![]() Lee: All rechargeable battery manufacturers love to boast about their product's current capacity (mAh). It turns out that massive 2500mAh capacity of the Energizer rechargeable battery doesn't mean much when the battery drains itself within a month. ![]() But as I found out, it's not the entire story.įor one thing, there's the issue of discharge rate. Is it really true that AA battery capacity has almost doubled in the last ten years? That's pretty amazing. The picture can be a little hard to read, so I've reprinted the technical details from each AA battery below: 1998 ![]() Let's compare these ten year old 1998 NiMH batteries to their 2008 cousins: In fact I still have some of those original models. I immediately rushed out bought a bunch of the batteries and the charger from the importer that Mr. The big-name American battery companies have avoided this market-killing technology for obvious reasons. This event was essentially hushed up in the U.S. As far back as January 1996, Toshiba rolled out the first complete line of standard cells and other Japanese battery makers have followed. So now I wonder where the D, C, and AAA nickel hydride batteries are? Mostly in Japan. Imagine what this does to the lucrative disposable-battery business. ![]() Do the math: It's like buying 1,000 alkaline batteries for less than 10 bucks. I seriously doubt you'll be seeing them on a rack in the grocery store anytime soon. This drops the cost per 10,000 pictures to 70 cents! I'm convinced that the industry doesn't want people to know about these batteries. I've seen data indicating that 1,000 charges are possible. Hawk says the industry knows that nickel hydride batteries can easily last through 500 recharges. Miraculously, that very article is still available on the internet: The calculation of cost for nickel hydride batteries in the table is for 100 recharges. ![]() I remember switching over to the then-new NiMH battery type based on a late 90's John Dvorak column touting their availability and power. It seems the frugal thing to do in the long run, and it's also healthier for the planet when we aren't discarding mountains of single-use batteries into landfills. I've been a rechargeable battery user for years. I don't know why all the other battery types fell so far out of favor, but between AA and AAA, I could probably power 95% of my household gadget needs. And so many of my favorite gadgets have a voracious appetite for batteries. Every self-respecting geek loves gadgets. ![]()
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