I would stay away from Energizer they use keep dying(refuse to charge), oh the good side the customer service was great, replacing them every single time they die.
AA Recharchable Batteries
(59 posts) (34 voices)-
Just bought a 4 pack of Eneloop AAs for...
my bluetooth keyboard!
What did you guys expect, a SB-700?
Posted 1 year ago # -
We have used the Delkin 2900mAh AA for about a year and they have been excellent in both our flash units and in the battery pack or Nikon D700. The frames per second are amazing when loaded in the D700 battery pack.
The benefit of these batteries is that they hold the charge while stored since they are NMH.Posted 1 year ago # -
Eneloops all the way. They show up at Costco every once in awhile, like $20 for a dozen with a charger. I use them in a SB-28 and on 1/8 to 1/4 power they can keep the flash firing right along with my D7000 in short CH bursts.
Great for flashlights and kids toys too, they last for months with occasional use.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I'm a huge fan of the Powerex 2700s with the maha charger. Even on a slow charge, it charges the batteries in two hours and they hold a charge for a couple weeks.
I tried duracell 2500? (they were green) and they worked well enough for the first 10 weddings and then I had all sorts of problems, same with Energizers. I've had the same 32 Powerexes for 25+ weddings and a bunch of little product work and have had no problems with them.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I use GP 27000. From time to time one fails to recharge ( charger flashed red) but overall very pleased
Posted 1 year ago # -
Take notice that AA rechargeable batteries usually have a different voltage than the traditional AA batteries... (1.5 on the non-rechargeable vs. 1.2 on the rechargeable ones). Some electrical devices do not care about these change, but they are some that do care.
Posted 1 year ago # -
rbid said:
Take notice that AA rechargeable batteries usually have a different voltage than the traditional AA batteries... (1.5 on the non-rechargeable vs. 1.2 on the rechargeable ones). Some electrical devices do not care about these change, but they are some that do care.Yep, that's right 99% of the time, but if anyone's interested, Rayovac used to make 1.5v rechargable NiMHi. I don't know if they still do, but I'm still using some bought a few years ago.
Posted 1 year ago # -
rbid said:
Take notice that AA rechargeable batteries usually have a different voltage than the traditional AA batteries... (1.5 on the non-rechargeable vs. 1.2 on the rechargeable ones). Some electrical devices do not care about these change, but they are some that do care.Good call- I didn't even realize that there was a voltage difference. I just sort of assumed that all AA batteries had the same voltage.
I don't think the keyboard would mind too much though.
Posted 1 year ago # -
rbid said:
Take notice that AA rechargeable batteries usually have a different voltage than the traditional AA batteries... (1.5 on the non-rechargeable vs. 1.2 on the rechargeable ones).Is that why my SB-600 has a strange add-on single battery compartment? For using rechargeables?
Four 1.5V batteries in series give 6V total.
Five 1.2V batteries in series give 6V total.Posted 1 year ago # -
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dormant said:
Four 1.5V batteries in series give 6V total.
Five 1.2V batteries in series give 6V total.Just to make this confusing:
Alkalines have a high internal resistance, which is why they are poor at feeding high-amperage loads like flashes. As one should recall resistive losses are proportional to amperage. So the high internal resistance leads to voltage drop under load.
Nickle-chemistry (both cadmium and metal hydride) batteries have a very low internal resistance, it is why they are preferred over alkalines for high load devices.
So while an alkaline battery may have a 1.5v unloaded voltage and a NiMh have have a 1.2v unloaded voltage, put under similar load the alkaline may drop to 1.0v while the NiMh stays at 1.2v.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Has anybody used the Rayovac Platinum 1.2v 2100mAh rechargables? I've been using Energizer 2000mAh 1.2v pre-charged hybrid batteries with no issues, but recently decided to give the Rayovac's a shot. I've never seen them before now. Obviously Eneloop's are the way to go(yet hard to find in a pinch), but are there any decent alternatives?
I'm using the Rayovac's in my SB-900 and they seem to recycle faster than the Energizer's.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Still using all my original Eneloops (some are 3-4 years old) and now have about 30 Duracell rechargeables as well. Have never had a single issue with any of them. Use them in everything from flash and battery grips to flashlights, keyboards, mice and controllers for the WII and XBox. No issues in anything they go into and they last much longer than standard alkaline batteries.
As for the Nikon flashes, they specifically recommend that you use rechargeable NiMh batteries and warn away from Alkaline. That was the primary reason that I first went out and got rechargeables.
@Dormant, that fifth battery is the "quick recycle" battery per Nikon's documentation. It simply allows the flash to recycle much faster, as in instantaneously in most cases. I leave it on all the time as I can then shoot as fast as I chose with the flash without ever having to wait for it to recycle.
Posted 1 year ago # -
JorPet said:
@Dormant, that fifth battery is the "quick recycle" battery per Nikon's documentation. It simply allows the flash to recycle much faster, as in instantaneously in most cases. I leave it on all the time as I can then shoot as fast as I chose with the flash without ever having to wait for it to recycle.Thanks for the info. I may need to use that some time.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Duracell is what I use and never have had a problem. I can often do a 8-12 shoots on one charge. On a tangent I discovered that Duracell makes batteries for P&Ses and bottom level DSLR'S... Who woulda thought
Posted 1 year ago # -
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So let me get my head round all this advise.......rechargeables are actually better in high drain items like flash guns than alkaline's. Non rechargeable lithium batteries are good because they have a long shelf life and so do eneloops, and lower power rechargeables are often better than high power ones because they hold their charge for longer and the reduction in amperage doesn't seem to make much difference in practice ? Oh boy, I think I need to lie down :-)
One thing I don't think has been mentioned is whether rechargeables should be stored charged or flat, and if NiMHi have memory effect (do they benefit from a full discharge before charging)?
Posted 1 year ago # -
The memory effect is (mostly) mythical, skintbrit, and certainly not applicable to the chemistry of common AA batteries today:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_effectI've had great luck with eneloops and other brands' low self-discharge batteries.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I have used many and found the best to be the Sony CycleEnergy NI-MH 2000mHa.
The worst has to be the Energizer 2450mHa which I find a total waste of money.Posted 1 year ago # -
SkintBrit said:
So let me get my head round all this advise.......rechargeables are actually better in high drain items like flash guns than alkaline's. Non rechargeable lithium batteries are good because they have a long shelf life and so do eneloops, and lower power rechargeables are often better than high power ones because they hold their charge for longer and the reduction in amperage doesn't seem to make much difference in practice ? Oh boy, I think I need to lie down :-)One thing I don't think has been mentioned is whether rechargeables should be stored charged or flat, and if NiMHi have memory effect (do they benefit from a full discharge before charging)?
Supposedly Eneloops have no memory effect.
I wouldn't know, I'm expecting my first set in a couple days.
Posted 1 year ago # -
The memory effect may be a myth about NiCads (not to be confused with NiMhs), but storing either for extended periods of time flat can lead to problems. Once any rechargeable cell drops below its critical voltage damage can occur. This is most pronounced with Lithium and Lead batteries, bit can occur with Nickel as well.
This damage during voltage drop below critical is much more likely when storing cells in a device, or storing a battery (to be pedantic a battery is multiple cells connected together. AA and AAA and C and D are CELLS, 9Vs are batteries), as the cells with a lower voltage will tend to parasitically charge off their higher voltage neighbors. This is also why "performance" packs are created from "matched cells" meaning all the cells have had their discharge curve measured and only cells with similar curves are used together.
Lithium non-rechargable cells have all the strengths of Alkaline (high voltage) and none of the weaknesses (they are light weight and have a low internal resistance). This is why they are sold for high powered devices. Unfortunately they are expensive.
Also, there is a whole spectrum of chargers from dumb to smart with everything in between.
At one end is a dumb charger which can only trickle charge and pays no attention to the cell's voltage, temp, or condition. This type of charger is perfectly safe so long as you don't charge at a rate much more than 1/10th C (where C = capacity in amp hours (in other words a 2250mah AA should safely take a 225ma charge indefinitely, put much more current than that into it and it needs monitored.). They take overnight to charge.
At the other end is the smartest of chargers which constantly monitors cell voltage and temp, and dynamically adjusts the current being fed to the battery to charge as quick as possible (or as slow if you choose) without causing damage. These chargers can easily be $100.
In the middle is the wasteland of dangerous chargers. This includes most everything sold at Best Buy, grocery stores, Target, etc.
Pseudo-smart chargers tend to do a quick voltage check to make sure the cell isn't below critical, then dump as much power into them as you paid for. The Energizer brand chargers are all this type. Most have a fan pretending to cool the batteries in an attempt to compensate for their lack of proper monitoring circuits. At least the Energizer ones will refuse to charge batteries which are marginal, the GE branded pseudo-smart chargers will happily pump 8 amps into a AA regardless of the cell's condition.Posted 1 year ago # -
O.K. I'm going to buy a load of eneloops. They seem to come in 2000 and 2500 mAh versions. The 2500 ones are about twice the price, any suggestions for use in my SB900's and Pocket Wizards?
Thanks guys!
Posted 1 year ago # -
I use the Sanyo Eneloop as well and they've been great. They take hours to recharge but no biggie as you can get a 1,000 shots per charge. I think I paid around $30 for 4 of them with charger.
Posted 1 year ago # -
@bland - I use eneloops and my app charge time is max 15min, I use sony fast charger
@skintbrit - I use a lot of the regular ones and don't have any problems with them whatsover; as for PW neither minittl or flex accepts AA
Posted 1 year ago #
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