Most reliable battery

[nkgamer1990]

looking for some really nice unprotected 18650 batteries, aa, and aaa batteries.
-nick

 

[DM51]

Welcome to CPF, nkgamer1990 :)

I'll move your thread to the main Batteries section. You'll find numerous threads there with useful information if you look around.

 

[John_Galt]

Why unprotected? Having the PCB is another fail safe against careless use.

I assume you've researched these a little yourself.

The best brand I can think of is AW. They have a sales thread in the marketplace.

Eneloops are the best LSD Ni-MH AA's and AAA's around. There are others that have higher capacity, but eneloops are, IMO, the best all around.

 

[joeparker54]

Everyone here will just say AW for Li-Ion, and eneloop for NiMH.

a123 18650's (ever see an 18650 capable of 20A pulls?) can be picked up CHEAP on ebay - I payed $12 for 5 of them, shipping included. Only trouble with those is you need a hobby charger for them.

 

[red02]

I've had 2 protected AW 17670s fail, 1 due to a 2m drop and the other was accidentally over discharged. The most reliable Li batteries are primary cr123s.

Eneloops for AAs/AAAs.

 

[Battery Guy]

I've had 2 protected AW 17670s fail, 1 due to a 2m drop and the other was accidentally over discharged. The most reliable Li batteries are primary cr123s.

Eneloops for AAs/AAAs.

Below are my general guidelines when it comes to reliability for various battery chemistries:

Lithium-ion

I tend to stay away from unknown companies and relabeled/rebranded cells. If I don't know who the primary cell manufacturer is, I simply won't use them. So, for my personal hobby activities, I have the following rule: if the cells are good enough for major laptop manufacturers and power tool manufacturers, then they are good enough for me. Therefore, I tend to stick with Sony, Sanyo, Molicell (aka Emoli, E-moli, Molienergy....), Panasonic, Samsung and A123. I know that several of these companies have had serious recalls due to the safety issues, but quite frankly, even with these recalls, the failure rates are extremely low.

Unfortunately, it is often difficult to purchase small quantities of cells from these manufacturers. Therefore, many people I know tend to harvest cells from laptop and power tool packs. A good reference for cells in different power tool packs can be found here.

Another disadvantage of sticking with these battery manufacturers is that they tend to only make "commodity" cell sizes. This means that you are probably going to be limited to 18650 and 26650 cell sizes.

Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH)

Right now it is hard to beat the track record of the Sanyo Eneloops if you are in the market for AA or AAA cells. If you want higher energy and can live with higher self-discharge, there is the Sanyo 2700mAh cell. For higher power, the Elite 1700mAh cell is getting pretty good reviews.

Lithium Primary

The Energizer e2 Ultimate lithium AA and AAA cells operate in extreme temperature conditions, are relatively high rate (for a primary, non-rechargeable cell), and are extremely reliable.

Alkaline Primary

I think my signature line says it best: "Friends don't let friends use alkaline batteries". The reason is the relative high rate of leakage. If you must use alkaline cells, stick with the major brands and stay away from anything sold in the "dollar store", even if it is a major brand.

Nickel-Cadmium (NiCd)

These cells can be EXTREMELY reliable, but unfortunately they also have relatively low energy density. If you determine that you want/need a NiCd cell, go with one made by Sanyo. Of all the rechargeable batteries, well designed and manufactured NiCds are probably the most reliable.

Nickel-Zinc (NiZn)

This a relative newcomer to the consumer battery market. Currently they are only available in the AA size. They have fantastic high current drain performance and higher operating voltage compared to NiCd and NiMH. However, there have been several reports of reliability issues, so I don't think I would include these on the list of "most reliable".

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Battery Guy