Batteries?

45-70

45-70

Joined
Jul 10, 2003
Messages
1,601
Anyone got a good tip on what are the most cost efficent batteries to buy?

I'm looking for AA and AAA, a good pointer to a review and compare article would be great!


(If anyone on the net knows of such a thing, it will be here...)
 
I gets thems fancy Nimh batteries. Supposedly you don't have to fully discharge them before recharging them as folks do with NiCds. Plus the charge capacity is larger.

I ain't gots no links. :(

Needs a different charger than the Nicds though.
 
I think there's a site called batteryuniversity.com that has more info than you can shake a stick at should you want to shake a stick at a website.
 
NiMH. :thumbup: They also work fine in cameras. (In fact, mine specifies either camera batteries or NiMH - Ni-Cads and alkalines are a no-no.) I've noticed that they bleed current while not in use. I leave mine on the charger when they're not needed. It doesn't seem to hurt them.
 
Some rechargable batteries specifically advise against recharging when half depleted. IT shortens battery life. My JVC camera is like that. It is best to recharge when empty. Why this should be so is beyond me. Car batteries are maintained near max. Different construction I'm sure.
The battery on my little son's new electric car advises against a re-charge longer than 20 hours.

munk
 
Battery brands make a difference in regular old batteries I discovered when using a TENS unit. The Energizer 9 volt batteries lasted half again as long as the Duracell for me. YMMV.
I don't know about rechargeables yet.
 
munk said:
Some rechargable batteries specifically advise against recharging when half depleted. IT shortens battery life.

munk
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That is absolutely true of Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cad) batteries. I never had very good luck with them. The newer Nickel Metal Hydride and Lithium Ion batteries don't share the same problem. (I think)

Steve
 
Go to candlepowerforums. They have a bunch of reviews on batteries and their output.
 
Look in the auctions (eBay and Yahoo) for NiMH batteries and chargers. I just love them.
 
Lithium Ion and NiMH can both be charged anytime, regardless of how much you've used them, and they don't develop memories. Lithium Ion is lighter than NiMH which is why they use it in laptops, cell phones, etc. IIRC.

I believe you can damage Lithium Ion by 'overcharging' it, though, but I'm not sure if you can get Lithium in a standard cell.

I would suggest a set of NiMH.
 
Kazeryu said:
...I believe you can damage Lithium Ion by 'overcharging' it,...
Click to expand...
Discharging them below a certain level can do damage to them also.
The better ones have a built in protection circuit.

Lithium primary cells (non rechargable) have a great shelf life, perform well in temperature extremes, and have a flatter discharge rate than alkaline cells.

Regards,
Greg
 
It depends a lot on the device. I use plain old alkalines in remote controls, but NiMh's in portable radio, GPSr. A NiMh seem to go dead from just sitting around a long time (weeks? a month or two?) so I'd be swapping out batteries for remotes too often. My GPSr, though, can use up a set in no time.

Never use recharbables in a smoke detector!
 
NiMHs are my favorites in AA, AAA and even C.

There is even a great 15minute charger, Energizer, available at Target including 4 batteries.

These batteries are terrific. As has been noted, the only downside is that they self-discharge about 2% per day. Not an issue for things you use frequently, but you wouldn't let them lay around in the car for a year and expect them to work.

They do handle hundreds of cycles without significant wear unlike lithium ion batteries which wear out relatively quickly.

I buy them from places like www.batterystation.com
 
Well it seems that this was a timely thread and I'm glad it wasn't but almost three weeks back.
I recharged a set of "Digital" brand NiMH batteries for my camera last night in anticipation of taking pix today of the Ultimate Fighter since I finally got over my gland infection and the weather was nice, 72* here today.
I loaded the new batteries, went out and took about 5 pix and they shut down on me and register just on the low side of qustionable on my volt meter.:grumpy:
What irritates the hellouttame is that the one set of plain AA camera batteries I bought once lasted a helluva lot longer than five pix!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad:
I'm charging a set of Sony batteries now and will maybe go out later tonight and pick up a set or two of Energizers.
My charger only charges two at a time, is there a charger that will charge four of these NiMH batteries at once that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and a left ***?

May not be able to do the testing tomorrow as it's supposed to be in the mid 50*s and that cool and water migt play hell with my immune system but we'll see.
 
Energizer puts out a NiMH chager AND AA Batterys it holds four and I picked mine up at Ace for $15.99+tax
 
Yvsa said:
Well it seems that this was a timely thread and I'm glad it wasn't but almost three weeks back.
I recharged a set of "Digital" brand NiMH batteries for my camera last night in anticipation of taking pix today of the Ultimate Fighter since I finally got over my gland infection and the weather was nice, 72* here today.
I loaded the new batteries, went out and took about 5 pix and they shut down on me and register just on the low side of qustionable on my volt meter.:grumpy:
What irritates the hellouttame is that the one set of plain AA camera batteries I bought once lasted a helluva lot longer than five pix!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad:
I'm charging a set of Sony batteries now and will maybe go out later tonight and pick up a set or two of Energizers.
My charger only charges two at a time, is there a charger that will charge four of these NiMH batteries at once that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and a left ***?

May not be able to do the testing tomorrow as it's supposed to be in the mid 50*s and that cool and water migt play hell with my immune system but we'll see.
Click to expand...

Do you have a charger that is designed to work with NiMh batteries? I think a charger that is for nicds won't work properly with the NiMh.
:confused:
 
BruiseLeee said:
Do you have a charger that is designed to work with NiMh batteries? I think a charger that is for nicds won't work properly with the NiMh. :confused:
Click to expand...

Bruise it's a NiMH charger made by Sony. I got it when I got my camera, actually IINM it came with the camera.
It's evidently a trickle charger because it takes about 24 hours before the charging light goes out on it.
 
I've heard that lithium batteries are the way to go in flashlights that sit in the truck (through freezing cold and blazing hot) because they have long shelf lives and are not affected by temperatures as much as others.

Am I right?
 
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