Rechargeable batteries

[Syborg1211]

I am thinking about replacing all my regular batteries with rechargeable ones to save some money. Can somebody tell me if they are good or not? I was thinking about getting the Rayovac ones but all the stuff is pretty expensive. Do the batteries' life time deteriorate as you recharge and recharge them? Anyone have a link to somewhere that will answer my questions? How many recharges can I expect out of these puppies without the life time getting shorter?

 

[kami]

You thinking about Nicad's or Alkaline's? I have some of these rechargable "alkalines" and they do last a lot longer than Nicad's, but not as long as the more expensive single-use alakalines. The good thing with these ones is that you don't have to let it totally drain before recharging...basically you can do whatever you want with them and won't seriously affect their life which can happen if you don't use and charge Nicad's properly.

 

[Syborg1211]

I was thinking about the NiMH ones and the Alkaline ones. Maybe there is some high school student out there that did this for a project in Chemistry or something that can show me their results?

 

[Dedpuhl]

remember those machines that were on TV a while back that claimed to recharge regular batteries. Did anyone ever try one and did it work?

 

[Lord Evermore]

Normal alkalines can technically be recharged...but if you overcharge them they explode.

 

[Syborg1211]

Explosion? Cool, I have to try that!

 

[Syborg1211]

bump

 

[DadofOne]

We use the NiMH AA cels in our digcam---have saven enough to buy a new digcam--those suckers chew thru batteries like no tommorow...

 

[MWink]

I use only rechargeable batteries. It really does save a lot of money. I would recommend NIMH batteries. I have never heard of Alkaline rechargeables lasting more than 20 charges. I have a bunch of Energizer Accu Rechargeables and some Radio Shack High Capacity rechargeables.

 

[kaiotes]

i have used the sanyo/ge nicad and Nimh, all the way from tehir blue, gold, to the platinimum (NIMH) the nimh has 1600 rating, and they are the best, it costs $5.99 for a pair. well worth the price
never buy alkalines no more, its NImh all the way, the energizer nimh suck cuz they have same rating as the gold nicads by sanyho/ge

 

[Syborg1211]

bump

 

[SenorBiggles]

<< remember those machines that were on TV a while back that claimed to recharge regular batteries. Did anyone ever try one and did it work? >>



Yeah, I had one. I think that was the one that Dick Clark was pimpin'. I think it was called the SuperCharger (not 100% sure). Anyway, it worked alright. You had to charge the batteries BEFORE they were fully discharged and you could only charge a normal alkaline battery 3-4 times before they became completely useless. It was more nuisance to use than helpful, probably why they aren't on the market anymore.

Anyway, I like Ni-MH.

 

[Syborg1211]

bump

 

[NaughtyusMaximus]

Li-Ion's are the best if you can find them...

 

[Syborg1211]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, but I am the kind of guy that needs to be presented facts in order to sway toward another, hence the reason I was asking for life time shortening and you recharge it more and more. Your opinions are great, but I don't buy products based on opinions only

 

[eelw]

I actually have a alkaline battery charger. It costed around $60 Cnd. I am able to recharge most single use batteries between 5 - 10 times and stretch battery life (when using my MD player) from about 4 hours to around 20 hours. The recharging method is different than standard rechargable batteries. Instead of fully depleting the battery before recharging, the batteries should be discharged to about 70% of the battery life and then refresh the battery charge back to maximum capacity. So I get the benefits of using alkalines (better battery life for high current drain devices) while having the costs advantages of regular rechargable batteries. I'm just waiting for rechargable LiIon batteries in normal standard AAA, AA, etc formats.

 

[fallenoncrack]

i've cooked regular batteries when i recharged them. hehe damn they got hot and sizzled

 

[Syborg1211]

bump

 

[Mday]

well, it depends on what you use them for. I would recommend getting nimh, but there are several ratings. 1600 mAh i would recommend for portable entertainment (disc man, walkman, etc) and cameras (for the flash mostly), lower mAh for remote controls and stuff. if you use a battery powered stereo (if they still exist) you may be well off getting a charger capable of D or C cell recharging. AA and AAA are a must. 9V is optional, but a plus if you use it.

you should get at least 2 sets of what you use. so, that's that with how many batteries you should get. for example, if you have a walkman with 2 batteries, you should get 4 batteries. if you have a calculator, say a TI graphing calculator, get 8 AAA batteries.

 

[ManSnake]

Rayovac is not very good, at least for me the brand is not that good, I like to use regular batteries, they last way longer even though they might seem expansive.

 

[Syborg1211]

Ok, hehe, I admit it! I am in high school. I did this exact project for chem and I turned it in today. Anyone want to see my results? I tested the two Rayovac batteries (The NiMH and rechargeable alkalines)

 

[MWink]

I want to see the results.

 

[Syborg1211]

I used a Sony Discman to drain the batteries and here are the playing times for the batteries:
Type Time Drain # Playing timea
alk 3:45pm-9:14am 1 17 hours, 29 min
alk 2:56pm-7:06am 2 16 hours, 10 min
alk 6:50am-6:03pm 3 11 hours, 13 min
alk 6:55am-5:03pm 4 10 hours, 8 min
alk 2:50pm-12:20am 5 9 hours, 30 min

nimh 2:59pm-8:51am 1 17 hours, 52 min
nimh 1:40pm-7:01am 2 17 hours, 21 min
nimh 6:54am-11:36pm 3 16 hours, 42 min
nimh 6:51am-11:03pm 4 16 hours, 13 min
nimh 6:50am-10:33pm 5 15 hours, 43 min

I would paste my awesome conclusion for my paper but office seems to be malfunctioning




EDIT: Darn it, I can't seem to get my spacing to work!

 

[772]

can anyone recommend a good brand and where I can get them?

 

[Syborg1211]

As you can see in my results, the Rayovac Ultra (NiMH) batteries held up considerably well against the rechargeable alkaline. The only thing that I have to complain about them is that if they arent used for a while they start losing power and you would have to recharge them if they have been sitting for a long long time.