For the same price ($1.25/1), Amazon offers rechargeable AAA batteries with 1200 mAh (not Duracell though).

Just in case you were wondering: 1200 mAh (milli-Ampere-hours) means the battery can store an amount of energy that is supposed to be enough to power a device a device pulls a constant 1200 milli-Ampere (=1.2 Ampere) for one hour straight.

But also look at the existing comments regarding mAh, others have mentioned that a lower-capacity battery may hold a charge longer.

It's good to have a choice though: 800 mAh ones or 1200 mAh ones for the same price :-) The 1200 ones on Amazon only have one negative comment of someone who seems to have had a warranty issue.

idk about the newer Duracell rechargeable batteries because I'll never buy them ever again. I had some a couple of years ago because it was a good price from a name brand for 8 batteries, oh my god terrible usability, life, and output. the cameras that used them only took a few pix before dying, the xbox controllers turned off and kept flashing like they had no juice occasionally turning off. they didnt hold a charge after 3 months after buying them. i had to start using them in tv remotes and even then discharged quickly, and they were supposed to be the stay charged type too. i shouldve just stuck to Rayovac they never ever let me down even after years. i just happened to lose them eventually over time but never ever let me down.

liquidblue1 wrote:As I understand it, CPU controlled third-party chargers are the best way to go. The standard chargers that normally come with these types of batteries just pump juice into them for 8 hours no matter what. The CPU controlled ones apply a configurable amount of current and can do advanced recharge functions (like bring old batteries that don't normally charge back to life). I own a powerex brand I got from newegg.

Perhaps just as bad as "dumb" fixed-time chargers are chargers that force you to charge in pairs. The problem is that pairs of batteries rarely discharge equally. That means you may be charging an 80%-depleted and 68%-depleted battery together. The second battery will finish charging first but the charger won't turn off until the first battery is also full. That means the second battery will overcharge, damaging it.

Folks, buy yourself a charger that charge batteries individually. preferably with selectable current output. Use slow charge to protect the batteries if time is not crucial. Good models include the LaCrosse, Maha and Powerex. Excellent discussions of each are available on Amazon.

voltylicious wrote:For the same price ($1.25/1), Amazon offers rechargeable AAA batteries with 1200 mAh (not Duracell though).

Just in case you were wondering: 1200 mAh (milli-Ampere-hours) means the battery can store an amount of energy that is supposed to be enough to power a device a device pulls a constant 1200 milli-Ampere (=1.2 Ampere) for one hour straight.

But also look at the existing comments regarding mAh, others have mentioned that a lower-capacity battery may hold a charge longer.

It's good to have a choice though: 800 mAh ones or 1200 mAh ones for the same price :-) The 1200 ones on Amazon only have one negative comment of someone who seems to have had a warranty issue.

Those are regular NiMH batteries and cannot be compared with these "pre-charged" Duracells. Regular NiMH and NiCad batteries suffer from self-discharge. A fully charged battery will be empty in a few months even if it's never used. Don't quote me, but I believe a regular NiMH battery loses 20% of this energy the very first day in storage, and 4% every week thereafter. That's why those batteries should never be used in emergency equipment (i.e. flashlights, radios, stun guns), clocks, alarms and sensors. They're good, however, for things you use and charge frequently, i.e. cordless phones, remote controls, daily-use flashlights, etc.

These Duracells, like Eneloops, are Low Self-Discharge (LSD). That means they retain a charge significantly longer, almost like regular alkalines. LSD batteries should retain about 80% of a full charge after a year.

To fairly compare these Duracells, look for other batteries that say "pre-charged" or "low self-discharge."

So my question of the moment which is partially answered earlier, but I like confirming things, is will these work with the Kodak charger bundle Woot offered recently?

http://tech.woot.com/offers/kodak-smart-charger-bundle

I know the charger isn't super duper hi-tech like some of the others people have suggested, but there are budget limits sometimes.

Yay, Woot! Finally, thank you! I thought you were never going to offer AAAs PERFECT timing, as I was just starting to look around for the best price. I've been seeing 4-packs of Duracell for around $10, so as far as I'm concerned, this is a GREAT deal.

I bought Duracell precharged/rechargeable AAA batteries (the same as or very close to these) last Christmas, and I am looking for more because I only have 4 right now. All of my flashlights and my headlight take 3 AAAs, so I never have fresh ones ready when the set I'm using need recharging.

I have REALLY put the ones I have through some use. I haven't officially tested or timed them, but they seem to do as well or even better than non-rechargeable alkalines. I like it that when they're done charging and I unplug the charger, I can let them sit for days or even weeks and the batteries still have a nice charge when I go to use them. I don't know if it's the charger or the batteries, but they do take a while to charge - several hours. I have a feeling it's the charger I use, and I hope these will charge faster than that with the charger I bought on a previous woot (that came with AAs that I don't use). Even if they don't, I love these batteries enough to say "I'm in for THREE!" (I do a LOT of gardening outside at night, lol).

Yay! Thanks woot!!
~Sharon :D

sdc100 wrote:Don't forget travel, time and tax. In NYC, a regular-priced roundtrip subway ride is $4.50.

And don't forget to add the cost of your computer which you must have to order from Woot ;-)

I WAS in for 3 - until I saw the tax on my order. Amazon and Woot, you have no idea how much business you just lost. Between the two of you I spent well into the 5 figure range last year. Not anymore. You'll be LUCKY to get 4 figures out of me now. Nope, I'm not interested in paying tax on items I have to wait to receive. It'll have to be one heck of a deal for me to buy on Amazon or Woot now. Thanks for making this change right before I renewed my Prime account, at least. Saved me from wasting $40 on free shipping with a company I will no longer (or rarely at best) buy from.

WHATEVER!!!!!

Best charger I've come across here:

http://www.amazon.com/Powerex-MH-C800S-Eight-Smart-Charger/dp/B000LQMKDS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346505167&sr=8-1&keywords=Powerex+MH-C800S+Eight+Cell+Smart+Charger

Eight individual charging bays with digital readout.

Also, stay away from the Energizer precharged. They're crap.

I really want to know who the author was, so that I can use the desription as my quote of the day!!

Even if I am not interested in an item, I have to read the stories, and my day is better for it! thanks

michaels1715 wrote:I WAS in for 3 - until I saw the tax on my order. Amazon and Woot, you have no idea how much business you just lost.

Because they have a choice in ignoring state laws demanding tax be collected.
If you want to be angry be angry at your state, some of them tax all online businesses even if they have no holdings in the state.
50 possible states with 50 different tax rates, yeah Amazon wants to deal with that nightmare.

Just so every1 is aware..I bought these last time (a week or two ago), and though they appear to be the white tops in the pictures...they are not. They are indeed the black tops. The difference seems to be the white tops are re-branded eneloops (made in Japan) and the black tops are supposedly the Rayovac hybrids (made in China). They are still really good batteries and work well, I just wanted to clarify, since the photo is misleading....

kane968 wrote:Best charger I've come across here:

PowerEx MH-C800S Eight Cell Smart Charger.

Eight individual charging bays with digital readout.

Also, stay away from the Energizer precharged. They're crap.

I would get the Maha Powerex MH-C9000 Advanced Analyzer instead. Yes, it only has 4 slots, but it does so much more and $3 less. Check the features of both before you buy.

Edit: Actually this link on Amazon is even a couple of dollars cheaper then the other one above. Oh, the other one comes with a carrying bag from a different Amazon vendor.

Actually, if you go to this link there is a very detailed description of the MH-C9000. Well worth a look.

cubbiemi wrote:Because they have a choice in ignoring state laws demanding tax be collected.
If you want to be angry be angry at your state, some of them tax all online businesses even if they have no holdings in the state.
50 possible states with 50 different tax rates, yeah Amazon wants to deal with that nightmare.

If it's PA, it's because Amazon opened a 6th warehouse in the state, exceeding the limit, and we now must pay sales tax starting today. (And if you're implying Amazon doesn't check state tax laws ahead of time and this is a surprise to them... they wouldn't be in business by now if that's how they operated. lol)

BTW, considering the conditions I've seen reported at those warehouses, (like stationing ambulances to take passed-out workers to the hospital instead of cooling the 110+ degree warehouse) Amazon should at least clean up their act at the old ones before opening new ones, IMO. But I digress.

I was already planning to reduce my Amazon purchases because of it, I didn't realize it would count for Woot! as well. This displeases me.

At least this will cut down on my impulse buys. 58 Woots in less than a year is probably a bit excessive.

If you're going to use rechargeable you must get a decent charger. Granted that's an even further investment but it makes a big difference. You need a charger that can recondition the batteries, this will add years to their lives and make the charger cost effective. I have a PowerEx charger and use Eneloops since with the Eneloops you know what your getting while with these Duracells its a crapshoot.

voltylicious wrote:For the same price ($1.25/1), Amazon offers rechargeable AAA batteries with 1200 mAh (not Duracell though).

Just in case you were wondering: 1200 mAh (milli-Ampere-hours) means the battery can store an amount of energy that is supposed to be enough to power a device a device pulls a constant 1200 milli-Ampere (=1.2 Ampere) for one hour straight.

But also look at the existing comments regarding mAh, others have mentioned that a lower-capacity battery may hold a charge longer.

It's good to have a choice though: 800 mAh ones or 1200 mAh ones for the same price :-) The 1200 ones on Amazon only have one negative comment of someone who seems to have had a warranty issue.

Hmmm. How is two of the batteries dieing completely after only a couple weeks a "warranty issue"?

michaels1715 wrote:I WAS in for 3 - until I saw the tax on my order.

If congress passes a talked about bill to tax all internet purchases, we all may be paying more.

sdc100 wrote:It may not matter in advanced flashlights. They have a circuit that boost low voltages so that the light output will be fairly consistent throughout the life of the batteries. The light will just go off once the voltage drops too low to be be boosted. In an unregulated flashlight, the light will gradually dim instead of just going dark one day. There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches.

If regulated, the flashlight will be equally bright with NiMH and alkalines, but won't last as long with NiMH.

These Black and Deckers appear to be unregulated because I've already had two sets of normal batteries die in two different lights... dimmer... dimmer. But since they're LED, they don't start dimming until the batteries are pretty far gone, so I'm not sure if the NIMH would pull it off or not.

They're handy little flashlights, though. I use one every day when I don't want to bother turning on a lamp just to see where I put the remote or something.

eklebau wrote:I got these last time and my tops are black. 2 of them lasted about 15 days in my outside weather transmitter. I have not charged them yet though since they kind of come precharged.

My LaCrosse outdoor sensor eats rechargeable batts also, but alkalines will last over a year, so I pretty much relate this to the NiMH's initial voltage being 1.2V and the alki's being 1.5V. In other words, the batteries are fine---the sensor is just picky about the voltage it wants.

Wow... reading the comments it sounds like rechargeable batteries have come a long way from my box that took purple rechargeables and occasionally made the batteries burning hot.

In defense of my box though, it did fit any size

readymade wrote:If you're going to use rechargeable you must get a decent charger. Granted that's an even further investment but it makes a big difference. You need a charger that can recondition the batteries, this will add years to their lives and make the charger cost effective. I have a PowerEx charger.

For a long time I kept saying "no" to buying a good charger. For the number of batteries and chargers I did purchase I could have bought a couple of Powerex units and still had money left over. I've been more then happy with my Powerex. A number of batteries I thought were goners, are now back doing useful service. These were batteries that my other chargers wouldn't even try to charge.

I know the charger Igo Charger that has been on here a few times says not to use any batteries that aren't it's own brand. So despite what they say, will these batteries work?

Expect LSD batteries to be stolen from stores by owners of meth labs. (They aren't very smart.)

tytaine wrote:I know the charger Igo Charger that has been on here a few times says not to use any batteries that aren't it's own brand. So despite what they say, will these batteries work?

They are referring to alkalines. Normal alkalines should not be recharged. The iGo comes with rechargeable alkalines, which were made to handle the trauma of recharging. As an aside, it's a dead technology since rechargeable alkalines are a B*TCH to maintain. That's why you'll only see them in closeout sales. The problem is that they need to be charged once 25%-50% discharged. Wait any longer, i.e. when they're empty, and you've irreparably damaged the batteries. The problem is that mos devices cannot tell you accurately when the batteries are 25%-50% discharged. Remote controls, flashlights, toys, etc don't tell you how much juice is left and many meters, like those in cameras, aren't very inaccurate.

In terms of these Duracells and all other NiMH batteries, they'll charge just fine in the iGo charger. Just MAKE SURE YOU SET IT TO NiMH and not alkaline. Using the wrong setting can damage the batteries.

But as many have said, you may be better off with an intelligent charger like the LaCrosse or Powerex. Those allow you to choose the charge rate, and a slow charge rate is gentler on the batteries. I choose 200mAh unless I'm in a real hurry. Good chargers also allow you to charge batteries singly and not in pairs. See this post to see why that's important.

sdc100 wrote:They are referring to alkalines. Normal alkalines should not be recharged. The iGo comes with rechargeable alkalines, which were made to handle the trauma of recharging. As an aside, it's a dead technology since rechargeable alkalines are a B*TCH to maintain. That's why you'll only see them in closeout sales. The problem is that they need to be charged once 25%-50% discharged. Wait any longer, i.e. when they're empty, and you've irreparably damaged the batteries. The problem is that mos devices cannot tell you accurately when the batteries are 25%-50% discharged. Remote controls, flashlights, toys, etc don't tell you how much juice is left and many meters, like those in cameras, aren't very inaccurate.

In terms of these Duracells and all other NiMH batteries, they'll charge just fine in the iGo charger. Just MAKE SURE YOU SET IT TO NiMH and not alkaline. Using the wrong setting can damage the batteries.

But as many have said, you may be better off with an intelligent charger like the LaCrosse or Powerex. Those allow you to choose the charge rate, and a slow charge rate is gentler on the batteries. I choose 200mAh unless I'm in a real hurry. Good chargers also allow you to charge batteries singly and not in pairs. See this post to see why that's important.

The charger automatically does nimh or akaline apparently, no switch is there. It also charges each battery separately, and stops charging when they are full. Seems like it does almost all those things except being able to choose charge length.

I hope woot puts aa or aaa igo batteries(not alkaline) on here sometime soon, I'm slightly nervous having heard some brands of batteries have oozed when charged on my igogreen charger.

panthiest wrote:Wow... reading the comments it sounds like rechargeable batteries have come a long way from my box that took purple rechargeables and occasionally made the batteries burning hot.

In defense of my box though, it did fit any size

Yeah, my dad had one of those and he frequently charged D and C cells. Even 9V. In those days, people weren't warned against charging regular zinc carbon batteries, leading to many leaks and explosions.

The latest consumer rechargeable technology is Nickel-Zinc (NiZn). Unlike NiMH and NiCad batteries, which are rated for 1.2V, NiZn batteries are rated at 1.6V -- even higher than alkaline's 1.5V. They cost the same as NiMHs, and potentially last longer since it'll take longer for them to drop to an unusable voltage. Many photographers swear by them since their flashes recharge faster. Unfortunately, they self-discharge like regular NiMH batteries and they need their own type of charger.

tytaine wrote:The charger automatically does nimh or akaline apparently, no switch is there. It also charges each battery separately, and stops charging when they are full. Seems like it does almost all those things except being able to choose charge length.

I hope woot puts aa or aaa igo batteries(not alkaline) on here sometime soon, I'm slightly nervous having heard some brands of batteries have oozed when charged on my igogreen charger.

I don't know much about iGo chargers but avoid them if they merely rely on a timer to stop charging. That often results in over or undercharging because they rely on an average formula, i.e. Duracell determines that a 2000mAh AA cell will take 16 hrs to charge at 200mAh. The problem is that batteries are in different states of discharge when you charge them. Some may be 80% empty while others may be 92% empty, requiring different times to fully charge. The best chargers use ΔT and ΔV sensors (changes in temperature and voltage) to determine when a battery is charged, and then switch to a trickle mode.

cappo wrote:These Black and Deckers appear to be unregulated because I've already had two sets of normal batteries die in two different lights... dimmer... dimmer. But since they're LED, they don't start dimming until the batteries are pretty far gone, so I'm not sure if the NIMH would pull it off or not.

They're handy little flashlights, though. I use one every day when I don't want to bother turning on a lamp just to see where I put the remote or something.

I have 20+ LED flashlights and NiMH batteries work just fine in all of them. This includes Dollar Store LED flashlights.

cubbiemi wrote:So my question of the moment which is partially answered earlier, but I like confirming things, is will these work with the Kodak charger bundle Woot offered recently?

http://tech.woot.com/offers/kodak-smart-charger-bundle

I know the charger isn't super duper hi-tech like some of the others people have suggested, but there are budget limits sometimes.

I have yet to open my Kodak charger from Woot, but you can use any NiMH charger on these Duracells. LSD NiMH (i.e. Eneloops, Hybrids, ""pre-charged") batteries and regular NiMH batteries charge the same way. My biggest concern with the Kodak chargers is that they only charge batteries in pairs (2 or 4 at a time). See this post to see why it's better to monitor and charge batteries individually.

The Kodak charger also automatically switches over to a maintenance mode once fully charged. In other words, they automatically turn back on if they detect that the batteries have self-discharged too much. This is good for people who like to leave their batteries in the charger plugged in 24/7. I find that to be a waste of electricity, and may even shorten the life of the batteries. I take my batteries out once the charging is complete.

Also, the Woot deal came with two chargers. The regular charger outputs 310mA and takes 8 hrs to charge 2 2100mAh AAs (AAAs charge at 120mA). The RapidCharger outputs 2.2A and takes 2hrs to charge 2 2100mAh AAs. Unless you're in a hurry, always choose the slower method to prolong the life of the battery.

@friartek
@cappo
@cubbiemi
And ESPECIALLY @Woot

I just want to apologize for my earlier rant. I was taken by surprise and was having an upsetting morning already about something else, so I over-reacted.  I was completely, 100% wrong to blame Amazon and Woot - it's not your fault whatsoever - I'm sorry that I implied it was. This is totally the fault of the bass ackwards state of PA. I don't pay much attention to news, and although I have seen posts about online tax changes, I didnt realize how drastically it was going to affect me, or that it was going to affect me today. 

Woot, and anyone else that was offended by my post, I apologize for yelling and ranting - I wasn't being myself. I appreciate all that you guys did to try to prevent this. Again - I'm very sorry - please accept my deepest apologies. 
~Sharon

sdc100 wrote:19 years is more than long enough because 1) battery technology will change so I won't need these old batteries; 2) I'll lose the batteries; 3) I'll die. So do you really want to pay more for 500 addition charge cycles?

AA and AAA alkaline batteries have been around for a lot longer than 19 years, and they they show no sign of going away soon.

I have no argument against numbers two and three, though.

michaels1715 wrote:I WAS in for 3 - until I saw the tax on my order. Amazon and Woot, you have no idea how much business you just lost. Between the two of you I spent well into the 5 figure range last year. Not anymore. You'll be LUCKY to get 4 figures out of me now. Nope, I'm not interested in paying tax on items I have to wait to receive. It'll have to be one heck of a deal for me to buy on Amazon or Woot now. Thanks for making this change right before I renewed my Prime account, at least. Saved me from wasting $40 on free shipping with a company I will no longer (or rarely at best) buy from.

WHATEVER!!!!!

You should complain to your state government, since they are the ones charging you the tax.

When the vendor doesn't have a physical presence in a state the state usually can't force them to collect the tax, but you still owe it. You just can't easily cheat on your taxes the way you want to.

michaels1715 wrote:@friartek
@cappo
@cubbiemi
And ESPECIALLY @Woot

I just want to apologize for my earlier rant. I was taken by surprise and was having an upsetting morning already about something else, so I over-reacted.  I was completely, 100% wrong to blame Amazon and Woot - it's not your fault whatsoever - I'm sorry that I implied it was. This is totally the fault of the bass ackwards state of PA. I don't pay much attention to news, and although I have seen posts about online tax changes, I didnt realize how drastically it was going to affect me, or that it was going to affect me today. 

Woot, and anyone else that was offended by my post, I apologize for yelling and ranting - I wasn't being myself. I appreciate all that you guys did to try to prevent this. Again - I'm very sorry - please accept my deepest apologies. 
~Sharon

I must have missed much of this thread or the moderators must have deleted it because I didn't see anything so bad. Your frustration with sales tax is shared by many. Here are some thoughts:

1) You're apparently unaware of Woot's discount for those of us who pay sales tax (WA, TX and NY ... and now, PA?). If your total is more than $40, just use coupon code, "TAXSUCKS" to get a $5 discount. For totals of $60 or less, we taxpayers often end up paying less than those who don't pay sales tax. That's because the sales tax may be less than the $5 we're getting back, so we end up a dollar or so ahead. As you can see below, my NY sales tax came out to $3.99. Since Woot is giving me a $5 discount, I end up paying $1.01 less than Wooters who don't have to pay tax. Whoopee!

Three packs of these batteries exceed $40 so the coupon would work. USE IT!



2) I don't know why Woot is collecting sales tax in PA, but it may have nothing to do with having a physical presence. They have no presence in NY but we have been paying sales ta for over a year. And it has nothing to do with Woot or Amazon.

It's due to the so-called Amazon Tax Law, initiated by New York State. It's currently being debated in the courts but if NY prevails, many other states will follow NY's lead and force online businesses to be tax collectors for the state.

NY, especially New York City, has some of the highest rents and utilities in the us. That means NYC businesses have to set their prices higher. As a result, many NYers were going to NJ to shop -- and going online. That means NY is losing out on a lot of sales tax. Legislators then passed a law forcing Amazon to collect sales tax from all NY buyers, and hand the tax over to the state. Amazon is fighting this, claiming that NY has no right to make them an UNPAID tax collector. Why should Amazon have to devote part of their accounting dept to pay NY? After all all, they're not NY employees. Until the matter is settled by the courts, Amazon has decided to comply just in case they lose. Imagine the mess and losses if the courts force them to go back and retroactively pay NY.

So if you want to blame anyone, blame my great state of New York.

craigthom wrote:AA and AAA alkaline batteries have been around for a lot longer than 19 years, and they they show no sign of going away soon.

I have no argument against numbers two and three, though.

Yeah, but do you have the same batteries you had 19+ years ago? Alkaline battery capacity has increased at least once in the last 19 years and that was my point. Why keep these batteries if better ones come up? For example, I've replaced many of my NiCad batteries with NiMH batteries, and many of my regular NiMH batteries with LSD NiMHs. Even today's best LSD NiMH batteries can't match the stability of alkalines, which can hold a charge for up to 7 years. My guess is that higher capacities and even lower discharge rechargeable batteries will come along within 5 years.

sdc100 wrote:Those allow you to choose the charge rate, and a slow charge rate is gentler on the batteries. I choose 200mAh unless I'm in a real hurry.

That's what I thought, but I've been doing a lot of reading lately (I just bought a La Crosse charger and some Eneloops this week (how's that for timing?)) and there are those who say that the best charging current is at least half the battery rating.

The main reason is that smart chargers are more likely to notice when the battery is fully charged, so they don't get overcharged, especially with LSD batteries. Batteries could get hot when charged at too high a current, but no one reported that happening at 1000mA or lower.

Cheap chargers are the ones most likely to overcharge at higher rates because they charge based on time.

In summary, the majority opinion is that there is no advantage to a lower charging rate with a smart charger, and that a higher rate is less likely to miss that the battery is fully charged.

sdc100 wrote:Yeah, but do you have the same batteries you had 19+ years ago? Alkaline battery capacity has increased at least once in the last 19 years and that was my point. Why keep these batteries if better ones come up? For example, I've replaced many of my NiCad batteries with NiMH batteries, and many of my regular NiMH batteries with LSD NiMHs. Even today's best LSD NiMH batteries can't match the stability of alkalines, which can hold a charge for up to 7 years. My guess is that higher capacities and even lower discharge rechargeable batteries will come along within 5 years.

But you can still use the batteries you have today, and they will still perform just as well as they do now. There may be better ones in a few years, but that won't make these perform any worse, and they won't be obsolete.

I am not going to use the old purple NiCad batteries, but they never performed as well as these, and none of them are still good, anyway.

If these last a year in my remotes and flashlights I don't have a need to get something better for most applications. Maybe for photo flash, if they cycle faster and last longer, but that's it.

craigthom wrote:That's what I thought, but I've been doing a lot of reading lately (I just bought a La Crosse charger and some Eneloops this week (how's that for timing?)) and there are those who say that the best charging current is at least half the battery rating.

The main reason is that smart chargers are more likely to notice when the battery is fully charged, so they don't get overcharged, especially with LSD batteries. Batteries could get hot when charged at too high a current, but no one reported that happening at 1000mA or lower.

Cheap chargers just time the charge cycle, so it doesn't matter.

That's interesting. I have never heard that formula before. What exactly is the "battery rating"? Do you mean the capacity? Does that mean these 800mAh AAA batteries should be charged at 400mA? And the 2000mAh AA battery should be charged at 1000mA (the maximum for the LaCrosse)? It scares me to use the maximum setting on any device.

For what it's worth, the Duracell 2000mAh AA's label states that a "standard charge" is 200mA for 16 hours. I assume then that Duracell recommends 200mA by default.

If you want to see hot, get the notorious Duracell 15min charger. The batteries get so hot that there is a fan about 0.5" below the the batteries.

craigthom wrote:But you can still use the batteries you have today, and they will still perform just as well as they do now. There may be better ones in a few years, but that won't make these perform any worse, and they won't be obsolete.[...]
Maybe for photo flash, if they cycle faster and last longer, but that's it.

Actually, NiMH batteries deteriorate with each charge and over time so within a few years they won't meet their rated capacities. And after a decade or so of use, I doubt if their capacity will match your needs. The LaCrosse can extend their useful lifespans using the "renew" mode regularly. That's where the charger "cleans" the battery by repeatedly deep discharging/charging it until a maximum capacity is reached. The process usually takes 2-3 days.

But no amount of "renewing" will make me want to use a 10 year old battery.

As for photo flashes, see my post regarding NiZn batteries. Rated at 1.6V, many photographer praise them for quickly recycling the flash. Others warn that such quick recycling can damage the electronics.

Can these be recharged in solar powered items? Used at dark and recharged during day, in the solar device, not in power outlet charger.

sdc100 wrote:Yeah, my dad had one of those and he frequently charged D and C cells. Even 9V. In those days, people weren't warned against charging regular zinc carbon batteries, leading to many leaks and explosions.

The latest consumer rechargeable technology is Nickel-Zinc (NiZn). Unlike NiMH and NiCad batteries, which are rated for 1.2V, NiZn batteries are rated at 1.6V -- even higher than alkaline's 1.5V. They cost the same as NiMHs, and potentially last longer since it'll take longer for them to drop to an unusable voltage. Many photographers swear by them since their flashes recharge faster. Unfortunately, they self-discharge like regular NiMH batteries and they need their own type of charger.

Thanks for explaining all that