I had an epiphany yesterday while assembling lilwizard’s baby swing. We are going to go through a TON of batteries.
Now, rather than heading to Target and buying whatever Energizer Rechargeables they might have in stock, I’d like to tap the hive mind and see what you guys can come up with. I know that there are plenty of flashlight geeks out there who school me on what to look for and what to avoid. Tenergy
So much to learn! HALP!
I use eneloop in the AA and AAA size for many different uses and am very satisfied with them.
In the 123 size I use Ultralast and they work well in my Surefire G-2 LED.
If we’re any indication, you’ll use them for a couple months then realize it’s less hassle to buy new. Rechargables just don’t last long on a single charge.
I’m gonna say it depends. Lithium ion batteries have a flat discharge curve, where alkaline voltage starts lowering immediately.
Rechargeable li-ion will last a lot longer in things like digital cameras, that have a high voltage threshold before they will work. Alkalines will last longer in flashlights, but the flashlight will start to dim immediately. Li-ion will keep the brightness almost unchanged until they die.
Also, alkalines will initially be brighter in a flashlight since they put out more voltage–though it doesn’t take too long for them to dim below li-ion levels.
I use eneloop in the AA and AAA size for many different uses and am very satisfied with them.
In the 123 size I use Ultralast and they work well in my Surefire G-2 LED.
As for the chargers, I bought the batteries and chargers as a kit and have since just bought more batteries.
If this is posted twice, the original answer was just sitting there and not doing anything so I quit the page and started over.
It got moderated. Shouldn’t have that problem again
Batteries: Sanyo eneloop’s
Charger: La Crosse Technology BC-9009 AlphaPower Battery Charger
http://amzn.com/B00077AA5Q (not sure why the new model is $90 but I only paid $40 four years ago for the old model)
As for alkaline I get the Costo brand. Consumer Reports always ranks them high.
I second the votes for the Eneloops – they run just about as long as COTS batteries, and hold a charge damned near forever. Unfortunately, they do not come in “odd” sizes.
My biggest problem with rechargables is that they last so long in the things I use them in (wireless mice, X-Box controllers, etc.), I lose the charger…