Batteries
 

Hi,

Like most folks I have a few devices which don't have rechargeable batteries - my personal DAB radio for example. I tend to potter about at weekends with my radio more or less on all the time - 10 hours or so at a time - which drains a couple of AAs.

Do people have good or reasonable experiences with rechargeable replacements for ordinary batteries ?

I got a set with my hand-down camera but they didn't hold much charge - maybe 10-20 pics at the most and maybe a day of idle time.

Cheers

I use rechargeable Ni-Mh battries in two newer cameras they are both designed for regular or rechargeable, it is set in the menu. I have good luck with them. The biggest thing is to get the highest Mah you can find, my current one are 2500 Mhr (flea bay). I also now use a charger that charges each cell individually. The performance of the batteries diminishes over time.

...rechargable batteries never last as long as regular batteries, and give progressively shorter operating life with each recharge cycle.

Eneloops
 

Use Sanyo Eneloops.
Forget anything anyone mentions about rechargables that pre-date eneloops. These made in Japan Sanyo batteries are phenomenal. Roughly 2000mah capacity, they charge easily and retain their charge very well. They are a better performance choice than straight alkaline for higher-drain applications. No memory effect, the batteries can be left in any state of charge for prologed periods (though, the prudent among us prefer leaving them charged).

Once you get into eneloops, you may slowly roll into a few dozen eneloop AA's and a handful eneloop AAA's and happily use them for years to come.

Eneloops consistently perform: don't try other brands until you're an expert (e.g. seriously reviewed the usage data on CPF), as other brands make big claims that they don't live up to.


Best,
Linger
(I have no affiliations to disclose)
Lots of brilliant posts + discharge tests + 3 year storage tests + battery shoot-outs on candlepower.com but unfortunately the site is down right now so I can't give you links. Candlepower forum has a battery section, just search 'eneloops'
wikipedia.org Low self-discharge NiMH battery

Due to self discharge of rechargeable batteries I don't bother with them in any of my LED flashlights, I instead use alkaline disposable batteries and change the flash light batteries every 3-5 years and have had great luck doing so.
For cameras I do use 2500mAh batteries and have great luck with them, my video projector, MP3 player, phone, lap top, drill and electric car all have their own rechargeable batteries and I don't have any issue with any of those, I also have a rechargeable power pack that has a 12v and USB-5v output on it that works great as well.

I use NiMH rechargables in most of my stuff, and they work pretty well in everything except the old Kodak camera - and that's the fault of the camera.

They probably don't give the same life as alkaline in things like flashlights, but considering that my LED headlamps & bike lamps (flashlights are so last century, you know?) run 10-20 hours or more on them, it's not a big deal. I just remember to pop the spares in the charger now & then.

I use the lithium ion rechargeable batteries for my camera and my flashlight, they hold their charge for extended periods of time,and have a bigger charge then the non rechargeable alkaline ones.
All of the other rechargeables have let me down either due to not being able to hold a charge/die early or lose their charge fast after charging/using. Try using Li-Ion lithium batteries, they really perform.


Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) Batteries

This is the current and most popular technology for batteries. The only real drawback of Lithium Ion batteries is that they are expensive.
Lithium Ion batteries have a longer life then NiMH batteries.

Lithium Polymer (Li-Poly) Batteries

Li-Poly are the newest and most advanced technology for batteries. Ultra-lightweight, they do not suffer from memory effect and will deliver up to 40% more battery capacity than a Nickel Metal Hybrid (NiMH) of the same size, However they are still quite rare.

Thanks for the replies, glad I asked as this looks more involved than just ordering a charger and batteries off Amazon or something. I'll take a look on those suggestions and see what happens. A new set every weekend day's listening is getting spendy, so having a rechargeable set I can run up overnight sounds like the answer.

Li-co or Li-po Lithium batteries are great, definately, very energy dense and great energy output with minimal voltage sag (in comparison to alkaline). Problem is the 18650 or 14500 lithium batteries are 3.7v nominal (4.2v fully charged), so they are not a suitable replacement for 'standard' AA batteries. These are also serious hobbiest items: walk into a battery store asking for a lithium 14500 or 32650, and a CC / CV recharger and you'll get no response.
As far as I know, the mainstream 'lithium' AA batteries are not rechargable (they are also prohibitively expensive.)

Again, watch out for outdated knowledge. A set of eneloop's will hold power after 5 years and is a much better choice for any standby flashlight (they also never leak). There is very little argument for primary (non-rechargable) alkaline batteries, and definitely none in the case of a regular use item which will have you routinely cycling your cells.

I can't post links yet, so combine all that stuff below and there's one of many great posts given some insight as to why the eneloop is definitely your answer right now.

www . candlepowerforums . com
/vb/showthread.php?245951-Rechargeable-AA-battery-shoot-out




www . candlepowerforums. com
/vb/showthread.php?149804-Eneloop-Self-Discharge-study

Are these the kind of things you are recommending ?

http://www.rechargeablebatteries.co....0311100908.jpg

Spendy but around 20 re-uses would pay for it vs. non-rechargeables. Plus a big pack means the Wii won't eat batteries either...

*(tried a Wii control charger, when charged they don't seem to last).