Rechargable batteries

[+dartymoor]

I wrote this for another thread, but it got a bit longer and would have hijacked it a bit, so thought I'd plonk it here. I know some will disagree, I may be wrong about some bits, but this is based on years of experience rather than a wikipedia article I once read. So read with scorn or interest, ignore by all means and I could very well be wrong - but these things work for me and I've got a fair bit of experience with them.

 

Smart chargers are best. Fast/slow - if they're dumb they'll damage but it may not be enough to matter a great deal in practice. I don't profess to know all the ins and outs (tbh, although a lot of people spout information like they do, it's a hugely complicated subject) Mine cost £15 and will scope its charge to service each of its 8 batteries at a time. At the end, it'll drop to a maintaining trickle charge. Some batteries it'll do quickly, some slowly, depending on their characteristics. Also, I happily ignore all advice to "Make sure it's flat before you charge it" or "Don't let it get totally flat". That's good advice for car batteries, but life's too short to care that much about AA's.

 

Manufacturers lie blatantly about capacity. Like AAA's that have "1450 mah" and AA nicads with "3750 mah". Lies. Whilst I've had some excellent unbranded ones from the likes of dealextreme, I've also had some shockingly bad and even some which were suspiciously light, so I cut them open to find half the cell was just empty air! So nowadays I stick to branded, specifically Duracell and generally from 7dayshop (cheapest reliable supplier I've found). Still get the odd dud cell (I bought 140 rechargable duracell AAA's last month, 3 were duff from the start, not holding any kind of charge. I can live with that.)

 

Carry spares! Rechargables degrade in different ways. Some are predictable, some just flatline after a few minutes. Also mark your batteries somehow so if one was duff before and you're not totally sure it was properly charged before (my wife has a habit of occasionally putting drained ones back into the charged box!) then you can check next time. I carry a pair of nicads and a pair of alkalines as spares, the latter do seem to last longer unused.

 

Consider gadgets. I carry two GPSrs, android phone, camera, torch and an mp3 player when walking. With the exception of the phone (for which I also carry an emergency AA charger) they all run off AA's, and the mp3 player (with high energy music to get me up that hill!) AAA's. That means I can carry fewer spares and be able to swap them out. Also, you can buy more AA's anywhere. If your camera's lithium battery goes flat you have to go without or carry its charger. Although there's a great trend to standardise chargers for gadgets now, that doesn't help you in the middle of a moor (Although I am watching solar chargers with interest, I haven't found this summer has yet made me rush out and buy one!). Make sure they can't short out - batteries and keys in a trouser pocket can lead to a very warming experience!

 

Lithiums packs are great, but restricting. You find yourself moulding your life around the need to recharge them, and if you're on holiday or roaming freely this can be a major faff. Even if they are usb-rechargable, it means a certain system you need to adopt. You can still get good pocket digital cameras that run on AA's, seek them out!

[+thehoomer]

You sound like you are fully versed in rechargeable batteries.

To be honest, we don't use them anymore but can certainly see the benefit if you have a lot of gadgets and are in the field quite often.

We go caching so infrequently these days, its more hassle than its worth for us and we have fallen out of favour with them. For quite a few years now, we have been buying packs of Kodak Extralife (other brands are available) from the pound shop. They are in packs of 12 and 1 battery typically lasts for 6 hours. May be we have been lucky, we have never had one leak into our E Trex but for the convenience cheap batteries offer to people in circumstances such as ours, we are happy to continue using them.

 

Some good advice to folks on rechargeable's here though.

[+FuzzyBears]

I've bought loads of rechargeable AA batteries as life wouldn't run without them and agree with the comments about the quality. The trouble is...do you buy a few to see what they are like before buying a lot(which puts the cost up) or bulk-buy and hope they are ok. I wish we had a "recommendation" list and "avoid" list for others apart from the well-known (in UK) makes. I bought some, over the internet, from Australia that seem to be working well and could be a well-known brand there but it's not easy to find out. I've also bought batteries that worked well and gone for more of the same to find the new ones are not as good. It's a minefield I think. What charger have you got? My two 8-battery chargers have now died after many years sterling service (and a lot of abuse) and need one that will trickle charge once it reaches capacity not continue to fry till switched off. Any recommendations gratefully received.

Sue

[+dartymoor]

I've bought loads of rechargeable AA batteries as life wouldn't run without them and agree with the comments about the quality. The trouble is...do you buy a few to see what they are like before buying a lot(which puts the cost up) or bulk-buy and hope they are ok.

 

Yes - definitely! That's why I've gone for branded, even though I know I may be paying more, I figure in the long run it'll be about the same. I had this issue with walkie talkies for work - replacement battery packs (which were just four AAA's taped together and a plate on the back) were costing upwards of £12 each, and only had rubbish 600mah cells. Switched them for decent AAA's and now they're lasting 2 or 3 days instead of just one.

 

What charger have you got? My two 8-battery chargers have now died after many years sterling service (and a lot of abuse) and need one that will trickle charge once it reaches capacity not continue to fry till switched off. Any recommendations gratefully received.

 

I've now bought seven of these. At the lower end of smart chargers but do the business - I've seen this model with other badges on too. Seems quite a reliable and prompt seller too.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fast-Smart-Charger-1-8-AA-AAA-NiMH-batteries-LCD-display-Vapextech-/370612099986

[+The Patrician]

I've gone to Sanyo Eneloop rechargeables for GPS and torches:

 

http://www.eneloop.info/home.html

 

I haven't timed them to see how long they last but two will keep the 62s running for a good days walking.

[+simplysup]

I've now bought seven of these. At the lower end of smart chargers but do the business - I've seen this model with other badges on too. Seems quite a reliable and prompt seller too.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fast-Smart-Charger-1-8-AA-AAA-NiMH-batteries-LCD-display-Vapextech-/370612099986

 

Thanks for that, I was looking for a replacement. Ordered Monday, delivered today, and looks like a useful piece of kit.

[+FuzzyBears]

What charger have you got? My two 8-battery chargers have now died after many years sterling service (and a lot of abuse) and need one that will trickle charge once it reaches capacity not continue to fry till switched off. Any recommendations gratefully received.

 

I've now bought seven of these. At the lower end of smart chargers but do the business - I've seen this model with other badges on too. Seems quite a reliable and prompt seller too.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fast-Smart-Charger-1-8-AA-AAA-NiMH-batteries-LCD-display-Vapextech-/370612099986

 

Ordered one from eBay. Many thanks for the recommendation.

 

As for the batteries I will look for the Sanyo ones next time I order some. Thanks for the advice.

 

Sue

[+FuzzyBears]

Update...charger received and first lot of batteries charged. Much impressed with it. Now know I have fully charged batteries as the display shows me so. Thanks again for the recommendation.....now may get another one..

 

Sue

[+flipflopnick]

All batteries self dischage. NiCad are worse. Alkaline next. Lithium have long shelf life. NiMh rechargeable have good shelf life when charged. But the clear winners by a country mile are Sanyo Eneloop. Eneloop are sold ready charged as they have massive shelf life due to lowest self discharge rate.

 

In terms of capacity, use 2000 mAh or greater where possible. Yet to see AAA above 800 mAh. If using a smartphone, turn off screen to save power and carry spare battery.

 

Be aware only NiMh and Lithium batteries will work effectively in low temperatures. (Below 5C?) So every time you take GPSr out in freezing temperatures it will turn off unless using Lithium or NiMh batteries.

 

Bought one charger for all from Unipal. Charges everything. Camera, smartphone, AA AAA batteries. Mains or car. Sorted. Always have right charger. One in car, one at home.

[+The Other Stu]

Just to add to this, eneloop's aren't the only ready-charged batteries, nor are they necessarily the best, but they are really, really good.

 

I bought some Panasonic equivalents, called Evolta. I'd never heard of them, but they were recommended and were on a BOGOF type offer for a fiver. They are absolutely outstanding.

 

I think there are other makes out there too (I bought my kids some 7-day-shop own brand ready-charged ones and they seem OK for game controllers etc.)

 

Just to add some other brands to the mix

[+The Patrician]

Panasonic own Sanyo, apparently the Eneloop batteries were one of the main reasons they bought them. The specs of the two types look very similar, could they be the same thing with a different case?

 

Once I used an Eneloop I retired all my NiMHs for mundane duties in mice, keyboards, etc!

[+PopUpPirate]

When your batteries are charged and you switch the charger off at the wall (or pull it out of the wall), make sure you take the batteries out of the charger, too. Leaving batteries in a charger that is not powered up will drain them.

[+ivanidea]

I seem to remember the Duracell rechargable batteries performed well in the Gadget Show tests, but failed to make the top 5 due to them using a meaningless power to price ratio.

[+perth pathfinders]

Shopping at a well known electronics shop last weekend I came across Hybrid batteries.

"Hybrid - The Next Generation Rechargeable Battery"

 

they claim to hold the charge like a normal battery so you don't need to charge last minute.

don't drain in the cold.

last longer than a lot of rechargeables

new fast chargers take just 2 hours(ish) to charge and automatically switch off

 

Anybody tried them?

[+g0akh]

If they're green ones and the shop has the same name as a fictional holiday camp (can't we just say 'Maplins'?) I've got several sets. I use them in large digital camera and in a GPS, and they do what they say on the packet.

[+The Other Stu]

If they're green ones and the shop has the same name as a fictional holiday camp (can't we just say 'Maplins'?) I've got several sets. I use them in large digital camera and in a GPS, and they do what they say on the packet.

 

Maplins cough cough choke

 

And being a G0 too HI HI!

 

Seriously though PPs, this is the same technology we're talking about. They would be excellent. 7 day shop do some too which are probably made in the same factory and they're £2.49 a pack cheaper (Hence my comment about the fictional holiday camp people)

 

The Patrician; Interesting, I didn't know that. I did hear that as Eneloop were the best on the market, I guess they were ripe for buyout. I just thought someone would buy the patent, not the company!