Rechargeable Alkaline Question
- Thread starter dirobesh
- Start date
James S
Flashlight Enthusiast
If you do some searching around here you'll find out that people are in general not happy with rechargeable alkaline batteries. There seem to be a few uses where they do well, like your remote controls if you top them off every month or so, but apart from that you wont find many positive reviews.
NiMH batts are dropping in price and increasing in capacity that the rechargeable alkys just don't have as much value.
NiMH batts are dropping in price and increasing in capacity that the rechargeable alkys just don't have as much value.
Rechalkalines are great if you don't need it for a high draining device. They work similarly to regular alkalines. So if you use them in things like remote controls, clock radios or smoke alarms, it'll work great. But stick it in a 6AA holder for a 5W LS and it'll give out quicker than 2.2Ah NiMHs.
Rechalkalines have been improved quite well from a few years ago (less leaking, better charge retention)... But they still lag behind the durability and flatter discharge rate of the NiMHs...
Rechalkalines have been improved quite well from a few years ago (less leaking, better charge retention)... But they still lag behind the durability and flatter discharge rate of the NiMHs...
MrAl
Flashlight Enthusiast
Hello there,
Rechargeable alkalines are very application specific,
but they do have their place.
The only application i have found so far that i am
happy with using them in is with my TI-85 engineering
calculator.
The main reason they worked out so well in that is
because i used to use that thing a lot, and believe me
you dont want to have to pay for alkalines over and over,
and NiCd's loose their charge too fast (self discharge)
so you cant put the calc down and not use it for a few
months with NiCd's for fear of the batt's running down
and you losing all your stored memory. NiMH's would
be the same here.
The only thing i didnt like is that they didnt recharge
as many times as the advertising led me to believe,
but i guess they did come out much cheaper then
buying standard alkies over and over again.
I guess the conclusion i can draw from my experience with
them is that they are best when you need something that
acts more like an alkaline then a NiCd, but you dont
want to have to pay for new alkalines all the time.
Dont expect to get 25 charges out of them though, i think
8 is a more reasonable number. When they first came out,
they used to advertise 50 ;-)
Of course NiMH's are great, but their self discharge makes
them also unsuitable for applications which have to sit
for some time without losing stored memory that depends on
battery voltage. This should probably be the main selling
point, and that the initial voltage is higher too, which
makes them work better in some apps then NiMH's.
After all is said and done, you have to evaluate your
application carefully to decide which is best:
NiCd, NiMH, Rechargeable-Alkalines, or standard alkalines.
Now i only use standard alkalines in equipment that has
to sit 'off' for years without losing memory, but i dont
use that often.
I'll still use rechargeable alkies in equipment that i use
from time to time, but not everyday, and that dont function
as well with NiCd's.
As a last note, i think re-alkies are least suited to
most flashlights, except maybe low current drain LED
types.
Take care for now,
Al
Rechargeable alkalines are very application specific,
but they do have their place.
The only application i have found so far that i am
happy with using them in is with my TI-85 engineering
calculator.
The main reason they worked out so well in that is
because i used to use that thing a lot, and believe me
you dont want to have to pay for alkalines over and over,
and NiCd's loose their charge too fast (self discharge)
so you cant put the calc down and not use it for a few
months with NiCd's for fear of the batt's running down
and you losing all your stored memory. NiMH's would
be the same here.
The only thing i didnt like is that they didnt recharge
as many times as the advertising led me to believe,
but i guess they did come out much cheaper then
buying standard alkies over and over again.
I guess the conclusion i can draw from my experience with
them is that they are best when you need something that
acts more like an alkaline then a NiCd, but you dont
want to have to pay for new alkalines all the time.
Dont expect to get 25 charges out of them though, i think
8 is a more reasonable number. When they first came out,
they used to advertise 50 ;-)
Of course NiMH's are great, but their self discharge makes
them also unsuitable for applications which have to sit
for some time without losing stored memory that depends on
battery voltage. This should probably be the main selling
point, and that the initial voltage is higher too, which
makes them work better in some apps then NiMH's.
After all is said and done, you have to evaluate your
application carefully to decide which is best:
NiCd, NiMH, Rechargeable-Alkalines, or standard alkalines.
Now i only use standard alkalines in equipment that has
to sit 'off' for years without losing memory, but i dont
use that often.
I'll still use rechargeable alkies in equipment that i use
from time to time, but not everyday, and that dont function
as well with NiCd's.
As a last note, i think re-alkies are least suited to
most flashlights, except maybe low current drain LED
types.
Take care for now,
Al
The memory storage should be held in a CR-coin cell in the TI-85 (or most graphing calculators). I don't think the main batteries are accountable for keeping data stored in the calculator.
Regardless, I prefer NiMHs in my TI-89 and TI-92, quite simply because about 2 or 3 hours into use, the screen doesn't start dimming on me as it would with regular or rechargeable alkalines. Charge it at the end of the day (heavy use) or at the end of a week (nominal use), and you're good to go...
Regardless, I prefer NiMHs in my TI-89 and TI-92, quite simply because about 2 or 3 hours into use, the screen doesn't start dimming on me as it would with regular or rechargeable alkalines. Charge it at the end of the day (heavy use) or at the end of a week (nominal use), and you're good to go...
MrAl
Flashlight Enthusiast
[ QUOTE ]
FalconFX said:
The memory storage should be held in a CR-coin cell in the TI-85 (or most graphing calculators). I don't think the main batteries are accountable for keeping data stored in the calculator.
Regardless, I prefer NiMHs in my TI-89 and TI-92, quite simply because about 2 or 3 hours into use, the screen doesn't start dimming on me as it would with regular or rechargeable alkalines. Charge it at the end of the day (heavy use) or at the end of a week (nominal use), and you're good to go...
[/ QUOTE ]
Hi there,
I have found that the small battery is only good for
when you are changing the batteries. If you turn on the
calculator with low batteries, the memory gets erased.
It works fine when you are swapping batteries though,
just dont accidentally turn it on :-)
Also, i didnt want to have to take out 4 AAA batteries
to charge every single day.
Take care,
Al
FalconFX said:
The memory storage should be held in a CR-coin cell in the TI-85 (or most graphing calculators). I don't think the main batteries are accountable for keeping data stored in the calculator.
Regardless, I prefer NiMHs in my TI-89 and TI-92, quite simply because about 2 or 3 hours into use, the screen doesn't start dimming on me as it would with regular or rechargeable alkalines. Charge it at the end of the day (heavy use) or at the end of a week (nominal use), and you're good to go...
[/ QUOTE ]
Hi there,
I have found that the small battery is only good for
when you are changing the batteries. If you turn on the
calculator with low batteries, the memory gets erased.
It works fine when you are swapping batteries though,
just dont accidentally turn it on :-)
Also, i didnt want to have to take out 4 AAA batteries
to charge every single day.
Take care,
Al
Rechargeable Alkalines work the
best when you recharge them often.
If you recharge them at about 1.25
volts they will last a long time.
If you discharge to 1.1 volts before
you charge, they will soon not recharge
to the full 1.5 volts.
I use them in a lot of my led lights
with good results. They work great in
my Streamlight 4AA led!
-Rebus
best when you recharge them often.
If you recharge them at about 1.25
volts they will last a long time.
If you discharge to 1.1 volts before
you charge, they will soon not recharge
to the full 1.5 volts.
I use them in a lot of my led lights
with good results. They work great in
my Streamlight 4AA led!
-Rebus
star882
Enlightened
"The only application i have found so far that i am
happy with using them in is with my TI-85 engineering
calculator.
The main reason they worked out so well in that is
because i used to use that thing a lot, and believe me
you dont want to have to pay for alkalines over and over,
and NiCd's loose their charge too fast (self discharge)
so you cant put the calc down and not use it for a few
months with NiCd's for fear of the batt's running down
and you losing all your stored memory. NiMH's would
be the same here."
I think those calculators should have Li-ion battery packs.
happy with using them in is with my TI-85 engineering
calculator.
The main reason they worked out so well in that is
because i used to use that thing a lot, and believe me
you dont want to have to pay for alkalines over and over,
and NiCd's loose their charge too fast (self discharge)
so you cant put the calc down and not use it for a few
months with NiCd's for fear of the batt's running down
and you losing all your stored memory. NiMH's would
be the same here."
I think those calculators should have Li-ion battery packs.
FreeBSDboy
Newly Enlightened
I must only go through 2-3 sets of alkys a year in my TI. And I use it regularly every day. You guys must really push those things hard to use up so many batteries.
I personally have had too many bad experiences with leaking rechargable alkys to ever trust them again. Just my experiences though.
I personally have had too many bad experiences with leaking rechargable alkys to ever trust them again. Just my experiences though.
I stocked-up on rechargeable alkalines before I realized that for almost any application, either standard alkalines or NiMH would be anywhere from "about as good" to "much better." They work fine in low-drain devices like clocks and remote controls, but since those devices may run for a couple of years between battery changes, how much am I really saving by recharging them at that frequency? Very little. I am having trouble finding ways to use up my stock.
There are definitely a few very specific applications where they would edge out other choices, but I see little reason to begin messing around with them, especially given the recent low prices for standard alkaline batteries.
There are definitely a few very specific applications where they would edge out other choices, but I see little reason to begin messing around with them, especially given the recent low prices for standard alkaline batteries.
Only reason you would really want to use rechargeable alkalines is if you need a slightly higher voltage... Otherwise, regular alkalines are way cheap enough to do the job, or NiMHs are the end all of it...
