Open Mike: Personal Non-Pollution

Without getting into the argument of whether batteries really are safe to discard with the regular trash or whether industry simply insists that we be told that, you can save the cost (and pollution) of hundreds and hundreds of single-use batteries by using rechargables. When they're used up, find a recycling location by using the huge ZIP Code based recycling database at Earth911.com, and recycle them.

They also save money. Whether you switch to rechargeables out of environmental consciousness or to save money doesn't really matter; either way makes sense.

For me, the key to happiness with rechargeables was to invest in an excellent charger. Most chargers suck, and they make using rechargeable AA's a pain in the keester to at least some degree. A good charger is expensive—the Powerex WizardOne I use and recommend costs a whopping sixty bucks—but, at the risk of being obvious, it pays for itself relatively quickly. It's also safer, more convenient, yields a better charge in most cases, and prolongs the life of the batteries. You can just leave charged batteries sitting in the charger—it will stop charging them when they're done. (The word "DONE" will appear in the readout.) And it will handle any brand or type of NiMH rechargeable. Mine's been serving me problem-free for more than five years now.

The batteries I use come in two types. The Powerex Precharged AA's come ready for immediate use and have low self-discharge, meaning they will hold their charge in storage (up to a year) and remain ready to use much longer than normal rechargeables, which need a fresh charge after sitting around for more than three months even when you haven't been using them. Powerex Pros are fine for batteries you have in constant rotation, like the ones in my mouse or my kitchen clock.

With small things like this I tend to like to buy the best, but the truth is that there isn't much performance difference between different brands of rechargeable NiMH batteries, as long as they're of the same spec. The number you're looking for is mAh, which mean milliamp hours and is the measure of capacity and battery life. The higher the number, the better the battery. Powerex Precharged AA's are 2600 mAh and Pros are 2700 mAh, both excellent ratings. Cheaper rechargeables that cost half as much can have as little as 850 mAh, which is sort of a false economy because you'll be charging them three times as often.

Here are the storage cases I use for batteries I'm not using.

If all that is just too much money for you, try this charger, which comes with four batteries. It's worse in many ways than what you ought to get, but it's still better than using single-use batteries.

In my house (sprawling TOP Rural World Headquarters) I've been getting by on the same eight AA batteries for about eight years now, and I'm beginning to notice that they're holding a charge for a shorter time than they used to. [Note: see the second P.S. below.] So I'm about to suck on the world's resources to replace them with eight more.

(If you're in the habit of using non-rechargable AA's, how many do you guess you've bought in the last eight years?)

But the key is the charger, in my humble opinion. Splurge from the start and get the good one, and you shall live happily ever after.

Mike

P.S. And by the way, here's the battery-powered thing I like best. LED flashlights are so much better than the heavy, cheap, dim, clunky things I recall from moonless nights in Michigan as a boy. (You might wonder why I'd link to a two-battery flashlight rather than the handier-sized one-battery ones...it's because low-level night-lighting duties have been taken over by, what else, the smartphone, and this has more brightness and reach than a one-AA flashlight.) Don't forget also the handiness of red LED flashlights, which allow you to see in the night without compromising your night vision.

"Open Mike" is the often 0ff-topic editorial page of TOP, in which your dear Ed. ventures off the reservation. This morning's post was going to be about three essential '90s alternative rock albums, but then the kitchen clock stopped and I thought "huh, I just replaced that battery. Maybe it's time to get new ones."

P.P.S. The WizardOne, I just learned, will also analyze specific batteries to determine how much charge they can hold. So I'm now running the analyze function on the battery I just took out of the clock. Writing a blog means learning something new every day, and I mean something every single day.

Original contents copyright 2018 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Q: "I agree completely with your point: From either the environmental or the financial perspective, rechargeables make much more sense than single-use alkalines.

"But, what's wrong with the Eneloops? I've had about a score of them floating around the house with the included four-slot charger since shortly after they were released (and were branded as Sanyo), and I long ago lost count of how many times I've recharged them. Which is often, because I use them (here's the photography connection) in my old old digicam, in the vertical grips for my film cameras, and in my flashes. Still, after about a decade of deplete / recharge cycles, in all those devices they last noticeably longer than the standard alkaline AAs they replaced, even though they're rated at only 2000 mAh (there are higher-capacity versions available, but I don't have them). So I'm happy.

"It was only a while ago that I realized (smack self on forehead) that I could use them in non-photography things, too, so now anything that takes two AAs runs on Eneloops. (The charger works with two or four batteries at once and doesn't like one or three, so I prefer to have a pair of them run out at the same time. It has some intelligent features, such as a 'store only' mode, but it's not nearly as smart as the Powerex.)

"Thank you for this post; now, when I try to convince people that they should buy a few rechargeables instead of a pack of 40-odd single-use batteries, I can just point them to your explanation."

Mike replies: As I mentioned, there's really not a lot of difference between brands of NiMH rechargeables of similar spec, and there's nothing wrong with Eneloops except they are limited to a max power rating of 2000 mAh, although that isn't bad. I used 1800 mAh batteries for years.

Comments

[David Evans]

I wish more cameras ran on AA's. That WizardOne could be so useful. But as things are, I would only use it for 2 radios, and one of those has its own charging circuit, so I will stick with my second-rate charger.

[Rob de Loe]

While not available through your partners (sorry Mike) I read somewhere the the Ikea "LADDA" batteries are Eneloops with an Ikea wrapper. Eneloops are really good rechargeables, so here's a nice cheap option.

[Keith B]

Good idea to remind everyone about the usefullness and availability of today's modern rechargeable batteries.
The battery case you recommended, though, is needlessly bulky and features non-durable hinges and latches. I therefore suggest Storacell Powerpax battery holders (or equivalent) as a more robust, durable, and compact solution. Link: https://amzn.to/2lCaxCJ

[Dave I.]

Mike,

Those Powerex Precharged batteries are pretty impressive if they hold 85% of their charge for a year. My old Energizer AAs will only go 40 days. I just use the Energizer charger that came with them. Has a flip-down thingy for charging AAA cells.

The nice features with the Powerex WizardOne (and similar) charger are the analyzer and the discharge/charge/repeat feature that allows you to fully discharge and charge the battery in case you don't always wait until it dies before charging it.

It used to be that 1200 mAh batteries were a big deal. (Most of those didn't hold a charge for even a month!) Progress!

[DavidB]

I carry an LED (with red light) headlamp for my evening and night photography. Having both hands free with the light pointing in the same direction as I'm looking is great.

Don't forget to turn it off before you start moving your head in all directions or you WILL annoy any nearby folks.

[Duncan]

The storage case you linked to is for AAA batteries.

[Dave Van de Mark]

The 60 buck wonder you recommend is indeed excellent. Takes a little getting used to having batteries take days to charge, depending on the settings, but all’s well that ends well. It has already weeded out a bad apple that tended to discharge overly quickly.

[Rob L.]

Thank you for this. Using rechargeables can be hard, and with the ease of amazon and harbor freight handing out truly horrible but free with purchase batteries, I've been lazy in this, but been promising to do better. As I've committed my Cub Pack to no more disposables this year, I gotta toe the line here as well. Stupid accountability and kids paying attention to what we do...:)

[Moose]

I have not eight, but tens of AA and AAA rechargeable NiMH batteries. I don't think I've reached 100, but they are spread out in many devices, so I don't really know.*

I've had a La Crosse Technology BC700-CBP charger for over nine years, and am pleased with it. It does some tricks other than reliably and fully charging my batteries, but I don't remember what they may be. It's significantly less expensive than the Powerex.

I've also been very happy with the second choice you offer, the Panny BQ-CC17 Advanced individual cell charger. The early Panny charger was poorer, charging only in pairs. That doesn't work well with batteries mismatched by brand or age/use or with the many devices that use one or three batteries.

I've done no testing, other than recharging and using many batteries many times. But batteries charged in the Panny, then put in the La Crosse show as fully charged on the LCD display. The Panny does no tricks, but I think it does its task of safely and fully recharging low discharge NiMH batteries very well.

My batteries are mostly Eneloops, with a significant minority of Amazons. Eneloop invented the low discharge battery, and were for some time the only, then the only first quality brand, which is one reason why I have mostly Eneloops. I'm trying to remember if I've ever had to throw one away. That I'm not sure says it all.

The Powerex batteries look to be comparable, although with a slightly poorer customer review profile. I rather suspect that several brands are essentially the same in quality.

* I see 22 here in little plastic cases of four waiting in reserve, to re-serve.

[Joe Boris]

I bought 20 of these Powerex rechargable batteries (pictured) with the fanciest Powerex charger available, and within the first year these batteries started failing under only moderate use. BUYER BEWARE this brand!

So I sent them to the recycle center because they were undependable, and bought 20 Sanyo 'eneloop' rechargables (the white batteries) , and now 4 years later I still haven't had one single failure under moderdate use.

[Curious. I've never had a Powerex fail. I had an Energizer fail though. I think Eneloop is Panasonic, not Sanyo. I can find no reason not to recommend them. Here's a link:

https://amzn.to/2KnZW9g

--Mike]

[David Dyer-Bennet]

Yeah, the new low self-discharge ones are quite useful. Before that I could only use rechargeables in seriously organized situations -- flash photography often, say.

I still don't use them in my radio flash triggers (which take AAAs); they just sit too much, and are nearly always brought out with little advance warning or planning. Same for flashlights -- those are, among other things, emergency equipment, and 15% discharge in a year is far too fast.

Also, the total capacity of primary AAs is vastly higher, so that emergency flashlight shines for a lot longer.

Police love the rechargeable Streamlight flashlights, I know, but they use flashlights much more than I do (the ones on night shift).

I'm a Maha / Powerex guy. I like the 8-battery charger of theirs, and the 4-battery analytical charger for hard cases. Still haven't rotated out all my pre-low-self-discharge ones, but they're getting towards end-of-life.

I, also, wish more cameras would run on standard batteries.

[David Graham]

Mike,

The Eneloops have been Sanyo before, and lately Panasonic, and perhaps some other brand as well.

I have 2 powerex chargers and a collection of NIMH rechargeable AA and AAA batteries. I use them in headlamps, flashlight, mice, Pocket Wizards, Camranger motorized tripod head, flashes, variax active guitar, pocket recorder, etc. I tend to recharge each Sunday morning.

I like the Fenix ld-22 flashlight, similar to your choice, with a very low power setting available.

I stick to the NIMH rechargeables, which the internet says are less toxic than lithium rechargeables, but NIMH has less capacity. I have never seen NIMH destroy equipment like an alkaline.

A while back I discovered my son was using my pre-charged Eneloops once, and tossing them out. Re-education was promptly given.

Dave

[Steve Biro]

Eneloops were Sanyo, until Panasonic bought Sanyo's battery business. I've got a bunch of them. I originally bought them for use in police and public safety scanners. Then gradually rotated them into other devices.

[Greg]

Long time user of the LaCrosse BC-500 which is no longer at Amazon, but this looks similar: https://www.amazon.com/Crosse-Technology-BC700-CBP-Battery-Charger/dp/B000RSOV50/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1530159264&sr=1-1&keywords=lacrosse+bc-500 and it's $33.39. Doesn't have all of the features of the PowerEx, but has all I would ever use.

I wonder if higher capacity batteries have as long a life span. I throw out a battery about once a month now. A variety of brands. I'll give the PowerEx batteries a try next time though.

[scott kirkpatrick]

I've been buying Amazon basics NiMH batteries recently, which I suspect are the same under the covers as the eneloops and similar. But my charger is at least 10 years old. Time to learn about that element.

[Tom Burke]

Thanks for this post, Mike.

I have 8 NiMh batteries - two for my Apple keyboard and two for the Apple Magic Mouse, plus a spare set for both. As soon as I start getting the MacOS warnings about 'Low Batteries' I recharge one of the spare sets and then change them over. I'll then leave the used sets exhausted until I get the next warning messages. I use a cheap charger with them - I think it came with one set of four batteries - and that's done me fine for a number of years. Thinking about, I bought the iMac in 2013, and that came with the keyboard and magic mouse, so that's when I must have bought the rechargeables.

But recently - well, the last cycle, in fact - I found that the replaced batteries wouldn't work in the mouse, so there must be something going wrong somewhere, and I need to take a look at the batteries or the charger. This has been a timely reminder.

[Richard Parkin]

Good to see you’re a convert to rechargeables, even though a late one. :-) . I used to recharge ordinary batteries back before rechargeables were available/affordable. Chargers were available but I know it’s possible to devise diy solutions. You couldn’t recharge them as often as rechargeables, and it was best to recharge them before they got too low, but it was a great cash saving.

[Ed Waring]

Online rumour has it that the AmazonBasics PreCharged HighCapacity AA's are rebadged Eneloop Pro batteries and have a capacity of 2500mAh

https://www.lightandmatter.org/2014/tech-photography-articles/best-rechargeable-aa-nimh-batteries-for-your-flash-dont-buy-eneloops/

Been using some as my flash batteries for about a year and have yet to have to swap them during a job (usually around 400 flash photos at about a quarter)

[Richard]

Definitely go with the Eneloops. Some years back a group of us at work went through most of the available brands of low self discharge batteries. Eneloops outperformed anything else out there in terms of charge retention. Note that in most cases higher capacity results in higher self discharge. No point having a high capacity battery if it only has 50% charge.

[Zac]

I bought 8 Eneloop AAs in 2010 when I bought my F5 and haven't looked back. I think the first set lasted nearly 2 years before they were low enough to not be able to power the high speed rewind - maybe close to 100 rolls?

They're still going strong too, and they're now in all our remotes, wireless keyboard and mouse. I even use them in my Pentax kx, and I recently got nearly 400 shots out of a freshly charged set before I changed them just in case.

I don't like the fact that the charger didn't come with any sort of manual though, but it works and works well for my needs.

[David Graham]

David Dyer-Bennet,

Ordinary Alkaline AAs will not last as long as 1900 mah NIMH ( like regular Eneloops ) at 85% charge in a higher drain device like a flashlight, even though the alkalines have a higher mah rating under ideal conditions. See www.greenBatteries.com, among many others.
"Heavy Duty" batteries will not last as long as Alkalines.
I believe Lithium batteries ( both rechargeable and non-rechargeable ) are the only commonly available batteries that typically outlast NIMH.
Cheers, David Graham

[John Ironside]

I second the IKEA batteries and charger. Sorry that they won't help TOP, but the Black Diamond Spot 300 headlamp could.

Highly recommended, dimmable, with narrow, narrow+wide and red beams all selectable. One has replaced my 1st or 2nd generation BD LED headlights. I don't use handheld torches/flashlights any longer.

[David Dyer-Bennet]

Well, you may be right about current NiMH batteries being actually better than primary in simple devices. Certainly wasn't true in my experience in the past, though, so I'm skeptical, and greenbatteries.com is very much a source with a position.