N/A rechargeable batteries

flyingcheesehead

flyingcheesehead

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iMooniac
Hi all,

My son has been amassing an ever-increasing collection of battery-powered motorized toys, and we've been going through AA batteries at a pretty insane rate, so I'm getting interested in rechargeables.

Does anyone have any recommendations for rechargeable consumer-sized batteries (ie AA, AAA mostly) that are a full 1.5V and last for a reasonable length of time (akin to an alkaline)?
 
flyingcheesehead said:
a full 1.5V
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That requirement puts NiCd batteries out of consideration. They are only 1.2 V per cell. Otherwise, they're about what you need.

Lithium ion cells are more than 3 V per cell, so that probably won't work either, unless the toys have voltage regulators in them.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Hi all,

My son has been amassing an ever-increasing collection of battery-powered motorized toys, and we've been going through AA batteries at a pretty insane rate, so I'm getting interested in rechargeables.

Does anyone have any recommendations for rechargeable consumer-sized batteries (ie AA, AAA mostly) that are a full 1.5V and last for a reasonable length of time (akin to an alkaline)?
Click to expand...
If they are mostly going into motorized toys then 1.2v NiMH batteries is usually mostly OK. If you are Costco member, then they often have Panasonic Eneloop kits on sale from time to time (includes AA batteries, AAA batteries, C and D cell adapters and a 4 bay/4 channel charger). Those make for really good starter sets at really good prices.

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Ikea also sells Eneloop clones (They are made in Japan. Eneloops are made in Japan. Japan only has 1 NiMH battery factory. Do the math). However, I don't like their chargers so I'd look on Amazon for one. Just make sure they have as many channels as they have battery bays. A lot of cheaper ones have 4 bays but 2 channels so you have to charge the batteries in pairs. If the pair isn't the same state of discharge, then you'll get a sub-optimal charge out of the pair. Or if you already have the charger from Costco or wherever and just need the batteries, then Ikea is a really good place to get them. Just be aware that they have hi capacity white label ones and low capacity brown label ones. The white ones have higher capacity but shorter standby shelf life (if it's sat a while, just recharge them). The brown ones have lower capacity but have longer standby life.

ladda-rechargeable-battery__0603625_PE680868_S4.JPG

ladda-rechargeable-battery__0603622_PE680862_S4.JPG


Lastly, Japan makes the best NiMH batteries, IMHO. Although Chinese batteries have been getting better, I'd still avoid anything made elsewhere for the time being.
 
Eneloop cells and an Ansmann charger for me.
 
asicer said:
BTW, here's a review on Li-Po 1.5v batteries. Since Li-Po isn't natively 1.5v, they hide a voltage converter inside the cell. Since they're still a bit pricey and a bit unproven, I have a wait-and-see attitude towards them.

https://ripitapart.com/2015/06/17/performance-analysisreview-of-kentli-ph5-li-ion-1-5v-aa-battery/
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Very interesting. I was curious what the discharge and load curves would look like. With that setup, it's pretty much flat until it's dead (or overloaded).
 
Most motorized toys run just fine on 1.2 NiCads. There is an electrical reason for this, but if I make a minor mistake in explaining it the pedantic pedanterists are going to be all over it.
 
ktup-flyer said:
Forgot about this video.
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That video lost a lot of credibility points for me when he quoted Amazon prices for Ikea batteries. To the best of my knowledge, Ikea doesn't sell on Amazon so those prices are jacked up by resellers.
 
weilke said:
Most motorized toys run just fine on 1.2 NiCads. There is an electrical reason for this, but if I make a minor mistake in explaining it the pedantic pedanterists are going to be all over it.
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1. Lower internal Resistance

2. 1.5V alkaline batteries don't stay at 1.5V, they just start at 1.5V

https://www.powerstream.com/AA-tests.htm
 
asicer said:
That video lost a lot of credibility points for me when he quoted Amazon prices for Ikea batteries. To the best of my knowledge, Ikea doesn't sell on Amazon so those prices are jacked up by resellers.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but he said as much in the video.
 
GeorgeC said:
Eneloop cells and an Ansmann charger for me.
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After two warranty replacements, the Ansmann Energy 8+ died for the third and last time. The reseller isn't returning my calls or emails and Amazon doesn't care, so it's time for a new charger.
 
I used to only use Eneloop Pro's but have started to mix in the Amazon basic Silver's and they perform equally for much less $$
 
ytodd said:
I used to only use Eneloop Pro's but have started to mix in the Amazon basic Silver's and they perform equally for much less $$
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Does it say on there if it is made in Japan?
 
I have some, they are labelled as being made in Japan. I believe they're rebranded Eneloops. I am not likely to purchase more of them though, since lately Amazon's strategy seems to be to sell fake products and destroy trust in existing brands in order to drive sales to their house brand.
 
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GeorgeC said:
I have some, they are labelled as being made in Japan. I believe they're rebranded Eneloops. I am not likely to purchase more of them though, since lately Amazon's strategy seems to be to sell fake products and destroy trust in existing brands in order to drive sales to their house brand.
Click to expand...
Like I said earlier, Japan only has one NiMH battery factory. Any battery made in Japan can be thought of as rebranded Eneloops.
 
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