ReNu-It battery charger... Got to look at this!!!

[ama230]

I had just seen this and was wondering if the experts on here can post their ideas/comments on this as it seems misleading but I am no chemical engineer or battery expert.

It claims to recharge nimh and nicd batteries which is normal, or so I thought. Then it goes to claim that it recharges ALKALINES, yes I said ALKALINES. So if this were true then why do most say they will explode or leak.

Is this a sales gimmick or true. If so then you could save sooo much money on basic low power devices like remotes and such. I know good new energizer or duracells do awesome and are preferred by most flashlight companies due to their good power characteristics and cost effectiveness.

So please let me know as this is very interesting.

Here is a product statement:

Product Description

Bring life back to disposable batteries, UP TO 70 TIMES. Give your battery the life of 70. Renew the internal battery cell to give your disposable batteries more power.

• Viatek ReNu-It Disposable Battery Recharger renews (recharge) disposable batteries up to 70 times. The great Thomas Edison first invented the principle of the Renu-It Technology over 75 years ago. He understood that an alkaline battery could be renewed, simply, by cleaning the cells. From this principle, a group of inventors developed a technology that can reliably and safely regenerate "dead" batteries. The renewing process does not add anything to the batteries; it simply releases the potential that is already there, by perfecting the internal structure of the cell. This one unit will allow individuals to save the environment and at the same time save money!

• Viatek ReNu-It Disposable Battery Recharger Features:

• Advanced processor control for simple plug and go operation.
• 5 battery chemistries: Alkaline, titanium, RAM, NiCd, NiMH
• 4 charging docks for charging AA and AAA
• Simultaneous charging of mixed types and sizes
• Completely safe; protection against overcharge, overheat, short-circuit, and polarity reversal
• LED indicator turns off when renewing process is complete
• Renew's all brands of batteries
• Saves money

Here is a pic:

Price: $20-$40 on various sites including sears?

There seems to mixed views on a lot of the sites but we all know that game...:tired:

 

[kramer5150]

There are several negative reviews on Amazon. majority feedback is that it does work to re-charge Alkalines... but in doing so increases the potential for a leak.

I would avoid this completely.

 

[Mr Happy]

Then it goes to claim that it recharges ALKALINES, yes I said ALKALINES.

This is not so astonishing. There have been alkaline battery rechargers for as long as there have been alkaline batteries.

So if this were true then why do most say they will explode or leak.

Because it's true? If you try to recharge alkaline batteries then sooner or later you will have leaking batteries.

To have the most success with charging alkaline batteries you must recharge them early before they are fully discharged. If you wait until they are empty the charging will not be very successful.

Even if you do this, you cannot put back in all that was taken out. Every time you recharge them you have less capacity available for the next use. Before long, maybe after only 10 or 20 recharges, the battery will be dead or leaking.

For nearly every application you will get better results using purpose designed rechargeable batteries like NiMH than you will get from trying to recharge alkaline batteries.

 

[Mr Happy]

I know good new energizer or duracells do awesome and are preferred by most flashlight companies due to their good power characteristics and cost effectiveness.

I don't think those words mean what you think they mean.

The most cost effective alkaline batteries are the cheapest ones you can find, for example brands like Sanyo or Panasonic in a dollar store.

The expensive Duracell and Energizer batteries have maybe 20% more capacity for twice the price. That is not cost effective at all. You pay much more money per unit of energy when you buy premium brands.

 

[BatteryCharger]

Invest the cost of that item in the cheapest charger you can find and a pack of Duraloops and you'll never need alkalines again.

I have recharged many alkalines in the past, in the end, there is no good reason. It's slow. VERY, very, very slow. The result is poor. Very, very, very poor. And, after they've been charged, even once, the batteries are more likely to leak. The more you charge them the more likely they are to leak. That is if you charge them even once, and then leave them in your fancy flashlight, you might come back a week later to a ruined flashlight. I don't think it's worth the chance when NiMh only cost about double alkalines...

 

[Dances with Flashlight]

The great Thomas Edison first invented the principle of the Renu-It Technology over 75 years ago.

I can't claim to know much, if anything, about the subject matter, but it's a good thing Edison invented the principle over 75 years ago...because he died in 1931.

More directly, I seem to recall a thread (that I can't find now) about this idea, but don't remember the consensus of the battery gurus. What I do know is that no self-respecting flashaholic would knowingly increase the risk of leaking batteries in a nice light without some significant benefit in return.

 

[45/70]

These types of chargers come up on the Forum every few months. They have been around for decades. As others have stated, they do work, albeit poorly, and the cells always end up leaking.

It's been a while since I said it, but alkaline cells are obsolete. They have been for quite some time. The manufacturers make so much money off of then though, that they just won't go away.

If one insists on using primary cells, use lithium's. They cost a bit more per Wh, but this is more than made up for by the fact that they don't leak. Otherwise the newer LSD NiMH cells are the best option, and work in most devices.

Dave

 

[BatteryCharger]

As others have stated, they do work, albeit poorly, and the cells always end up leaking.

That's one of the major problems. You don't know a cell is "done" until it starts leaking. It doesn't just stop working at some point like other rechargeables.

I'm not sure how the commercial chargers work, but, if you DIY you need to charge an AA battery at about 25ma and CONSTANTLY have to check the voltage to see if it's charged or needs to be charged again before it's dead.

It's been a while since I said it, but alkaline cells are obsolete. They have been for quite some time. The manufacturers make so much money off of then though, that they just won't go away.

Ehh...they have their place. Clocks. Remote controls. Quick "I need it now and I'll throw it away when I'm done" batteries. Most people don't need Duraloops for those things and won't pay the extra for lithiums. A lot of people don't want to ever bother charging batteries. I don't think alkalines should dominate the battery isle the way they do though...

Now, those "heavy duty" batteries they're still selling without a brand name, that should be a crime.

I bought a clock the other day and it came with one "heavy duty" AA cell, I squeezed it with my fingers and it crushed like a beer can, I laughed, threw it in the garbage, and used a lithium AA....

Edit: I just checked the batteries in the remote for my stereo that I use several times daily. They are Energizer "e2" alkalines and if I'm reading the date code correctly they were made in 2000! They "expired" in 2007, but they still work fine...and they've been in that remote for many years. For some reason I still have an urge to throw some L91s in there...

 

[45/70]

Ehh...they have their place. Clocks. Remote controls. Quick "I need it now and I'll throw it away when I'm done" batteries. Most people don't need Duraloops for those things and won't pay the extra for lithiums. A lot of people don't want to ever bother charging batteries. I don't think alkalines should dominate the battery isle the way they do though...

I hear ya, BC. In my opinion though, with most any device, you'd be ahead running L91, or L92 lithiums, if you can't, or just don't want to for some reason, run LSD NiMH cells. That's what I've done for many years. They have a higher capacity at most loads than any of the alkalines, even the "premium" versions. That, along with the fact that they don't leak, offsets the additional cost, for me anyway.

Dave

 

[ama230]

I would never buy this as this is like selling water that doesn't evaporate. I know there is a misconception here but it just seems that a big company would sell such a thing and not have a huge liability problem.

I use good rechargeables like tenergy regulars and the lsd's with a maha charger and am very happy.

Its almost like a tire with a 50,000 mile warranty. It always wears out faster than the life of the tire can actually go bad. In other words the tread wears out and they can no longer warranty it. It has to have 50% tread after 50,000miles. Its one of those deals thats not supposed to make sense and you always have to pay for a pro rated deal or all of it anyways.

I was just making sure that when you charge a disposable it will leak and you guys confirmed it. I thought I was going crazy for a minute as I thought this was a little weird. An epic :fail:.

Thanks for clearing this one up guys.lovecpf

 

[Battery Guy]

Edit: I just checked the batteries in the remote for my stereo that I use several times daily. They are Energizer "e2" alkalines and if I'm reading the date code correctly they were made in 2000! They "expired" in 2007, but they still work fine...and they've been in that remote for many years. For some reason I still have an urge to throw some L91s in there...

You're lucky. The early e2 alkalines had a bad reputation for leaking. My advise would be to swap them out now.

With respect to the L91s, I have started using the lower rate, Energizer e2 "Advanced" Lithium cells in most of my devices that still use primaries. Below 0.5W discharge, the performance of the Advanced Lithium is the same as the Ultimate Lithium, and the Advanced is a bit cheaper.

Cheers,
Battery Guy

 

[Lynx_Arc]

you can buy cheap alkalines for 20 cents each that is 100 of them for the $20 that charger may cost so you would have to recharge about 500 batteries 20% of the way just to break even and not have any leaks to take your time at $10 an hour only taking 2 hours of cleaning up after a messed up alkaline to cancel out your $20 purchase.... The math says.... don't do it, it's a trap.

 

[richardcpf]

There is nothing magical by charging alkalines.. I guess this one charges at a very low current, lowering the risk of leak and overheat

My sister accidentally charged duracell ultra batteries TWICE in a non-smart charger. She asked me why the camera discharged so fast.. However, they did not leak.

Anyways, for the price of this charger I could buy some eneloops and a proper charger.

 

[G.E.C.K.O.]

I would never buy this as this is like selling water that doesn't evaporate. I know there is a misconception here but it just seems that a big company would sell such a thing and not have a huge liability problem.

I use good rechargeables like tenergy regulars and the lsd's with a maha charger and am very happy.

Its almost like a tire with a 50,000 mile warranty. It always wears out faster than the life of the tire can actually go bad. In other words the tread wears out and they can no longer warranty it. It has to have 50% tread after 50,000miles. Its one of those deals thats not supposed to make sense and you always have to pay for a pro rated deal or all of it anyways.

I was just making sure that when you charge a disposable it will leak and you guys confirmed it. I thought I was going crazy for a minute as I thought this was a little weird. An epic :fail:.

Thanks for clearing this one up guys.lovecpf

 

[moltigattineri]

I unfortunately purchased the Viteck Re-Nu-It battery charger from HSN. I list on ebay and I use alot of batteries. I had 14 AA batteries that needed charging. Out of the 14 the Re-Nu-It said that 10 were charged and 4 needed charging. I know that it takes a good charge to run my camera and that there was a small amount of charge left. Just not enough to operate a camera. I thought that the Re-Nu-It would drain and then recharge. In any case I hope HSN will refund my money. Lesson learned.