Rechargeable AA/AAA batteries... are they worth it?

slinxy

slinxy

slinxy

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Hi

Back in my youth.. I used to use rechargeable AA batteries for my walkman, and I could always remember them being a PITA having to use 2 or three sets a day, they may have just been a rubblish brand or EOL in terms of internal resistance from being recharged to many times.

I know times and battery tech as changed, a lot of my devices like my iPods have built in battery packs, most likely LiPos now a days.

At the moment I just buy the industrial duracell batteries and throw them in to my remote controls etc but I've started to use old school chess computers that take AA batteries and was thinking of getting some rechargeable batteries for them.
Is it actually worth the hassle of paying for them and recharging them? if so; what is the "best" brand to get or am I just better off using non recharagables.
 
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Some devices still don't like rechargeable AA/AAAs due to the lower voltage, rechargeables are much better these days but for some devices still don't make much sense i.e. we've got a clock which will run for 1-2 years off a non-rechargeable but barely makes it to 3 months before needing recharging with a rechargeable possibly due to the cut-off voltage.
 
I've had several sets of Eneloops for years that I use for most things that need batteries around the house. I keep a set of charged AA and AAA in "the drawer" ready to swap out when some die. The only thing I've found they don't play well with is analogue wall clocks, which seem to lose time slowly.
 
i think they are worth it, i have about 30 of them from duracell, energizer and eneloop. They all work really well.

the ones to get are called stay charged or similar.

literally the only ones that failed were because i had not charged them for years.
 
Thanks.. yeah items like remotes and clocks I will still use normal batteries for.. just the toys like my chess computers and when the great nephews come over, my family must think I produce batteries or something as they keep asking for them but they do know when I place a order for AA/AAAs I then to order them in bulk. This way I can just gift them some rechargables and have done for a while.

The lad at work seems to be always charging is batteries for his xbox controller at work, I told him to get a Playstation as they have built in batteries.. lol
 
Each tado unit has 2-3 batteries.
It would be ridiculous to not use recharges.

I use them where I can
 
Enerloop or similar batteries are great and can replace most normal battery operations including remotes and similar.

I still have a bunch of them and they tend to get used in things like mice that need batteries, my trackball and various emergency torches etc.
 
I find rechargeable batteries are very much a case of you get what you pay for.

Ikea Ladda batteries are the best vfm I've found. I believe they're rebranded (or unbranded!) Eneloop Pro
 
Lidl do NiMH cells, I picked some last week on promo. £2.50 for 4 AA cells at 2500mah capacity and low self discharge. (Advertised as "precharged")
 
I use EBL ones from Amazon, they can be a bit inconsistent sometimes but they're cheap especially when on offer and work well enough. I seem to have more issues with the AAs not holding their charge well or not actually charging fully (according to the EBL charger anyway) whereas the AAAs are more reliable. The charger is quite basic (and annoyingly has to charge in pairs) so I may try getting a better one at some point.
 
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Had good and bad experiences with all brands. I use a old Uniross and Rayovac charger that seem to do better at reviving more worn out batteries that don't charge well in modern chargers but it might just be because they make better contact with the battery.
 
I use them in remotes and my wireless work peripherals as well as clocks and Xbox controllers. Seems so much better than the waste of one use ones (ok they can be recycled but that’s process intensive too). I prefer the sustainability of rechargeable. Never have any issues. Got 10 year old eneloops still going and some energizers about 5 years old.
 
Not really worth it tbh.

Maybe if you have devices that burn through 4 or 8 at a time (Toys :p ) then yes sure but a clock or TV remote.....

It will take ten years to repay the investment.

Ive bought 16 AAA and AA Ikea specials but they don't last that long and batteries are a few quid for a 24 pack....

Its down to your use
 
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My Blink doorbell is going through batteries like no tomorrow so definitely going to buy some for that at least. Used to use them back in 360 days and always served me well.
 
slinxy said:
Is it actually worth the hassle of paying for them and recharging them?
Click to expand...

It is if your device is power-hungry and you use it a lot. However, the rechargeable AA/AAA batteries run at 1.2 volts instead of 1.5 volts so many modern devices won't run on them. For example, I have a LED bicycle light which will run fine on disposable AAAs but not on rechargeable AAAs due to the latter's lower voltage. If you have devices that run on AAAs then using rechargeables should save money as AAAs work out significantly more expensive.
 
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