Batteries (AA etc)

[Frank Cox]

Having just picked up a package of batteries, it occurs to me that some of you might be interested in this.

I used Duracell batteries up to a few years ago when they seem to have become crapified. Several of them started leaking, which was never a problem before but I assume they changed their manufacturing process and lowered the quality.

So I started using Energizer batteries and haven't yet had any trouble with those.

The interesting thing here is that I discovered "Energizer Industrial", which are exactly the same battery as the retail Energizer battery; the only difference is that they come in a cardboard box.

But they cost about one-third of what the same batteries cost in a retail package.

There's an amazing number of things around here that use batteries -- flashlights, thermostats, remote controls, clocks, garage door openers. So a package of 24 AA or AAA batteries doesn't last too long and paying one-third of the price is worth the effort it takes to order a box of batteries at (in my case) the local hardware store and pick it up a week later. (The square 9V batteries are available that way too but I haven't actually needed to buy any lately.)

[Mike Blakesley]

The company that makes the system we use for our annual fireworks display recommends Energizers for their remote control. (It takes 3 batteries.) They list brands to avoid, and Duracell is on that list. Which is kind of strange, I always thought Duracell was a "top of the line" battery.

I will say though that even Energizers don't seem to last as long as they once did in things like remote controls, computer mice, keyboards etc. Of course, they don't want them to last TOO long.

[Leo Enticknap]

For the last 10-15 years I've noticed that Duracells have a propensity to leak if they are left for any significant period of time without any charge being drawn from them, and have avoided them as a result. I can't tell you how many service calls I've been to where one of the complaints has been that the remote for the Oppo (or one of the other consumer devices in the rack) has stopped working, and discovered the cause to be that Duracells have puked up inside it.

For a long time I had a two-pronged strategy of using NiMH rechargeable AAs in devices that are happy with their slightly lower voltage relative to alkaline one-time AAs and are used regularly (NiMH rechargeables also go weird if they are not used for a prolonged time), and Energizer lithiums for those that don't fit that use case, e.g. rarely used remotes, or outdoor temperature sensors that need the full 1.5V to get their signal out. But then, I suspect because the growth of the electric car market increased the demand for lithium, the cost of Energizer lithium AAs skyrocketed, from around a buck a piece a couple of years ago on Amazon to around $2.50 now. Since then, I've had good luck with "Amazon Basics" one-time alkaline AAs - none have vomited on me so far.

[Marcel Birgelen]

Interestingly, I had very good results with IKEA's home-brand AA and AAA alkaline batteries. I used to buy Duracell Industrial in bulk, but ever since some of them started to barf on me, I dumped them. I've used those IKEA home brand batteries for some years now and I haven't had a leak yet. They're also one of the cheapest out there and don't seem to underperform compared to the Duracell Industrials I used to buy. Also, I later read in some tests, they performed better than most expensive brands... The problem is, you never know how long it will last, once they switch supplier, the good times may be over.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

That you're not using rechargables make it seem like money is being thrown away.... I use them in just about everything I own that requires batteries.

[Marcel Birgelen]

Well, I was going to compare prices... It seems like I've not been to IKEA for a while, as they started to get rid of non-rechargeables. But I remember like paying 25ct/battery. It looks like my batch could be one of the last. It's hard to beat that price point with rechargeable batteries, which may cost 5 to 10 times as much per battery. Do they last longer than 10 charge cycles?

The thing with rechargeable batteries is mostly the inconvenience, the fact that they don't last as long per charge and that some stuff still has issues with 1.2V... I've also had some of them "explode" on me while recharging... Then again, they'd be better for the environment. If they would charge as fast as modern mobile telephone batteries, it would probably entice me more to use them.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Well, for starters, my Canon camera lithium batteries are 6 years old and have been recharged hundreds of times. But even I admit I should really get new ones for the camera. The four D batteries I use in my antique Self Winding Clocks are 3 years old but the clocks have a low draw when they wind once an hour. I recharge them 4x a year. Years ago I bought a nice Spectrum Analyzer, can't remember the brand, and those rechargable batteries lasted for ten years. It was actually a 6x C size pack... so I had Standard Electronics make a new pack for me... I have only run into failed batteries in older... or surplus equipment that has been sitting a long time.

[Harold Hallikainen]

As Marcel pointed out, the 1.2 V/cell compared to 1.5 V/cell can be an issue in some products. I remember year ago that Ray O Vac made a big deal about their leak guarantee. Just looked it up again, and they still have it ( https://www.rayovac.com/warranties-and-guarantees/ ). They will refund up to $15 per device damaged by a leaking cell!

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Yes, am aware of that, it's just never been a problem I've experienced. Frank was discussing them in Flashlights. I've never not seen a flashlight light up with lithium batteries in it.

[Steve Guttag]

I'm more of a believer in the Energizer Ultimate Lithium. Yeah, they cost more...they last longer too...they also don't leak out like alkalines do.

[Marcel Birgelen]

I haven't really used any Lithium based AA or AAA batteries, so I can't really judge if the bump in price is worth it. About a year ago I replaced a bunch of 9V alkaline batteries with VARTA 9V Lithium batteries in a bunch of wireless smoke detectors and they still seem to be good according to the self-test. I usually had to replace them about every 10 months or so. The previous non-wireless generation did about two years on 3 AA alkaline batteries, but I guess the wireless part consumes some considerable amount of power. My current wireless mouse is on the first set of IKEA Alkaline batteries and has been for over 14 months, the set of batteries included with that same mouse died after about 2 months... The LED has just recently turned from green to pulsating RED, so I guess it's time for a swap, again...

Mark's posts have me thinking about rechargeables again... Maybe I give them another try, stuff may have significantly improved in the last 15 or so. I ditched them, after I had a bunch of them "blow up" while on the charger, creating a hot mess. I guess something inside the charger went awry that started to overload them. But with IKEA starting to ditch non-rechargeable batteries, I can see a trend coming, in which non-rechargeable batteries probably will slowly be killed off by policy...

[Bobby Henderson]

I agree Duracell has definitely gone downhill in recent years. If the batteries go low or dead it's a good idea to remove them from the device. I found out about it the hard way with a small, battery-powered LED flashlight; the batteries went dead but I forgot to swap them out for fresh ones. Months later I opened the flashlight's battery tube and found a nice gooey mess inside. It wasn't easy getting the leaky batteries out of there since they seemed to have swollen a bit. I haven't had the same problem with Eveready brand batteries.

[Steve Guttag]

FWIW, the traditional GDC servers used the Energizer Ultimate Lithiums on the secure clock. Think about how long those have lasted in 24/7 (albeit trickle) use. They are also rated for a 20-year shelf life, as I recall.

[Leo Enticknap]

I haven't really used any Lithium based AA or AAA batteries, so I can't really judge if the bump in price is worth it.

When they were $1 to $1.50 a battery, the bump in price was worth it to me. But now, the cheapest I can find is $2.87, and even then, only if you're willing to buy 20 at a time. That compares to 58c a battery for Amazon Basics alkaline. Paying five times more per battery buys you a longer shelf life (as Steve notes), guaranteed no puking, and about 1.5 to 2x the mAh of power. Puking isn't a problem with alkaline one-time batteries as long as you avoid Duracell and dirt cheap no name batteries (in my experience, at least), and I don't have any need to store batteries long term. So for lithium, I'd now have to pay 5x the price for only 2x the power. For me, lithium one-time batteries are not worth it at that price.

What would be great is if someone started to market lithium ion rechargeable AAs that actually give you 1.5V. But I've never seen any.

[Tony Bandiera Jr]

I have been using the Energizer AA's in my wireless mic for the race track, and have been very disappointed with them of late. They used to last me an entire race (around 9-10 hours) but now they only do about 7-8 forcing me to do a mid show changeout. The Lithium versions would do two full days worth of racing no problem. I haven't price checked them lately, but I believe Leo when he says they have gone so far up.

I could get away with using Duracells as I always remove the batteries after each use. I'll probably try them next week when I use my own mic at the race. (This weekend I am using the track's mic I got for them, and they provide the batteries which are Energizers.)