I don’t know if its just me, but I’ve never used a rechargeable AA battery that I felt lasted anywhere near as long as a regular alkaline battery. I use them for a portable CD player (I like the nostalgia factor).
Anyway, does anyone make good ones?
Eneloop batteries are considered by many people to be the best.
Be careful about buying “Eneloop Pro” batteries. They are not rated for as many recharge cycles as the amateur batteries and are ever-so-slightly bigger so they may not fit in some devices.
I’ve been using eneloops for a number of years and I’m very happy with them. However I’ve never actually tested them to see if a single charge lasts as long as a non-rechargeable battery, which seems to be what the OP is concerned about.
Are eneloops the same thing as those ikea rechargeables or are they totally different brands?
I don’t know, but the internet seems to think they are relabeled Eneloop Pros.
Are Ikea’s $7 Rechargeable Batteries Actually Pricey Eneloop Pro AAs in Disguise?
IIRC if you find “precharged” AAs which are made in Japan regardless of the brand, they’re very likely to be made by Panasonic and are literally Eneloops in a Duracell or Energizer wrapper.
If they’re made in China then who knows the manufacturer. I’ve always had good luck with Japanese made cells.
How long they last compared to alkalines really depends on what you’re using them for. Alkaline AAs notionally have about 2800 mAh capacity while low self-discharge NiMH AAs have 2000-2100 mAh. But- alkalines only deliver that full capacity if you subject them to very low current draw. If you put them under heavier load-say, powering motors or incandescent lights- their voltage sags and you may only get 800 mAh out of them before they run flat. Nickel rechargeables handle higher current draw a lot better, with less voltage sag and lower capacity loss. That’s also why for the most part using “1.2 volt” rechargeables works fine in devices made for “1.5 volt” alkalines.
One thing you’re going to want to get is a Low Self Discharge (LSD) Nickel metal hydride rechargeable battery. Or an NiMH LSD battery if you want the acronyms. Panasonic Eneloops are this kind.
Basically older nickel cadmium ones had lower capacity and self-discharged like crazy (lose their charge while stored), but they were rugged, and easy to charge. Nickel Metal Hydride ones have higher capacity, but are finickier to charge, and self-discharge like crazy as well- something like 10% in the first 24 hrs after the first charge, and 10% per month after that.
LSD NiMH batteries don’t self-discharge nearly so fast- it’s on the order of 15% per YEAR. So they’re actually useful in applications that don’t involve charging and then immediate use.
I’m guessing part of your issue might have been that you had some of the older high self discharge batteries that had sat for a while, and had lower charges as a result.
A LiPo battery will last longer than an alkaline battery, but you have to manage the charge carefully.
I wouldn’t trust those things as far as I could throw them. Dodgy Chinesium like that is a good way to inadvertently set things on fire. Lithium rechargeable chemistries (lithium ion/lithium ion poly/liFe) all have cell voltages in the 3.2-3.7 volt range. Those lithium Energizers you see at the store are 1.8 volt lithium iron disulfide and are non-rechargeable.
Those supposed LiPo AAs look like nothing but bad things waiting to happen.
I’m not sure it even makes sense to expect a rechargeable battery that you can use for hundreds of recharge cycles to last as long between charges as a non-rechargeable battery lasts in its entire one-and-done lifetime.
That said, I’ve got Eneloop AA and AAA batteries in various gizmos all around the house, and when the batteries in one of those gizmos need recharging, I can never remember when the last time was that I replaced them.
A 2S LiPo battery will always have a nominal 3.7 voltage, but those “cells” are three times the size of an AA.
I looked into the ones you linked, and apparently the “cell” housing incorporates a small “buck” DC-DC converter to step the 3.7 VDC down to a nominal 1.5 VDC.
That seems like a lot of unnecessary effort.