Free Alkaline Batteries !

[+sTeamTraen]

Here's a tip for people who use alkaline batteries in their GPSr, and who know someone who has a cheap digital camera. Perhaps a lot of people already know this, but the last three people I asked didn't !

 

It turns out that alkaline batteries are the worst possible choice for a digital camera. They have quite a high internal resistance and they just can't keep up with the power drain. (The best batteries, funnily enough, are bad old NiCds; you can use almost every mAh in there.)

 

So when a set of alkaline batteries no longer works in a camera, they are still pretty good for most applications requiring a low current drain. Such as... a GPSr !

 

Last week on the trail I saw someone cursing at his camera and changing the batteries. He was about to throw them in the trash and I asked if I could have them. His pair of AAA cells came up "4 out of 4" in my Geko 201, and the 4th bar stayed there for the next two hours. I reckon he was throwing away more than half of the "GPSr life" of the batteries.

[+benjamin921]

Good info.

[+IVxIV]

I'm not sure if the GPSr would be in the "low current drain" category, especially if WAAS is enabled, autorouting is functioning, and especially if the backlight is being used.

 

I still think NiMH rechargables were the best gift from the Gods in regards to powering a GPSr. With them I leave the house every time with a fully charged battery pack, and 1 set lasts all day+.

 

I never tried NiMH or alkalines in my digital camera,, it's a Fuji FinePix and uses a custom proprietary battery, unfortunately.

[+sTeamTraen]

I'm not sure if the GPSr would be in the "low current drain" category, especially if WAAS is enabled, autorouting is functioning, and especially if the backlight is being used.

 

I still think NiMH rechargables were the best gift from the Gods in regards to powering a GPSr. With them I leave the house every time with a fully charged battery pack, and 1 set lasts all day+.

 

I never tried NiMH or alkalines in my digital camera,, it's a Fuji FinePix and uses a custom proprietary battery, unfortunately.

I run NiMH full time. But a pair of alkalines can live in your glove box for ever without losing their charge, so they're a good backup, especially when they're free, and a Geko 201 goes through a NiMH full charge in less than four hours.

[+slinger91]

I'll give it a shot.

[+GrnXnham]

This is good advice. I used to go through alkaline batteries after only a few shots in my digital camera. Then I switched to NiMH batteries and they last about 10 times as long in my digital camera. The alkaline batteries that supposedly were dead in the digital camera were still good to use in flashlights, GPSr, and remote controls because these items did not require the large "surge" in power that a digital camera requires.

[+NightPilot]

Compared to the rapid heavy drain from a camera, a GPS is a low-drain device, even with the backlight on. It's all relative. I still wouldn't buy alkalines for a GPS, but if the batteries are free, why not use them rather than throw them away?

[+Colorado Cacher]

Want free batteries? I was locksmithing in a Qwest shop parking garage once and could not believe I was seeing smaller oil drums used for trash cans-I think they are about twenty or thirty gallon oil drums-and they were full of used batteries. Qwest must supply their workers with batteries by the billions to use in the field from what I saw.

[+Marcie/Eric]

Batteries make a serious difference. Even between brands.

 

I used Energizer regulars. lasted about a week, i'd say a few hours per day use.

 

Got some E2 lithium. Lasted about two weeks. Same average.

 

Got some cheap AA's from Wally world.. "LOW BATTERIES" in ONE DAY!

[+Couparangus]

We have a family member who works at a 1 hour photo lab. Disposable cameras are an excellent source of free AA batteries. If the camera has been used for only outside photos the battery is as good as new.

[+Big Sky Explorers]

I am using my NIMH bats from my old digital camera. I don't need them in my new camera since it has a battery pack. So far I have received about 12 hours out of one charge. I left the unit on all day at home to see how long it would last. Since they are rechargable I consider them "FREE" after the first use. Looks like they last as long as the Alkaline AA I used to use.

[+NightPilot]

Cheap AA and AAA batteries are often carbon-zinc, not alkaline, and that makes a huge difference. If it doesn't say Alkaline on the battery, it's probably carbon-zinc, which is very old technology, cheap to manufacture, but they don't last long. I don't think any of the major manufacturers are making them any longer, but they churn them out in China by the carload. Lots of the cheap batteries you see in the dollar stores, etc are these, not alkaline, and they're not worth buying.

[mudhuggers]

NiMH rechargables are designed to give Max power output for a period of time and then die very quickly after charge is gone. Alkaline batteries start high on output and slowly loose their power. For example, if you put NiMH batteries in a flashlight and turned it on the light would be very bright for 5 hours then get dim in 10 minutes and go out. An alkaline would be bright at first then slowly get more dim as time goes on until at the 5 hour mark be dead. A digital Camera requires high output all the time thus it uses the NiMH rechargables very well. The GPS does not have the power drain a Camera does so the Alkaline works fine.....although I do use NiMH rechargables in my GPS and my 2200's work better and last longer than the 1800's I have.

[+Roo & the Bears]

.....although I do use NiMH rechargables in my GPS and my 2200's work better and last longer than the 1800's I have.

Walmart now has the new Engergizer NiMh 2500mah AA's on the shelf. $9.94 for 4 of them. That's getting real close to the rated capacity of the Energizer Alkaline battery! I've bought some and they work great.