I fell for these last time (they were much cheaper then). They're good for computer mice, clocks, remotes, anything that's low drain. They are really not good for flashlights, etc. They're only good for a small number of charges and lose effectiveness with every charge. I figured for the price of 8 batteries plus the charger I couldn't go wrong but I would not buy these again. Get some Eneloops at Ammy or Costy. They last forever and have enough oomph for really high drain stuff like cameras.

Lotus8 wrote:In reality, these are almost 45% off than just 20%. That figure Woot uses for the 20% is compared to the 'base' configured set which only includes 4AA & 4AAA, with charger from the manufacturer website.

Woot's deal includes an extra 8AA. That retails alone for $12.99. So the same for same comparison would cost you 37.98, contrasted to 19.99 here.

These are $24 on the IGo web site - same exact thing. No great savings.

Do not buy, but instead support Al Kaline in his suit against the battery industry for never paying him a dime for the use of his name.

I wanted to know the mAh rating. Someone posted 2000mAh.

Bought an 8 pack a few months ago. Complete waste of money. They don't hold a charge long. I can take them straight off the charger and my camera will drain two of them within 5 pictures. Standard Duracell will last me hundreds of shots.

I'm utterly confused; what the heck are you guys using these batteries for that they drain fast and can't hold a charge?

I haven't had to recharge the set I bought off of Woot since I bought them. In fact, I had to go out and buy a second pack of batteries off of Amazon 'cause I ran out.

What was also neat was the fact that the charger pretty much gave a swift kick in the head to my 6 year old NiMH batteries and I was finally able to use them normally again (now those batteries couldn't hold a charge prior.)

What I would really love are more AAA's. I would've been all over this if the quantity was reversed (12 AAA & 4 AA).

I bought two of the 4 slot chargers + batteries last time they were on Woot. No complaints, just don't use them in high draw devices. They power a Wii Fit board, a couple of Wiimotes, and the wireless mouse and keyboard for the media PC in the living room - have to change them occasionally, but not often enough to bother me.

That being said, I also have three of the Kodak charges that came with rebranded first generation Eneloops - they do last significantly longer.

DrunkCat wrote:I'm utterly confused; what the heck are you guys using these batteries for that they drain fast and can't hold a charge?

I haven't had to recharge the set I bought off of Woot since I bought them. In fact, I had to go out and buy a second pack of batteries off of Amazon 'cause I ran out.

What was also neat was the fact that the charger pretty much gave a swift kick in the head to my 6 year old NiMH batteries and I was finally able to use them normally again (now those batteries couldn't hold a charge prior.)

What I would really love are more AAA's. I would've been all over this if the quantity was reversed (12 AAA & 4 AA).

What sorts of things do you use the batteries for? I ask because your post gives me hope. I bought these asap because I was afraid they would sell out since I have been looking for a pair of rechargeable batteries. I need them for game controllers, remotes, and a pair of wireless headphones. But after seeing everyone's post saying they don't hold a charge and that they leak I am starting to have some buyer's remorse...

DayWalkerSC400 wrote:What sorts of things do you use the batteries for? I ask because your post gives me hope. I bought these asap because I was afraid they would sell out since I have been looking for a pair of rechargeable batteries. I need them for game controllers, remotes, and a pair of wireless headphones. But after seeing everyone's post saying they don't hold a charge and that they leak I am starting to have some buyer's remorse...

Remotes mainly. I have a set of four in a shredder Woot offered up a long time ago in a non-aquisitioned land far far away. Also have 3 in a light puzzle (that at first I was worried I will lose my progress but the batteries have yet to die) Honestly I'd have to start opening up battery compartments to figure out where exactly they've ended up in.

Point is, these are alkaline's and you should treat 'em as such. Putting them in a halogen flashlight is probably not going to work out as well as putting them in an electric [noun] or remotes. Flip side is that since the charger does NiMH you still have a solution for your high-drain devices anyway (at least in terms of charging them and keeping them healthy.)

This charger isn't as sleek as the last one they offered though (as someone mentioned; dual-voltage and flip prongs), but it is higher capacity.

I like these. I bought two chargers that hold 4 AA's each a few months ago. I wish I could have just gotten one charger that holds 8 batteries, but I digress. I pretty much only use these to power my breast pump when I need to be mobile and not tethered to a wall outlet. They do lose their power pretty quickly, and before they die their power does significantly drop and render them pretty useless for what I use them for, but it's better than spending a ton on disposable batteries. I wouldn't recommend for high drain devices, but for stuff like remotes and wahtever they'd be great. Just be advised that they're just barely wider in diameter than standard AA's; I really have to mess with the bottom row of batteries to get everything fitting right which I don't have to do with the kirkland disposables that we usually use.

After reading through all the posts, honestly this doesn't seem like a bad deal. Maybe not the greatest deal but still a product that works, IF you use it correctly. So I'll test my luck and buy one.

I see that most people that had trouble with this either A. used them in high drain devices or B. are technology impaired and do stupid things like put regular non-rechargeable batteries in the charger. Yeah about that...

It helps if you use a product the way it's intended. Camera's, flashlights, etc you need NiMH batteries. And if it's not a rechargeable battery, don't try to charge it. Battery acid, explosion, NOT exactly safe.

/end.rant.

Samus wrote:You gotta be crazy to go with anything other than Eneloop rechargables...unless you like changing and charging your batteries a lot.

That's the only battery I carry now and use in all of my electronic devices.

These "Green" batteries 'Look' nice, but that's it.

quantamm wrote:Generally speaking, rechargeables, even with plenty of amp-hours, put out less volts. LED's have a minimum voltage that they must have to turn on, so its perfectly conceivable that a fully charged rechargeable might not be able to turn on an LED, while a half-charged throwaway battery would.

While this is somewhat true for cheap LED lights that depend on the sum voltage of 2 to 3 cells in series to be above the forward voltage of the LED(s), it is usually the case that not only a fully charged NiMH, but even a half discharged NiMH has a higher voltage than a half discharged alkaline.

See the following graph, alkaline falls below NiMH at roughly 2/5ths capacity used. Granted, alkaline fares a little better at very low discharge rates but since we don't know the lights discharge rates we can't assume that variable.




Basically this means that these types of lights are incredibly wasteful of batteries, achieving poor performance even if you don't mind frequently recharging cells.

DrunkCat wrote:I'm utterly confused; what the heck are you guys using these batteries for that they drain fast and can't hold a charge?

I haven't had to recharge the set I bought off of Woot since I bought them. In fact, I had to go out and buy a second pack of batteries off of Amazon 'cause I ran out.

The trend I usually see is that the top battery manufacturers have far better quality control policies and sort out poorly performing cells while off-brands send anything that isn't DOA off the factory line so while you get a lower cost per cell the # of cells that perform as expected is lower.

Then there's dubious ratings, no mention of within what time period after charging, and probably not the discharge rate either, needed to realize the stated capacity.

aojle wrote:
I like that it's a slow charge -- batteries are of no use to me when the charger has cooked them to death.

Charging of NiMH is what matters most to me. I like that this deal includes some AAA, not previously included. Not much impressed with rechargeable Alkaline batteries, they are what they are, they do work for a lot of applications though.

Slow chargers are what cook batteries more often because you have to charge above a certain rate to have reliable Delta -V detection to switch from a fast charge to trickle or terminated charge state.

With a slow charger you either:

A) Have to know what capacity remains through testing each cell, logging its performance over time, and testing that cell prior to every charge event so you know the remaining capacity and how much charging it needs to top it off, get out a calculator to calculate charge period per measured charger rate, and set an alarm to manually remove batteries after the correct period when they are fully charged, or

B) It has a fixed period timer so it may overcharge by the time it stops, or undercharge, or one time in a thousand charge to close to the right amount, keeping in mind that if all cells aren't equal real capacity then both undercharging and overcharging could happen for different cells in the charger simultaneously.

Generally speaking, NiMH needs to charge at a minimum rate of C/4 and better closer to C/2 for accurate charge termination detection. (C = capacity in mAH)

Well, I bought one charger with 8 AA's a while back, and they worked great in a portable guitar amp! So, next time they came up again, I bought (3)... and they're still working fine, in the amp (Vox Mini-3), as well as in various other household items (low drain). I'm not sure about the drain of the Vox Amp, but impressed that it runs for 6+ hours on 6 AA batteries. Now I have spares, but never had to swap them out yet. But, I've only had to "push" it a couple times. Usually I only need it to run a couple hours on battery. I'm with the DrunkCat (?) and would buy if it were 12 AAA and 4 AA... though the 8-battery charger would simplify things for me, if adding 16 batteries, a charger and cable is "simplification."

Edit: changed Vox DA-3 to Vox Mini-3. Also saw the Mini-3 spec says it runs up to 30 hours on batteries, so maybe the fact they run 6+ on these rechargeables is no big deal. Though, I have never had them die on me in the amp.

molex wrote:For what it's worth I bought several sets of the iGo batteries with charger last time it was on woot, and have regretted it since. The batteries don't hold a charge worth a crap and the charger blinks oddly, never lets you know when it's done charging, etc. More of a hassle than they're worth in my opinion.

Caveat: The ones I ordered didn't have the screen I see in the pictures for this unit, but honestly after seeing the crappy battery performance and ultra-cheap materials etc. of the ones I bought I see that screen and just think it's something else to break and not work well.

The charger stops blinking when the batteries are fully charged. Just plug it in and let it go.

kenr74 wrote:Bought an 8 pack a few months ago. Complete waste of money. They don't hold a charge long. I can take them straight off the charger and my camera will drain two of them within 5 pictures. Standard Duracell will last me hundreds of shots.

Lol Everybody is misusing these batteries. They are NOT meant for high power devices, (like a camera), but rather for things like remotes, wireless mice, etc. I've had a set for almost a year and they work perfectly in my Xbox 360 controllers.

I've been using these batteries in a number of digital-readout portable radios for some time. It must be that the different radios draw vastly differing amounts of power, because some sets of cells seem to last a very long time, while others need the set of 4 AA's to be switched out in a few days. So far, only one cell appears to have any sign of leakage (which is something I greatly fear, for a cell to leak while buried deep in an inaccessible part of the battery compartment) and, if that really was a leak, it wasn't an obvious fluid leak (like I've had with conventional alkalines in the past). I usually switch the cells when the radio's battery-power indicator shows anything less than full-charge, but sometimes the radio just suddenly goes dead before I notice and switch the AAs out.
What I'd really like to ask about, though, is the way they seem to charge to completion (that is, the LED on that spot in the charger will stop blinking) but, if I move that cell to a different slot in the charger, it will resume blinking, telling me it needs to continue charging. What I end up doing is charging a set of 4 until two or three change from blinking to steady, and then rearrange the batteries in the charger and all 4 slots resume blinking. It may take several days before all 4 batteries will stay steadily-lit in the charger slots, even after being moved around. Finally then I take them out and unplug the charger. Do you all experience the same thing? Is it really worth it to "top off" each cell's charge that way?

Qanuk wrote:One thing to keep in mind with these. They are rechargeable alkalines, not NiMH, so if you want to use them in high drain devices, you'll probably be disappointed. But stick 'em in your remotes, clocks, etc..., you should find that they are more than adequate. Plus the charger charges both alkalines and NiMH. And if you're anything like my household, you always have a dead set of rechargeables coming out of something.

They work well in my Xbox controllers

They work good in my Xbox controllers they don't get as good as non-chargeable batteries but it is a much cheaper rout when you game like I do. Just keep a couple extra charged to rotate wen you need to keep playin!

Ultra HOT Deals wrote:These are $24 on the IGo web site - same exact thing. No great savings.

Not true. That was my whole point, the $24 set on iGo is only 4AA &4AAA. Look closer, not the 'exact same thing' Woot is offering.

Will the AAs work with an mflb

wgmartin wrote:I've been using these batteries in a number of digital-readout portable radios for some time. It must be that the different radios draw vastly differing amounts of power, because some sets of cells seem to last a very long time, while others need the set of 4 AA's to be switched out in a few days. So far, only one cell appears to have any sign of leakage (which is something I greatly fear, for a cell to leak while buried deep in an inaccessible part of the battery compartment) and, if that really was a leak, it wasn't an obvious fluid leak (like I've had with conventional alkalines in the past). I usually switch the cells when the radio's battery-power indicator shows anything less than full-charge, but sometimes the radio just suddenly goes dead before I notice and switch the AAs out.
What I'd really like to ask about, though, is the way they seem to charge to completion (that is, the LED on that spot in the charger will stop blinking) but, if I move that cell to a different slot in the charger, it will resume blinking, telling me it needs to continue charging. What I end up doing is charging a set of 4 until two or three change from blinking to steady, and then rearrange the batteries in the charger and all 4 slots resume blinking. It may take several days before all 4 batteries will stay steadily-lit in the charger slots, even after being moved around. Finally then I take them out and unplug the charger. Do you all experience the same thing? Is it really worth it to "top off" each cell's charge that way?

Yes. I experience this same thing with the varying power, drains, charging faults, and 2 leaked batteries so far. I am just counting the days for the others to leak. I am using the AAA batteries in headphones. The headphones are on for at least 12 hours a day everyday. I have been able to track the decline of these batteries over the last few months. They start out GREAT, but gradually are dying. I was able to use one battery for headphones for 2 days in the beginning and now only get 6 hours out of them if I'm lucky.

BrokeDave wrote:Slow chargers are what cook batteries more often because you have to charge above a certain rate to have reliable Delta -V detection to switch from a fast charge to trickle or terminated charge state.

With a slow charger you either:

A) Have to know what capacity remains through testing each cell, logging its performance over time, and testing that cell prior to every charge event so you know the remaining capacity and how much charging it needs to top it off, get out a calculator to calculate charge period per measured charger rate, and set an alarm to manually remove batteries after the correct period when they are fully charged, or

B) It has a fixed period timer so it may overcharge by the time it stops, or undercharge, or one time in a thousand charge to close to the right amount, keeping in mind that if all cells aren't equal real capacity then both undercharging and overcharging could happen for different cells in the charger simultaneously.

Generally speaking, NiMH needs to charge at a minimum rate of C/4 and better closer to C/2 for accurate charge termination detection. (C = capacity in mAH)

If it's a really slow charge then it isn't likely to generate enough heat to do damage even when the cells are full. It's better to have a slow dumb charger than a fast dumb charger. You'll still have all the other problems, but overheating probably won't be one of them.

I've got a La Crosse smart charger and wonder why I bothered with a cheap charger before. It won't get up to C/2 for AA batteries, but it makes it up to about C/3, and I always run it that way.

It has given new life to some regular NiMH batteries I got on Woot! a while ago. Those last many weeks in a screw driver I use daily, but lately they've haven't been lasting as long. As it turns out one of the four was causing the problem, and the La Crosse charger was able to massage it back into shape.

Recent and all future battery purchases will be Eneloops unless I see a great price on other LSD batteries (or a great price on regular NiMH batteries).

This is a good price. I have quite a few of the iGo rechargeables, and they work great in various remotes and game controllers. I would pick this up if I needed them.

I really only care about the charger in this pack. Does anyone have any experience with it? I have plenty of rechargeables already, but don't want to drop the money on the lacrosse charger since I would get 16 more batteries this way. I know it's not as technical or detailed as the lacrosse, but will this one suffice for charging 1 cell at a time or reviving older deader batteries?

Also, it is the same exact package as is available for 25$ from the iGo website (22$ from Amazon), plus 8 more AA batteries, which adds another 12$ (per Amazon with shipping) worth of batteries.

Hey, I could use these in my Walkman!

kenr74 wrote:Bought an 8 pack a few months ago. Complete waste of money. They don't hold a charge long. I can take them straight off the charger and my camera will drain two of them within 5 pictures. Standard Duracell will last me hundreds of shots.

If you look in the users guide for the camera, it undoubtedly says "use lithium-ion cells."

High powered devices like cameras drain rechargeable cells and alkaline cells very quickly. Lithium-ion cells have been developed for their purposes.

Try not to leave them in charger maybe its discharging them.

acrazygerman wrote:I got one of these on woot before. The batteries if not constantly in the charger plugged in seem to rapidly lose their charge. I'll charge all the batteries to full, un plug it, go to use the batteries a few days later to find them significantly drained without being used.

The unique thing about these batteries is that they give 1.5 volts when fully charged (as opposed to 1.2 Volts for NiCd or NiMh.) Sure they may not last as long as NiMh, but if you need 1.5 volts, then these are the only rechargeables I know of that do the trick.

All the other stories on here about low performance probably is just due to misunderstanding this unique "feature."

danbooke2001 wrote:Most LED candles I have bought specifically state not to use rechargeable batteries.

But how does it know?!

BrokeDave wrote:Slow chargers are what cook batteries more often because you have to charge above a certain rate to have reliable Delta -V detection to switch from a fast charge to trickle or terminated charge state.
...................

Well with a quality charger like a maha mhc401fs, it won't overcharge any NiMH battery. It holds 4 slots and each slot has a seperate charging circuit and it has both a fast(~2.5hrs) and slow charging (~9hrs)mode.
If a battery is barely discharged at all and it's set for slow it'll stop charging within an hour but if nearly fully discharged it'll be on all night.
It probably detects resistance of the battery and figures out the charge level as it goes.

This one is at Sams club for $28.88. Is this a better deal (charger and batteries?)- I can't find a decent review regarding this charger.

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/energizer-rechargeable-batteries-charger/161085.ip

I've got several of these and haven't had any issues. I don't know exactly what people are doing to make them leak and explode. But I've had these batteries and chargers for nearly a year and no problems (knock on wood).

I agree with the comments about using them in low drain devices. But who doesn't have a million remotes and clocks and stuff? I know I do. And so I love these batteries for these devices. They may not last forever, but even if you have to swap these out of a remote every two or three months, is that a big deal? Especially when you just throw a couple more in then charge. I like that it keeps other batteries out of the landfill. Well, we recycle them, but still...

I bought these last go around too, haven't had any problems and I'm very happy with both the charger and the batteries included. I put them in our TV remotes, the Wii remote (lasts long enough, easy to change), an electric razor, etc. All work great.

It is important to take the batteries out of the charger once they are charged, to wait to be used. Otherwise the charge will drain right back out of them, kind of like a cell phone plugged into a cord that isn't plugged into the wall--same thing will happen.

The only thing that is a little hard to read is the lights, which are confusing, but this one has a screen which I think is great. If I needed more batteries I would get this, but I don't so I'll restrain myself.

gak0090 wrote:This one is at Sams club for $28.88. Is this a better deal (charger and batteries?)

16 batteries + charger for $20 seems a better deal than 12 batteries + charger for $29.
I like more for less

DSuds wrote:16 batteries + charger for $20 seems a better deal than 12 batteries + charger for $29.
I like more for less

The one has alkaline batteries vs nickel metal hydride batteries- based on the comments it seems nickel metal hydride is better. Sometimes less is more.

My 3 came with the mail this afternoon. Wow, that's a lot of batteries.

The charger runs off a 16 volt wall supply, 350 mA. Have to sit down and do some math, but think it should run off a 5 watt solar panel.

I put 24 NiMH batteries in, that haven't been seeing much use, since switching to the IGO batteries earlier this year. The LCD is your basic animated bar graph, one for each channel. They flash, and show how full the charge is, stop flashing when done.

I just got my delivery but each charger came with 4AA and 4AAA, not the 12 AA and 4 AAA that were advertised. I'm filing a report with Woot but their shipping quality control leaves something to be desired no matter what you think of this charger/battery package.