Not sure where to post this but hoping someone here can help? I want to invest in some rechargeable batteries for around the house. We could make our own mountain the amount we seem to go through, especially kiddies toys which I'm sure are made to eat them, and we just seem to be getting more electronic toys as they get older, no matter how much I try to disuade the relatives. Anyway back to the original post, I have no idea what is the best sort to get and I can't seem to find any information on them. Obviously any rechargeable battery is going to be better that none, but I'd rather invest in some decent ones. Can anyone help advise me?
thanks
bec
Rechargeable batteries?
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Shirley
- A selfsufficientish Regular
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Hiya Bec
:welcomeish:
I use Uniross NiMH batteries... they work really well and I've got a sprint charger which means that they charge pretty quickly too. The only batteries I use are AA size so it simplified things for me.
The batteries have different ratings and my current ones are 2500 mAH which sounds technical but it's all to do with the charge capacity... the higher the mAh the longer the battery will last before needing charging again..... this link explains it much better than I can.. but I'm not endorsing them or their products as I've had no experience of them. http://www.digibattery.co.uk/ni-mh_store1.html
Kiddies toys are terrible for batteries aren't they... I try to avoid them if I can.
I will say that it's worth shopping around for the best prices.
:welcomeish:
I use Uniross NiMH batteries... they work really well and I've got a sprint charger which means that they charge pretty quickly too. The only batteries I use are AA size so it simplified things for me.
The batteries have different ratings and my current ones are 2500 mAH which sounds technical but it's all to do with the charge capacity... the higher the mAh the longer the battery will last before needing charging again..... this link explains it much better than I can.. but I'm not endorsing them or their products as I've had no experience of them. http://www.digibattery.co.uk/ni-mh_store1.html
Kiddies toys are terrible for batteries aren't they... I try to avoid them if I can.
I will say that it's worth shopping around for the best prices.
Shirley
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NEEPS! North East Eco People's Site
My photos on Flickr
Don't forget to check out the Ish gallery on Flickr - and add your own photos there too. http://www.flickr.com/groups/selfsufficientish/
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Stonehead
- A selfsufficientish Regular
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I use the Uniross NiMH batteries, too, but I have had three explode while recharging (that's out of about 20 batteries over 10 years). They're good for most jobs but they do drain quite quickly in the digital camera and perform poorly in cold weather (below zero).
I used either a mains fast charger or a solar battery charger I bought from the Green Shop (the £14.95 one, not the £85 one!). The solar charger is pretty much useless in Scotland from October through to April, though!
I used either a mains fast charger or a solar battery charger I bought from the Green Shop (the £14.95 one, not the £85 one!). The solar charger is pretty much useless in Scotland from October through to April, though!
Last edited by Stonehead on Thu Oct 26, 2006 4:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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nathanbriggs
- Jerry - Bit higher than newbie
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NiMH rather than NiCd because Cadmium is bad :-) strictly speaking you should find it hard to buy red NiCd AA's now but the stocks haven't flushed through.
Generally the higher th mAh rating the better the quality of battery, remember this is a longish term investment so most economies are false go for a recognised brand
Uniross are a good brand, but their older chargers are better than the new ones, you can see the difference by looking at them. A good fast or "X-press" charger will charge 4 cells in 15 minutes, to do this the contacts need to be very good on the battery ends, strong springs. On the older uniross chargers they have seperate sprung connectors for AAs and AAAs giving good contacts, the newer ones are 50p cheaper and have rubbish contacts one spring for both sizes.
Just remember an alkaline cell is 1.5V and a rechargeable is 1.2V so some of your older toys and high current camera's will seem to discharge much faster on rechargeables (as far as they are concerned you are putting in a half charged cell )
Generally the higher th mAh rating the better the quality of battery, remember this is a longish term investment so most economies are false go for a recognised brand
Uniross are a good brand, but their older chargers are better than the new ones, you can see the difference by looking at them. A good fast or "X-press" charger will charge 4 cells in 15 minutes, to do this the contacts need to be very good on the battery ends, strong springs. On the older uniross chargers they have seperate sprung connectors for AAs and AAAs giving good contacts, the newer ones are 50p cheaper and have rubbish contacts one spring for both sizes.
Just remember an alkaline cell is 1.5V and a rechargeable is 1.2V so some of your older toys and high current camera's will seem to discharge much faster on rechargeables (as far as they are concerned you are putting in a half charged cell )