No-name white NiMH AA cells?

So, I needed a single NiMH cell for my D10 and I didn't want to shell out too much, but I also wanted it shipped from the USA so it arrived faster. On ebay, they have this plain white NiMH flat-top cell for under $3 shipped inside the USA. It's rated 1800mAh. More expensive than the $.99 cells available from china, but still cheap. Has anyone used one of these? I just ordered one, so I hope it performs OK...

wyager said:

So, I needed a single NiMH cell for my D10 and I didn't want to shell out too much, but I also wanted it shipped from the USA so it arrived faster. On ebay, they have this plain white NiMH flat-top cell for under $3 shipped inside the USA. It's rated 1800mAh. More expensive than the $.99 cells available from china, but still cheap. Has anyone used one of these? I just ordered one, so I hope it performs OK...

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:huh: :duh2:

What? BTW, I'm not entirely awake right now, nor was I when I started the thread, so apologies if it's confusing... LOL

High quality and guaranteed reliable NiMH cells like Eneloops or equivalent can be bought for as little as $10/4 if you hunt for bargains and maybe $13/4 if you don't. Why would you even think about buying unknown and unbranded cells from eBay?

Mr Happy said:

High quality and guaranteed reliable NiMH cells like Eneloops or equivalent can be bought for as little as $10/4 if you hunt for bargains and maybe $13/4 if you don't. Why would you even think about buying unknown and unbranded cells from eBay?

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Because I only need one, not four.

wyager said:

Because I only need one, not four.

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If you read around the Forum and/or are familiar with batteries bought off fleaBay, you would realize that an 8 pack of the cells you are asking about, are likely not as good a value as just one eneloop.

Bottom line, I strongly recommend you pass on the "white" cells. It's not worth bothering with them, IMO. Most battery offerings on ebay are mis/relabeled, seconds, old stock, or just plain garbage.

Dave

This is why I am confused. Nobody needs only one AA cell. You at least need one spare, and AA cells are so ubiquitous there are surely other uses for them. You also need a charger, and charger+cell bundles are invariably the cheapest way of buying both.

In short, buying just one NiMH cell for $3 just does not compute.

Probably the 'cheapest' way to get one decent AA cell for $3 is to find a bargain for four eneloops for $10, then sell the remaining three for $7. Of course you may prefer to sell only two.

OK, I already have 2 AA NiMH duraloops and a charger for my quark. I used to have more, but I lost them. Now, I want to get a single NiMH cell to try with my D10 to see if I like it. I was just wondering if I could expect this thing to perform at all.

I think this is the most bizarre thread I have ever seen on CPF...

Mr Happy said:

I think this is the most bizarre thread I have ever seen on CPF...

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How so? I really don't understand why you're so flustered by this... have you never bought anything from DX? Do you immediately buy the most expensive option possible? I'm a little confused by your confusion...

It comes across oddly, but perhaps your intent less obvious.

Are you simply wanting to try these no name cells and see if they are worth it? That makes sense as long as you are willing to be disappointed.

But if you are looking for a decent low cost AA cell to actually use, or just wanting to try your D10, then what you are asking/doing does not make sense.

I'm perplexed mostly because I don't consider ~ $3 USD to be a good deal for a plain-white who the heck knows what it really is supposedly "1800mAh NiMH" flat-top cell shipped from China. Anyway it'll be interesting to see how those hold up for you and whether they fit in your device properly.

Call me crazy but I don't find the above mentioned "deal" an extreme deal at all.

I can buy known to be good Eneloop/Duraloops which will actually deilver 1950ish on their label 2000 (within spec), that have an excellent track record of reliability, for < 2$ a cell walking into a drug store. True, I have to buy four at a time, and only when they are on sale, but that's why I buy four at a time.

shipped from USA... and eneloops are not that cheap, if they were I would buy some. All the single eneloops on ebay were fake that were reasonably priced. I'm not gonna drop $25 on a huge pack of rechargeables at costco (the only place that seems to have them).

A quick search found a four pack of eneloop AA for $10.45 free 7-10 day shipping from a known/reliable US seller.

wyager said:

shipped from USA... and eneloops are not that cheap, if they were I would buy some. All the single eneloops on ebay were fake that were reasonably priced. I'm not gonna drop $25 on a huge pack of rechargeables at costco (the only place that seems to have them).

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Wait until you need something else, a bigger purchase and can get Amazon free shipping, then add a 10 buck order of eneloops to it. You can usually get 4 AA for around 10 bucks.
Shipping will be free for those also even if shipped separately.

This is what I do.

wyager said:

OK, I already have 2 AA NiMH duraloops and a charger for my quark. I used to have more, but I lost them. Now, I want to get a single NiMH cell to try with my D10 to see if I like it. I was just wondering if I could expect this thing to perform at all.

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Do you carry both your D10 and your Quark at the same time? If not why not borrow one cell from the Quark to try? :thinking: Are your other Duraloops forgotten in other devices lost or fell in the sofa cushions/rolled under the fridge lost?

noisebeam said:

A quick search found a four pack of eneloop AA for $10.45 free 7-10 day shipping from a known/reliable US seller.

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That's great-but if I wanted to spend $10.45, I would have. If no one has any experience with these cells, then you don't really have anything relevant to this thread... the reason I am using them is basically irrelevant, I included it only in case the use was relevant to your experience (ie, if these batteries vented or something). I'm a little confused as to why one would come and tell me to buy eneloops when all I want to know is how these batteries work... :thinking:

And @ OCD-part of the purpose here is to compare the quark on high with NiMH and the D10 on high with NiMH... I can't use the batteries in both lights at once.

wyager said:

shipped from USA... and eneloops are not that cheap

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Actually they can be -- I'm lucky to live in an area where I can get them for $6.99 every 4 - 6 weeks or so on sale.

Believe me I'm not trying to downplay any attempt to achieve savings, I love bargains and we make point of living frugally where we can and living well. But false economy sometimes rears its head if price is the primary driving factor and it does seem that many reported no-name brand battery buying experiences on EBay and the like tend not to work out well.

I suppose for your purposes the cell you've ordered will work out, at least for some short period of time if you are just looking at max output but not how long it runs. But there is so much variability in cell performance even among known good cells that maybe comparing two lights on the two likely vastly different cells won't be conclusive for you.

wyager said:

That's great-but if I wanted to spend $10.45, I would have. If no one has any experience with these cells, then you don't really have anything relevant to this thread... the reason I am using them is basically irrelevant, I included it only in case the use was relevant to your experience (ie, if these batteries vented or something). I'm a little confused as to why one would come and tell me to buy eneloops when all I want to know is how these batteries work... :thinking:
.

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No. you said you didn't want to spend $25 on a huge multipack of eneloops and said that costco was the only place that had eneloops. I suggested there was a lower cost option than $25 and it was also not costco. That was relevant. I would think that for $7.45 more getting three more eneloops would be worth it as back up for your only two other cells you have and since you seem to loose them.