What's your AA battery of choice?

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › What's your AA battery of choice?

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#2669865 8-Mar-2021 10:14

sbiddle:

I only buy Varta if I'm after alkaline batteries. I'd never buy Energizer with their heavily inflated prices.

Bunnings also sell Arlec batteries for a similar price as Varta. I've picked these up a couple of times over the years when they had no Varta batteries in stock, and have had two occasions where they have leaked, and while it's only anecdotal, I don't think they last as long.

The price is OK if you buy them from 1 Day. 30 pack for $25.

Regards,

Old3eyes

antonknee

1133 posts

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#2670365 9-Mar-2021 08:56

Another vote for Varta (I wrote that as vota for Varta originally 😄).

In a previous life I spent $1000s on AA batteries and it was always Varta. Great balance of price vs actually works. I no longer need $1000s of AAs with any regularity but they still haven't failed my clock and my TV remote.

nitro

656 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2670383 9-Mar-2021 09:42

Handsomedan:

We have two teenage boys and a lot of gadgets that take AA batteries.

We have a raft of Eneloop Black AA rechargeables.

They are fantastic.

I found that anything that eats batteries, seems to last longer with Eneloop black batteries. I don't even know if the colour matters - I know that the ones we have are black and that's what i recommend if you're going down that path.

the black eneloop pro/xx batteries are rated for 500 cycles at 2500 mAh, while the standard, white ones (now) go 2100 cycles at 1900 mAh.

turtleattacks

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#2670388 9-Mar-2021 09:44

Managed to snag 30 Varta from Bunnings yesterday for $15. https://www.bunnings.co.nz/varta-aa-alkaline-batteries-30-pack_p0516063

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russelo

328 posts

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#2670407 9-Mar-2021 10:26

Cheaper at Supercheap, $10 for 24pack:

https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/sca-sca-heavy-duty-alkaline-aa-batteries---24-pack/542182.html

Amosnz

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#2670422 9-Mar-2021 11:22

I've been using the Panasonic AA from PBTech for non rechargable, and pale blue lithium AA when i need a long life 1.5v rechargeable battery (eg wifi scales that dont last long with NiMH), but they are expensive. https://paleblueearth.co.nz/products/pale-blue-lithium-rechargeable-aa-batteries

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old3eyes

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#2670510 9-Mar-2021 15:26

russelo:

Cheaper at Supercheap, $10 for 24pack:

https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/sca-sca-heavy-duty-alkaline-aa-batteries---24-pack/542182.html

I've found some of these cheap batteries have a short life that's why I now use Energize.

Regards,

Old3eyes

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SepticSceptic

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#2670851 10-Mar-2021 07:26

Does anyone use the "bounce" test for determining if the battery is flat ?
I was sceptical at first but after a few comparisons it really does confirm that the battery is flat / end of life.

AA /AAA alkaline.

timmmay

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#2670868 10-Mar-2021 08:25

SepticSceptic: Does anyone use the "bounce" test for determining if the battery is flat ?
I was sceptical at first but after a few comparisons it really does confirm that the battery is flat / end of life.

AA /AAA alkaline.

I use a multimeter to measure voltage.

allio

885 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2670912 10-Mar-2021 09:43

timmmay:

I buy good brands of button cells from ebay for about 80% less than NZ prices.

Is there any issues with shipping these? I've thought about buying some on Aliexpress (they cost almost nothing), but I've had an order fail to reach here because it contained a single AA alkaline battery (wireless mouse) before.

turtleattacks

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#2670914 10-Mar-2021 09:45

SepticSceptic: Does anyone use the "bounce" test for determining if the battery is flat ?
I was sceptical at first but after a few comparisons it really does confirm that the battery is flat / end of life.

AA /AAA alkaline.

I would imagine it's related to charged batteries would have more condensed metal and hence flat batteries would bounce more given that it would have 'softer' metal.

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nitro

656 posts

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#2670918 10-Mar-2021 09:54

SepticSceptic: Does anyone use the "bounce" test for determining if the battery is flat ?
I was sceptical at first but after a few comparisons it really does confirm that the battery is flat / end of life.

AA /AAA alkaline.

the issue with the bounce test is that it's not linear. that bouncing cell could still have 50% of capacity left. i find the multimeter more reliable. but these days, other than for wall clocks, i use eneloops all the way and look after them with a battery analyzer-charger.

driller2000

935 posts

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#2670927 10-Mar-2021 10:07

Maxlife - and they even have tests to show they outlast competitors:

https://www.maxlife.nz/tested.html

Disclaimer: They are a mates company. They got legal threats from Eveready a decade back, but Eveready didn't move beyond their initial lawyer letters, which tells you something about the (lack of) strength of their claims.

turtleattacks

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#2670928 10-Mar-2021 10:08

driller2000:

Maxlife - and they even have tests to show they outlast competitors:

https://www.maxlife.nz/tested.html

Disclaimer: They are a mates company. They got legal threats from Eveready a decade back, but Eveready didn't move beyond their initial lawyer letters, which tells you something about the (lack of) strength of their claims.

Are they made in NZ? Or do they have a foreign factory making their batteries for them.

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Linuxluver

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#2670941 10-Mar-2021 10:26

Jase2985:

timmmay:

Eneloop NiMH recharables with a Maha charger. Slow ish chargers tend to be better for batteries than 15 minute chargers - 2 hours is about the right charge speed.

"apart from rechargeable batteries "

Why not rechargeable NIMH? Sure, you change them more often, but you get hundreds of uses out of each one. They end up FAR cheaper.....

I get the Energizer 2300mah ones. Some of mine are 5 years old and I use them daily for 1600 lumen LED lighting in the dog yard. I just swap the batteries every two days.

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I've been on Geekzone over 16 years..... Time flies....

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