Best type of rechargeable AA Batteries?

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I was wondering what people's favorite rechargeables' were as I'm getting tired of buying new batteries.

Thanks!
 
Eneloops paired with a good charger. There's a guy at Amazon named "NLee the Engineer" who writes up amazingly detailed reviews of both batteries and chargers. It's borderline scary how well this guy explains it and understand everything. Look him up and figure it out from there.

But yeah, Eneloops are - as the the hep cats would say - the bomb diggity, playaskillet.
 
From what I gather,

For high use, high powered devices (speaking mainly photographers w/ their flashes) lots of people prefer PowerEx batteries by Maha. But for everything else pretty much anything Eneloops, because they last so damn long (on the shelf)

You can either buy them online, or some Duracells on the shelf are eneloops. Google it to find out how to tell.
 
Yep, Eneloops are great. They hold a charge a long time when not in use, which is great as ones I had before would tend to be dead after sitting in a drawer for a few months so I'd have batteries die in something and have to wait a couple hours to charge some up to have good batteries.

The eneloops hold charges for ages so you always have batteries with juice in them when you need them.
 
[quote name='Strell']Eneloops paired with a good charger. There's a guy at Amazon named "NLee the Engineer" who writes up amazingly detailed reviews of both batteries and chargers. It's borderline scary how well this guy explains it and understand everything. Look him up and figure it out from there.

But yeah, Eneloops are - as the the hep cats would say - the bomb diggity, playaskillet.[/QUOTE]

Seriously, who is this NLee guy? Is he actually an engineer? Or just some guy that had 300 dollars worth of batteries and chargers, and WAAY too much time on his hands.

NLee's conclusion was that for the most part the "pre-charged" or basically the current generation of rechargeables are mostly the same.
The difference lies in the chargers.

That being said I too use the eneloops. Didn't expect EVERY CAG to use them as well. :)

Oh, I almost forgot, rechargeables are great for console controllers and cameras, but they won't work in some carbon monoxide detectors. Rechargeables aren't as good in products that use electricity at a very slow rate over a long period of time.
 
Eneloops or the white top duracell (duraloops as people sometimes refer to them) are great. I have TONS of different rechargeables (several different Tenergy, Panasonic, Energizer, Lacross, Rayovac) and eneloops are my preference. If you have a Costco membership look there for a set that includes some AA, AAA and a charger. If you want to step up to a nicer charger look at LaCross and Maha. I've had a LaCross bc-900 for years and its an excellent charger.
 
Amazon sells some bundle sets around as well, for those that don't have a Costco membership.

Also, my local costco's haven't had Eneloops for a while, but have the pre charged duracells (I think, may have been Energizer) in the place the Eneloops used to be.
 
Just buy name brand. People will advertise a wide range of mAh ratings and there's nothing really holding anyone to that number. Tests I have seen show duracell and energizer to advertise their capacities accurately. I have some 2650 mAh duracells, but those were purchased a few years ago. There may be better batteries out there by now.

Also, be careful what you use them in. Some devices can't take them. For instance, I tried them in a logitech universal remote and it actually made the remote produce a high pitched whine. They also drain faster than normal batteries in an electric toothbrush, for instance.
 
I remember a thread for Xbox360 conrtoller charge packs and someone suggested using eneloops instead. I followed up that suggestion with a little google-fu and decided, yes, eneloops were a good idea. I've been using them for about eight months now.
 
I've got some Duracell rechargeables that I got pretty cheap with a coupon and employee discount. They work great for use in the PS3 blu-ray remote or my wireless guitar for 360 although they do seem to lose their charge if left sitting around for a while.

Whatever you do don't buy just a 2 pack. Not only are they a rip off per battery but if you buy more then you have at least one backup set charged and ready to go so waiting for a charge becomes a non-issue.
 
I just read some reviews of batteries and chargers by NLee the Engineer and now I'm all excited to go rechargeable... but I guess I should reduce my collection of alkaline batteries first.
 
Sanyo Enerloop + LaCrosse BC-900 or BC-9009 is a great combination for batteries and charger. It's what I've been using for multiple years, and the smart charger helps the batteries last longer.

I've replaced almost all of my devices that take batteries with Enerloops and only use alkaline batteries in devices that won't work well with rechargeables.
 
stay way from engergizer rechargeables.. I have had multiples go bad.. meanwhile my cheap harbor Freight Made in China $6 a 4 packs have lasted and sat on my shelf for 6 months holding a charge..

I actually re bought the energizers thinking I had a bad batch or somehow ruined them only to have the new ones do it as well... harbor freight still kicking... same charger ( energizer 4 x wall charger).

maybe the charger was the problem, but I am jaded completely by energizer rechargeables.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']Sanyo Enerloop + LaCrosse BC-900 or BC-9009 is a great combination for batteries and charger. It's what I've been using for multiple years, and the smart charger helps the batteries last longer.

I've replaced almost all of my devices that take batteries with Enerloops and only use alkaline batteries in devices that won't work well with rechargeables.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, the charger is important because you don't want it to overcharge the batteries.
 
[quote name='Snake2715']stay way from engergizer rechargeables.. I have had multiples go bad.. meanwhile my cheap harbor Freight Made in China $6 a 4 packs have lasted and sat on my shelf for 6 months holding a charge..

I actually re bought the energizers thinking I had a bad batch or somehow ruined them only to have the new ones do it as well... harbor freight still kicking... same charger ( energizer 4 x wall charger).

maybe the charger was the problem, but I am jaded completely by energizer rechargeables.[/QUOTE]

I've been using Energizer recharge batteries and the 15min (per 2 batteries) wall-charger and don't have any complaints and even bought more recharge batteries.
 
Eneloops here too. I did have one die mysteriously; it just doesn't register at all in my LaCrosse charger. I sent an email to Sanyo support and never received a response.

All that said, I'd still buy Eneloops again. I had some Energizers that did not hold up well.
 
[quote name='shrike4242'] LaCrosse BC-900 or BC-9009[/QUOTE]

There's a lot of reports on Amazon of LaCrosse rechargers catching on fire, and it's difficult to pinpoint if it was a certain batch or version, and impossible to know which version you'll get if you order these days. This is the only reason I've stayed away from them.

There's a competitor whose name I forget; I'm sure it's linked on Amazon pages. They seem to offer the same functionality and the prices are comparable.

Just my two cents.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']I've replaced almost all of my devices that take batteries with Enerloops and only use alkaline batteries in devices that won't work well with rechargeables.[/QUOTE]

Any advice on what devices don't work well with rechargeables?
 
[quote name='cheapfrag']Any advice on what devices don't work well with rechargeables?[/QUOTE]

Logitech universal remotes, electric toothbrushes. Some product packaging will explicitly tell you.
 
[quote name='Strell']There's a lot of reports on Amazon of LaCrosse rechargers catching on fire, and it's difficult to pinpoint if it was a certain batch or version, and impossible to know which version you'll get if you order these days. This is the only reason I've stayed away from them.

There's a competitor whose name I forget; I'm sure it's linked on Amazon pages. They seem to offer the same functionality and the prices are comparable.

Just my two cents.[/QUOTE]That was an AC adapter issue, which they fixed with the BC-9009 and previous versions can get a replacement AC adapter free of charge that fixes the potential issue.

I've had my BC-9009 for almost a year and a half and never had any issue.

Anything you'd get now will have the revised AC adapter and not be an issue.
 
Thanks for all the responses! I'll be getting some Eneloops and a LaCrosse charger to match.

As cheapfrag just asked, I'm wondering which devices other than camera's the Eneloops shouldn't be used in.
 
I got some Eneloops for xmas from my dad, never heard of them. He said he read they were the best, I thought he was just saying that cause he got a deal or w/e. After 4 months I have had to charge them like 3 times they are the best for sure.
 
It pisses me off how some camera manufacturers design their cameras to work with only custom OEM batteries. Instead of buying a pack of rechargeables like this you get to buy their hugely overpriced battery pack.
 
I've been using Energizer and Eneloop. I think I prefer the Eneloops, though. Also, I do use the LaCrosse Technologies charger, and love it.
 
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