Viatek Renu-It Disposable Battery Regenerator???????

[jgraham15]

I did a search on this thing and couldn't find anything posted on it since 2006. Has anybody tried one of these things out? If it worked it would be great, but I can't imagine it could work all that well or people would be talking about it more.

"Viatek® Renu-It™ Disposable Battery Regenerator has technology that regenerates the cells of dead "AA" and "AAA" disposable batteries, restoring their power!

Regenerates batteries up to 80 times
Works with alkaline, titanium, NiCd and NiMH batteries
Overcharge, overheat, short-circuit and reverse-polarity protection
Plugs into wall outlet
LED indicator.
UL-listed. 3 x 1 1/4 x 4 5/8", 4 ozs."

 

[Mr Happy]

Anything with ® and ™ in the name is a bit suspicious, don't you think?

Short answer: alkaline battery rechargers sort of work, maybe, after a fashion, if you are lucky. But the batteries may leak. And they are best used early and often, before the batteries are discharged very much.

Even shorter answer: for rechargeable batteries, get Eneloops and a good charger. That combination will work way better in the long run and will cost you less.