Ok so I can charge my current nihms in them now, that I have had for about 3 years and are dying, but I can't probably charge these batteries in the current battery charger I have now. Does that sound about right?

Does anyone know how much it would cost to buy some AAAs that will work with the charger? I think it'd be nice if this came with 4 AAs & 4 AAAs instead of 8 AAs.

Dysl3xicDog wrote:NO don't use these in your solar devices, these batteries need the special charger that they come with. The NiMH batteries aren't as sensitive to how they get charged.

this is 100% correct, use the NiCd batteries in your solar lights.

RECHARGEABLE ALKALINES IS ONE OF THE WORST IDEAS IN BATTERY TECHNOLOGY IN THE LAST 30 YEARS.

While iGo would like to market it as new technology that the big battery makers don't have, that's far from true. Rechargeable alkalines have been around for over a decade, and is actually a failed technology. The major player was Rayovac, with their Renewal™ batteries, but they abandoned them long ago.

The biggest drawback of rechargeable alklines -- AND IT'S A BIG ONE -- is that you have to recharge them when they're about 25%-50% discharged. If you wait until they become depleted or near depleted, you've damaged the cell, although some may be saved through several deep discharge/recharge cycles. In other words, rechargeable alkalines are high maintenance. That's especially ironic because most people buy normal alklaines because they need so little maintenance, i.e. a long time between changes.

Here are some data from Wikipedia, keeping in mind that alkaline's full charge is actually 1.5V:
"If they are discharged by less than 25%, they can be recharged for hundreds of cycles to about 1.42 V. If they are discharged by less than 50%, they can be almost fully recharged for a few dozen cycles, to about 1.32 V."

The battery becomes so damaged that it can only be charged for a few dozen more cycles if you let them discharge to about 50%??? Keep in mind that NiMH batteries can be recharged for 500-1000 cycles. In other words, if you want your batteries to be rechargeable for several hundred cycles, you need to recharge them BEFORE they are 25% depleted!

To see why this is a major problem, consider how few battery-operated devices actually have an accurate battery meter. Flashlights, smoke detectors, remotes, etc don't have them so how would one know when they're 25% depleted or 50% depleted? Even the meters in cameras are very approximate. And if you have to recharge them before they're 25% depleted, then they last no longer than ordinary zinc carbon batteries in actual use. So the whole selling point of alkalines is eliminated.

I can't see any device where these would be advantageous.

I would just like a rough idea how many times can these batteries be recharged?

Speaking of batteries - it's Daylight Savings Time this Weekend - Time to change out the ones in the smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector too!

In for three. These are similar in concept to the eneloop batteries by Sanyo.

The unique feature of Sanyo that a fully charged battery does not discharge at the rate that regular nickel metal hydride batteries discharge. You can put these in a flashlight, into the glove box and a year later the light will still work. Can't do that with regular rechargeable.

Also, my eneloop batteries are 8 for about $20+.

I have these. I haven't used them a great deal, but I have them in my Wii controllers. They start out nice, but it seems like once it started down a bit it went down to half pretty fast. I read that you should charge them when they're half drained or less to preserve the life of the battery. Apparently doing so greatly increases their viability over subsequent recharges. The charger is probably worth the money alone because it charges both alkaline and Ni-MH batteries and shuts off power to each battery individually (with an indicator). I think they're a decent buy.

sdc100 wrote:RECHARGEABLE ALKALINES IS ONE OF THE WORST IDEAS IN BATTERY TECHNOLOGY IN THE LAST 30 YEARS.

While iGo would like to market it as new technology that the big battery makers don't have, that's far from true. Rechargeable alkalines have been around for over a decade, and is actually a failed technology. The major player was Rayovac, with their Renewal™ batteries, but they abandoned them long ago.

The biggest drawback of rechargeable alklines -- AND IT'S A BIG ONE -- is that you have to recharge them when they're about 25%-50% discharged. If you wait until they become depleted or near depleted, you've damaged the cell, although some may be saved through several deep discharge/recharge cycles. In other words, rechargeable alkalines are high maintenance. That's especially ironic because most people buy normal alklaines because they need so little maintenance, i.e. a long time between changes.

Here are some data from Wikipedia, keeping in mind that alkaline's full charge is actually 1.5V:
"If they are discharged by less than 25%, they can be recharged for hundreds of cycles to about 1.42 V. If they are discharged by less than 50%, they can be almost fully recharged for a few dozen cycles, to about 1.32 V."

A few dozen cycles if you let them discharged to about 50%??? Keep in mind that NiMH batteries can be recharged for 500-1500 cycles.

To see why this is a major problem, consider how few battery-operated devices actually have an accurate battery meter. Flashlights, smoke detectors, remotes, etc don't have them so how would one know when they're 25% depleted or 50% depleted? Even the meters in cameras are very approximate. And if you have to recharge them so soon, then they last no longer than ordinary zinc carbon batteries in actual use. So the whole selling point of alkalines is eliminated.

I can't see any device where these would be advantageous.

I see your point but still I think cost wise you come out better in the long run. Cheap 8 pack of AA batteries at Walmart will run what $6. These are $15 How much more usage will you get out of these compared to the cheap ones at walmart is the more important question?

Even if they don't fully charge, ever time, you still will get more use out of them then the walmart ones that once they are done they are done.

Meh...

Fry's has this same set on sale from time to time for far less, especially for Texans paying tax.

The batteries' storage capacity technology is 12 years old & fairly wimpy for high drain devices. I relegate these to my LED flashlights. Even then their shelf life is dismal compared to the cheap $5 pack of ray-o-vac rechargeables at Wal-mart.

There are better batteries out there.

I have used them all, and have this set and it isn't anything to write home about.

I paid 5.99 plus tax for the entire set and no I wouldn't purchase them again.

Just remember if there are sooo many of these left over that fry's can't even sell enough of them at a discount, there is a reason.

And no they don't hold a half decent charge as long as the 7 years they claim.

If i was able to measure that after 6mos they have 1/2 their capacity I would be surprised!

The charger is ridiculously slow, again just because it says green and eco and looks all new doesn't mean the technology really all that new.

If this set was $9.99 total w/ shipping and tax, it 'might' be worth it for me to give as cheap gifts.

nickmiller21 wrote:Meh...

Fry's has this same set on sale from time to time for far less, especially for Texans paying tax.

The batteries' storage capacity technology is 12 years old & fairly wimpy for high drain devices. I relegate these to my LED flashlights. Even then their shelf life is dismal compared to the cheap $5 pack of ray-o-vac rechargeables at Wal-mart.

There are better batteries out there.

I have used them all, and have this set and it isn't anything to write home about.

I paid 5.99 plus tax for the entire set and no I wouldn't purchase them again.

Just remember if there are sooo many of these left over that fry's can't even sell enough of them at a discount, there is a reason.

And no they don't hold a half decent charge as long as the 7 years they claim.

If i was able to measure that after 6mos they have 1/2 their capacity I would be surprised!

The charger is ridiculously slow, again just because it says green and eco and looks all new doesn't mean the technology really all that new.

If this set was $9.99 total w/ shipping and tax, it 'might' be worth it for me to give as cheap gifts.

Not worth the trouble of having one more gadget I have to watch over.

I bought two 4-packs of these batteries at Fry's for $7.99 each and thought that was a pretty decent deal. This is $1 less and comes with a charger. $Cha-ching$ Cash in on this one folks. Good price overall on re-chargeable batteries even without the charger.

As others have said rechargeable alkalines aren't worth much so any value this has is in the charger and its ability to handle NiMH cells. Considering I got the late model "Sony Cycle Energy" charger (reputable) and two 2000maH NiMH batteries shipped for $8 I wouldn't call this much of a deal.

And if we are worried about batteries having nickel in them. We have nickle nickels don't we.

But yet because these batteries suck i am disposing of them (recycling) at 2x a higher rate than a good set of NiMH..which last me an avg 10yrs. It takes a ton more energy to recycle an item anyway than to make it from virgin material. So what's the point of these?

I've always been a total GM guy (HD Truck, corvette, suburban, etc) but it's like me buying a 60mpg Chevy Volt instead of a Prius. The Volt is more expensive by nearly double, supposedly better for the environment and gets better gas mileage.

-- But wait, the Volt requires battery replacement more often and uses electricity from the grid which still pollutes the environment just like a regular car.

Yet my 55mpg Prius gets only 5mpg less and does more than a volt can ever do, will get to 200,000 miles on the original batteries and never needs to be plugged in at 1/2 the price! Which vehicle is better all around in the long run?

Same with these batteries. Just cause it's package claims it's eco friendly doesn't mean it really is compared to the true and tested alternatives on the market.

It's all a marketing hype. Heck that's what this whole greeny movement thing is, just a giant marketing sales pitch to get you buy certain things, change your lifestyle to buy this, do that, etc.
Al Gore you're a hypocrytical evil genius.....

Okay, getting off my soap box but still, proof is in the point...

I just changed out a set on my wireless keyboard with all of my typing about this and these batteries were in my keyboard! They lasted me only a couple weeks!?

I get months with my Rayovacs and Lenmars

ThunderThighs wrote:I always end up waiting until they do the random beep in the middle of the night and my dog hides under the bed in fear. Sigh.

Consider yourself lucky. My 2 dogs go into attack mode, and of course wake me up.

Sontiago wrote:My solar lights need replacement batteries.. they have nihms in them now.. would these be an ok replacement?

No, they would not work well in your solar lights because the circuitry was optimized to charge 1.2V batteries (NiMh and NiCd). That means these alkalines will never reach their full potential of 1.5V. In fact, I doubt if there is enough sunlight during a day to fully charge these batteries.

What's worst, these batteries are easily damaged, often resulting in a lifespan of less than 100 recharge cycles. See this post.

Thanks for the information! You just saved me $14.99.

I bought this last time. So far, I really like the charger. I use it to charge NiMH and the alkaline that came with it.

It will take years (I hope) to figure out how good the batteries are, and how well the charger treats them.

Until then - I really like the charger.

I started life with an Energizer 15 minute charger with built in fan to cool the batteries. It cooks them, fastest battery killer I've ever encountered.

Next I laid out $6 for a charger and batteries at Ollie's bargain outlet. It works well. Takes a day to charge.

Then I encountered this one. What an incredible difference! Now I can save a fraction of a second loading each battery (the contacts are really nice)! And it evaluates each battery independently (instead of in pairs). According to the charger there is a lot of variance in how long it takes to charge.

i24u wrote:I see your point but still I think cost wise you come out better in the long run. Cheap 8 pack of AA batteries at Walmart will run what $6. These are $15 How much more usage will you get out of these compared to the cheap ones at walmart is the more important question?

Even if they don't fully charge, ever time, you still will get more use out of them then the walmart ones that once they are done they are done.

Well, you're comparing a bargain item (aka sold on Woot) with a retail item (sold at Walmart). I pay about 25 cents per alkaline in packs of 4 or 8, and often less if I buy bulk packs of 48. For example, Toys R Us recently had a 48 pack for about $4.99 (or 10 cents per battery).

Aside from cost, let's not forget the inconvenience of having to recharge. And remember the main point of my complaint: That if you wait until they're almost depleted, the voltage limit falls below the 1.5V norm. Even if you recharged them at 50% depletion, they can't reach 1.5V. In other words, you will never have a normal 1.5V battery again after the first discharge. In fact, Wikipedia doesn't give data on how damaged they become if you wait until they are 75% discharged or below. For all we know, they may become unrechargeable. Our normal instincts are to recharge once the device stops working, not when the battery is 25% empty (and how can you tell when a flashlight is 25% empty?).

You really can't compare these with disposable alkalines because you're not getting a 1.5V battery ever again. With every new disposable, you're getting a full 1.5V battery.

That said, it's not as horrible as it sounds because most electronics these days are designed to tolerate NiMH batteries, which caps at 1.2V.

How would i "go green" if i was to use these? kinda ironic that you have to plug them in an outlet to charge them, if you ask me...

beware.... rechargeable last about 1/15th as long as a quality battery, and even from the start they are only about 1/5th as powerful when fully charged

to sum it up

***they suck*** IMO

just my 2 cents

sdc100 wrote:RECHARGEABLE ALKALINES IS ONE OF THE WORST IDEAS IN BATTERY TECHNOLOGY IN THE LAST 30 YEARS.

While iGo would like to market it as new technology that the big battery makers don't have, that's far from true. Rechargeable alkalines have been around for over a decade, and is actually a failed technology. The major player was Rayovac, with their Renewal™ batteries, but they abandoned them long ago.

Listen to this commenter. I had a number of the Renewal batteries about a decade ago and while they were fine within their limitations, they would eventually lose charge faster and faster. Discharging below 25% wasn't too big of a deal for me, because I always carried plenty of spares (mainly for a discman in my car. Hey, I said it was a decade ago). If you want these to last a long time, you have to treat them with kid gloves and top them off as often as possible without using them too heavily.

One thing I will say is that the old Renewal charger is a beast. You can fit 4 C or D cells and up to 8 AA or AAA cells. Handles rechargable alkalines (at least the Renewal brand), Nimh, and NiCads. It's STILL running strong after a decade of off and on use.

i24u wrote:I see your point but still I think cost wise you come out better in the long run. Cheap 8 pack of AA batteries at Walmart will run what $6. These are $15 How much more usage will you get out of these compared to the cheap ones at walmart is the more important question?

Even if they don't fully charge, ever time, you still will get more use out of them then the walmart ones that once they are done they are done.

Two days ago I bought 60 batteries for 5$ and 5$ shipping. On woot!. These. These are just a slap in the face .

cliffgun1 wrote:I would just like a rough idea how many times can these batteries be recharged?

There is no correct answer to that because rechargeable alkalines are so easily damaged by over-discharging. See this post. Apparently, they can have a few hundred cycles (if you recharge them BEFORE they become 25% discharged) to a few dozen cycles (if you recharge them BEFORE they're 50% depleted). If you wait until they're fully discharged, they may become unrechargeable.

I agree. One of the best chargers I own because it can charge each battery individually. Batteries also performed well. Great deal!

MichaelSF wrote:In for three. These are similar in concept to the eneloop batteries by Sanyo.

The unique feature of Sanyo that a fully charged battery does not discharge at the rate that regular nickel metal hydride batteries discharge. You can put these in a flashlight, into the glove box and a year later the light will still work. Can't do that with regular rechargeable.

Also, my eneloop batteries are 8 for about $20+.

No, don't do it!
If you want slow discharge, just pack your devices with regular alkalines. Comparing these with Eneloops is completely unfair because NiMH batteries are fully rechargeable while these are not. They start deteriorating after the initial use and require unreasonable maintenance for longevity. Rechargeability is simply not a practical selling point of these batteries.

I would be all in if these were AAA, or even better if they were D's, or C's, or those batteries that fit in your garage door opener...anyway, I would be all in if they weren't double A

aojle wrote:I started life with an Energizer 15 minute charger with built in fan to cool the batteries. It cooks them, fastest battery killer I've ever encountered.

Next I laid out $6 for a charger and batteries at Ollie's bargain outlet. It works well. Takes a day to charge.

Then I encountered this one. What an incredible difference! Now I can save a fraction of a second loading each battery (the contacts are really nice)! And it evaluates each battery independently (instead of in pairs). According to the charger there is a lot of variance in how long it takes to charge.

Yes, it's important to evaluate each cell independently to avoid over- and under-charging. And you are right to avoid the 15 min chargers since shocking the chemicals like that is not healthy. While it's annoying to wait a day for your batteries to charge, a slow charge prolongs the life of the battery.

ONe of the best chargers is the highly-rated La Crosse Technology BC-700 Alpha Power Battery Charger. 4.5 stars from 414 reviewers on Amazon. Not only do you get to choose the current from several levels (higher for faster charging, lower for slower), but there are also functions to test the battery's capacity, and to refresh it. In fact, I refresh every new battery I buy and have been able to increase the capacity by as much as approx 100 mAh. And I have saved some old batteries as well.

MichaelSF wrote:In for three. These are similar in concept to the eneloop batteries by Sanyo.

No, these are *not* similar to the Eneloop batteries in anything except the idea that they're batteries and that they don't self-discharge at the rate of an ordinary NiMH. Please don't get these confused with Eneloop batteries - they use different chemistries and are more or less completely different. Please check out the very useful post by sdc100 here for issues that rechargeable alkalines have that Eneloop (and other LSD NiMH) don't.

MichaelSF wrote:The unique feature of Sanyo that a fully charged battery does not discharge at the rate that regular nickel metal hydride batteries discharge. You can put these in a flashlight, into the glove box and a year later the light will still work. Can't do that with regular rechargeable.

Also, my eneloop batteries are 8 for about $20+.

That's because they're LSD (low self discharge) NiMH Eneloops. These are rechargeable alkalines. It's like comparing apples and oranges - or maybe even apples and onions.

No shipping to Hawaii?

beerman's been waiting for this sweet battery charger with 8 batteries thank you Woot.com

fit410s wrote:beware.... rechargeable last about 1/15th as long as a quality battery, and even from the start they are only about 1/5th as powerful when fully charged

Rechargeable what? Alkalines? Zombies?

CowboyDann wrote:Any eggheads want to figure out how much money the average person could save by switching to rechargables?

There's no way to answer that without more information. Among the questions are:
1) What type of rechargeable batteries are you referring to? NiCd? Ordinary NiMH? Low self-discharge NiMH? NiZn (which caps at 1.6-1.7V)? Or these rechargeable alkalines? All cost different and have different discharge profiles.

2) What are the batteries used for? Is the device high drain or low drain? For example, alkalines are terrific in motorized toys but they're horrible in digital cameras.

3) What prices are you paying? Retail prices for a disposable AA can be $1 each, while buying an off-brand in bulk can cost as little as 10 cents each ($4.99 for 48). NiMHs vary greatly in price, with the lowest found on eBay for questionable unlabeled batteries. Low self-dishcarge NiMHs are more expensive than ordinary NiMHs. NiZns are hard to find so prices may be high.

Does anyone know if this product is dual voltage? 100v/250v? I would like to know before I buy.

As a technical writer, I loved today's write-up. We've never had autocorrect mistakes that bad slip into our manuals, but we have had "fishwives", "sailors", and "codpiece" suggested as corrections by the spelling checker. I'll leave it up to your imagination what type of product we're documenting.

KamikazeKen wrote:double NO.
never buy anything that starts with "i" and never buy anything labeled "green"

But I really like ice cream.....

Last year, we started selling this charger for use with Energizer batteries in the Canteen at the prison I work at. I have heard no complaints so far. We have probably sold around 400 of them so far.