Rechargeable Batteries AAA - D.

[Peter Sarf]

I have been using NiMh batteries since 1999. Over the years I have found myself questioning why I bother.
1) I have noticed many of the batteries fail after 5 - 20 uses. To be fair most use is camping so once a year.
2) I am not sure they are really cost effective.
3) They are of course no use for devices that insist on the correct voltage - NiMh cells voltage is actually only 80% of a normal battery.
4) PP3 I had some and they were particularly useless.
5) Each year I waste a lot of time checking their voltage, charging them all and then testing them a few days later.
6) I had reasonable life with non-rechargeable Alkaline batteries. Well they don't have much of a re-use life when I do recharge them but its not much worse than the NiMhs.
7) I have found them good for LED torches as LEDs seem to not be very voltage specific.
8) I have three suitable chargers. One on timer and head detection. Two more intelligent that can discharge, tweak and re-charge.
9) I have two old beast chargers that I use on Alkalines. As this is supposed to be dangerous I charge them on the patio in fine weather !. The patio is not a thing of beauty !.
EDIT :-
10) Forgot this one. Years ago I noticed that the C and D rechargeable batteries are quite expensive and often have no better capacity than my AAs. It felt like the D cells were in fact an AA with a spacer round them due to their weight. Behold in Maplin (so a while back) I one day noticed a set of D cell size plastic cases that you could insert an AA into. The biggest benefit is I no longer have to keep C and D cells charged ready to use and so have also not had to go to the expense of replacing them as they die. The AAs are cheaper and large capacity ones are more available. So I recommend the C and D adaptors sold on the web. Ironically I still have two of my original 8 D cells hanging on for grim death. They (4 at a time) only get used for the camping airbed inflator. It is amazing how some from the two sets have lasted longer than other identical members used and charged at exactly the same time.
/EDIT

What are other peoples experiences ?.

 

[Bletchleyite]

They have some uses but have mostly been replaced with the actual devices having a built in lithium battery and a USB socket. As a result I've not had any for years.

 

[Lewlew]

Off the top of my head the only things in my house to use removable batteries are the TV remote and thermostat. Both of which last years so not worth my time using rechargeable ones.

 

[najaB]

I used to use them quite a bit, but as @Bletchleyite says, most devices now have non-removable Li-ion batteries.

 

[ABB125]

The advantage of replaceable batteries is that if the device is flat, you can simply put new batteries in and it's ready to go, rather than wait 30 minutes/ 1 hour or whatever for it to charge up a bit

 

[SouthernR]

I have some Sanyo Eneloop AA 2000mAh batteries in frequent use in my camera, which are still going strong after 12 years.
I use the Sanyo NC-MONO4B charger they came with. It's worth noting that it is a slow charger, which takes about 24 hours.
Eneloop batteries are now branded as Panasonic.
Also, the battery type can be set on the camera.

 

[dgl]

No real issues with Ni-Mh rechargeables here and the modern ones keep their charge for a lot longer, I use Lidl/Tronic batteries and smart chargers mainly.
Only two issues of note, that is the higher capacity ones are larger than a standard alkaline AA (and possibly the AAA's too, though a 80's TOA wireless microphone has no issues with them) and the 9V ones don't work in dB technologies transmitters, which is an annoying but somewhat specialist use).

 

[JohnMcL7]

I use a large number of Panasonic Eneloop AA batteries and I find their performance is excellent especially in devices that normal rechargeable AA batteries either don't work in or have poor performance. I have a set sitting in a charger so I can just swap out any batteries that go flat and charge them up ready for the next ones that are needed.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Firstly I have remembered another point. See number 10 n the first post.

They have some uses but have mostly been replaced with the actual devices having a built in lithium battery and a USB socket. As a result I've not had any for years.

That is a good point. I think my dwindling stock of AAs still outstrips the declining number of uses I have for them.

Off the top of my head the only things in my house to use removable batteries are the TV remote and thermostat. Both of which last years so not worth my time using rechargeable ones.

Yes. I wonder if the rechargeable batteries loose their charge faster than Alkaline ones do when both are not being used.

The advantage of replaceable batteries is that if the device is flat, you can simply put new batteries in and it's ready to go, rather than wait 30 minutes/ 1 hour or whatever for it to charge up a bit

I always aim to have some spare charged and ready. It s why I started using adaptors for C and D cells that take an AA (see point 10 added at the top of this thread).

I have some Sanyo Eneloop AA 2000mAh batteries in frequent use in my camera, which are still going strong after 12 years.
I use the Sanyo NC-MONO4B charger they came with. It's worth noting that it is a slow charger, which takes about 24 hours.
Eneloop batteries are now branded as Panasonic.
Also, the battery type can be set on the camera.

That looks interesting.

No real issues with Ni-Mh rechargeables here and the modern ones keep their charge for a lot longer, I use Lidl/Tronic batteries and smart chargers mainly.
Only two issues of note, that is the higher capacity ones are larger than a standard alkaline AA (and possibly the AAA's too, though a 80's TOA wireless microphone has no issues with them) and the 9V ones don't work in dB technologies transmitters, which is an annoying but somewhat specialist use).

My latest intelligent charger is a Lidl-Tronic. Certainly requires less standing over it.

 

[david1212]

Cheap Ni-MH normally are at best poor value, at worst useless. Even if OK when new they soon deteriorate.

At the other end of the scale the highest capacity Duracell and Energizer in reality often do not perform well because the high capacity tradeoff is higher internal resistance so except at low loads the voltage is lower. For example this will cause a camera to shutdown when the flash charges.

For cordless home phones and my shaver I find mid capacity Duracell and Energizer best, for the latter Power Plus.

Unlike the obsolete Ni-Cad Ni-MH are far less tolerant of overcharging. For fast charging the completion is less defined than Ni-Cad. For an hour temperature measurement is a reliable backup but for 1 - 3 hour rates the temperature rise is less so harder to reliably detect. The home phones I have now and a previous Panasonic set have a slow rate of 8 or so hours plus cut off. Previous sets that charged in 3-4 hours caused a shorter battery life. Charging every day / night rather then when needed shortens the life.

My shaver charges in under an hour. However it was designed for lower capacity cells than the 1500 - 2000mAH I have fitted as replacements. Hence charging once a week they last 3 or so years.

At Christmas for LED lights they save going through several sets of primary batteries.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Cheap Ni-MH normally are at best poor value, at worst useless. Even if OK when new they soon deteriorate.

At the other end of the scale the highest capacity Duracell and Energizer in reality often do not perform well because the high capacity tradeoff is higher internal resistance so except at low loads the voltage is lower. For example this will cause a camera to shutdown when the flash charges.

For cordless home phones and my shaver I find mid capacity Duracell and Energizer best, for the latter Power Plus.

Unlike the obsolete Ni-Cad Ni-MH are far less tolerant of overcharging. For fast charging the completion is less defined than Ni-Cad. For an hour temperature measurement is a reliable backup but for 1 - 3 hour rates the temperature rise is less so harder to reliably detect. The home phones I have now and a previous Panasonic set have a slow rate of 8 or so hours plus cut off. Previous sets that charged in 3-4 hours caused a shorter battery life. Charging every day / night rather then when needed shortens the life.

My shaver charges in under an hour. However it was designed for lower capacity cells than the 1500 - 2000mAH I have fitted as replacements. Hence charging once a week they last 3 or so years.

At Christmas for LED lights they save going through several sets of primary batteries.

That is a good point about the internal resistance. And I was always careful of the NiMh vulnerability to getting over heated. Gasses off I was told and sometimes I think /I can smell it !. I prefer a gentle charge and expect the batteries to stay charged when stored for longer.

Yes last five years it is Christmas when all my rechargeable batteries get pressed into service. Camping means they are all charged and ready but not necessarily used.

 

[DelW]

Yes. I wonder if the rechargeable batteries loose their charge faster than Alkaline ones do when both are not being used.

Ordinary rechargeables are notorious for self-discharge, often draining in a month or two even if unused. Recent higher-quality types, often described as "pre-charged" or similar, do much better. As others have mentioned, Eneloops are excellent, with very low self discharge rates, and a shelf-life almost as good as alkalines.

 

[WatcherZero]

A lot of the rechargeable batteries you can buy are lithium now anyway, but I havent used any in years. (only tv remote)
Open up a non-replaceable lithium battery in a (non-slim form) device however and you will likely see its made from the same AA/AAA format cells wrapped together.

 

[Bevan Price]

I find that AA rechargeable batteries usually have a fairly long life, but I do encounter occasional "duds" which fail after short lives.
I use them in a hand-held Garmin GPS -- it would be too expensive to use alkali batteries, as the GPS can exhaust battery capacity in a day or two (not that the GPS has seen a lot of use since "Covid" started.)

I also use them in a small transistor radio, and in some LED lights that I use as nightlights in the house. (These were designed for garden use, but I put them on a window-sill; they are recharged by daylight - in winter I have to give them an occasional boost in the charger, as there is insufficient light to keep them fully charged.)

Most rechargeable AAA batteries I have used seem to have short lives. These are mainly used in a couple of "movement-sensitive" small LED lights, and in TV remote control - but I sometimes use alkali batteries in the remote control, as they last for many months, so annual replacement cost is low.

 

[Peter Sarf]

I find that AA rechargeable batteries usually have a fairly long life, but I do encounter occasional "duds" which fail after short lives.
I use them in a hand-held Garmin GPS -- it would be too expensive to use alkali batteries, as the GPS can exhaust battery capacity in a day or two (not that the GPS has seen a lot of use since "Covid" started.)

I also use them in a small transistor radio, and in some LED lights that I use as nightlights in the house. (These were designed for garden use, but I put them on a window-sill; they are recharged by daylight - in winter I have to give them an occasional boost in the charger, as there is insufficient light to keep them fully charged.)

Most rechargeable AAA batteries I have used seem to have short lives. These are mainly used in a couple of "movement-sensitive" small LED lights, and in TV remote control - but I sometimes use alkali batteries in the remote control, as they last for many months, so annual replacement cost is low.

I too found a lot of my AAAs failed in the early days. First I had some sets cooked on the dashboard of my car inside an RAC traffic alert device (circa 1999). I later wondered if AAAs were being charged as though an AA - as in overcharged. Then I discovered the AAAs had trouble with my 2nd charger (ie 1st intelligent charger - Uniross Batteries in a Vanson charger). Many of the Uniross AAAs had an indent in the end of the positive terminal which coincided with what seems like a pin+switch for the charger positive. So the charger was never "seeing" the AAAs. Hence my last purchase of a Tronic. I resurrected a few AAAs that way but they probably mainly suffer from being left idle for years. Best thing about the Tronic is it does not work in pairs so each battery is treated separately. therefore I do not have to pair batteries up for charging.

I am mainly Uniross batteries so perhaps I need to buy some newer different ones.

I gave up using AAAs in remote controls as they seem to run down to quickly. I believe it is because the standard fully charged 1.2V of a rechargeable is too close to the flat battery threshold that a lot of electronics give up at. It really is a fundamental problem the "1.5V" rechargeable batteries have that they only offer 1.2V !.

Lack of use seems to degrade the rechargeable batteries. Quite apart from them not holding a charge for as long as an Alkaline single use.

One thing I do recommend are the C and D adaptors that you insert an AA in. Simplifies my portfolio of batteries down to two commonly used sizes (AA and AAA). But I am still waiting for the last of my Cs and Ds to die !.

 

[DelW]

I find the most successful uses for rechargeables are items that are used frequently and have moderate to high power use.

I have a small radio in my bathroom, which being nearly 40 years old has an analogue tuner and no fancy display. It gets used for about half an hour a day, and a set of 2000 - 2500mAh batteries lasts two or three months between charges. I used a set of Ever Ready nicads in that for something like 15 years before they finally held too little charge to last long. The current set have probably been in there for about 5 years and are still doing well.

Conversely in the early days of digital cameras, I found they weren't suited to using rechargeables - every time I got the camera out, the batteries would be flat, which wasn't helpful as I usually wanted to use it straight away. I went back to alkalines for them, until Eneloops solved the problem (I do still have some cameras that use AA cells).

For remote controls and the like, the power consumption is so low that I don't think they warrant rechargeables - I find cheapish alkalines easily last 5 years or more. Though I do think the very cheap ones sold in certain chains at about £1 for ten or twelve are best avoided, they seem to expire too quickly and can be prone to leaking.

 

[Peter Sarf]

I find the most successful uses for rechargeables are items that are used frequently and have moderate to high power use.

I have a small radio in my bathroom, which being nearly 40 years old has an analogue tuner and no fancy display. It gets used for about half an hour a day, and a set of 2000 - 2500mAh batteries lasts two or three months between charges. I used a set of Ever Ready nicads in that for something like 15 years before they finally held too little charge to last long. The current set have probably been in there for about 5 years and are still doing well.

Conversely in the early days of digital cameras, I found they weren't suited to using rechargeables - every time I got the camera out, the batteries would be flat, which wasn't helpful as I usually wanted to use it straight away. I went back to alkalines for them, until Eneloops solved the problem (I do still have some cameras that use AA cells).

For remote controls and the like, the power consumption is so low that I don't think they warrant rechargeables - I find cheapish alkalines easily last 5 years or more. Though I do think the very cheap ones sold in certain chains at about £1 for ten or twelve are best avoided, they seem to expire too quickly and can be prone to leaking.

I agree rechargeable batteries seem to be more attractive for the frequent and heavier used applications.

The cheapest batteries are called "Simply Zinc" !. These are dire compared to Alkaline batteries. I am however tempted to use them as the younger visitors to my house have occasionally benefited from the batteries in my remote controls. I had a phase where I was sometimes confronted by two different batteries !. They only need one to get a bit more life out of their own set of 2, 3 or 4 !. So the cheapest possible might actually not last less time !. Rude notes on paper in the battery compartment seem to have worked.

In the bad old days batteries would get chewed to get more life out of them - I have no idea if this worked or if said chewer over chewed and got a mouthfull......

 

[Phil56]

At one time, when they first came out, I was quite keen, had a couple of chargers and bought quite a lot of various batteries. Probably too early in their development really as I was very disappointed. I found batteries didn't last as long as normal ones, and I kept getting caught out especially when outside with cameras, radios, etc. I quickly lost interest and starting buying normal batteries again.

Probably the usual "early adopter" syndrome, similar to light bulbs, where the same happened, and the early products were pretty poor, which again puts people off, even when technology improves. There's a lot to be said for holding back when new things come out, wait until second/third generation products are introduced and then buy in.

I'm actually coming around to rechargeable batteries again now. Bought a rechargeable lawn mower a couple of years ago which is brilliant, and just bought a rechargeable vacuum cleaner which I'm happy with. Just not really interested in small batteries like aaa-d as we use them so little these days and it's much easier just to have a pack of spares!

 

[najaB]

The cheapest batteries are called "Simply Zinc" !. These are dire compared to Alkaline batteries. I am however tempted to use them as the younger visitors to my house have occasionally benefited from the batteries in my remote controls.

Zinc-carbon batteries were the among the earliest ones to be commercially-available, alkaline only really took off from the 1960s/70s. The advantage of zinc-carbon is that they are a lot cheaper to manufacture, and they perform well in low-current devices, making them ideal for things like remote controls.

 

[david1212]

That is a good point about the internal resistance ....

When first introduced Ni-NH were unsuitable for power tools so Ni-CAD remained.
Now most if not all are lithium.

Ni-CAD were best for camera flash guns too but for occasional use I have found better to have a few sets of alkaline than rely on Ni-MH.

Ordinary rechargeables are notorious for self-discharge, often draining in a month or two even if unused. Recent higher-quality types, often described as "pre-charged" or similar, do much better. As others have mentioned, Eneloops are excellent, with very low self discharge rates, and a shelf-life almost as good as alkalines.

I too have found the major brand ones specifically described as ' pre-charged ' do hold charge better i.e. low self-discharge.
The early Ni-MH were worse than Ni-CAD.

...

I am mainly Uniross batteries so perhaps I need to buy some newer different ones.

I gave up using AAAs in remote controls as they seem to run down to quickly. I believe it is because the standard fully charged 1.2V of a rechargeable is too close to the flat battery threshold that a lot of electronics give up at. It really is a fundamental problem the "1.5V" rechargeable batteries have that they only offer 1.2V !.

Lack of use seems to degrade the rechargeable batteries. Quite apart from them not holding a charge for as long as an Alkaline single use.

...

Back years ago I found Uniross Ni-CAD OK but maybe now five years ago tried a set of AAA Ni-MH in a home DECT phone and were useless.

Rechargeables are not really intended for things like TV remote control where cheapo alkaline will last a year or more. Different for say a radio / remote control toy transmitter, or receiver if separate from motors.

For Ni-CAD it was recommended to store discharged. I remember discharging camcorder packs. For Ni-NH in theory it doesn't matter but over time chemical degredation. Even pre-charge Ni-MH will never hold charge as long as alkaline.

I find the most successful uses for rechargeables are items that are used frequently and have moderate to high power use.

...

Which is where intended for.

 

[swt_passenger]

My last regular use of rechargeables was in the previous version iMac mouse and keyboard. I rotated two sets, they lasted for months. But now they’re usb charged, as someone pointed out that’s the normal setup for more recent devices.

 

[StKeverne1497]

I started dabbling with rechargeable AA NiCd batteries when I had a handheld CB radio - it had space for (IIRC) 10 Alkaline batteries or 12 NiCd. Buying 12 650mAh NiCd batteries cost half as much as the (secondhand) handset, but given the rate the thing chewed through batteries (CB could pump out 4W) it was worth it. Charging them was a bit of a pain, and in those days "intelligent" chargers didn't really exist. This radio had a power adapter and charged all 12 in series. Even some expensive audio measurement equipment at work, which had internal batteries for portable use, had a pretty dumb charger, and we used to have to change the cells at least every year or two because it was mostly sat on the bench, plugged into the mains.

Once NiMH batteries arrived, along with single-cell "intelligent" chargers (that is, ones which charge each battery individually) I started looking again at rechargeables, and the Low Self-Discharge variety (pioneered by Eneloop and often, as someone else has mentioned, marketed as "pre-charged") mean that I have very few uses for Alkalines these days, though I do still buy a bulk pack every now and then. The one minor downside of the LSD versions is a slightly lower maximum capacity than the "normal" type, which means that some use-cases (medium to heavy loads, in constant use rather than sitting on a shelf) might still get better life from the normal rather than the LSD type. I, too, have the adapters which allow the use of AAs in equipment designed for C and D cells, though my inflatables pump uses "proper" D cells as even the cheap-ish ones I bought are 4000mAh which is considerably more than the best AAs (which these days top out at around 2,500mAh) and I have seen D cells of 10,000mAh.

In my experience there are very few items of equipment which will not work with rechargeables. The lower terminal voltage (nominally 1.2V against Alkaline's nominal 1.5V) is partly compensated-for by their lower (not higher) internal resistance, and their more linear (until near the end) discharge characteristics. In other words, with a light load and brand new batteries, an Alkaline AA might measure 1.6V while a NiMH will be 1.2V, but under heavier loads the Alkaline drops voltage more quickly than the NiMH meaning that they are operating for a large part of their life within (I would say) about 0.1V of each other. Towards the end, however, there is a sudden drop-off for the rechargeable while an Alkaline might have a small amount more life eeked out by giving it a 15 minute rest.

In practice I have found that NiMH can outlast Alkalines in things like "analogue" radios, TV remotes, torches and some digital cameras. When I bought a dSLR some 13 years ago it came with non-rechargeable Lithium AAs so naturally I started buying Lithiums as replacements, but I discovered that my NiMH batteries actually lasted longer in the camera, and were far cheaper to run. Many items of even "basic" equipment are far less sensitive to battery voltage these days as their electronics will have stabilised power supplies provided through some kind of switch-mode power supply - those two links are to the Adafruit website - they make products for the electronics hobbyist, and these devices can provide rock solid stabilised 5.2V from inputs as low as 1.8V - so ideal for a pair of AAs of any type. Obviously there are many options for output, input and current capability, and some devices are available which can both "boost" (if the input voltage is lower than you need as output) and "buck" (if it is higher).

One advantage of AAs in things like digital cameras is that when we go on holiday I only have to take half a dozen spare AAs (I usually take two packs of four) and one charger - all bar one of our cameras takes AAs - and this also covers torches, radios and some other equipment. Another is that in an emergency you can always fit Alkaline. As I said, my DSLR (a Pentax k800d) has no problem at all with NiMH AAs - seems to prefer them in fact. The younger children's Nikon L-series cameras all have a menu setting for "Alkaline" or "rechargeable" which means they are fine too, our Canon Powershot also has this menu option, and seems to last well with NiMH but does put up the "battery low" warning very early, as does a Fuji Finepix "bridge" camera. Personal opinion is that it's a shame these sorts of devices are all moving to unique-per-device Lithium batteries, especially when they have to be charged up in a specific charger and can't charge via USB in the device (which would be very handy when out-and-about).

As for longevity, most of the "7 day shop" branded LSD AAs and AAAs I bought, some as long as 10 years ago, are still going strong. The Duracel ones I bought at a similar time haven't fared so well (and were more expensive and lower capacity) and the Eneloop ones, despite being the "market leader" and still working well were also sufficiently more expensive and lower capacity that I stuck with buying 7DS batteries for some time. For "reasons" I recently trialled some Amazon own-brand ones, which turned out to be pretty pathetic - a couple of them started leaking after a few charges - and some GP brand ones which so far (they are only 18 months old) seem to be very good. I've used GP primary cells for many years because they perform just as well as the branded batteries and yet are considerably cheaper. I hope the same continues to be the case with their rechargeables.

One trick with batteries which will not charge in some intelligent chargers - perhaps they've been over-discharged for some reason - is to find a fully-charged battery and connect it in parallel (i.e. + to + and - to -) with the "dead" battery for 15 or 30 seconds. This can be done quite easily using anything metal knocking about such as a couple of butter knives! Put them both back into the charger and try again, and if the dead one charges properly, once it has finished use the charger's "refresh" cycle.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Jul 2022 ==

Zinc-carbon batteries were the among the earliest ones to be commercially-available, alkaline only really took off from the 1960s/70s. The advantage of zinc-carbon is that they are a lot cheaper to manufacture, and they perform well in low-current devices, making them ideal for things like remote controls.

Don't forget Zinc-chloride too. In the 1970s before Alkaline became widely available (and more reasonably priced) these were often marketed as suitable for "high power" devices. I believe they have a longer shelf-life than Zinc-Carbon and they obviously have a higher capacity, but on neither count are they as good as Alkaline.

For those who remember them, Ever Ready's Zinc-Carbon batteries in the 1970s were HP2 (D-cell), HP11 (C-cell), HP7 (AA) and HP16 (AAA) while their Zinc-chloride batteries were SP2, SP11 etc.

 

[Peter Sarf]

At one time, when they first came out, I was quite keen, had a couple of chargers and bought quite a lot of various batteries. Probably too early in their development really as I was very disappointed. I found batteries didn't last as long as normal ones, and I kept getting caught out especially when outside with cameras, radios, etc. I quickly lost interest and starting buying normal batteries again.

Probably the usual "early adopter" syndrome, similar to light bulbs, where the same happened, and the early products were pretty poor, which again puts people off, even when technology improves. There's a lot to be said for holding back when new things come out, wait until second/third generation products are introduced and then buy in.

I'm actually coming around to rechargeable batteries again now. Bought a rechargeable lawn mower a couple of years ago which is brilliant, and just bought a rechargeable vacuum cleaner which I'm happy with. Just not really interested in small batteries like aaa-d as we use them so little these days and it's much easier just to have a pack of spares!

That sums up my experience. Late 1990s I was keen on NiMh principally because they did not have the memory effect of NiCAD. Back in the 1990s I was always working miracles on people mobile phone batteries by getting them thoroughly but (hopefully) gently discharged. Then charging again.

I do think it is better to stand back and let the product mature. Beta testing Microsoft Software anyone !!.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Jul 2022 ==

I started dabbling with rechargeable AA NiCd batteries when I had a handheld CB radio - it had space for (IIRC) 10 Alkaline batteries or 12 NiCd. Buying 12 650mAh NiCd batteries cost half as much as the (secondhand) handset, but given the rate the thing chewed through batteries (CB could pump out 4W) it was worth it. Charging them was a bit of a pain, and in those days "intelligent" chargers didn't really exist. This radio had a power adapter and charged all 12 in series. Even some expensive audio measurement equipment at work, which had internal batteries for portable use, had a pretty dumb charger, and we used to have to change the cells at least every year or two because it was mostly sat on the bench, plugged into the mains.

Once NiMH batteries arrived, along with single-cell "intelligent" chargers (that is, ones which charge each battery individually) I started looking again at rechargeables, and the Low Self-Discharge variety (pioneered by Eneloop and often, as someone else has mentioned, marketed as "pre-charged") mean that I have very few uses for Alkalines these days, though I do still buy a bulk pack every now and then. The one minor downside of the LSD versions is a slightly lower maximum capacity than the "normal" type, which means that some use-cases (medium to heavy loads, in constant use rather than sitting on a shelf) might still get better life from the normal rather than the LSD type. I, too, have the adapters which allow the use of AAs in equipment designed for C and D cells, though my inflatables pump uses "proper" D cells as even the cheap-ish ones I bought are 4000mAh which is considerably more than the best AAs (which these days top out at around 2,500mAh) and I have seen D cells of 10,000mAh.

In my experience there are very few items of equipment which will not work with rechargeables. The lower terminal voltage (nominally 1.2V against Alkaline's nominal 1.5V) is partly compensated-for by their lower (not higher) internal resistance, and their more linear (until near the end) discharge characteristics. In other words, with a light load and brand new batteries, an Alkaline AA might measure 1.6V while a NiMH will be 1.2V, but under heavier loads the Alkaline drops voltage more quickly than the NiMH meaning that they are operating for a large part of their life within (I would say) about 0.1V of each other. Towards the end, however, there is a sudden drop-off for the rechargeable while an Alkaline might have a small amount more life eeked out by giving it a 15 minute rest.

In practice I have found that NiMH can outlast Alkalines in things like "analogue" radios, TV remotes, torches and some digital cameras. When I bought a dSLR some 13 years ago it came with non-rechargeable Lithium AAs so naturally I started buying Lithiums as replacements, but I discovered that my NiMH batteries actually lasted longer in the camera, and were far cheaper to run. Many items of even "basic" equipment are far less sensitive to battery voltage these days as their electronics will have stabilised power supplies provided through some kind of switch-mode power supply - those two links are to the Adafruit website - they make products for the electronics hobbyist, and these devices can provide rock solid stabilised 5.2V from inputs as low as 1.8V - so ideal for a pair of AAs of any type. Obviously there are many options for output, input and current capability, and some devices are available which can both "boost" (if the input voltage is lower than you need as output) and "buck" (if it is higher).

One advantage of AAs in things like digital cameras is that when we go on holiday I only have to take half a dozen spare AAs (I usually take two packs of four) and one charger - all bar one of our cameras takes AAs - and this also covers torches, radios and some other equipment. Another is that in an emergency you can always fit Alkaline. As I said, my DSLR (a Pentax k800d) has no problem at all with NiMH AAs - seems to prefer them in fact. The younger children's Nikon L-series cameras all have a menu setting for "Alkaline" or "rechargeable" which means they are fine too, our Canon Powershot also has this menu option, and seems to last well with NiMH but does put up the "battery low" warning very early, as does a Fuji Finepix "bridge" camera. Personal opinion is that it's a shame these sorts of devices are all moving to unique-per-device Lithium batteries, especially when they have to be charged up in a specific charger and can't charge via USB in the device (which would be very handy when out-and-about).

As for longevity, most of the "7 day shop" branded LSD AAs and AAAs I bought, some as long as 10 years ago, are still going strong. The Duracel ones I bought at a similar time haven't fared so well (and were more expensive and lower capacity) and the Eneloop ones, despite being the "market leader" and still working well were also sufficiently more expensive and lower capacity that I stuck with buying 7DS batteries for some time. For "reasons" I recently trialled some Amazon own-brand ones, which turned out to be pretty pathetic - a couple of them started leaking after a few charges - and some GP brand ones which so far (they are only 18 months old) seem to be very good. I've used GP primary cells for many years because they perform just as well as the branded batteries and yet are considerably cheaper. I hope the same continues to be the case with their rechargeables.

One trick with batteries which will not charge in some intelligent chargers - perhaps they've been over-discharged for some reason - is to find a fully-charged battery and connect it in parallel (i.e. + to + and - to -) with the "dead" battery for 15 or 30 seconds. This can be done quite easily using anything metal knocking about such as a couple of butter knives! Put them both back into the charger and try again, and if the dead one charges properly, once it has finished use the charger's "refresh" cycle.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Jul 2022 ==


Don't forget Zinc-chloride too. In the 1970s before Alkaline became widely available (and more reasonably priced) these were often marketed as suitable for "high power" devices. I believe they have a longer shelf-life than Zinc-Carbon and they obviously have a higher capacity, but on neither count are they as good as Alkaline.

For those who remember them, Ever Ready's Zinc-Carbon batteries in the 1970s were HP2 (D-cell), HP11 (C-cell), HP7 (AA) and HP16 (AAA) while their Zinc-chloride batteries were SP2, SP11 etc.

I remember in the late 1980s - late 1990s choosing FILM cameras that would use AA batteries rather than unusual sizes. Made travelling and looking for batteries in third world countries a lot less fraught.

Wondered about Duracell - thanks for the heads up.

"7 day shop" - I found the site so will have a look.

Lidl are doing a 4pack of AAs quite cheap. Branded Tronic. I will take a second look as if they are Low Self Discharge I might jump in.

I am going to have to look into these Eneloop batteries the Low Self Discharge ones are probably what I need as I am not a heavy user just a fair weather (and Christmas) user.

I have resurrected a few NiMh by putting them in my dumb(er) charger. But looks like I should just give them a little bit of a charge. I suppose just enough for the intelligent charger to notice it is a battery !.

Crikey - the mention of the HP range and SP range brings back memories. Gave me goose bumps !.

AND

Dang - I just unearthed a 12 pack of 2500MAh AA Vansons with a receipt dated 2003 (ouch) for £9.99 !!!. No idea who they came from. So far the Tronic charger has got on with the best four. Four are a bit swollen/discharged. Last four look OK but Tronic poo poos them - so a wee pre charge I think. Overall I could be wasting time and space playing with these.

I ought to say that every July I charge the whole fleet. Weed out the failures. Leave them for weeks and see what is left alive. I should probably weed out the weaklings rather than giving them a bit more of a coaxing. I keep a record of suspect ones that I resuscitated, the aim being to abandon them if they repeat offend over the years. Definitely a need Low Self Discharge batteries. Come Christmas I just use and re-charge as required.

 

[david1212]

..... The Duracel ones I bought at a similar time haven't fared so well (and were more expensive and lower capacity)

.....

Wondered about Duracell - thanks for the heads up.

...

I got caught out a few years ago with two sets of 4 AA Duracell Ni-MH of, I recall, 1700mAH capacity when 2000mAH were highest.
I trickle charged each set for several hours but when put in photo flash gun took ages to charge up each time. I didn't have a set of alkaline AA in my bag either ... lesson learned.

Ikea branded LADDA I recall reading somewhere were good.

...

Don't forget Zinc-chloride too. In the 1970s before Alkaline became widely available (and more reasonably priced) these were often marketed as suitable for "high power" devices. I believe they have a longer shelf-life than Zinc-Carbon and they obviously have a higher capacity, but on neither count are they as good as Alkaline.

For those who remember them, Ever Ready's Zinc-Carbon batteries in the 1970s were HP2 (D-cell), HP11 (C-cell), HP7 (AA) and HP16 (AAA) while their Zinc-chloride batteries were SP2, SP11 etc.

Yes I remember.
Totally confusing to some when SP/HP16 became AAA, SP/HP7 AA, SP/HP11 C, SP/HP2 D and PP3 1604 regardless of construction / technology.

 

[Peter Sarf]

I got caught out a few years ago with two sets of 4 AA Duracell Ni-MH of, I recall, 1700mAH capacity when 2000mAH were highest.
I trickle charged each set for several hours but when put in photo flash gun took ages to charge up each time. I didn't have a set of alkaline AA in my bag either ... lesson learned.

Ikea branded LADDA I recall reading somewhere were good.



Yes I remember.
Totally confusing to some when SP/HP16 became AAA, SP/HP7 AA, SP/HP11 C, SP/HP2 D and PP3 1604 regardless of construction / technology.

My brain now tells me these were HP = High Power and SP = Super Power ?. Gosh I am right back in my parents living room explaining this to my little sister. At the time I was failing to make the point that different types should not be mixed. Another time I needed more HP2s than I had to test something I had repaired. - I discovered those adaptors 25 years too late. That was the same period that I made a crude 2-pin plug out of mechano axle rods and straight plates. All was fine and conducting until a bit fell off and I went to catch it !. (very big ouch). See batteries are safer (excluding subs).

 

[StKeverne1497]

[...]

Wondered about Duracell - thanks for the heads up.

Very small sample - I only had four, but it was at the same time as the Eneloops and they definitely haven't fared so well.

"7 day shop" - I found the site so will have a look.

I don't use 7DS any more - they started doing snoods and vaping kit and the "useful" stuff like the batteries started disappearing. Haven't looked recently, but you probably won't find much of interest, sorry. I buy my GP batteries from CPC generally.

 

[dgl]

One major advantage of Ni-Mh rechargeable batteries is that they lose a lot less capacity when used in high drain devices, so whilst alkaline batteries might have a higher nominal capacity, in something like a camera where it uses a lot of power Ni-Mh batteries can last a lot longer.
My first cheapo praktica camera was basically un-useable with alkalines when even low capacity Ni-Mh batteries had excellent run time.

 

[contrex]

I have 4 Maplin AAs which are 'low self-discharge'. At the time I bought them the marketing term for these was 'hybrid'. They are still in daily use rotating with a set of newer Energiser hybrids in our kitchen radio as Madame C does not like the mains lead trailing across the worktop. They must be 7 years old. I recently bought a second hand Olympus ultrazoom compact camera (an SP-620UZ if anyone's interested).The seller wanted £15 because the battery compartment hinged cover was cracked and wouldn't shut. I fixed that with some glue and got 200 pictures (16 megapixel) out of the old Maplin set. Frequent use of zoom and flash reduces that.

 

[Mojo]

The advantage of replaceable batteries is that if the device is flat, you can simply put new batteries in and it's ready to go, rather than wait 30 minutes/ 1 hour or whatever for it to charge up a bit

Normally people would have more than they need and you’d always have some ready to go.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Jul 2022 ==

I’m surprised by the people saying they have very few things that need batteries - I use quite a lot, two remote controls - one I have never replaced but the Amazon fire stick needs new batteries all the time, two clocks, various battery operated lights (especially at Christmas time), and I also have a PIR downlighter by my front door; I live on a street with not many lamposts but I didn’t want the expense of getting an electrician in, solar panel powered lights are rubbish.

I’m happy with AA or AAA rechargeables, but didn’t go for the C batteries for my outside light as I was concerned about the fire risk.

 

[Non Multi]

I've returned to using NiMh AAs. Back in the early 2000's I bought Chinese made Uniross and Jessops branded NiMh AAs to power my digital cameras and personal stereos. Alkaline batteries were relatively expensive back then and my first digital camera would happily drain a pair of AA cells in a single day!

In the late 2000's, cheap Chinese made alkaline batteries became widely available. It was a 'no brainer' to use alkalines again. I could buy 12x of 10 pack AA and AAA batteries from Ikea (Alkalisk) and that batch would last 3 to 4 years.

I've learned I can get double usage from alkaline AAs, 1st usage is in a 'high drain' appliance. When that appliance gives out a 'battery low' warning, I test those cells. If they just give out a 'low' reading they go into a container and get re-used to power equipment that runs fine with low voltage cells such as wall clocks, AV remotes and my portable Bluetooth speaker. If they're dead they go into a bag for recycling.

My Bluetooth speaker eventually used up my pile of low voltage AAs, so last year I bought 2 packs of 4 IKEA 2450 Ladda AA rechargeables, made in Japan (some think that these are made by Panasonic/Fujitsu in the Eneloop factory for IKEA). I normally get a fortnight's worth of usage before needing to swap them over for recharging.