Recharge alkaline AA?

[+Chrysalides]

I've been careful to remove any referral links, etc. And besides, the product is sold out right now.

 

Rosewill RGD-CT505 Battery Charger for AAA/AA Alkaline and Ni-MH Batteries

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817182206

 

It claims to, and customer reviews support it, recharge regular alkaline batteries in addition to NiMH.

 

I've only come across this one other time, about 20 years ago in a U.K. electronics magazine. It gave schematics and plans on how it does this - instead of just a reverse current, it uses a sine wave, with a reduced forward current. I can't remember what is the correct term for it, but if you graph the wave, the amplitude of the wave below the X axis is smaller than the one above.

 

Manufacturers always warn about the danger of leaking and explosion if an alkaline cell is recharged. Is this a valid fear, or is it a conspiracy to get us to buy more batteries? Does anyone know enough about alkaline battery chemistry to know if the process can be reversed?

Edited May 13, 2010 by Chrysalides

[+dfx]

wikipedia has a few articles on that subject.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkaline_battery

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechargeable_alkaline_battery

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recharging_alkaline_batteries

 

apparently alkaline isn't alkaline and there's different types, some of which are even advertised as being rechargeable, while for the others it may or may not work, depending on their internals. personally i wouldn't trust it.

[+Jeep4two]

I gave the ole Rayovac Renewals a shot when they came out. They were OK. They had short life in high drain devices and like other alkaline batteries were prone to leaking if left in a device fully discharged.

 

I ultimately tossed them all. I also only got a few dozen charges out of them before they were virtually worthless.

 

NiMH is the way to go. Not sure about that particular charger.

[+Chrysalides]

dfx : thanks for the Wikipedia links. Interesting reading, if sometimes schizophrenic like most Wikipedia articles, since it is written by different people at different times

 

Jeep4two : I saw the Rayovac Renewals as well - they kinda made sense before the low self discharge NiMH, but not anymore.

 

Anyway, thought it was interesting that a commercial charger for recharging alkaline batteries is available. Personally, NiMH still makes more sense for me - even if I can recharge each alkaline cell 10 times successfully, NiMH still works out cheaper.

[+Prime Suspect]

I tried using these in my old Palm Pilot years ago. But they would reach a discharge state faster with each charge. It's was simpler and cheaper to just keep a supply of cheap AAAs on hand, bought in bulk at Frys.

[+PokerLuck]

There are alkaline batteries that are designed to be rechargable. They have vents or absorbent materials inside the case that prevent the battery from exploding from the gases that are generated during charging. It's especially serious when charged with high currents, which generate heat and more gas. This makes recharging a regular alkaline very dangerous. I don't know whether the claims of this company are valid, but on the other hand, rechargable batteries just aren't that expensive when you take into account how many times you can recharge them. It doesn't seem to be worth the risk to me.

[+Jeep4two]

dfx : thanks for the Wikipedia links. Interesting reading, if sometimes schizophrenic like most Wikipedia articles, since it is written by different people at different times

 

Jeep4two : I saw the Rayovac Renewals as well - they kinda made sense before the low self discharge NiMH, but not anymore.

 

Anyway, thought it was interesting that a commercial charger for recharging alkaline batteries is available. Personally, NiMH still makes more sense for me - even if I can recharge each alkaline cell 10 times successfully, NiMH still works out cheaper.

 

Chrysalides: Right on - you simply can't beat NiMH when considering the new low discharge options. 20 battery bulk packs (Sanyo Eneloops 2200mAh) can be had for under $36.00 anywhere - probably less. A quality 90 minute charger for about $10 and a higher end conditioning charger for around $25 makes NiMH an unquestionable choice these days.

 

I have a brick of 20 aa NiMh Lenmar 2500mAh batteries (not low discharge) that I'll use in my digicam, gps's and other high drain devices until they are no longer usable. I charge with a Lenmar 90 minute charger most of the time with an Energizer 8 hour charger (after full discharge with a AA battery flashlight) about once a year for conditioning. I'm frugal. . . what can I say.

 

When the Lenmar's are gone I'll go with low discharge Sanyo's or other quality 2200+mAh batts then.

[+muddy frogs]

I've had an alkaline battery charger for many years, and it does work, although one time I had a battery start leaking some noxious-looking liquid after charging. It will also charge the rechargeables and has a switch to set for each type battery. I think I'm going with some new NiMh for my new Oregon.

[+bittsen]

I've been careful to remove any referral links, etc. And besides, the product is sold out right now.

 

Rosewill RGD-CT505 Battery Charger for AAA/AA Alkaline and Ni-MH Batteries

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817182206

 

It claims to, and customer reviews support it, recharge regular alkaline batteries in addition to NiMH.

 

I've only come across this one other time, about 20 years ago in a U.K. electronics magazine. It gave schematics and plans on how it does this - instead of just a reverse current, it uses a sine wave, with a reduced forward current. I can't remember what is the correct term for it, but if you graph the wave, the amplitude of the wave below the X axis is smaller than the one above.

 

Manufacturers always warn about the danger of leaking and explosion if an alkaline cell is recharged. Is this a valid fear, or is it a conspiracy to get us to buy more batteries? Does anyone know enough about alkaline battery chemistry to know if the process can be reversed?

 

I tried recharging regular batteries with a charger. There was about 10 minutes of a high pitched noise that I couldn't find and then a LOUD POP!

 

Took me a couple hourse before I figured out that it was the batteries. I only found out because the second battery was making that noise.

 

They DO explode.

[+DonB]

I gave the ole Rayovac Renewals a shot when they came out. They were OK. They had short life in high drain devices and like other alkaline batteries were prone to leaking if left in a device fully discharged.

 

I ultimately tossed them all. I also only got a few dozen charges out of them before they were virtually worthless.

 

NiMH is the way to go. Not sure about that particular charger.

The company I worked for as a maintenance electrician bought a bunch of the Rayovac Renewals and the chargers for us to try and we had the same results as Jeep4two stated.

[NordicMan]

Sanyo's new 2500 mAh Eneloops are going to be the latest crowd pleasers!

 

http://www.eneloop.info/fileadmin/EDITORS/...XX_DoubleX_.pdf

[+ecanderson]

Sanyo's new 2500 mAh Eneloops are going to be the latest crowd pleasers!

 

http://www.eneloop.info/fileadmin/EDITORS/...XX_DoubleX_.pdf

Unless you're ready to move from Ontario to a real "NordicMan" country, looks like you'll be waiting a while on these. Note in the press release the phrase "(Exclusive to Europe)" for this new XX series.

[+Chrysalides]

Sanyo's new 2500 mAh Eneloops are going to be the latest crowd pleasers!

 

http://www.eneloop.info/fileadmin/EDITORS/...XX_DoubleX_.pdf

Unless you're ready to move from Ontario to a real "NordicMan" country, looks like you'll be waiting a while on these. Note in the press release the phrase "(Exclusive to Europe)" for this new XX series.

"Exclusive to Europe", sounds like a fantastic opportunity for parallel importers. "For professional use" is marketing speak for "we'll charge you two limbs and a kidney for it".