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Rayovac hybrid batteries


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I have a standard Energizer charger for my Ni-MH batteries. Does anyone know if these new "Hybrid" rechargeables work with a charger for the old ones?

 

I believe I heard they won't loose charge over time as bad as the Ni-MH batteries will. That would be great if I can just buy a pack of the new and improved without getting a new charger. It annoys me greatly to have a set charged as spares, then find their low when I need them.

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I have a standard Energizer charger for my Ni-MH batteries. Does anyone know if these new "Hybrid" rechargeables work with a charger for the old ones?...

- Yes, as per Rayovac mfg:

"Hybrid batteries can be charged in ALL brands of NiMH chargers, even in chargers you already own."

"Unlike other regular NiMH rechargeables that need to be charged before using, Hybrid batteries come pre-charged and ready to use right out of the package. "

Edited by shivia
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Does 60csx have the "hybrid" setting choice on its battery dropdown list?

 

No, but the discharge profile seems to more closely resemble the alkalines, so you may want to use that setting. With the older 60CS, the battery selection only affected the battery status display. I assume that is still true for the X series. Please feel free to flame me if I'm wrong about that.

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I've been using them for the last month or so in my foretrex. I charge them on my energizer 15 minute charger, no problems. I get about 11-12hr battery life from the 800mh AAA cells. And they do indeed hold thier charge much longer when not in use than the energizer AA's I use in my other units.

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Does 60csx have the "hybrid" setting choice on its battery dropdown list?

 

No, but the discharge profile seems to more closely resemble the alkalines, so you may want to use that setting. With the older 60CS, the battery selection only affected the battery status display. I assume that is still true for the X series. Please feel free to flame me if I'm wrong about that.

My understanding is that their voltage and discharge is like NiMH because they are NiMH. The difference is that they do not discharge as quickly just sitting unused. This is my big complaint about the current NiMH. I will bet that the 2500mah AA NiMH I use in my camera drop to below 2100 capacity in a few days. I am always topping off the charge, and will not have to with these new ones. I plan to get some of the Rayovacs soon.

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I have a standard Energizer charger for my Ni-MH batteries. Does anyone know if these new "Hybrid" rechargeables work with a charger for the old ones?...

- Yes, as per Rayovac mfg:

"Hybrid batteries can be charged in ALL brands of NiMH chargers, even in chargers you already own."

"Unlike other regular NiMH rechargeables that need to be charged before using, Hybrid batteries come pre-charged and ready to use right out of the package. "

 

Thanks, sounds good. Like others have said, my only complaint with the Ni-MH was the depletion when not in use. I'm guessing here, but with it not loosing charge like the Ni-MH, it may work well in things like flashlights and 2-way radios.

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Does 60csx have the "hybrid" setting choice on its battery dropdown list?

 

No, but the discharge profile seems to more closely resemble the alkalines, so you may want to use that setting. With the older 60CS, the battery selection only affected the battery status display. I assume that is still true for the X series. Please feel free to flame me if I'm wrong about that.

- hmmm...these famous hybrid batt are close to the alkaline batt, performance speaking. But, they still are NiMH batt. So, what setting choosen for them, Alkaline or NiMH?

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Does 60csx have the "hybrid" setting choice on its battery dropdown list?

No, but the discharge profile seems to more closely resemble the alkalines, so you may want to use that setting. With the older 60CS, the battery selection only affected the battery status display. I assume that is still true for the X series. Please feel free to flame me if I'm wrong about that.

- hmmm...these famous hybrid batt are close to the alkaline batt, performance speaking. But, they still are NiMH batt. So, what setting choosen for them, Alkaline or NiMH?

 

- Admin or Moderator, please discard/erase this second redundant post, please :D

Edited by shivia
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Does 60csx have the "hybrid" setting choice on its battery dropdown list?

No, but the discharge profile seems to more closely resemble the alkalines, so you may want to use that setting. With the older 60CS, the battery selection only affected the battery status display. I assume that is still true for the X series. Please feel free to flame me if I'm wrong about that.

- hmmm...these famous hybrid batt are close to the alkaline batt, performance speaking. But, they still are NiMH batt. So, what setting choosen for them, Alkaline or NiMH?

 

I guess the question is what the different settings look for - since akalines are 1.5 volts and NiMH are 1.2 volts would if the setting is voltage sensitive, then it should probably be set for NiMH batteries. I guess I would use the NiMH setting either way since these batts are supposed to behave like NiMH except for the usual self-discharging of regular NiMH....

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By the way, I bought 2 sample packs with 2 AA size, 2 AAA size, the Rayovac overnight charger for $11.94 at the local DevilMart. Came with a $5.00 rebate for each one. So a pretty good price after rebate for 4 batts of each size. Didnt really need the chargers but due to the rebate it made them pretty cheap. (They were out of stock on the regular AA size anyway....

 

Unfortunately, the Rayovac charger is only an overnight charger - no quick charge. According to Rayovac, you can use any charger so I'll use my quick charger when needed.

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We recently bought a set of the Rayovac's in the US, in the charger kit described above. THe AAA's, out of the box, needed charging. As well, we picked up some Eneloops, which I believe are the same concept, made by Sanyo. Got them from The Source in Victoria. The Eneloops package was dated 06 2006, and out of the box, indicated fully charged when I put them in my camera. If I get a chance, I'll do a side-by-side test, but first indication (state of charge when new) is the Eneloops may be the better of the two.

Edited by Goodguys
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A battery that can maintain charge while stored for longer periods of time has a higher internal resistance; a battery that discharges quickly while stored has a lower internal resistance.

 

A battery with lower internal resistance will permit you to discharge the battery more quickly.

 

This is important in situations where you need sudden bursts of current draw such as with radio control aircraft. In r/c aircraft, if you move all the control surfaces at the same time, it puts a high load on the batteries; with a high internal resistance this can actually cause the voltage to drop sufficiently enough that the receiver will cease to function momentarily, thereby causing momentary loss of control.

 

NiCd's are low internal resistance and will therefore discharge quickly (believe it or not, it's 10% per day!), but they are perfectly suited for radio control aircraft, or other situations requiring sudden bursts of power. In a device where the current draw is more constant, either will work, but as you already know those with a longer shelf life between charges (higher internal resistance) will be less hassle.

 

I know the discharge curve of NiCd is such that there's a immediate drop in voltage when you first use them after charging, but then the voltage levels out for most of the duration of the discharge, until it gets to about 1.1 volts. At that point the voltage plummets rapidly. That is why NiCd's do not give you much warning when they are about to die. For Alkalines, the discharge curve is much more linear, that is why you will see the voltage steadily degrade over the duration of the discharge.

 

Unfortunately I do not know much about NiMh, what their relative internal resistance is, what there discharge curve is, nor which type of charging method (constant voltage or constant current) is. It is my understanding, however, that you cannot charge a high internal resistance battery quickly (on this point I may be wrong); so do use caution if you chose to use the quick charger, make sure you're protected from them if they explode, and do not leave them to charge unattended.

 

Better yet, if you can find any definitive answers on this (I haven't looked, yet) perhaps you can inform the rest of us!

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Is there a place to buy these other than ebay?

 

I have gone to Walmart, Target and some other office stores and cannot find them here in SoCalif.

I've been able to pick them up at Walmart in Pennsylvania. I think I will like these for lower-consumption but rarely-used items (e.g., flashlights, electronic mousetraps, cordless keyboards).

 

I see that Thomas Distributing is selling Uniross Hybrio batteries that appear to be about the same as the Rayovac hybrids. The specs list these interesting claims:

  • 2100 mAh
  • retains 85% of charge after one year

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I bought those Rayovac AA hybrid batteries yesterday at the Wal-Mart in Plainfield and tested them in my Garmin Legend C GPS w/o charging them first. I can get about 20 hours on a pair of them. (I actually took them out after being on for over 18.5 hours and still had one bar in the battery meter.) Think i'll be using them in my GPS from now on.

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I bought a pack of Rayovac's and put them on my one hour charger when I got home. At first I was confused when the charge light went out after a few minutes, then I remembered the package indicated they were ready to use right out of the package. To me that indicates they will maintain their charge quite well in storage. I have been pleased with their performance when geocaching with my 76CS and in a digicam. I would say in my experience the useful battery life per charge has been similar to others in this thread. I will gradually be switching to all hybrids, barring any unforseen developments with their performance.

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A battery that can maintain charge while stored for longer periods of time has a higher internal resistance; a battery that discharges quickly while stored has a lower internal resistance.

Better yet, if you can find any definitive answers on this (I haven't looked, yet) perhaps you can inform the rest of us!

It seems, using this logic, that lithium batteries would have higher internal resistance since they can be stored for 10 years. However, I do not believe this is true. It has to do with the construction of the internals of the battery and their construction. Much good information here and here.

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A battery that can maintain charge while stored for longer periods of time has a higher internal resistance; a battery that discharges quickly while stored has a lower internal resistance.

Better yet, if you can find any definitive answers on this (I haven't looked, yet) perhaps you can inform the rest of us!

It seems, using this logic, that lithium batteries would have higher internal resistance since they can be stored for 10 years. However, I do not believe this is true. It has to do with the construction of the internals of the battery and their construction. Much good information here and here.

I agree with Clutch because I know that NiCd bats have a lower resistance, yet self discharge slower than NiMH.

 

Regarding the Rayovac Hybrids, I got a pack of 4 AAs a couple of weeks ago and have been using them in my camera. They work great. Based on my research of these with regard to their discharge rate, and superior voltage curve, I believe that they are the best choice currently in AA rechargables.

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I've been using Rayovac hybrid rechargeable batteries in my Garmin Legend C GPS for many months now. Yesterday, I decided to run a battery test to see how long a pair lasts. Well. my pair lasted 25 hours and 32 minutes (5:30 p.m. yesterday to 7:03 p.m. tonight). I'll have to do the same test this time using alkalines.

 

 

Brian

 

from Joliet, IL

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I just picked up a couple sets of rayovac hybrids today at the local devilmart.

I am disappointed that the AA size are only 2100 mAh compared to some of my other NiMh batteries that are 2500.

Anyone using these batteries in their GPSr? I have the 60CSx so I'll look forward to seeing how long these will last.

I have been using the hybrids for awhile now and know for a fact in one of my cameras they will outlast the Energizer 2500 batteries, and in other equipment seem to do the same. I know from now on the hybrids will be the only battery I'll buy.

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Is there a place to buy these other than ebay?

 

I have gone to Walmart, Target and some other office stores and cannot find them here in SoCalif.

You might also look for a Kodak battery at Walmart, on the package Kodak doesn't call them hybrid but I am 99.9% sure they are. We bought a four pack of them to try and they seem to have the same characteristics as the other hybrids we have. On the top of the package it says "digital camera battery" and on the bottom of the package it says something like "lasts four times longer". They are the only hybrid type battery our Walmart carries. I think I paid $7.88 for a four pack of AAs.

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[/quote name=Team Cache Quest' post='2640866' date='Jan 1 2007, 10:28 PM]

Anyone using these batteries in their GPSr? I have the 60CSx so I'll look forward to seeing how long these will last.

 

I have been using the Rayovac hybrid in my 60CSx now for about 3 months and have been well pleased with them. Before, I used the Rayovac NiMh 15 minute rechargeables and they did not do well at all after a few months of use and several charges. I actually had a lot of them, 34 to be exact in AA and AAA, and Rayovac just replaced all of them free of charge this past week with their hybrid NiMh. I use the rechargeables in everything from cameras, GPSr, flashlights, electric razor, and I'm probably leaving something out. I did have to send them back to Rayovac along with the 15 minute charger, but that was the least I could do since they were replacing them all free of charge.

 

Rayovac Consumer Services said they are discontinuing their 15 min. IC3 battery after the first of the year, guess they just won't last as originally expected.

Edited by eaparks
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