Stcredzero's listed amazon AA batteries: $12.95 for four.
Another amazon listing for Duracell 4-pack Alkaline: 4.95 for four.
Rechargeable: $3.24 per battery
Alkaline: $1.24 per battery
3.24 divided by 1.24 = 2.61.
After 3 recharges, the rechargeable has now become cheaper than the alkaline battery. It seems difficult to believe the performance would degrade sufficiently after only 3 recharges to justify sticking with alkalines.
As for the lengthy recharge, the solution there is buy a second set. Keep one in the charger (a good one that goes to trickle when done), when you run down, swap. Result, no effective wait time for fresh power.
I recently purchased 3 sets of AA Energizer brand rechargables. They kept their charge in some of my electronics for all of 24 hours in many cases.
They seem like a great idea, but in my recent (last 2 years) experiment, the performance actually does degrade that quickly. It could have just been a bad batch, but it was 3 separate 4 packs of battteries, all with their own chargers.
If it was the chargers that were packaged together with the batteries, then the problem was likely the charger destroying the batteries rather than any fault of the battery itself.
You can find bulk batteries for cheap at Costco, Home Depot, and a ton of other stores. They sell them in 24, 36, 72 packs for almost nothing. And there are deals online that make them even more lucrative at times. Can't remember the last deal I got but I think it was like 72 AA batteries for like $9. While that's not typical, what is typical is spending less than $10 for Energizer or Duracell AA batteries around 24 to 36 packs. These are pretty common and each battery lasts pretty long.
On the flip side, as others have said, rechargeable are only good for the first week or two you have them if you use them a lot. The charge doesn't hold after awhile and they suck. The charger and the batteries are expensive compare to the non-rechargeable alternatives.
Home Depot online listing: 36 pack Energizer Alkaline for 13.97.
That is $0.39 per battery.
Rechargeable: $3.24 per battery.
3.24 divided by 0.39 is 8.31.
At the ninth usage, the rechargeable battery becomes cheaper than the very cheap one use battery.
I have four Energizer NiMH AA's that have to be at least 4-5 years old now and have been recharged at least 50+ times by this point. Are they quite as "strong" as when they were new, no. Are they still doing very well, yes.
A lot of the bad experience from rechargeable comes from using the cheapo chargers that are sold in the stores alongside the batteries themselves. Plunk down the one time cost of $30-40 for a decent charger and the rechargeable batteries will reward you handsomely.
Comments
Stcredzero's listed amazon AA batteries: $12.95 for four.
Another amazon listing for Duracell 4-pack Alkaline: 4.95 for four.
Rechargeable: $3.24 per battery
Alkaline: $1.24 per battery
3.24 divided by 1.24 = 2.61.
After 3 recharges, the rechargeable has now become cheaper than the alkaline battery. It seems difficult to believe the performance would degrade sufficiently after only 3 recharges to justify sticking with alkalines.
As for the lengthy recharge, the solution there is buy a second set. Keep one in the charger (a good one that goes to trickle when done), when you run down, swap. Result, no effective wait time for fresh power.
I recently purchased 3 sets of AA Energizer brand rechargables. They kept their charge in some of my electronics for all of 24 hours in many cases.
They seem like a great idea, but in my recent (last 2 years) experiment, the performance actually does degrade that quickly. It could have just been a bad batch, but it was 3 separate 4 packs of battteries, all with their own chargers.
If it was the chargers that were packaged together with the batteries, then the problem was likely the charger destroying the batteries rather than any fault of the battery itself.
You can find bulk batteries for cheap at Costco, Home Depot, and a ton of other stores. They sell them in 24, 36, 72 packs for almost nothing. And there are deals online that make them even more lucrative at times. Can't remember the last deal I got but I think it was like 72 AA batteries for like $9. While that's not typical, what is typical is spending less than $10 for Energizer or Duracell AA batteries around 24 to 36 packs. These are pretty common and each battery lasts pretty long.
On the flip side, as others have said, rechargeable are only good for the first week or two you have them if you use them a lot. The charge doesn't hold after awhile and they suck. The charger and the batteries are expensive compare to the non-rechargeable alternatives.
Home Depot online listing: 36 pack Energizer Alkaline for 13.97.
That is $0.39 per battery.
Rechargeable: $3.24 per battery.
3.24 divided by 0.39 is 8.31.
At the ninth usage, the rechargeable battery becomes cheaper than the very cheap one use battery.
I have four Energizer NiMH AA's that have to be at least 4-5 years old now and have been recharged at least 50+ times by this point. Are they quite as "strong" as when they were new, no. Are they still doing very well, yes.
A lot of the bad experience from rechargeable comes from using the cheapo chargers that are sold in the stores alongside the batteries themselves. Plunk down the one time cost of $30-40 for a decent charger and the rechargeable batteries will reward you handsomely.