Question: Where Can I Find Affordable Rechargeable Batteries Online?

[Orion1]

What are the best and most cost effective rechargeable 'AA' and 'D' batteries on the internet in the United States?

 

[faust9]

What is the best most cost effective vehicle sold in the world today? There is no such thing as the best in engineering. What you do is take your needs look and at your financial situation. You then determine the solution that fits your pocket book and gets you as close to your needs as possible. NiCad, NiMH, LiIon, lead acid, alkaline there are rechargeable batteries at different cost levels but they all have different performance levels. You need to figure out your own cost/benefit point and use that as your basis.

Sorry I can't tell you which battery to buy.

 

[Orion1]

Critical Criterion...

NiCad, NiMH, LiIon, lead acid, alkaline

ok, which rechargeable battery class is the least likely to 'explode' during recharging?

 

[Pengwuino]

uhmm... lead acid lol.

Simply because I've never heard of any of the others EVER exploding with commercially available non-customized packs. (I know of Lithium-Ion and Lithium-Polymer exploding but they were custom packs using crude recharging methods.)

Rechargable batteries are awesome. I use these radioshack 15 min. recharge batteries for my mouse. Sure they're like $4 a battery compared to $.50-$1 for the regular alkeline ones but I've used these batteries for a good year (whereas the normal batteries would run out every 2 weeks on my mouse... its cordless by the way).

Lithium batteries are good because they hold a lot more power for their weight although they are more expensive (Radio controlled vehicle enthusiasts like them because of the high capacity/weight ratio).

NiMH are great because they are cheap compared to lithium and are rechargable. Ni-CD aren't really worth it. They are SLIGHTLY cheaper but NiMH have a better capacity and don't have this "memory" problem Ni-CD supposedly have.

 

[Orion1]

Battery Critical...

Attempting to recharge non-rechargeable batteries may lead to a battery explosion. Additionally, one must be careful to recharge a rechargeable battery before it is completely discharged, or reverse charging may occur.

'battery explosion':
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_explosion#Battery_explosion

Under extreme conditions, certain types of batteries can explode violently.

With car batteries, explosions are most likely to occur when a short circuit generates currents of very high magnitude. A short circuit malfunction in a battery placed in parallel with other batteries ("jumped") can cause its neighbour to discharge its maximum current into the faulty cell, leading to overheating and possible explosion.

When a non-rechargeable battery is recharged at a high rate, an explosive gas mixture of hydrogen and oxygen may be produced faster than it can escape from within the walls of the battery, leading to pressure build-up and a possible explosion. In extreme cases, the battery acid may spray violently from the casing of the battery and cause injury.

Overcharging, which is charging a battery beyond its electrical capacity, can also lead to a battery explosion, leakage, or irreversible damage to the battery. It may also cause damage to the charger or device in which the overcharged battery is later used.

'reverse charging':
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_charging

Reverse charging is when a rechargeable battery is recharged with its polarity (plus/minus) reversed. While reverse charging can occur when a user mistakenly inserts the battery incorrectly into a charger, it is most commonly caused when multiple batteries are used in series in a device. When one battery completely discharges ahead of the other, the other batteries in series may force the battery to discharge to below zero. Reverse charging may lead to explosion, leakage, or at best damage the battery and/or the device or charger.

according to Wikipedia, order of improving energy per weight ratios :
Gel battery
Lead-acid battery
Nickel-cadmium battery
Nickel metal hydride battery
Lithium ion battery
Lithium polymer battery

Because of the denser packaging without the holes between cylindrical cells and the lack of metal casing, the energy density of Li-Poly batteries is over 20% higher than that of a classical Li-Ion battery and approximately three times better than NiCd and NiMH batteries.

A Nickel metal hydride (or NiMH); battery is a type of rechargeable battery similar to a (NiCad) battery but without the expensive and environmentally unfriendly metal cadmium. This is why they are sometimes called the most environmentally friendly battery type. NiMH batteries tend to have a higher capacity than NiCads and suffer far less from the memory effect. However, when compared with lithium ion batteries they have a lower energy density and a higher self-discharge rate.

Well, it appears that Lipoly appears to be the winner with the highest energy per weight ratio and the most cost effective and environmentally friendly battery.

Can anyone recommend a Lipoly 'AA' or 'D' industrial name brand?

Which industrial name brand produces the most reliable Lipoly battery?

Some name brands:
Accupower (NiMH 2600 mAh AA, 8500 mAh D)
Ansmann (NiMH 2600 mAh AA, 8000 mAh D)
Chateau (NiMH 2200 mAh AA)
China (NiMH 9000 mAh D)
CTA (NiMH 12000 mAh D)
Delkin (NiMH 2500 mAh AA)
Energizer (NiMH 2500 mAh AA, D)
Gold Peak (NiMH 2000 mAh AA, 4500 mAh D)
IPowerUS (NiMH 2500 mAh AA)
Kodak (NiMH 2100 mAh AA)
Lenmar (NiMH 2500mAh AA, 10000 mAh D)
Merkury (NiMH 2500 mAh AA, 25600 mAh D)
Nexcell (NiMH 2200 mAh AA, 8500 mAh D)
Panasonic (NiMH 1950 mAh AA, 3000 mAh D)
Powerex (NiMH 2500mAh AA, 11000 mAh D)
Powerizer (NiMH 2300 mAh AA, 10000 mAh D)
Quest (NiMH 2100 mAH AA)
Radio Shack (NiMH 2000 mAh I-C^3 AA, 4500 mAh D)
Sanyo (NiMH 1850mAh AA, 7000 mAh D)
Supreme Power (NiMH 2100 mAh AA)
Sony (NiMH 2300 AA)
Ultralast (NiMH 2600 mAh AA, 3000 mAh D)
Reference:
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/l/li/lithium_polymer_cell.htm
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/n/ni/nickel_metal_hydride.htm

 

[Pengwuino]

I would think Lipoly is the winner. As long as your not negligent and use within recommended tolerances, its a great battery.

 

[metroplex]

www.craytonelectronics.com

AAA NiMH for $0.69/ea
AA NiMH (2.3 AH) for about $1.50/ea or less in bulk.
Use the coupon code "MUNI" for free shipping.

The site looks poorly made but I've ordered from them before and a lot of people at work have ordered from them as well (without any problems).