Question on Alcaline Batteries

[Sixgun]

You know guys....I'm old head.....the only batteries I grew up with are "d" size that we used in our Boy Scout flashlights. Sometimes "c" size. We used them until no light came out of them.

Anyway, we all know that most of everything today is batteries anymore, mostly AAA, AA, or 9 vault.

So.....here's my question......I'm not cheap by any means..thrifty, but not cheap. In many electronics I have require AA, AAA, or 9 volt.

I also have a quality battery tester..several in fact.......so.......when my gunpowder scale, chronograph, camera, and other bullshyt items display "battery replacement" , I test them. The needle on the tester only comes up a little less than what a brand new one would display. WTF!!! Does this mean we only get a couple of hours out of a packful (2 or 4 at a time) of batteries that cost up to $20?

Yea, we can still use these "depleted" batteries for other things but WTF? Any options from my gun crank buddies? ----6

[Blaine]

The Low Battery lite usually comes on WAY early. I use them until the darn thing stops working....The wireless mouse burns thru a couple AA every three weeks or so, but the warning comes on after a few days....

[flatnose]

I gave up on the alkaline batteries a few years ago. I switched over to rechargeables, and found them to be more cost effective. Just top them up when needed. As an experiment, I tried 6 Harbor freight D cells with their charger, and have over 20 charges each on them. 1 bad one so far. I will upgrade to larger capacity and better quality shortly.
If your batteries are too cold, it will affect performance. Some equipment can be very sensitive to voltage drop. If I can, I use a power supply from a wall socket.

[GunnyMack]

Voltage is one thing but the bigger worry I believe is the amp hour, a rating that is NOT on the package or batteries. This explains the volts showing 1.4 or 8.5 volts( or whatever) on a volt meter.
Best thing for battery life is to go away from incandescent bulbs and switch to LEDs in flashlights.

Now, our society has become a 'throw away' society, which irritates me. But we just keep buying. So in my opinion the manufacturers make lower quality knowing that we will toss it. This goes for everything we buy. I can remember a AA maglight that never used batteries fast, even while tracking wounded deer hours on end. I grabbed it not long age and it was DRT, new batteries in it just a couple months before!
The quality of batteries has gone down for sure...

[Sixgun]

OK guys, im beginning to understand......rechargables seem to be the answer.......i paid $14 for 5... 9 volt batteries the other day and I'm getting 2 hours with the chrono with one battery....then, what do you do with a 90% battery?......hell, with regular electricity it would have cost me about a dime for 2 hours.

I'm all for capitalism but this pelosi sucks. its like people who go out for lunch everyday....$2,000 a year if you dont pay attention when I was working I'd brown bag it for a couple of hundred.

Rechargables....I'm coming!------Thanks guys-----6

[mark]

When is a cell not a cell?, when it's a commercial battery

I just had a look at a Duracell, AA, NO mAh specified on the battery.

If you do a Google for MN1500, printed on the battery, they do provide the mAh specification.

Whether it is applicable to your application remains to be seen.

Regards Mark

[AJMD429]

1. Battery voltage even in a near-death battery will not be all that low until the last minute (literally). That is because the true test of a battery is to put a load across it, demanding current, and THEN see how the voltage does - it will drop more as the battery depletes, and drop sooner than it drops when the battery isn't loaded. Battery testers (as opposed to plain 'voltmeters' ) thus have a 'load' that they apply to the terminals, and the resistance varies (or at least it should) with the type of battery tested. For instance, the AAA and D may be of the same type, and have the same chemicals in them, so produce the same voltage without a load. However if you apply the same load to both, the AAA would probably drop slightly more in voltage, due to less surface area on the 'plates' so it can't shove out the electrons as fast. Under the same load, the AAA would run out of electrons first. Some batteries are designed for especially fast recuperation after a high load, as with a flash-camera, and probably have more surface area in their design than others of the same size.

2. Anything that you can use an 'AC adapter' on can save you money, if it can be used near AC power sources. There are also ways to adapt many devices to use other same/similar voltage batteries, i.e. for less expense or for longer life. If you didn't mind toting a car battery to the range, that chronograph would probably run for several months straight on a single charge!

3. You CAN re-charge some alkaline batteries, with similar battery chargers to the ones used for 'rechargeable' batteries. I've never home-brewed such a charger, so I don't know how different it is than the NiCd ones, but some that charge both NiCd and Alkalines have a switch on them to select which type battery you are recharging, so presumably the switch alters either the voltage threshold for the 'charged' indicator to light, or perhaps affects the rate of charge allowed.

4. The biggest problem with batteries isn't their cost, or rechargeability, but the fact that ALL BATTERIES ARE DESIGNED BY COMMIE SCUM WHO ARE OUT TO SABOTAGE ALL OUR COOL TOYS AND ELECTRONICS BECAUSE THEY ALL LEAK, LEAK, LEAK, ALL THE TIME, AND AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME, IN THE MOST EXPENSIVE DEVICES THEY CAN DESTROY.

BATTERIES ARE EVIL. THEY ALL LEAK. I HATE THEM ALL.....!!!!!!

/rant off

[Blaine]

1. Battery voltage even in a near-death battery will not be all that low until the last minute (literally). That is because the true test of a battery is to put a load across it, demanding current, and THEN see how the voltage does - it will drop more as the battery depletes, and drop sooner than it drops when the battery isn't loaded. Battery testers (as opposed to plain 'voltmeters' ) thus have a 'load' that they apply to the terminals, and the resistance varies (or at least it should) with the type of battery tested. For instance, the AAA and D may be of the same type, and have the same chemicals in them, so produce the same voltage without a load. However if you apply the same load to both, the AAA would probably drop slightly more in voltage, due to less surface area on the 'plates' so it can't shove out the electrons as fast. Under the same load, the AAA would run out of electrons first. Some batteries are designed for especially fast recuperation after a high load, as with a flash-camera, and probably have more surface area in their design than others of the same size.

2. Anything that you can use an 'AC adapter' on can save you money, if it can be used near AC power sources. There are also ways to adapt many devices to use other same/similar voltage batteries, i.e. for less expense or for longer life. If you didn't mind toting a car battery to the range, that chronograph would probably run for several months straight on a single charge!

3. You CAN re-charge some alkaline batteries, with similar battery chargers to the ones used for 'rechargeable' batteries. I've never home-brewed such a charger, so I don't know how different it is than the NiCd ones, but some that charge both NiCd and Alkalines have a switch on them to select which type battery you are recharging, so presumably the switch alters either the voltage threshold for the 'charged' indicator to light, or perhaps affects the rate of charge allowed.

4. The biggest problem with batteries isn't their cost, or rechargeability, but the fact that ALL BATTERIES ARE DESIGNED BY COMMIE SCUM WHO ARE OUT TO SABOTAGE ALL OUR COOL TOYS AND ELECTRONICS BECAUSE THEY ALL LEAK, LEAK, LEAK, ALL THE TIME, AND AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME, IN THE MOST EXPENSIVE DEVICES THEY CAN DESTROY.

BATTERIES ARE EVIL. THEY ALL LEAK. I HATE THEM ALL.....!!!!!!

/rant off

I got quite a charge out of your little screed.....

[Sixgun]

Wow Doc.....I'm truly sorry for firing you up like that. my apologies.

First, Thank you for the education...learn some thing new everyday. And yes, I can relate to the last part on leaking. Back in the day there used to be a guarantee that if the battery leaked, the battery maker would replace your item. I too, learned that the hard way with a rangefinder, but I did manage to clean it up and get it working again.----6

[AJMD429]

If all devices used standard interchangeable battery holders, the corrosion could most likely be contained.

[Blaine]

As an aside, I just ordered 144 Duracell AAs for 41 bucks postage paid on Amazon .....Even WallyWorld charges about a buck apiece....

[marlinman93]

One thing you need to keep in mind when testing batteries with a simple volt meter is it wont give an accurate reading by checking it static without a load. I've tested all sorts of batteries when I still worked for a living, and in some very unusual emergency back up systems. Any non load test is very inaccurate, as with a no load test a battery can read perfect, but break down badly under load!
If possible to test the battery while installed in an active device it will give you a much more accurate reading. An internally shorted battery immediately shows under load, but may read great when removed.

[marlinman93]

OK guys, im beginning to understand......rechargables seem to be the answer.......i

Rechargables....I'm coming!------Thanks guys-----6

Be careful what you buy in rechargeable batteries, and make sure you get a compatible decent charger. Some chargers charge at a rate that's higher in order to recharge a battery quickly. But the fastest chargers are not necessarily the best way to go, as they end up getting less recharges vs. a slower charger with a lower voltage. The slower chargers don't cook your batteries, so the number of times a battery can be recharged is better. So if the chargers you look at state quick charge time, pass them up and go for slower times.
Wet cell or flooded cell batteries need an occasional high voltage charge to remove sulfates that build up on the plates and eventually short out the cells. But dry cell batteries like almost all hand held devices use never need a high charge rate.

[Sixgun]

OK....thanks Marlinman for the education. Funny thing, the rechargeable AA batteries finally died in one of my landline phones.....I just stuck a couple of regular Energizers in it.....that was two months ago. ---6

[marlinman93]

I once grabbed a pack of AA batteries at Harbor Freight as a free gift, just because I didn't need any more flashlights or tape measures. Worst thing I ever did! After popping one in the mouse on my computer, it lasted a week and failed. Popped another in and got another week. Tossed the rest in the recycle bin.

[AmBraCol]

Hey Jack,

I ordered some of these in a few months ago for our wireless microphones. We've been quite happy with them. I'm tempted to pick some up for use in the Chronograph. They last much better than the other rechargeables we had before.

https://smile.amazon.com/EBL-Self-Disch ... 00EQ3U2AA/


Add in a couple of these and mark them as to which are the "Full" and which need recharged and you should be good to go. As a bonus, the organizers protect the contacts and keep them from shorting on just anything.

https://smile.amazon.com/Storacell-Powe ... 004YG7MKM/

[Sixgun]

Paul,
Thanks! By looking at the price of those rechargeables, I would get my money back with about 8 batteries.

Any "old head" never would have thought that batteries would be part of the household budget. These battery thingy's can eat into your wallet pretty easy. ...thanks bud----6

[AmBraCol]

Paul,
Thanks! By looking at the price of those rechargeables, I would get my money back with about 8 batteries.

Any "old head" never would have thought that batteries would be part of the household budget. These battery thingy's can eat into your wallet pretty easy. ...thanks bud----6

We've been very pleased with them for ministry use. I need to get some for personal use, mainly in the chronograph.

[earlmck]

Sure, rechargeables are great for things that are being used all the time. But they loose charge fairly rapidly and they die altogether if they aren't being used, so our things that just get used once in a while are better off with alkalines. Which, if you shop at Costco, you get dozens of them for peanuts. And I haven't had one go bad and ruin anything in years -- maybe us left coasties get the good ones?

[marlinman93]

Sure, rechargeables are great for things that are being used all the time. But they loose charge fairly rapidly and they die altogether if they aren't being used, so our things that just get used once in a while are better off with alkalines. Which, if you shop at Costco, you get dozens of them for peanuts. And I haven't had one go bad and ruin anything in years -- maybe us left coasties get the good ones?

Very good points Earl! And Costco goes through a lot of batteries quickly, which is something you really want when buying disposable batteries! The fresher their stock, the longer the batteries will work for you. I never buy batteries from a small place that I think doesn't sell much. Big discount stores have fresher batteries.

[AJMD429]

We've been very pleased with them for ministry use. I need to get some for personal use, mainly in the chronograph.

Surely the chronograph is for optimizing reloads, which is for optimizing price and quality of ammunition, and ammunition is for protecting the flock from predators......so surely it is for doing The Lord's Work, which means it really IS for ministry use....

I thought about getting certified for firearms safety training, so I could teach patients stuff, and thereby justify buying lots of ammo....

[AmBraCol]

We've been very pleased with them for ministry use. I need to get some for personal use, mainly in the chronograph.

Surely the chronograph is for optimizing reloads, which is for optimizing price and quality of ammunition, and ammunition is for protecting the flock from predators......so surely it is for doing The Lord's Work, which means it really IS for ministry use....

I thought about getting certified for firearms safety training, so I could teach patients stuff, and thereby justify buying lots of ammo....