH batteries for 50 bucks Canadian plus tax.
 
brewthunda said:
Where's the best place to buy NiMH batteries? Any recommendations for a good charger?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Just to let you know, Home Depot has Rayovac C and D cell NiMh re-chargeable 2 packs for $3 a piece and the Rayovac PS3 smart charger for $12. These were on clearance last week, so I don't know if they're still available.
 
Dude, the ultimate advice!

Recharge your own batteries every chance you get.

All kids are nuclear powered and never run down!

Congratulations on your imminent arrival...........prepare to be dazzled!!!
 
I am not a battery expert but I would stay away from the cheap battery chargers. I hear that low end chargers have a timer that recharges the batteries regardless of how much charge the batteries may already carry. This may cause the battery to heat up, thus shortening the life of the rechargeable batteries (decreases the number of recharges and charge capacity). The higher end chargers have an intelligent charging system that determines the amount of charge and charges accordingly, reducing the amount of heat.
In addition, the higher end C and D cell NiMh have a really high capacity; I think up to 11,000 mAmps.
 
Thanks to flashlightreviews.com I have done some research and even a few tests.

First, get a good charger that detects max Voltage. This way it shut off when the batteries are full and not bake their insides. I use the Titanium Universal Battery Charger at the top of this page
http://www.amondotech.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=36

Note: this charger has a timer for the 9V batteries, but the other sizes have voltage detection.
I am not endorsing Amondo tech, even though I had good business with them before. (so far only the one order) I am providing this info for REFERENCE.

So you can look at some rechargeable batteries:
http://www.amondotech.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=59

REMEMBER: the rechargeable D cells you find at wally world are rated at 2500 mAh the same as good rechargeable AA's. So you are better off buying adapters to use AA cells in D sized gear (good luck, what few I've seen have been discontinued). Or make your own, which is a project I am working on now.

The catch is you lose the advantage of D cells which is longer runtime. Rechargeables are 2500 mAh
where Alkaline are 18000 mAh. But Amondo Tech has 11000 mAh NIMH batteries. I would get those.

The best place I have seen to buy alkaline batteries is at warehouse stores like Sam's club.

So did I answer your question? :)
 
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