Eveready Lithium Batteries

I finally got around to visiting one of the new Target Canada stores. In the electronics section, I stumbled across something that I never knew existed: Eveready Lithium batteries. Annoyingly, above this 6-pack was a price for Energizer Lithium 4-packs. Next to it were the same batteries, but a price for Energizer 8-packs. The nearby bar code scanner also didn't appear to work, so I have no idea on the price. Did I mention this store has been open for less than a month?

Anyways, I tried doing an initial search for their specifications, but haven't found any information so far. Does anyone know if these are simply relabelled Energizer EA91 Lithium batteries with the same specifications, or are they different (the packaging said they were good for 10 years)?

all eveready batteries are 75%off now at canadian target.

so its approximatly 50 cents per cell.

I dropped by my local Target. 4-AA are $2.54, and 4-AAA are $2.99. BUT, they're the Everready Lithiums, not Energizer.
I ended up buying 6 packs of AAs for $15.23.

Thanks!

Norman and Lif:

Thanks for the heads up on this sale. I'm in B.C. and found the 4 packs and 6 packs in our local Target. Had to go towards the back of the store as the racks at the front were depleted. The local store has at least 6 locations for batteries. Ended up buying 2 packs of 6 for $2.99 each (plus taxes of course). Hard to beat the price. Do you happen to know the mah rating for these batteries?

Thanks,

John.

jcs0001 said:

Norman and Lif:

Thanks for the heads up on this sale. I'm in B.C. and found the 4 packs and 6 packs in our local Target. Had to go towards the back of the store as the racks at the front were depleted. The local store has at least 6 locations for batteries. Ended up buying 2 packs of 6 for $2.99 each (plus taxes of course). Hard to beat the price. Do you happen to know the mah rating for these batteries?

Thanks,

John.

Click to expand...

In the US, the mah are in teeny/microscopic print.

This is a little off-topic, but may I ask what people use lithium primaries for?

The reason I ask, is because it seems they only offer marginal benefits over using rechargeable Eneloops, which I use. Eneloops retain 70% charge after 5 years, and are good down to temperatures of -20C. They also don't leak.

I have always assumed that lithium primaries are used because they hold a charge a long time, can support high current draw, are good in cold temperatures, and there is no risk of leaking (unlike alkaline primaries).

It seems like modern rechargeable batteries offer nearly the same benefits, and have the added benefit of being rechargeable.

What am I missing? Is it the greater capacity that is important to some people?

You forgot a few advantages of lithium:

Higher voltage, at least when load is below 1A.
They can work down to -40C, eneloop cannot.
They weight considerable less than eneloop (About 1/2).


As long as you can get them cheaper than eneloop, they are fine for lights you do not really use, but wants batteries in.

Under the Energizer name the latest ones being sold in the USA are now claiming a shelf life of 20 years and per a post I remember seeing someone indicated that accelerated military testing showed actual shelf life is 30+ years. They sound ideal to me for a bug out kit that may be stored for years or use in critical use items such as emergency lighting and electronics.

Higher voltage, at least when load is below 1A.

Click to expand...

Okay, but any decent device works at 1.2v as good as it does at 1.6v.

They can work down to -40C, eneloop cannot.

Click to expand...

Good for extreme cold I suppose. Though I use Eneloops in a weather station that still reports temperatures when it's close to -30C, and those were 1st gen Eneloops (good to -10C). I've just replaced them with 3rd gen (-20C) when I learned there was a difference. Low drain, so maybe that's why they work anyway.

They weight considerable less than eneloop (About 1/2).

Click to expand...

Meh. Okay, maybe useful for a headlamp.

the latest ones being sold in the USA are now claiming a shelf life of 20 years. They sound ideal to me for a bug out kit

Click to expand...

Yes, I can see them being good for that.

Still, there must be a lot of people buying them that don't use them in a bug-out bag or extreme cold. Are they just using them instead of alkalines in high-drain devices, because they've never heard of rechargeable batteries for high-drain devices?

In many unregulated lights such as most single AA or single AAA lights they are noticeably brighter than Eneloops due to the higher voltage. I have also heard of some digital cameras and other high end electronic devices that take AA cells and need higher voltage than Eneloops give but draw enough current so alkalines do not work well. In those cases the Energizer Lithiums work very well. I will note that they are no advantage in low drain devices at normal indoor temperatures. Under those conditions their capacity is very close to standard alkaline batteries. NEVER had one leak though. If you read the packaging it is clear that they are intended for high drain devices and from my observation an awful lot of folks want nothing to do with chargers and NiMH batteries.

Nice find Norman, there's next to zero info on this batt online. Hope to someone's finally breaking Energizer's monopoly. Will keep an eye out for in my local US Target.

WalkIntoTheLight said:

This is a little off-topic, but may I ask what people use lithium primaries for?

Click to expand...

I like "bright" sub-lumen modes and the D25A N219 has one of the very best beams for that, but its ML mode is poorly regulated and only ~ 1.5-1.7v can extract it. It yields 1/4 the output on an Eneloop.

Another favorite primary is the lithium manganese 3V CRAA/14505 cell (same as a CR123) which I use for off-grid camping, travel, and as back-up cells. It powers my 1AA EDC/camping light to full power (~400 lms) has ~twice the watt-hrs of energy as an Eneloop, and can serve as an emergency power source for all my 2AA camping, travel, and emergency gadgets.

TEEJ said:

In the US, the mah are in teeny/microscopic print.

Click to expand...

Are you talking Eveready Lithiums? I opened the package, and checked the batteries. There's no mAh rating anywhere that I can see. Nor is there a rating on the packaging.

jcs0001 said:

Norman and Lif:
Thanks for the heads up on this sale. I'm in B.C. and found the 4 packs and 6 packs in our local Target. Had to go towards the back of the store as the racks at the front were depleted. The local store has at least 6 locations for batteries. Ended up buying 2 packs of 6 for $2.99 each (plus taxes of course). Hard to beat the price. Do you happen to know the mah rating for these batteries?

Click to expand...

Oh? I didn't see any 6-packs. Were you charged a different price for the first pack vs the rest? I noticed Target charged $2.28 for the first 4-pack, but the rest were charged at $2.24.

Some further information
It does say LE91 FR6 at the top of the battery (but I still can't find a spec sheet). There's a date code of 0812 imprinted below the Eveready logo, with 03-2021 as part of the label above the seam near the bottom of the battery. This implies they were manufactured in 2012, and they're rated for 9 years. The 4-AA pack is noticeably heavier than a 6-pack of Energizer Ultimate Lithiums, but is noticeably lighter than a 4-pack of Duracell alkalines.

I also found "Made in Singapore for Eveready Battery Company, Inc St Louis, MO" printed on the battery.

Norman:

The receipt shows that I was charged $3.00 for one pack of 6 and $2.99 for the other. The receipt shows "FP - $11.99". (full price??) and then a reduction of $17.99 as a Special Offer.

I weighed several aa batteries to compare:

duracell alkaline 23.8 gms.
duraloop (2000 mah) 26.3 gms.
duracell ion core (2400 mah) 30.0 gms.
eveready lithium 14.2 gms.

I don't have an energizer lithium to compare.

I will likely use these batteries for situations where a light will remain unused for long periods of time. For example my mother rarely uses a light and if alkalines are used they will likely leak before they are needed. Rechargeables are not an option for her. My sister likes to have an "emergency kit" as she lives in an earthquake zone. These batteries are ideal in that case as they will last a long time without use.

John.

What voltage does this cell read out of the box?

1.815, 1.812 and 1.814 volts for three of them. Direct reading with multimeter, no load.

John.

Thanks... Sounds like the real deal between weight and voltage. Hope they come to the US Targets

They are not in my country yet. Soon, I hope. Quick, somebody send a pack to HKJ for a L91 versus Everready Lithium shoot out!

I thought I read in this very same forum that eveready lithium is just repackaged, older generation energizer lithium. After all, they are the same company.

Today I noticed, for the very first time:

Energizer Ultimate Lithium AAA batteries ( L92 )

are no longer Made In USA !


Now they are Made In Singapore !


Wonder if this is a Second-Source, or if ALL production of L92's is Singapore.



Anyone know if the AA size ( L91 ) cells have also moved to Singapore ?


Hope there is no decrease in product quality,
since this is apparently a cost-cutting decision.

:sigh:
_

I like them as backup primary cells. The problem is keeping the household's hands off them for 20 years, so when I go to use them, they aren't already half way depleted! For that reason, I'll open the pack for a quick test, and then seal the pack.

That 20 year life is based on what temperature? If they have been cooking in hot warehouse for a decade, I'm not so sure I'd trust them to go for too many years.

One particularly good application is for one of my cheap clamp-on ammeters - whose accuracy depends on the battery voltage, so for devices with poor regulation leading to accuracy errors, I choose to use those right away.