Member's Mark AA Alkalines from Sam's Club

[Exit32]

Does anyone know who manufactures the Member's Mark brand AA alkaline batteries that are now available at Sam's Club stores? I believe "Member's Mark" is the brand name used by Sam's Club for its generic products.

I did a search here at CPF but didn't find anything about them. A Google search on the Internet yielded a claim that the Sam's Club Member's Mark AA alkalines are made by Duracell.

Just curious to know if these batteries are worth buying for use in remote controls, wall clocks, and other low-drain applications.

 

[Howecollc]

Sam's always had excellent prices on large packages of the entire Duracell line until about 10 years ago. At that point they switched to carrying Energizer, and have been loyal to that brand ever since. Make of that what you will.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Walmart used to have a generic brand that was made by rayovac they sold also. I knew this because I saw a stack of batteries still half in the box and the prepackaging said the same location as rayovacs come from or same company. I believe they were everactive and in blue with gold lightning bolts

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

Walmart used to have a generic brand that was made by rayovac they sold also. I knew this because I saw a stack of batteries still half in the box and the prepackaging said the same location as rayovacs come from or same company. I believe they were everactive and in blue with gold lightning bolts

Those were decent and cheap until after they cleared them out for good. I remember the clearout prices were the lowest I'd ever seen. I remember the 2D packs went for 10 cents. 24 packs of AAs I think were under a buck (I think they were 48 cents). I cleaned them out in one store. Haven't seen a deal like that in years.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Those were decent and cheap until after they cleared them out for good. I remember the clearout prices were the lowest I'd ever seen. I remember the 2D packs went for 10 cents. 24 packs of AAs I think were under a buck (I think they were 48 cents). I cleaned them out in one store. Haven't seen a deal like that in years.

they were all gone before they got that cheap here. I did get 8D cells at 25 cents each and I still haven't used them yet.... still good although they are expired perhaps by maybe 1 year. I keep them in the package till I need them so if they leak no big deal.

 

[pedalinbob]

I purchased a pack of these a week ago--they are a very good deal, as long as they perform well. Haven't had a chance to try them yet.

Anyone figure out who manufactures them? I notice they are made in the USA.

Bob

 

[Exit32]

Since buying my first package of Member's Mark AAs about a month ago, I've deployed them in several clocks, two programmable thermostats, one of those Swiffer spray mops, and one of those shower-cleaner sprayers.

The clocks and thermostats are low-drain applications and the spray mop and spray cleaner are intermittent high-drain devices. So far, the Member's Mark alkaline batteries are performing flawlessly.

BTW, if anyone wants to include these batteries in one of the battery-test studies here, I'd be happy to contribute and ship Member's Mark AAs for testing so all can see how well these batteries perform. Just let me know how many batteries you need and where to ship them.

 

[snakebite]

Those were decent and cheap until after they cleared them out for good. I remember the clearout prices were the lowest I'd ever seen. I remember the 2D packs went for 10 cents. 24 packs of AAs I think were under a buck (I think they were 48 cents). I cleaned them out in one store. Haven't seen a deal like that in years.

i am still using some from that clearance sale.maybe some deal on pricing of other brands under the condition they would not compete with their generics?
maybe they were not selling as well as expected?
there certainly wasnt anything wrong with them.

 

[thospress]

I purchased a pack of these a week ago--they are a very good deal, as long as they perform well. Haven't had a chance to try them yet.
Bob

I have been using these batteries for the past 6 months and am most impressed. Also, I was pleased to see the the addition of a "Use By" date on the batteries (mine have a 2016 Use By Date).

 

[pedalinbob]

Sorry for bumping an old thread...but my experience with these AA batteries have been mixed.
Generally, they seem to be holding up ok, but I don't think their runtime is on par with the big names.

On several recent occasions (3 or 4, so far) I have pulled them out of a toy and found them to be a 0 volts or less.
I believe one of them leaked severely in a flashlight destroying it (I'm not sure if it was a switch failure or battery, but it looks like the battery).
I have also had several incidences of minor leakage without catastrophic failure. I haven't had any of these issues with Duracell, Energizer or Rayovac (my favorite budget alkaline).

 

[Sway]

Bob keep us posted on the leaks, I started using the AA's a few months back in clocks, remotes and a Sylvania "Dot-It" light no leaks so far. Use by date 2016, the lot number looks to be 0310A

 

[TPA]

We've used them at the office before. They get the job done for mice, laser pointers, and such. I refuse to buy the good batteries because we have two employees who are absolute thieves and management refuses to do anything about it. I don't mind someone occasionally taking something like batteries home, BUT, when we're going through more batteries in a month than we did the year prior to these two jerks being hired, I have a problem with it.

 

[snakebite]

Now there is no reason to care. On the end cap are energizer made in japan aaa and aa rechargeable combo packs.

 

[Monocrom]

Cheap alkies can be found anywhere. Doubt these are any better or any worse. Though with Sam's Club latest new greedy provisions for members to deal with, doubt too many folks will be buying these batteries.

 

[TPA]

Now there is no reason to care. On the end cap are energizer made in japan aaa and aa rechargeable combo packs.

I have more Eneloops than I care to admit. BUT, when it comes to emergencies, I resort to alkalines.

All rechargeable batteries degrade as they age and with each charge cycle. With the alkalines, I know exactly how much power is in each, know how long each device will run on them. They're cheap, always charged, always ready. After an emergency, I'm not going to have the luxury of waiting around for 4-8 hours for batteries to charge. Even at that, my condo's hallway took 4x Costco 4D lanterns to light up. That's 16 D cells right there. And that's just the hallway. I still needed to light the stairwells, rooms inside the condo, etc.

In aviation, we still use alkalines for emergency equipment because of this. Emergency Locator Transmitters, emergency flashlights, emergency power packs, 2-way radios, all still regular batteries. I have two battery packs for my 2-way, one does have Eneloops, but the second one is loaded with AAs.

With my Eneloops, I have a bunch of them. In various states of health. I have 4 of them on an analyzer right now because the recorder shut off waaay earlier than expected, mind-dictation.

 

[Monocrom]

I always keep alkalines on hand in case of Emergencies. Forgot about an old D-cell LED lantern I have at home. So that's two devices for my stockpile of D-cell alkalines stored away at home. (The other being a large floor-fan in case of a Blackout during Summer.)

 

[TPA]

This is my go-to fan: https://www.amazon.com/Handheld-Portable-Electric-Rechargeable-handheld/dp/B00Y1VZ00E/

I saw a Disney worker with one at an ice cream cart, bought two back in 2017... and have since bought 32 of them. I actually give them away as tips to outdoor workers. It's nice to see people still using them much later when I return.

My original two have been all around the world and are still working. I only have 4 for personal use. I've given away the rest, minus 3 left in the car for tips.

On low they'll run all night long without a problem. We actually had to turn them off in the middle of the night after Hurricane Irma because we were getting cold! I've noticed that optimum seems to be having them about 2-3 feet away rather than right on top of you.

 

[Monocrom]

Those are tiny and adorable. But apparently work well. I could definitely use one at work. They don't put the A/C on for security late at night or on the weekends. Thankfully we have a large floor fan that one of the other security guards brought for all of us to use. It does an okay job on its own, sitting next to it on full blast. Just remembered I have another large fan that runs on an outlet-only plug, still in its box. It's literally a back-up fan I keep in reserve if the one at work ever breaks down. Working 3rd shift, if it happens on my shift, I'm getting in my sports sedan; racing home and getting that back-up fan before racing back to work. I'm not collapsing due to heat stroke.

 

[TPA]

Oh, for the full-size stuff, I have the big Vornado and Dreo fans. The Vornados are from the late 1990s (back when they were quality) and still going, some of them have been running 24/7 for years at a time.

Last year I picked up a Dreo 16" SmartWiFi for the bedroom at my temporary place when it was on sale and it's very nice. DC motor, so very quiet and energy efficient. I didn't think I'd use the "smart" features all that much, but have found they're what I like best. I was able to set my own temperature/speed curves for it, and it's nice to be able to tell Alexa to adjust it from the bed without having to find the remote on a cluttered nightstand with poor vision.

I liked it so much I picked up the 12" fan on sale for the hangar. At $31, I considered it a beater, but it's solidly built. Admittedly, it's a bit underwhelming in a large hangar, but when it's 86F with 100% humidity like it is now (KFMY 090355Z AUTO 23014KT 10SM FEW023 SCT030 SCT036 30/30), I think real aircon is the only way to provide comfort.