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Some Decent Rechargeable Batteries?

November 9, 2009, 10:37 am

Engadget thinks so.

Category: Technology

6 Comments

  1. ArtD0dger:

    Well, good luck to them, but I won't be buying until I see some solid evidence that they are WAY better than those wretched things that burned me last time.

    The way they blow advertising bucks, you'd think that Energizer would have at least some slight regard for their brand reputation...

    November 9, 2009, 11:46 am

  2. Doug:

    Looking at the battery discharge voltage versus time, what strikes me is the elevated voltage levels of the battery. A standard Ni-MH battery is considered spent at about 0.9V after spending most of its discharge voltage at about 1.2V. On the other hand, these batteries hover at around 1.7V for much of their discharge time, then fall to about 1.3V when they are exhausted. I suspect this is what the reviewers are seeing --- higher voltage.

    When high-current circuits, such as camera flashes, draw their power, as the battery voltage gets lower, you need more current to deliver the same power to the circuit (voltage x current = power ≈ constant; as voltage decreases, current must increase). If you can get the voltage up, the current requirements decrease, and the battery won't "fail" as soon. One blog commenter complained that these batteries burned out his camera flash, probably because of the cells extra voltage, which can take out some voltage-sensitive circuits. Four of these batteries in series can deliver as high as 4*1.8V = 7.2V, whereas regular alkaline battery might go as high as only 4*1.5V = 6.0V. Many of today's newer electronic processes list an "absolute maximum voltage rating" of 6.0V. 7.2V would most assuredly pop these same circuits. Beware that extra 1.2V in some applications!

    November 9, 2009, 12:07 pm

  3. Dan:

    I have had a lot of luck with the newer enloop batteries and others that use similar technology. The difference is that the batteries retain most of their charge when stored after charging. Alkalines are perfect for low drain devices since they loose very little of their charge over time. The enloops (again there are other brand names of the same thing) bridge the gap a bit so that you have a battery that is rechargeable and works in higher drain or low drain devices.

    Lots of cheap "fast" or "Rapid" chargers are good at ruining very good batteries by just maxing the batteries out during charging drasticly shortening their life. One of my favorite "luxury" items that is far more expensive than others in the category is my LaCrosse battery charger (Amazon has one for less than I paid a while back but just google it to find the best price). It can revive batteries that have been wasted by rapid chargers so they can take a normal charge again. It is particularly good though at maximizing the life of whatever rechargeables you put in it.

    I have had mine for at least two years and I LOVE it. I think I went through 5-6 chargers that were all awful before that. This thing is the . . . (insert thing that was a Cadillac here) of battery chargers.

    November 9, 2009, 4:45 pm

  4. txjim:

    Dan said:

    This thing is the . . . (insert thing that was a Cadillac here) of battery chargers.

    Great line!

    November 9, 2009, 6:48 pm

  5. Peter:

    Dan has me thinking that maybe the healthcare bill that taxes cadillac plans isn't just taxing the really good ones. Or does cadillac not actually stand for really good but just really expensive?

    November 9, 2009, 7:41 pm