Information on Rechargeable Batteries

[boreal jeff & sons]

Lately, I've been going through enough double 'AA' batteries to fill a small garbage dump. Luckly, my city has a hazardous waste disposal site.

 

I'm thinking it might be more ecomonical to switch to rechargeable batteries. The rechargeable batteries I got with my digital camera don't seem to hold a charge.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions about rechargeable batteries and chargers? Are they more economical and can you get ones that can hold a decent charge?

 

Every hour spent geocaching is added to the end of your life

[+Marky]

Because of their lower voltage, the don't peg the battery meter on the GPSr, but they last all day just fine. I bought some Lenmar 1800mAh AAs at Fry's for 4 for $9.99. I recently bought some Energizer 1850mAh at Target for 4 for $12.99. Both brands have been working for me just fine.

 

--Marky

"Everyone spends time in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

[+Decodoppler]

Well... I use the same type of rechargeables in my GPS and digital camera... Ni-MH 1450 or 1600 mAh. I have some from Kodak, some from Radio Shack and some "Others" name forgotten. I charge them with a dash mounted car charger... try to keep a spare set of two or four on charge and ready to go at all times... never get a "full" battery indicator when these puppies are in the GPSr but they give a very reasonable burn time and have repaid my original investment several times over.

 

My advice... get yourself some tomorrow

 

Hope this helps

 

Decodoppler

[+yorelken]

I have been using 1800 mAh for six months and they are great. They last a very long time in my digital camera and the GPS. I think using the same in each device (if possible) is a good idea in that you could always take them from the camera if the GPS batteries went out in the field.

[+eagleflyby]

I have been using rechargable batteries since the mid eighties and since they came out with the NIMH there is definetly no reason not to go for them. All in all you get a carger for your 12V outlet in your car and one for home and about 8 to 12 NIMH's depending on how much you use them and off you go. A little tip: Keep 2 little containers, one labled "Charged" and the other "Used" that will keep them organized. Also, try not to mix different types of batteries as this could harm your electronic devices.

The problem with the batterie indicators is not all that big of a deal, most manufacturers let you choose the batterie type in the device you intend to use them, Garmin has just recently updated the Soft Ware for the VISTA and some other units to accomodate the different batterie types.

 

So Long Eagleflyby

[+rbrtwntr]

If you decide to purchase nickle metal hydride batteries it would be prudent to use and charge these batteries in pairs. These batteries may be recharged up to 1000 times. I find it convenient to number each cell and use them in pairs (ie: 1,2 3,4 etc.) They do save money as long as we can afford the electricity bill to charge them.

rbrtwntr

[+RobRee]

thanks for info and decent thread. was going to post similar question, but searched this out. only other question is ..

 

what is most dependable brand? and does that really matter??

 

i have several devices.. GPSr, mp3 player, flashlights that use AAs, and want to consolidate into rechargeables.

 

________________________

immed after writing this post

i recvd this email

 

sanyo 2100 maH

retail 14$ - 2AAs

_________________________

thanks

robbie

LI,NY

 

[BullZie]

I use Leap brand NiMH rechargables and they work great. I have never seen them anywhere but where Boreal Jeff can buy them. Check them out at Electronic Universe. They work great in my digital camera and in my GPS.

[+Pharmadude]

I picked up a set of 4 NiMH rechargeables with charger quite reasonably at Radio Shack (Cat# 23-427). They work great.

[+Binrat]

Found this great test on NiMh batteries and used it to find the best for myself. I will never go back to regulars again, exept in emergencies. My digital camera uses them sparingly and last a long time. Just remember, the higher the milliamps the longer they last.

 

http://www.imaging-resource.com/ACCS/BATTS/BATTS.HTM

 

Binrat

 

"Blood is thicker than water.......Unless the water is frozen!"

[Cache Canucks]

...if you want to call it a 'problem', is that they passively self-discharge. In other words, if you charge up a set and leave them 'on the shelf' for a few weeks, you'll find that when you do finally go to use them, they're at somewhat less than 100%. The answer to this is to purchase a 'smart' recharger that detects when a charging cycle is complete and then switches to a 'trickle' or 'maintenance' mode that can keep the batteries 'topped up' until you go to use them (the other advantage to a 'smart' recharger is that you don't have to worry about leaving your batteries in it too long and them becoming overcharged). Don't mistake a recharger that simply has an internal timer which turns itself off after a set period of charging as a 'smart' recharger ...unless these chargers have a 'trickle' mode, batteries left in them will also self-discharge over time.

 

Not to say that NiMH's aren't the way to go (I'm a convert to them as well), just understand that they're different from regular alkalines when it comes to storage prior to use. You can leave a fresh 4-pack of alkalines in the bottom of your pack all winter and they'll still be bright as day for you come the spring ...do that with some fully charged NiMHs, and you'll be trying to nurse some rather lifeless cells back to health before they're of any use to you.

 

Another thing to maybe consider avoiding is the 'fast' chargers (ones that will charge up a set of batteries in an hour or two ...rather than twice as long [or more] for a standard charger). 'Fast' chargers use a much higher current, generating greater heat within each battery as it's being charged ...which reduces the effective life of the battery (ie: the number of times that it can be recharged). If you're willing to make a slight trade off in overall battery life for the convenience of fast recharge times (which can be a perfectly reasonable option ...it's not like NiMHs cost an arm and a leg to replace), then perhaps a 'fast' charger is for you.

 

[+Solar Max]

I have been trickle charging NiMH's now for 6 months. Although it can take 20 hours to charge them, it takes a very long time to flatten them, almost as long as regular Duracells. I do note, however, that on my Garmin eTrex Legend battery display, the charge indicator rapidly drops to the half mark, then takes forever to finally run out of juice. (It's kind of like a GM gas guage in reverse. Sits on Full forever.. then drops like a stone)

 

If I ain't sweatin', I ain't cachin. Are we there yet?

[+Baston]

This weekend past I was out caching Sat and Sunday. I use 1600 mA LEAP batteries and normally they will last 12 to 15 hours in my eMap. But this weekend I found that I was going to through batteries every two to three hours because of the cold weather. I guess it is time to get lithium batteries for cold weather caching.

 

Baston

[+park2]

A reminder for fellow Garminites that the newest firmware (for the Vista at least) features a new field in the MainMenu/Setup/System page where you can specify the battery chemistry you are using. Choose from Alkaline, NiCad, NiMH, and Lithium.

 

I believe this just properly scales the battery indicator for the discharge voltage profile of whtever type of cell you use.

 

Being the geek I am, I now have to buy a set of each to try this out

Park2

[+PDOP's]

If you're looking for more info on NiMH batteries and chargers there are many many threads on this subject on the sci.geo.satellite-nav news group.

[+Solar Max]

Thanks Park2, I noticed that battery type field on my eTrex Legend. Let me know how it works

 

If I ain't sweatin', I ain't cachin. Are we there yet?