Rechargable Batteries

This guy has a long-winded introduction about downsizing and making things simpler. Go to 3:10 mark to see the part about batteries:

Video includes: simplifying the devices he has in order to get rid of odd batteries sizes, why you should have Eneloop battery adapters , battery storage ideas, why the Amazon Basics AA Rechargeble Batteries are even better than Eneloops & chargers.

Review of rechargeable batteries, the 8 top rated rechargeable batteries:

https://www.reviewed.com/home-outdoors/best-right-now/the-best-rechargeable-batteries

Best Rechargeable Battery and Best Battery Charger
https://commonsensehome.com/best-battery-chargers/

  (SNIP) ... We identify the best value and absolute best AA, AAA and 18650 rechargeable battery in this post. We also review a 21 watt solar panel that provides 5 volt USB power and emergency radios with built in solar and hand crank chargers to charge USB devices.   ---CONTINUED---

Rechargeable Battery Charger and Portable Solar Panel Options For Preppers
https://www.backdoorsurvival.com/rechargeable-battery-charger-and-portable-solar-panel-options-for-preppers/

The ability to recharge batteries is important. Not all battery chargers are the same. In this post, we are going to talk about different chargers and how to plan out your battery needs so that you have what you need during a short or long emergency.

This article does not cover battery chargers for keeping your car or other vehicle’s battery maintained. ---CONTINUED---

My wife came across some AA and AAA rechargeable batteries I forgot to recharge last year. I recharge my batteries every year but forgot about these ones. All the batteries are rated at 1.2 volts. The date I had on the container for last recharge date was 9-28-18.

These were lumisol, westinghouse, tamano, harbor freight brand and eneloop batteries. I metered all these batteries and 4 of them tested .90 or lower volts, the eneloop batteries tested 1.2 volts. I recharged all the batteries and all now tested 1.3 volts or higher.

Seems the eneloop batteries are the better battery. If I remember correctly, someone on the forum here had recommended these batteries, so I bought 8 each of the AA and AAA. They seem to hold a charge a lot longer, so if you're going to buy rechargeable batteries I recommend the eneloop battery, they are a little more money, but are well worth it.

rick1 wrote:My wife came across some AA and AAA rechargeable batteries I forgot to recharge last year. I recharge my batteries every year but forgot about these ones. All the batteries are rated at 1.2 volts. The date I had on the container for last recharge date was 9-28-18.

These were lumisol, westinghouse, tamano, harbor freight brand and eneloop batteries. I metered all these batteries and 4 of them tested .90 or lower volts, the eneloop batteries tested 1.2 volts. I recharged all the batteries and all now tested 1.3 volts or higher.

Seems the eneloop batteries are the better battery. If I remember correctly, someone on the forum here had recommended these batteries, so I bought 8 each of the AA and AAA. They seem to hold a charge a lot longer, so if you're going to buy rechargeable batteries I recommend the eneloop battery, they are a little more money, but are well worth it.

Best part of Enerloop batteries is that they are rated for 2100 recharge cycles. So not only do they hold a charge well on a shelf, they can be used for longer than most other batteries.

And be careful to get the regular Enerloop. not the Enerloop Pro. The Pro are for high drain devices, but won't last for as many recharge cycles, about 500 cycles.

From https://www.panasonicbatteryproducts.com/faq/

Q. What is the number of charge/discharge cycles I can expect from eneloop batteries?
A. The latest version of eneloop batteries can be recharged up to 2100 times**. Older versions of eneloop product may be charged up to 1500 and 1800 times**. eneloop pro batteries can be recharged up to 500 times.

** Recharge cycles based on testing method established by IEC 61951-2(7.5.1.3).

And found that faq also talked about how well they store:

Q. I just purchased new eneloop batteries. Do they need to be charged before using?
A. No. All eneloop battery cells are pre-charged (at our factory using solar energy) and ready to use right out of the package. eneloop cells are specially formulated to hold 70% of their charge for up to ten years*, when unused and stored properly. eneloop pro batteries maintain 85% of their charge for up to one year*, when unused and stored properly.
* Charge capacity and mAh estimates based on Panasonic internal IEC 61951-2(7.3.2) testing.

Batteries, Small NiMH Rechargeable
https://livingprepared.blogspot.com/2017/11/batteries-small-nimh-rechargeable.html

Humans are not designed to live without light at night, we must have it to survive in today’s world of crime and violence. A Preppers best friend for lighting and communications in an extended grid-down situation are rechargeable batteries to keep these needed devices going. ---CONTINUED---

dmwalsh568 wrote:

rick1 wrote:My wife came across some AA and AAA rechargeable batteries I forgot to recharge last year. I recharge my batteries every year but forgot about these ones. All the batteries are rated at 1.2 volts. The date I had on the container for last recharge date was 9-28-18.

These were lumisol, westinghouse, tamano, harbor freight brand and eneloop batteries. I metered all these batteries and 4 of them tested .90 or lower volts, the eneloop batteries tested 1.2 volts. I recharged all the batteries and all now tested 1.3 volts or higher.

Seems the eneloop batteries are the better battery. If I remember correctly, someone on the forum here had recommended these batteries, so I bought 8 each of the AA and AAA. They seem to hold a charge a lot longer, so if you're going to buy rechargeable batteries I recommend the eneloop battery, they are a little more money, but are well worth it.

Best part of Enerloop batteries is that they are rated for 2100 recharge cycles. So not only do they hold a charge well on a shelf, they can be used for longer than most other batteries.

And be careful to get the regular Enerloop. not the Enerloop Pro. The Pro are for high drain devices, but won't last for as many recharge cycles, about 500 cycles.

From https://www.panasonicbatteryproducts.com/faq/

Q. What is the number of charge/discharge cycles I can expect from eneloop batteries?
A. The latest version of eneloop batteries can be recharged up to 2100 times**. Older versions of eneloop product may be charged up to 1500 and 1800 times**. eneloop pro batteries can be recharged up to 500 times.

** Recharge cycles based on testing method established by IEC 61951-2(7.5.1.3).

And found that faq also talked about how well they store:

Q. I just purchased new eneloop batteries. Do they need to be charged before using?
A. No. All eneloop battery cells are pre-charged (at our factory using solar energy) and ready to use right out of the package. eneloop cells are specially formulated to hold 70% of their charge for up to ten years*, when unused and stored properly. eneloop pro batteries maintain 85% of their charge for up to one year*, when unused and stored properly.
* Charge capacity and mAh estimates based on Panasonic internal IEC 61951-2(7.3.2) testing.

I did it again dm, I forgot to recharge those eneloop batteries again. Weren't charged since August 9, 2020, but they had 3.7 volts in them, held about 75% charge for 2 years.

Took about 3 hours in a solar charger to bring them back up to 4 volts.

Highly recommend the eneloop rechargeable batteries.

Does anyone have a suggestion for battery chargers?

I would prefer one that can be used on AAA,AA,C,D,and9v, and not be too expensive.

Also, I have a mix of NiMH, LI, and hybrid batteries.

Some of the cheap ones I had in the past would lose contact with the batteries, sometime during the charge cycle, acting like they were getting oxidation on the contacts.

TRex2 wrote:Does anyone have a suggestion for battery chargers?

I would prefer one that can be used on AAA,AA,C,D,and9v, and not be too expensive.

Also, I have a mix of NiMH, LI, and hybrid batteries.

Some of the cheap ones I had in the past would lose contact with the batteries, sometime during the charge cycle, acting like they were getting oxidation on the contacts.

TRex, I have one that does all what you want. It's an Energizer, class 2 battery charger NiMH. There is no model number on the charger. I have charged other then NiMH batteries on it. I got it off E-bay years ago, here's a link to one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/224358642317?hash=item343cd1328d:g:ocEAAOSw1ZtihtVN&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA8JT1sPkKLFftT%2FM%2BTgZErWXmTxV4Zh%2BdSMtti9%2B%2FyzDQPBa2ArsUy26wGqA%2BWbNPKjpp2KtRqU0%2BqBP%2FaJShfR9XZrj0AbQfAt44VBRQTtHDThiimBZ18%2F5d3dWsEcJcbUKBBiQi0jNfL42OXa5cKGiEpiUh903fcKgnzdgswP6Ym38uZlakSd6i%2Bge8PZZe2li5dfmfMo%2F2RpblVdNdyD5MSivYZjuuulg02fUu%2FcpREBiQCKlJqCCGOLr6OyS19d9RZarM19PiIXHazBnke7bCxMmWO75%2ByyBHJE3VxA6DOFUSchWdQtSL7udzN4FEkw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMmq7uk_Vh

I also have a solar charger. It charges all the batteries, except 9V. It's a generic model, model #ES907 and I think I got it at harbor freight many years ago. They have them on E-bay, but they're pricey.

Here ya go TRex, I found this cheap solar battery charger, it charges AA, AAA, C and D batteries, more expensive if you go with the solar panel, plus ya got to pay $9.95 shipping:

https://www.siliconsolar.com/product/solar-battery-charger-aa-aaa-c-and-d/

https://www.siliconsolar.com/product-category/solar-battery-chargers/travel-solar-battery-chargers/

rick1 wrote:

TRex2 wrote:Does anyone have a suggestion for battery chargers?

I would prefer one that can be used on AAA,AA,C,D,and9v, and not be too expensive.

Also, I have a mix of NiMH, LI, and hybrid batteries.

Some of the cheap ones I had in the past would lose contact with the batteries, sometime during the charge cycle, acting like they were getting oxidation on the contacts.

TRex, I have one that does all what you want. It's an Energizer, class 2 battery charger NiMH. There is no model number on the charger. I have charged other then NiMH batteries on it. I got it off E-bay years ago, here's a link to one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/224358642317?hash=item343cd1328d:g:ocEAAOSw1ZtihtVN&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA8JT1sPkKLFftT%2FM%2BTgZErWXmTxV4Zh%2BdSMtti9%2B%2FyzDQPBa2ArsUy26wGqA%2BWbNPKjpp2KtRqU0%2BqBP%2FaJShfR9XZrj0AbQfAt44VBRQTtHDThiimBZ18%2F5d3dWsEcJcbUKBBiQi0jNfL42OXa5cKGiEpiUh903fcKgnzdgswP6Ym38uZlakSd6i%2Bge8PZZe2li5dfmfMo%2F2RpblVdNdyD5MSivYZjuuulg02fUu%2FcpREBiQCKlJqCCGOLr6OyS19d9RZarM19PiIXHazBnke7bCxMmWO75%2ByyBHJE3VxA6DOFUSchWdQtSL7udzN4FEkw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMmq7uk_Vh

I also have a solar charger. It charges all the batteries, except 9V. It's a generic model, model #ES907 and I think I got it at harbor freight many years ago. They have them on E-bay, but they're pricey.

I think I like this one. It looks like one I mentioned above, but a better quality.

Many of you already know this, but I found out this year, another reason, it is a bad idea to leave batteries in a device, in storage. (This goes for rechargeable batteries, as well.)

Many devices, especially radios (but other things, as well) continue to draw a small amount of current, when they are off. If the device has a knob that makes an audible click when you turn it to the off position, that is great.

But:

Many devices no longer have a mechanical switch to turn them on or off. They rely on a circuit. If you have a button that you hold down on, to turn it on or off, that is a circuit. And that circuit draws current, even the device is turned "off" because it is simply a transistor (mosfet) gate, blocking all the other circuits from getting electricity.

Obviously, this circuit only draws a minute amount, but over several weeks, it can add up. Typically, it might draw about as much in a week, as it would in an hour of being on.

Yep, and after too long the battery will leak no matter how well it was made. This ruins the battery and makes a mess in the device. Sometimes cleaning the device with isopropyl alcohol and Q-tips is enough, but not always depending on how bad the battery leak was....

And even in devices with a physical switch some batteries as they age can leak despite not having been used. With the same results.

Just safer to take the batteries out of a device in storage and leave them with the device in a baggie. All my devices in storage (especially including the faraday cages) have any removable batteries taken out and stored this way. I only leave my ready flashlights and radio with the batteries in them and I check them at least yearly and usually every six months just to be safe.

dmwalsh568 wrote:...
Just safer to take the batteries out of a device in storage and leave them with the device in a baggie. ...

I have zip lock bags, everywhere but, for this task, that simple solution did not occur to me. I have dedicated battery storage areas, and batteries were always in the device, or in storage.

I hadn't thought about keeping one set next to, but not in, the device.
Talk about a solution being right under my nose.