Rechargeable Batteries

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gnfb

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#160370 4-Jan-2015 16:26

You see I reckon geekzone should have a buying group for this sort of thing.

Because then I would know which ones to buy

which is the point of this thread

Which AA and AAA rechargeables should i buy?

They are used for remotes door bells etc

Do I buy the el cheapo on TM or .........

I dont mind ordering through Amazon if they are cheaper for the same thing

so suggestions please

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#1208056 4-Jan-2015 16:34

Eneloop. Favoured by photographers everywhere. Rated for a ridiculous 500 charges! I use a ton of them, and usually get them via TradeMe.

http://www.panasonic-eneloop.eu/eneloop-products/eneloop-batteries/eneloop-pro.html

[EDIT] Reading your post again, I wonder if Eneloop recharbables might OTT for your needs. I also keep packs of those cheap green non-rechargables from Mitre 10 in my kit.

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

sbiddle

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#1208061 4-Jan-2015 17:03

Eneloop is your only option - regular NiMH rechargeable batteries are unsuitable for the uses you've listed above and IMHO the best product for your requirements is stock standard alkaline batteries.

gnfb

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#1208067 4-Jan-2015 17:20

Ok so eneloop it is now mamps? 2100 1900 2600? which ones do you get?

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nakedmolerat

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#1208069 4-Jan-2015 17:29

higher, better

richms

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#1208073 4-Jan-2015 17:33

not nessecerially, the $ per mah and the amount of discharge usually put low demand devices as being better off with the lower capacity ones since you are spending less and usually end up with about the same time between charges because of the lower self discharge.

but for anything that lasts a year or so on a set of alkalines, that is the better way to go.

Richard rich.ms

JimmyH

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#1208083 4-Jan-2015 18:06

I use:

Eneloop for the stuff that I care about or where the batteries ideally need to go for long periods between charges. I think there is now an Energiser equivalent to the eneloops as well.
High-capacity cheapies such as those from Jaycar for occasional high-drain uses (like the TV that I used to have that ran on 4 AAs, before the Freeview switchover).
Alkalines ($16 for 40 on sale at places like DSE) for remote controls. Except for 1 remote that has gyroscopes in it (so you can use it like a mouse pointing at the screen) which chews batteries.

Geektastic

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#1208104 4-Jan-2015 18:29

Imedion are also very good.

Make sure not to use a cheap charger on good batteries though. It will screw them up.

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andrewNZ

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#1208116 4-Jan-2015 18:44

I use imedion/powertech

Good pricing from recharged.co.nz

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#1208124 4-Jan-2015 19:06

energizer single use for remotes etc. rechargeables are wasted in these things.

timmmay

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#1208126 4-Jan-2015 19:12

I use DSE alkaline. If I use rechargeable (eg for camera flashes) I use Eneloop.

k1w1k1d

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#1208127 4-Jan-2015 19:14

Andrew, I have not had good results with the Powertech AA and AAA NiMH rechargables from Jaycar. Get much better life from Energizer rechargables.
I have gone back to alkalines for most things at home and work.

Also not sure about the 1.2v of rechargables compared to 1.5v of alkalines.

sonyxperiageek

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#1208130 4-Jan-2015 19:46

For those options you chose, I would usually just buy a bulk of general alkaline batteries in packs of 30s etc. and replace them as they die.

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#1208138 4-Jan-2015 20:22

I'm inclined to agree with sbiddle, which is why I added the Edit to my first post. I use high capacity Eneloop in my strobes because they can handle the current, and get recharged several times a week at times. But I use non-rechargable alkaline in stuff like my Pocket Wizards because they can go a while without being used.

A lot of rechargeables are going to be re badged, so we don't know who makes them. DSE recgargables have failed far to quickly IME, but more surprisingly, I have had early failures from rechargables bought from the Radio Spares catalog. RS was our main supplier throughout my working life, and we assumed we were getting quality items. We certainly paid quality prices!

But if I was buying batteries from a bell push, I'd get good quality alkaline because they will last for ages, and won't leak and ruin the bell push when they run down. If the bell push has an RF link to the bell, then the higher voltage of an alkaline battery might help with range as well. A nearly flat alkaline has almost the same voltage as a freshly charged NiMH

Trevor Dennis
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gnfb

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#1208190 4-Jan-2015 21:51

Just want to thank everyone for the info This really is a very useful place!

Is an English Man living in New Zealand. Not a writer, an Observer he says. Graham is a seasoned 'traveler" with his sometimes arrogant, but honest opinion on life. He loves the Internet!.

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andrewNZ

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#1208205 4-Jan-2015 22:46

k1w1k1d: Andrew, I have not had good results with the Powertech AA and AAA NiMH rechargables from Jaycar. Get much better life from Energizer rechargables.
I have gone back to alkalines for most things at home and work.

Also not sure about the 1.2v of rechargables compared to 1.5v of alkalines.

My mistake. I too have had a positively crap experience with the powertech batteries from jaycar.

I was supposed to say PowerEx and Imedion batteries by Maha.

I did a lot of research and they were supposed to be very good compared to others. The PowerEx batteries fared better in most tests especially charge retention. The Imedion batteries are Eneloop equivalents and seemed to rate the same in tests.

I also found that the Maha and La Crosse chargers seemed to be rated equally well in amazon reviews, with the exception that most of the negative reviews for the the La Crosse chargers said they failed catastrophically, melting the unit and ruining the batteries connected to it.

Edit:
http://www.recharged.co.nz/
I have no affiliation with the site other than having purchased from them twice. Their service was excellent and the pricing is better than anywhere else in NZ I've found.

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