Regular disposable vs recharge batteries

[Barms 98]

So I have a Barska bio rifle cabinet. I think I went like 5 months on the first set of 4 AA batteries. Now what seems like less than 3 months it's beeping me to change them again. When i put the batteries into a "tester" I get full green bars showing. I'm like WTF?

 

So it got me wondering how many guys here regularly use rechargeable batteries and for what application? Let's just exclude RC devices for this topic because that's an extreme draw device. Who uses rechargeable for a longer term gadget?

 

(And I know someone will say "this is why you don't go biometric!!" It's already been covered.

 

Maybe this was just a fluke it's beeping on newer batterries. But man if I had to replace 4x a year it would bum me out.

[DTtuner 21]

Rechargable batteries are vastly superior to the old NiMh disposables in every way.

Especially when it comes to cost.

Two things you need when it comes to rechargables, or you will waste time and money...

 

1 - A good charger. This one charges any type of rechargable battery (NiMh, Lithium, Alcaline), from AAA to the newer lithium 26650's, and does not over-charge them:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005UAI372?pc_redir=1397859571&robot_redir=1

Those 15-min chargers are garbage and will destroy your battery collection in 10 charges.

 

2 - Good batteries. The "XYZ-Fire" chinese batteries on ebay are sub-par and die prematurely.

Find a good deal on Eneloop, Energizer, Panasonic, Duracell.

Good batteries on a good charger should last 150+ chargers, and hold more charge than standard disposables.

 

 

Oh, and always recycle your batteries. Throw dead batteries in a box and bring them with you on your next Home Depot *insert bigbox hardware store* shopping run.

[Melgamatic 66]

I am CTO of a company with around 70 Apple computers all of which have wireless mice and many have wireless keyboards.  So, we go through a lot of AA batteries.  

 

I have purchased one of these chargers, and around 180 of these batteries, and they are fantastic.  Have not yet had a bad battery, they last as long as a normal Duracell AA battery, and some of them are close to 2 years old under heavy rotation:

 

Charger:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005UNPM3M/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Batteries: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AYO98O/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

The Tenergy 2600mAh batteries are the ballz....

[DTtuner 21]

I am CTO of a company with around 70 Apple computers all of which have wireless mice and many have wireless keyboards. So, we go through a lot of AA batteries.

 

I have purchased one of these chargers, and around 180 of these batteries, and they are fantastic. Have not yet had a bad battery, they last as long as a normal Duracell AA battery, and some of them are close to 2 years old under heavy rotation:

 

Charger: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005UNPM3M/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Batteries: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AYO98O/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

The Tenergy 2600mAh batteries are the ballz....

Interesting chargers. They are perfect for mass-charging NiMh AA/AAA batteries.

The charger I recommended is highly rated on "battery snob" sites like candlepowerforums.com.

The Nitecore can charge almost any size battery, and automatcally detects and charges NiMh, Alcali e and Lithium.

[Hooligan 0]

I've been using 4 Eneloop AA and AAA for my wireless mouse and keyboard for quite some time now.  I bought a small Sanyo wall charger that will charge both sizes in pairs; 4 of one size, or a pair of each at the same time.  When the mouse or keyboard start to run low, I just swap them for their companions in the charger.

[PeteF 1,044]

NimH batteries charge to ~1.2 Volts not the 1.5 of regular.  That could be the reason its telling you to change them.

 

Many of the newer Nimh have better current capacity than normal batteries but the voltage is still "low"

[Michael2013 56]

I was advised by our Fire Department not to use rechargeable in fire alarms.  So, I prefer disposables for the storages as well.  My first set of batteries which came with the safe lasted about a year.  I use it too often...

[Barms 98]

Awesome replies guys!

[Barms 98]

NimH batteries charge to ~1.2 Volts not the 1.5 of regular.  That could be the reason its telling you to change them.

 

Many of the newer Nimh have better current capacity than normal batteries but the voltage is still "low"

School me a little more on that please. Are there different voltage AAs? 1.2 vs 1.5? I'm clueless and just but Duracell AA I've never looked at the voltage. If there really is a difference should I be researching if my device (safe) is sensitive to that?

[Vlad G 345]

Eneloops for all the things that don't complain. For example my thermostat doesn't like them, but I use eneloops in anything that will accept them. Modern primary cells (standard batteries) will last 10 years (not just the lithium ones) so buying large packs makes sense for long term storage.

 

On the other hand eneloops keep charge for years, can take 1500 charges, can can be charge from a solar charger if you want.

 

So I guess I have about 20-30 eneloops AA's and maybe 20 AAA's that gets used for pretty much everything, plus I randomly buy packs of 20-30 energizer or duracells to have around.

 

For 9V, C, and D the only real answer is primary cells, I have yet to find a decent rechargeable.

[Zeke 5,504]

 

 

Oh, and always recycle your batteries. Throw dead batteries in a box and bring them with you on your next Home Depot *insert bigbox hardware store* shopping run.

I've never heard of this? Where do you go at Home Depot? Customer service?

[Zeke 5,504]

Never mind, that's only for rechargeable ones.

[DTtuner 21]

Never mind, that's only for rechargeable ones.

This is for any and all batteries. Including those large flood light batteries.

Usually the dropoff is just as you walk in, near customer srrvice/returns.

 

Most people dont know about this.

Which is why millions of discarded batteries are leaking battery acid into our sol and water supplies.

[Zeke 5,504]

Sweet!

Thanks for the heads up!

[ryan_j 0]

For things like your safe, smoke alarms, thermostats, I would stick to disposable batteries. However, if you want to go longer between changes, I would recommend non-rechargeable lithium batteries.

 

For things like wireless mice, kids' toys and anything else you'll be cycling quickly, I would recommend rechargeables.

 

For regular AA/AAA batteries there are NiMH and NiCd. NiCd have fallen out of favor but are still around.

[Avalanche 42]

Keep in mind that for rechargeables, there is a .3 volt difference.  May not sound like a lot but in most devices that take 4, 5 or 6 batteries using rechargeables means the device could be running a ~1.5 volt deficit, that's like having one whole less battery.   

 

That's why lots of devices don't like rechargables. 

[Vlad G 345]

BTW This is another reason for eneloops, they charge to 1.45V.

[Vlad G 345]

This is for any and all batteries. Including those large flood light batteries.

Usually the dropoff is just as you walk in, near customer srrvice/returns.

 

Most people dont know about this.

Which is why millions of discarded batteries are leaking battery acid into our sol and water supplies.

 

Small point of order, most "disposable" batteries are going to have a hard time leaking acid, as they are alkaline which is opposite of acid. Now the KOH or MnO2 they use for an electrolyte are fairly caustic things but in the great scheme of things not the biggest issue as the world is mostly acidic so they get quickly neutralized when they leak. The heavy metals in batteries are the bigger issue, Ni, Cd and Li are all things you don't want to much of in your water supply.  However the really bad stuff, like mercury, hasn't been used in a couple of decades.

 

By all means, recycle your batteries, but make sure you know why

[PeteF 1,044]

School me a little more on that please. Are there different voltage AAs? 1.2 vs 1.5? I'm clueless and just but Duracell AA I've never looked at the voltage. If there really is a difference should I be researching if my device (safe) is sensitive to that?

Standard batteries (AA,AAA,C,D) are all nominal 1.5v.  For whatever reason when they came up with the Nimh (and pretty much all rechareables) they used 1.2v as the operating voltage.  Not sure why but that is the way it is. 

 

Normally electronics run on a nominal 5 volt supply (3x1.5 = 4.5v , or 4x1.5=6v).  4.5 to 6v is a good working range for a nominal 5v circuit.  When you replace the 1.5 with 1.2 you now get a 3.6->4,8v range.  The 3.6 is pretty close to the bottom of where 5 volt logic (IIRC ~3v for a logic 1) will work.

 

Newer electronic devices run at 3.3v, which making them less affected by the lower source voltage.

[iCARRY 0]

Eneloop from Costco. Get the charger and 10 AA for about $20. Sometimes they come with AAA too.

[Vlad G 345]

Standard batteries (AA,AAA,C,D) are all nominal 1.5v.  For whatever reason when they came up with the Nimh (and pretty much all rechareables) they used 1.2v as the operating voltage.  Not sure why but that is the way it is. 

 

The reason is chemistry. NiMH vs standard dry cells, they work somewhat differently. It isn't a matter of choice, it is a matter of chemistry. The other things is voltage drop, my understanding is the most dry cells will actually drop quite a bit in voltage under load with NiMH tend to keep their voltage more constant. The flashlight people, who tend to play with near fetishism levels of geekdom when it comes to batteries, seem to like the NiMH because they do provide a more constant voltage under heavy draw. Li batteries will do the same, but they are basically 1000 times the price when you compare them to the price of 1500 charges.

 

The issue is that some devices, usually with "cheaper" electronics and low draw, like probably the safe locks just look at the voltage and panic.

[Respect2A 0]

I just read the other day that some towns don't recycle batteries anymore since the newest generations of batteries aren't as toxic as they used to be.

[Vlad G 345]

I just read the other day that some towns don't recycle batteries anymore since the newest generations of batteries aren't as toxic as they used to be.

 

NiMH are far better the NiCa because the Cadmium was an issue. On the primary batteries the used to have mercury until the early 90's but not since.

 

Lithium ones, both disposable and laptop/cell/etc, you should still probably recycle, Lithium is bad for you (unless you are bipolar I guess) and expensive.

[Respect2A 0]

 

Lithium ones, both disposable and laptop/cell/etc, you should still probably recycle, Lithium is bad for you (unless you are bipolar I guess) and expensive.

Iirc they said to toss normal household batteries in the trash and to bring the other ones like laptop ones to a place that recycles them.

[JackDaWack 2,895]

Standard battery's do better in long term applications. Rechargeable battery's do very well when they are cycled often.

[raz-0 1,259]

Iirc they said to toss normal household batteries in the trash and to bring the other ones like laptop ones to a place that recycles them.

Yes. My town just posted that with the 2014 recycling guide. Household alkaline cells no longer go to recycling/household hazardous waste.

[Barms 98]

Not to rehash this but I think this is what Vlad was talking about

 

http://www.eznec.com/Amateur/1.5_vs_1.2_Volt_Batteries.pdf

 

It's charts showing the drain life of batteries.

[Howard 538]

Another solution I have seen mentioned on various web sites is to abandon the "AA" batteries entirely.  Get a large lead acid type battery of the correct voltage and wire in place of the "AA" batteries, it will last for years.  You can probably find them online or at the home depot.  These are the type you use for backup in a UPS or for an alarm system.