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rechargeable batteries: what to look for?

rudeguy

rudeguy

Lifer
I need some pretty good rechargeable double a batteries. The ones I have only last for about ten pictures each in my digital camera. What should I be looking for?
 
I bought 2100mAh Sony's three weeks ago. Today, I can take only about 15 pictures with my A70, and they appear to be leaking.
Real POS.

Check Steve's Digicams for more info.
 
Walmart, for $20, sells that Rayovac 15 minute charger with 4 batteries included. Or, it may be only 2 included. Anyway, it will charge the rayovacs in 15 min and I believe that you can use it to charge other batteries as well (not in 15 min though).
 
Powerex 2200mAH or Sanyo 2100mAH nimh rechargeables.

After doing lots of reading a few weeks earlier, those are the two I would buy. Not really the cheapest though. You also need a good recharger. The recharger might actually be your problem. It might not be fully charging your batteries or it might not be reconditioning your batteries. Here's an interesting link. rechargers
 
Costco! You can get a brick of AA's, 48 of them, for about $10. They're normal alkalines, but at that price, who cares? =) They work really well for the two-way radios I use, no regrets yet.
 
Originally posted by: Thoreau

Costco! You can get a brick of AA's, 48 of them, for about $10. They're normal alkalines, but at that price, who cares? =) They work really well for the two-way radios I use, no regrets yet.
Click to expand...

No way.

When you can get 2 dozen AA rechargeable batteries for $25, that last at least 2-3x longer than alkalines, and can be reused up to 1000x times, you're saving $1,000's in the long run.

Personally, I need some rechargeable D batteries with all the baby gadgets around the house now 😉
 
Originally posted by: TheToOTaLL
Originally posted by: Thoreau

Costco! You can get a brick of AA's, 48 of them, for about $10. They're normal alkalines, but at that price, who cares? =) They work really well for the two-way radios I use, no regrets yet.
Click to expand...

No way.

When you can get 2 dozen AA rechargeable batteries for $25, that last at least 2-3x longer than alkalines, and can be reused up to 1000x times, you're saving $1,000's in the long run.

Personally, I need some rechargeable D batteries with all the baby gadgets around the house now 😉
Click to expand...

Exactly!!

The rechargeables carry a high initial cost (a set of four batteries plus charger ranges from $30 to $50), but their long life makes them by far the most economical to use.

Here?s the math:
Suppose a pair of alkaline batteries costs $2.20 and delivers 100 photos. The cost for the same number of pictures from disposable lithium cells will be about $1.40. But because nickel-metal hydrides last through hundreds of recharging cycles, their cost for 100 photos is only about 1.5 cents.

A single rechargeable NiMH battery is worth about 500 disposable alkaline batteries, so the end-of-life cost is substantially lower than buying throwaways over and over. But so many people are penny wise and pound foolish, they only shop initial cost and never think of end-costs over life.

 
Since nimg supposedly lasts a few times longer than an alkaline in high-drain, and they're good for 500-1000 charges, they are a better deal. I wonder if those costcos are name brand or garbage? Rayovac, energizer, duracell are about all I'll use. I've had no-name batteries before that lasted about 1/3 the length (or less) of other batteries, even though they were supposedly both alkaline.

Still, I've not gone to chargers yet because nimh trickle away energy so fast and unless I want to keep them topped up (hassel), i don't want to run out of juice in my camera/mp3 player and then wait for them to charge. If I was going through aa batteries enough I would go the nimh route, so I suppose I will when I get a new digicamera, since the new ones use a good bit of juice, then I can be going through batteries quick enough that the trickling is of little concern.
 
Still, I've not gone to chargers yet because nimh trickle away energy so fast and unless I want to keep them topped up (hassel), i don't want to run out of juice in my camera/mp3 player and then wait for them to charge. If I was going through aa batteries enough I would go the nimh route, so I suppose I will when I get a new digicamera, since the new ones use a good bit of juice, then I can be going through batteries quick enough that the trickling is of little concern.
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You could always have both alkaline and NiMH rechargeables on hand. I have a Rayovac charger that can charge alkaline, NiMH, and NiCd batteries. I use the alkalines in my remotes, desk clocks, ect... and have a couple of NiMH just sitting in the charger waiting to be used for the higher drain devices (the charger automatically keeps them topped off). But even if you didn't want to store them (NiMH) in the charger, you could always have some alkalines charged and ready to go for those times when you didn't have any NiMH ready.
 
As others have said, cliffs notes version:

1) Read this

2) Go to your local CostCo or Sam's Club, they should have a nice rechargeable battery bundle for around $20.

3) Check out your local Big Lots B&M they should also have something.

4) Thomas-Distributing.com has the best products and selection.
 
I got a Sanyo Rechargeable set for $20 something from Costco. 2100 nimh i think. I had gotten a rechargeable set with my digital camera purchase but they werent high capacity enough and wouldnt work in my camera.. No problems with the sanyo ones yet.
 
Shoot Ross, this set costs $1.00 more, and has lower mAh batterys than this set, plus, they give you a 5% discount on your next order.

Only difference I see in those chargers Johann, is the 12V car charger adapter with the V1000. That's the one I have. I make sure to NOT flip the lid down when charging. The batteries get hot enough without that!
 
Originally posted by: Ornery
Shoot Ross, this set costs $1.00 more, and has lower mAh batterys than this set, plus, they give you a 5% discount on your next order.

Only difference I see in those chargers Johann, is the 12V car charger adapter with the V1000. That's the one I have. I make sure to NOT flip the lid down when charging. The batteries get hot enough without that!
Click to expand...

after going over it again, i think the one you linked is better. i ordered the v-1000 because i THOUGHT it said you could charge 12 batteries at a time. i was wrong, it can only charge 4 at a time but it INCLUDES 12 batteries.

 
I got the Rayovac IC3 charger and batteries. 15 minute charging is so nice. These things last forever in my camera (Minolta S414).
 
rayovac 15 min all the way. 15 min makes it so you can charge at the last moment. alkalines pollute..only use when totallly necessary.
 
Those who bought the 2000mAh Powerizers ... what equipment are you using them on? How long do they last between charges?
 
Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
rayovac 15 min all the way. 15 min makes it so you can charge at the last moment. alkalines pollute..only use when totallly necessary.
Click to expand...

Ick, no.

If you want your batteries to last 200 charges, maybe.

Fast is NOT good. It overheats the batteries, and you will never reach full capacity in such a short time. Even with the good fast chargers(120 minutes), you need to let them sit with the trickle charge for a while to reach above 90% capacity.

If you read the review on Imaging Resource, you know that the Maha chargers are the best.

The Powerex 2200mAh batteries also come out on top of the list. This is what I have, and I can get around 350-400 pics out of my A60 with a full charge. I always use the slow charge option on my Maha C401-FS to prolong battery life.

If you do not take care of your rechargable batteries, they will not last. One of the most important things is heat. The second most important thing is charging habbits. It is better to let the batteries fully drain before each charge than to stick them on the charger regardless of their level of charge.

There is no point in getting lower capacity when there are 2200's available. Coupled with the Maha charger, it will run you about 55$.. but it is worth it. Just consider it an investment, because you will save much more than that on batteries if you purchase a good charger.

Go ahead and get any batteries you wish, the charger is more important to the longevity and performance of the battery.

Maha C401-FS & Powerex batteries

Powerex discharge chart
 
it depends on the purpose for which battery you should get. I have some 2100mAh nimh's that I use for my digital camera, which is more than enough to power that guy. Unless you have a really nice digital camera, most digital cameras rarely draw more than 2 amps of current. I also have a set of 1700mAh that I use in my computer wireless devices, but those are such low power devices that I could probably even get by with some 1300mAh batteries.

If you want to cover everything, get high amperage nimh's. They're great batteries, you can save yourself some money and get lower amperage nimh's if you know you won't be using them in a device that could draw a lot of current.
 
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