Best charger for rechargeable batteries (AA and AAA)?

[Eric Bloodaxe]

We seem to have a lot of gadgets plus remote controls etc which need new batteries on a regular basis.

It occurs to me that rechargeables might be a better solution for both my wallet and the environment.

There seem to be lots of chargers out there, any particular recommendations or ones to avoid?

Thanks, all.

 

[unofix]

Maypole ?????? 🤣

[Eric Bloodaxe]

14 minutes ago, unofix said:

Maypole ?????? 🤣

Wondered how quick that would come up - 2 minutes, not bad!

[Wino]

Had one if these for a long time, make sure you get hold of the batteries with a high rating.

Ours are 2900 but you can get higher 3200/3500 but the higher you go the more they cost and take to charge up.

 

[alanfp]

I had an Energizer unit (which came with some batteries included in the kit) . Seemed to work fine. Energizer batteries get good reports on this forum.

[Jimpster]

you can buy a card of 10-12 sometimes more for around a pound, ive given up on rechargeables.

[Frembrit]

I use a charger like this HERE. Takes about 12-13 hours for higher 2500mAh capacity batteries though.

I do have a faster charger but I don't think it helps with battery life expectancy. Also have a 1 hour charger for AA's, that definately isn't good for the batteries.

[TomsFocus]

18 minutes ago, Jimpster said:

you can buy a card of 10-12 sometimes more for around a pound, ive given up on rechargeables.

You can, but they don't last as long, and also can't be recycled if they're Zinc-Chloride.

I'm still buying single use myself, but bulk buy branded 'trade' versions now.  They last so much longer that it is worth the extra purchase price over Poundland Kodaks.

[Jimpster]

TBF i dont give a fig about recycling, its just a way to charge more, green is expensive. I've lived by that motto for the last decade. Or use your mobile phone as a remote for 90% of devices.

I only mention neighbourhood waste collections, their cost and the lack of savings to community charges, most of us do the binmens jobs for them, all the money weve saved the coucil each one could build an incinerator and feed back into the grid.

[Wino]

30 minutes ago, Frembrit said:

I use a charger like this HERE. Takes about 12-13 hours for higher 2500mAh capacity batteries though.

I do have a faster charger but I don't think it helps with battery life expectancy. Also have a 1 hour charger for AA's, that definately isn't good for the batteries.

It really depends on what you are using the batteries for. 

[Paulkp]

5 minutes ago, Wino said:

It really depends on what you are using the batteries for. 

I agree with this.

If you have a device that you use frequently, then rechargeables are useful, but if you have a device with low current drain, then use a decent standard cell.  I think rechargeables have a greater self discharge current, which means that torch sitting in the cupboard won't work for very long !

We do use both, depending on device, but if your device has 4xAAs one of them will fail before the other three, and you won't be able to buy a single replacement.....

[StephenFord]

There is a potential issue with rechargeable batteries, they are ever so slightly bigger than standard alkaline ones. I have a couple of devices where I simply can't use them. They both use 4 x batteries, but because of the additional girth, they physically won't fit. It's not a big issue, and you'll easily will find out by trial & error if any of your stuff won't take them...

[unofix]

34 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

It's not a big issue,

I think it is, size matters 🤣

[Eric Bloodaxe]

Thanks for all the comments so far, guys. Looks like I could be better sticking with the fake Duracells from the dark web, then?

[Alans Car]

When you have kids batteries become a nightmare, and that's before your take into account the sheer volume of other devices that use them as well (like you said), I wouldn't go without my rechargeable batteries, but that doesn't mean they are right for everyone, I've had a number of chargers, one even recharged Ni-Cad battery's, I think it was called battery Genie, but obviously there is very little extra you can get from normal batteries being charged as you get less every time back.

My main charger now is the Nitecore D4, the best way I could describe it is it's similar to the CTECH car chargers in conditioning the batteries as well, the other advantage with this is that you don't need pairs or four's of batteries to use it, and further to that it can charge 4 different types of batteries at a time, because each slot is dedicated to the battery that is in it, unlike other chargers that require pairs of the same type to work.

Then I use Eneloop batteries for everything, because they retain "70% capacity after ten years in storage", but this figure varies between the different types and generations of them, they also have a higher power version, but the lifespan is much shorter, used by professional photographers or other high demand uses, they pay for themselves many times over if you have a high turnover of of batteries.

One final note though, there are devices that say you can't use rechargeable batteries in their device, but it's not stopped me from using them there, but note it's dependent on the actual device, there may be some that have special reason for this, so use best judgement there, but the one factor that some use to stop you from using rechargeable ones, is they make the slots smaller, it doesn't take much, because they are slightly bigger, so closing the flap becomes impossible at times, whether they are right for you is something you will have to work out, I bought mine when I had kids and built up quantities over some years, as they are not cheap to buy.

But throw that in the mix with how much you spend on batteries that go in the bin and it can seriously mount up if you go through through them over the years, I haven't bought a normal battery for 15 years, just have 1 set more than you need always charged ready to go, so when you need one it's good to go, you just swap in the charged batteries the same as you would normal batteries, even if on the surface you go through them quicker, they still save a lot of money over time, if you have a higher powered device buy the Pro range, but they don't live as long as the normal ones, just check the generation your looking at before buying, hope it helps you decide what's best for you.

[StephenFord]

11 minutes ago, Alans Car said:

When you have kids batteries become a nightmare,

You don't do 'brief', do you LOL 

[Alans Car]

No point saying I use... without explaining why, the Op wanted to know why you should and why you shouldn't, you can't do that in a sentence given the variety and size of that market. 😝

[Wino]

37 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

You don't do 'brief', do you LOL 

He's a "Chatty man" @Alans Car 😆

[Jimpster]

the only rechargeables i have are in my cordless landline phone, and my mobile obviously. Had to change the 2032 in my fob yesterday as it was getting lazy.