Rechargeable Batteries

[TurnThePage]

Any good suggestions on quality AA and AAA rechargeables, and a good charger that will not damage them. I want to be able to drop them in the charger individually or in pairs and forget about them until I need one.

[Jagtech]

Shadow Catcher wrote:
I have a Maha/Powerworks http://www.mahaenergy.com charger and batteries one of the smarter chargers. I have the one that will charge D size for three years, not cheap but it goes with us camping and is powered by the solar panel.

X2 on Maha chargers. My Maha is the only "smart" charger that I've found that doesn't overcharge and cook my batteries. It charges at a reasonable fast rate, then drops to a low trickle when fully charged.

[BruceMc]

My favorite charger is the Maha C204FS from Thomas Distributing and sets of NiMh batteries. These chargers do well with the Eneloops from Costco.
This particular package comes with 4 Maha NiMH batteries, a universal power supply for your domestic and overseas travel and a 12V cord. Best of all, it has 4 separate circuits, and is not the Rapid charge, but takes only about 100 minutes. Fast enough, but not so fast that it harms the batteries. Mine has a slow/fast switch as well, the slow setting takes about 5 hours. They cost a little more, but they are well worth it.

I've given these as Christmas presents over the years too.

[All58Parks]

LittleBill wrote:

All58Parks wrote:

Alfred622 wrote:
My comment here may be unpopular - I used rechargables for a while but, since I didn't keep them on a charger all the time, they were frequently mostly discharged when I needed them. Then I'd need to charge 'em up. So now I buy a bulk box of AA or AAA quality alkaline cells. They will last much longer in storage than will the rechargables. So now everything works and if it doesn't, I just put in fresh alkalines.

Now I use batteries in low current situations - like LED flashlights and walkie talkies. If I had anything that had high current draw, like a helicopter, then for sure I'd use rechargables.

My experience was the same. I bought a bunch of them, but the performance was poor and I ended up going back to buying high-quality alkalines that perform better and have a much better shelf life.

read the post above, they work period. i use them in every single thing i can, they are not the old school rechargables

Well, I did a bunch of searching and reading on the internet and these certainly do sound like they've fixed the problems of the older rechargeable batteries. I went to Costco yesterday and bought 3 sets (24 AA, 12 AAA and 3 chargers). I'm excited to give them a try. Ultimately I'll need another 50 or so AA's if I want to rid myself of alkaline batteries. We'll see.

I'm glad I stumbled across this thread, as the quantity of batteries that we go through in this house is fairly high, and I'm hoping that this can save some money. Thanks everyone.

[LScamper]

eneloop specs:

clicky

[dclark1946]

LittleBill wrote:

MrWizard wrote:
I have rechargeables In the DW blood pressure cuff
I need some more for my 200 lumen led flashlight we use every night walking the dogs
I'm replacing the alkaline every two weeks
The flashlight stays on for the whole 15~30 min walk

in any quality led flashlight, (Fenix surefire) etc. they strongly recommend against using alkaline batterys, the current drain on high is too much for the alkaline battery's and cause them to leak.


flashlights were the first reason i bought enloops. i sometimes kill 4 in an outing..



now to add to this, there are now 2 different sets of enloops

the regular white 1800ma min, 1500 recharges and 3 year power, and the newer and more expensive 2500ma min enloop xxx black. they can only be charged about 500 times and only hold for about a year


i use xxx in situations where i need longer run time such as flashlights where i use them daily. for most 99% of people will just need the white ones...

X2...I use the black high capacity AAs for my headlight and use the white ones for my other electronic applications. I use the Maha charger that has separate charging circuit for each cell so each cell is properly charged.

Dick

[Bumpyroad]

the ones I just bought were green and some were blue/black, 1900 ma, supposed to hold 70% charge for 5 years.
bumpy

[LittleBill]

MrWizard wrote:
I have rechargeables In the DW blood pressure cuff
I need some more for my 200 lumen led flashlight we use every night walking the dogs
I'm replacing the alkaline every two weeks
The flashlight stays on for the whole 15~30 min walk

in any quality led flashlight, (Fenix surefire) etc. they strongly recommend against using alkaline batterys, the current drain on high is too much for the alkaline battery's and cause them to leak.


flashlights were the first reason i bought enloops. i sometimes kill 4 in an outing..



now to add to this, there are now 2 different sets of enloops

the regular white 1800ma min, 1500 recharges and 3 year power, and the newer and more expensive 2500ma min enloop xxx black. they can only be charged about 500 times and only hold for about a year


i use xxx in situations where i need longer run time such as flashlights where i use them daily. for most 99% of people will just need the white ones...

[MrWizard]

I have rechargeables In the DW blood pressure cuff
I need some more for my 200 lumen led flashlight we use every night walking the dogs
I'm replacing the alkaline every two weeks
The flashlight stays on for the whole 15~30 min walk

[Bumpyroad]

well I bought the eneloop at costco this am. $5.00 off so was $19.99 for charger 8 aas, and 4 aaas. saw at that clicky link eneloop AA 1800 cycle, Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries, 8 Pack by Sanyo for $20. they claim 90% charge in one year, 80% in 3, and 70% in 5.
bumpy

[BradP]

Eneloop only at Costco?

[LScamper]

clicky

[wa8yxm]

Finding good chargers can be a problem.. I have one that will do a single battery (AA or with mods AAA or Gumstick which it shipped with) but I do not even know if they still make it (I have a device that uses a gumstick)

As to where to shop... Batteries Plus, Have 'em check the rechargables before you leave the store though. They carry several brands, some are very clearly better than others. Very clearly better.

[Bumpyroad]

are there any rechargeable batteries that will hold their charge for 10 years like the lithiums or the new brand name ones claim? I have drawers full of rechargables that were put into devices and then when I went to use the device, of course they were down so I went to lithiums. I can see using them in devices that get heavy use and run them down and put in a new set while recharging the old ones but not for an emergency flash light in the RV.
bumpy

[Y-Guy]

Costco usually has a package of eneloop batteries along with charger. We have two sets, and picked up a refill package that they offered. I've had other brands name brands and some off brands fail but so far all my eneloop batteries are still going strong.