12ct Duracell AAA Rechargeable Batteries

Deal Chatter Electronics
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[QUOTE=readymade, post:55, topic:364182]
If you’re going to use rechargeable you must get a decent charger. Granted that’s an even further investment but it makes a big difference. You need a charger that can recondition the batteries, this will add years to their lives and make the charger cost effective. I have a PowerEx charger.
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For a long time I kept saying “no” to buying a good charger. For the number of batteries and chargers I did purchase I could have bought a couple of Powerex units and still had money left over. I’ve been more then happy with my Powerex. A number of batteries I thought were goners, are now back doing useful service. These were batteries that my other chargers wouldn’t even try to charge.

62

I know the charger Igo Charger that has been on here a few times says not to use any batteries that aren’t it’s own brand. So despite what they say, will these batteries work?

63

Expect LSD batteries to be stolen from stores by owners of meth labs. (They aren’t very smart.)

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[QUOTE=tytaine, post:62, topic:364182]
I know the charger Igo Charger that has been on here a few times says not to use any batteries that aren’t it’s own brand. So despite what they say, will these batteries work?
[/quote]

They are referring to alkalines. Normal alkalines should not be recharged. The iGo comes with rechargeable alkalines, which were made to handle the trauma of recharging. As an aside, it’s a dead technology since rechargeable alkalines are a B*TCH to maintain. That’s why you’ll only see them in closeout sales. The problem is that they need to be charged once 25%-50% discharged. Wait any longer, i.e. when they’re empty, and you’ve irreparably damaged the batteries. The problem is that mos devices cannot tell you accurately when the batteries are 25%-50% discharged. Remote controls, flashlights, toys, etc don’t tell you how much juice is left and many meters, like those in cameras, aren’t very inaccurate.

In terms of these Duracells and all other NiMH batteries, they’ll charge just fine in the iGo charger. Just MAKE SURE YOU SET IT TO NiMH and not alkaline. Using the wrong setting can damage the batteries.

But as many have said, you may be better off with an intelligent charger like the LaCrosse or Powerex. Those allow you to choose the charge rate, and a slow charge rate is gentler on the batteries. I choose 200mAh unless I’m in a real hurry. Good chargers also allow you to charge batteries singly and not in pairs. See this post to see why that’s important.

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[QUOTE=sdc100, post:64, topic:364182]
They are referring to alkalines. Normal alkalines should not be recharged. The iGo comes with rechargeable alkalines, which were made to handle the trauma of recharging. As an aside, it’s a dead technology since rechargeable alkalines are a B*TCH to maintain. That’s why you’ll only see them in closeout sales. The problem is that they need to be charged once 25%-50% discharged. Wait any longer, i.e. when they’re empty, and you’ve irreparably damaged the batteries. The problem is that mos devices cannot tell you accurately when the batteries are 25%-50% discharged. Remote controls, flashlights, toys, etc don’t tell you how much juice is left and many meters, like those in cameras, aren’t very inaccurate.

In terms of these Duracells and all other NiMH batteries, they’ll charge just fine in the iGo charger. Just MAKE SURE YOU SET IT TO NiMH and not alkaline. Using the wrong setting can damage the batteries.

But as many have said, you may be better off with an intelligent charger like the LaCrosse or Powerex. Those allow you to choose the charge rate, and a slow charge rate is gentler on the batteries. I choose 200mAh unless I’m in a real hurry. Good chargers also allow you to charge batteries singly and not in pairs. See this post to see why that’s important.
[/quote]

The charger automatically does nimh or akaline apparently, no switch is there. It also charges each battery separately, and stops charging when they are full. Seems like it does almost all those things except being able to choose charge length.

I hope woot puts aa or aaa igo batteries(not alkaline) on here sometime soon, I’m slightly nervous having heard some brands of batteries have oozed when charged on my igogreen charger.

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[QUOTE=panthiest, post:60, topic:364182]
Wow… reading the comments it sounds like rechargeable batteries have come a long way from my box that took purple rechargeables and occasionally made the batteries burning hot.

In defense of my box though, it did fit any size
[/quote]

Yeah, my dad had one of those and he frequently charged D and C cells. Even 9V. In those days, people weren’t warned against charging regular zinc carbon batteries, leading to many leaks and explosions.

The latest consumer rechargeable technology is Nickel-Zinc (NiZn). Unlike NiMH and NiCad batteries, which are rated for 1.2V, NiZn batteries are rated at 1.6V – even higher than alkaline’s 1.5V. They cost the same as NiMHs, and potentially last longer since it’ll take longer for them to drop to an unusable voltage. Many photographers swear by them since their flashes recharge faster. Unfortunately, they self-discharge like regular NiMH batteries and they need their own type of charger.

67

[QUOTE=tytaine, post:65, topic:364182]
The charger automatically does nimh or akaline apparently, no switch is there. It also charges each battery separately, and stops charging when they are full. Seems like it does almost all those things except being able to choose charge length.

I hope woot puts aa or aaa igo batteries(not alkaline) on here sometime soon, I’m slightly nervous having heard some brands of batteries have oozed when charged on my igogreen charger.
[/quote]

I don’t know much about iGo chargers but avoid them if they merely rely on a timer to stop charging. That often results in over or undercharging because they rely on an average formula, i.e. Duracell determines that a 2000mAh AA cell will take 16 hrs to charge at 200mAh. The problem is that batteries are in different states of discharge when you charge them. Some may be 80% empty while others may be 92% empty, requiring different times to fully charge. The best chargers use ΔT and ΔV sensors (changes in temperature and voltage) to determine when a battery is charged, and then switch to a trickle mode.

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[QUOTE=cappo, post:58, topic:364182]
These Black and Deckers appear to be unregulated because I’ve already had two sets of normal batteries die in two different lights… dimmer… dimmer. But since they’re LED, they don’t start dimming until the batteries are pretty far gone, so I’m not sure if the NIMH would pull it off or not.

They’re handy little flashlights, though. I use one every day when I don’t want to bother turning on a lamp just to see where I put the remote or something.
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I have 20+ LED flashlights and NiMH batteries work just fine in all of them. This includes Dollar Store LED flashlights.

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[QUOTE=cubbiemi, post:45, topic:364182]
So my question of the moment which is partially answered earlier, but I like confirming things, is will these work with the Kodak charger bundle Woot offered recently?

I know the charger isn’t super duper hi-tech like some of the others people have suggested, but there are budget limits sometimes.
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I have yet to open my Kodak charger from Woot, but you can use any NiMH charger on these Duracells. LSD NiMH (i.e. Eneloops, Hybrids, "“pre-charged”) batteries and regular NiMH batteries charge the same way. My biggest concern with the Kodak chargers is that they only charge batteries in pairs (2 or 4 at a time). See this post to see why it’s better to monitor and charge batteries individually.

The Kodak charger also automatically switches over to a maintenance mode once fully charged. In other words, they automatically turn back on if they detect that the batteries have self-discharged too much. This is good for people who like to leave their batteries in the charger plugged in 24/7. I find that to be a waste of electricity, and may even shorten the life of the batteries. I take my batteries out once the charging is complete.

Also, the Woot deal came with two chargers. The regular charger outputs 310mA and takes 8 hrs to charge 2 2100mAh AAs (AAAs charge at 120mA). The RapidCharger outputs 2.2A and takes 2hrs to charge 2 2100mAh AAs. Unless you’re in a hurry, always choose the slower method to prolong the life of the battery.

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@friartek
@cappo
@cubbiemi
And ESPECIALLY @Woot

I just want to apologize for my earlier rant. I was taken by surprise and was having an upsetting morning already about something else, so I over-reacted.  I was completely, 100% wrong to blame Amazon and Woot - it’s not your fault whatsoever - I’m sorry that I implied it was. This is totally the fault of the bass ackwards state of PA. I don’t pay much attention to news, and although I have seen posts about online tax changes, I didnt realize how drastically it was going to affect me, or that it was going to affect me today.

Woot, and anyone else that was offended by my post, I apologize for yelling and ranting - I wasn’t being myself. I appreciate all that you guys did to try to prevent this. Again - I’m very sorry - please accept my deepest apologies. 
~Sharon

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[QUOTE=sdc100, post:33, topic:364182]
19 years is more than long enough because 1) battery technology will change so I won’t need these old batteries; 2) I’ll lose the batteries; 3) I’ll die. So do you really want to pay more for 500 addition charge cycles?
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AA and AAA alkaline batteries have been around for a lot longer than 19 years, and they they show no sign of going away soon.

I have no argument against numbers two and three, though.

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[QUOTE=michaels1715, post:48, topic:364182]
I WAS in for 3 - until I saw the tax on my order. Amazon and Woot, you have no idea how much business you just lost. Between the two of you I spent well into the 5 figure range last year. Not anymore. You’ll be LUCKY to get 4 figures out of me now. Nope, I’m not interested in paying tax on items I have to wait to receive. It’ll have to be one heck of a deal for me to buy on Amazon or Woot now. Thanks for making this change right before I renewed my Prime account, at least. Saved me from wasting $40 on free shipping with a company I will no longer (or rarely at best) buy from.

WHATEVER!!!
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You should complain to your state government, since they are the ones charging you the tax.

When the vendor doesn’t have a physical presence in a state the state usually can’t force them to collect the tax, but you still owe it. You just can’t easily cheat on your taxes the way you want to.

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[QUOTE=michaels1715, post:70, topic:364182]
@friartek
@cappo
@cubbiemi
And ESPECIALLY @Woot

I just want to apologize for my earlier rant. I was taken by surprise and was having an upsetting morning already about something else, so I over-reacted. I was completely, 100% wrong to blame Amazon and Woot - it’s not your fault whatsoever - I’m sorry that I implied it was. This is totally the fault of the bass ackwards state of PA. I don’t pay much attention to news, and although I have seen posts about online tax changes, I didnt realize how drastically it was going to affect me, or that it was going to affect me today.

Woot, and anyone else that was offended by my post, I apologize for yelling and ranting - I wasn’t being myself. I appreciate all that you guys did to try to prevent this. Again - I’m very sorry - please accept my deepest apologies.
~Sharon
[/quote]

I must have missed much of this thread or the moderators must have deleted it because I didn’t see anything so bad. Your frustration with sales tax is shared by many. Here are some thoughts:

  1. You’re apparently unaware of Woot’s discount for those of us who pay sales tax (WA, TX and NY … and now, PA?). If your total is more than $40, just use coupon code, “TAXSUCKS” to get a $5 discount. For totals of $60 or less, we taxpayers often end up paying less than those who don’t pay sales tax. That’s because the sales tax may be less than the $5 we’re getting back, so we end up a dollar or so ahead. As you can see below, my NY sales tax came out to $3.99. Since Woot is giving me a $5 discount, I end up paying $1.01 less than Wooters who don’t have to pay tax. Whoopee!

Three packs of these batteries exceed $40 so the coupon would work. USE IT!

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2) I don’t know why Woot is collecting sales tax in PA, but it may have nothing to do with having a physical presence. They have no presence in NY but we have been paying sales ta for over a year. And it has nothing to do with Woot or Amazon.

It’s due to the so-called Amazon Tax Law, initiated by New York State. It’s currently being debated in the courts but if NY prevails, many other states will follow NY’s lead and force online businesses to be tax collectors for the state.

NY, especially New York City, has some of the highest rents and utilities in the us. That means NYC businesses have to set their prices higher. As a result, many NYers were going to NJ to shop – and going online. That means NY is losing out on a lot of sales tax. Legislators then passed a law forcing Amazon to collect sales tax from all NY buyers, and hand the tax over to the state. Amazon is fighting this, claiming that NY has no right to make them an UNPAID tax collector. Why should Amazon have to devote part of their accounting dept to pay NY? After all all, they’re not NY employees. Until the matter is settled by the courts, Amazon has decided to comply just in case they lose. Imagine the mess and losses if the courts force them to go back and retroactively pay NY.

So if you want to blame anyone, blame my great state of New York.

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[QUOTE=craigthom, post:71, topic:364182]
AA and AAA alkaline batteries have been around for a lot longer than 19 years, and they they show no sign of going away soon.

I have no argument against numbers two and three, though.
[/quote]

Yeah, but do you have the same batteries you had 19+ years ago? Alkaline battery capacity has increased at least once in the last 19 years and that was my point. Why keep these batteries if better ones come up? For example, I’ve replaced many of my NiCad batteries with NiMH batteries, and many of my regular NiMH batteries with LSD NiMHs. Even today’s best LSD NiMH batteries can’t match the stability of alkalines, which can hold a charge for up to 7 years. My guess is that higher capacities and even lower discharge rechargeable batteries will come along within 5 years.

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[QUOTE=sdc100, post:64, topic:364182]
Those allow you to choose the charge rate, and a slow charge rate is gentler on the batteries. I choose 200mAh unless I’m in a real hurry.
[/quote]

That’s what I thought, but I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately (I just bought a La Crosse charger and some Eneloops this week (how’s that for timing?)) and there are those who say that the best charging current is at least half the battery rating.

The main reason is that smart chargers are more likely to notice when the battery is fully charged, so they don’t get overcharged, especially with LSD batteries. Batteries could get hot when charged at too high a current, but no one reported that happening at 1000mA or lower.

Cheap chargers are the ones most likely to overcharge at higher rates because they charge based on time.

In summary, the majority opinion is that there is no advantage to a lower charging rate with a smart charger, and that a higher rate is less likely to miss that the battery is fully charged.

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[QUOTE=sdc100, post:74, topic:364182]
Yeah, but do you have the same batteries you had 19+ years ago? Alkaline battery capacity has increased at least once in the last 19 years and that was my point. Why keep these batteries if better ones come up? For example, I’ve replaced many of my NiCad batteries with NiMH batteries, and many of my regular NiMH batteries with LSD NiMHs. Even today’s best LSD NiMH batteries can’t match the stability of alkalines, which can hold a charge for up to 7 years. My guess is that higher capacities and even lower discharge rechargeable batteries will come along within 5 years.
[/quote]

But you can still use the batteries you have today, and they will still perform just as well as they do now. There may be better ones in a few years, but that won’t make these perform any worse, and they won’t be obsolete.

I am not going to use the old purple NiCad batteries, but they never performed as well as these, and none of them are still good, anyway.

If these last a year in my remotes and flashlights I don’t have a need to get something better for most applications. Maybe for photo flash, if they cycle faster and last longer, but that’s it.

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[QUOTE=craigthom, post:75, topic:364182]
That’s what I thought, but I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately (I just bought a La Crosse charger and some Eneloops this week (how’s that for timing?)) and there are those who say that the best charging current is at least half the battery rating.

The main reason is that smart chargers are more likely to notice when the battery is fully charged, so they don’t get overcharged, especially with LSD batteries. Batteries could get hot when charged at too high a current, but no one reported that happening at 1000mA or lower.

Cheap chargers just time the charge cycle, so it doesn’t matter.
[/quote]

That’s interesting. I have never heard that formula before. What exactly is the “battery rating”? Do you mean the capacity? Does that mean these 800mAh AAA batteries should be charged at 400mA? And the 2000mAh AA battery should be charged at 1000mA (the maximum for the LaCrosse)? It scares me to use the maximum setting on any device.

For what it’s worth, the Duracell 2000mAh AA’s label states that a “standard charge” is 200mA for 16 hours. I assume then that Duracell recommends 200mA by default.

If you want to see hot, get the notorious Duracell 15min charger. The batteries get so hot that there is a fan about 0.5" below the the batteries.

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[QUOTE=craigthom, post:76, topic:364182]
But you can still use the batteries you have today, and they will still perform just as well as they do now. There may be better ones in a few years, but that won’t make these perform any worse, and they won’t be obsolete.[…]
Maybe for photo flash, if they cycle faster and last longer, but that’s it.
[/quote]

Actually, NiMH batteries deteriorate with each charge and over time so within a few years they won’t meet their rated capacities. And after a decade or so of use, I doubt if their capacity will match your needs. The LaCrosse can extend their useful lifespans using the “renew” mode regularly. That’s where the charger “cleans” the battery by repeatedly deep discharging/charging it until a maximum capacity is reached. The process usually takes 2-3 days.

But no amount of “renewing” will make me want to use a 10 year old battery.

As for photo flashes, see my post regarding NiZn batteries. Rated at 1.6V, many photographer praise them for quickly recycling the flash. Others warn that such quick recycling can damage the electronics.

79

Can these be recharged in solar powered items? Used at dark and recharged during day, in the solar device, not in power outlet charger.

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[QUOTE=sdc100, post:66, topic:364182]
Yeah, my dad had one of those and he frequently charged D and C cells. Even 9V. In those days, people weren’t warned against charging regular zinc carbon batteries, leading to many leaks and explosions.

The latest consumer rechargeable technology is Nickel-Zinc (NiZn). Unlike NiMH and NiCad batteries, which are rated for 1.2V, NiZn batteries are rated at 1.6V – even higher than alkaline’s 1.5V. They cost the same as NiMHs, and potentially last longer since it’ll take longer for them to drop to an unusable voltage. Many photographers swear by them since their flashes recharge faster. Unfortunately, they self-discharge like regular NiMH batteries and they need their own type of charger.

[/quote]

Thanks for explaining all that :slight_smile: