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huffinpuffin2 14 years, 7 months ago.
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I know that this has been brought up before, but things seem to change and improve so fast so……
I was in Wally World last night and stopped to look at recharable batteries.HOLY COW!!! 😯 Lots to choose from.
So what’s the best brand, kind to get? I looked at the 15 nin car charger ubit and that was about $30 or so.I would suggest Powerex/Maha, have had great luck with mine and the charger rocks!
Check out the usual suspects for better pricing(amazon, etc), I bought the charger and 1st set of batteries at Amateur Electronic Supply http://www.aesham.com/
I’ve tried a variety of rechargeables in my Magellan Triton but the voltage demand of the unit is so high that rechargables can’t keep up. The ONLY thing that has worked in there is the ultimate Lithium ones by energizer. and where the rechargables last a short time (a couple hours) the lith have been going.. and going… and going.. for over 3 full days of caching now.
They’re not cheap but when on sale, they are a deal.
Consumer Reports magazine just rated AA batteries in December 2010. They noted that Lithium batteries lasted the longest, but were the most expensive, and are not rechargeable. Lithium batteries lasted approx. 4 to 5 times longer than alkaline batteries. The NiMH rechargeables were the next best, lasting about three times longer than alkalines. Non-rechargeable alkalines were the poorest performers in the tests, but they would still be way better than the so-called “heavy duty” carbon zinc batteries, which weren’t even rated because they are the absolute worst and are old technology.
Among the rechargeables, all 5 brands that they tested performed well, and all received the same “very good” rating. They did state “battery manufacturers make lots of claims, but take them with a grain of salt.”
I have several brands of rechargeables; they all perform about the same if they have the same mAh rating. So here’s my advice::arrow: if you’re looking at buying rechargeable batteries, look for the ones with the highest mAh rating. The low-end ones are typically 1600 to 1800 mAh, which holds less ‘juice” than the ones with 2000 to 2500 mAh. I’m somewhat partial to Duracell, but really any of them will do.
We use Energizer 2450mAh rechargable. We have an extra set for each gps’r. I recharge one set about once a week. I cache 3-4 times a week and for about 12 -16 hours. No matter what brand you use remember to mark the date you started using them on each battery. If all of them look the same it is hard to tell which ones are wearing out and need replacing. I have found they last about 2 years.
@Mister Greenthumb wrote:
No matter what brand you use remember to mark the date you started using them on each battery.
Great idea Mr. G. I have a pile of them but haven’t ever marked a date on them. Starting that practice now!
Yeah know Im a little late on this post but. We use Garmin rechargables which in my opinion are the best on the market. Expesive yes Ive never had to change batteries on a long day run there around $30
Menard’s carries a generic recharcheable brand called North Tech. A 4 pack of 2000 mAh NIMH AA’s are around $5.50. The AAA’s are 1000 mAh NIMH and are the same price. They are pre-charged out of the box, though I would suggest giving them a full charge anyhow. These batteries are amazing and the North Tech’s are all I buy, with the exception of non-recharcheable batteries. I have never used one of those 15 or 30 minute charging units, so your experience may vary with quick charging using your devices. I am kinda old schooled with the 24 hour charger I have at home.
When we got our Oregon 550 the included garmin batteries would last close to 8 hours in heavy use. Now they are more like 4. We have had very good luck with energizer nickel metal hydride 2450 mAh batteries, but they too have lost a lot of oomph over the past year. Probably 6 hours on a charge.
On the Left Side of the Road...Got some really cheap ones on eBay, straight from China…..bought them for less than the cost of shipping (how do they do that?). Look like plain green OEM units……..for things of equal quality.
Anyway, if you can tie a fancy knot, they make nice sinkers 👿 👿 😆
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