# Rechargable batteries for low-drain devices

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rechargable-batteries-for-low-drain-devices/277281>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 30, 2004, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rechargable-batteries-for-low-drain-devices/277281 "2004-11-30T04:18:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rechargable-batteries-for-low-drain-devices/277281/1 "2004-11-30T04:18:20Z")

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My wife and I own two PDAs, several TV remotes, and other low-drain devices that use AA and AAA batteries. For the past couple of years we have been using Rayovac Rechargable Alkalines (formerly known as Renewal). They have worked well, providing a good balance of price, reliability, and long life. However, the local Walmart and Walgreens stores have stopped carrying them. Rayovac no longer has an information section for them on their website. It is possible that the line has been discontinued. They do have NiMH batteries which will work with the same charger, but according to their own [FAQ](http://www.rayovac.com/products/recharge/nimh_faqs.shtml#Q17) these are not as well-suited to our needs.

> [@](#):
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> For low-drain devices, such as pagers, handheld calculators, remote controls and flashlights, Rayovac Rechargeable Alkaline is the best choice.

I’ve emailed to see if they are still available. If not, what would be a good replacement?

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**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rechargable-batteries-for-low-drain-devices/277281/2 "2004-11-30T05:38:04Z")

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Nimh’ll be fine for the PDA. They’d get annoying for the t.v remotes however. Nimh’s hold alot of power, but will naturally discharge over time. About a week or so. While this is fine for your PDA its not very convienent for your T.v remote. Just put some regular alkalines into the T.v. remote and nimhs for the PDA.

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**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rechargable-batteries-for-low-drain-devices/277281/3 "2004-11-30T17:28:46Z")

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Yeah, I have the same charger/battery combo (Rayovac) and they’re starting to disapear around here.

The best replacement is no-name Alkaline batteries. I generally buy large packs (20 battery packs) for ~$8 CAN. They last a LONG time.

And Alkalines do not drain on the shelf (they have a super-long shelf life).

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**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rechargable-batteries-for-low-drain-devices/277281/4 "2004-12-02T18:31:46Z")

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I just received a reply from Rayovac. They have indeed discontinued rechargable alkalines and now recommend using regular alkalines for low-drain devices.

Thanks for the input. We will switch to NiMH for our PDAs and non-rechargables for remotes.

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**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rechargable-batteries-for-low-drain-devices/277281/5 "2004-12-02T20:50:21Z")

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Regular alkalines – even cheap ones – can last years and years in a tv remote. When the batteries seem “dead” simply take them out, tap them against a hard surface and replace them in the remote with the polarities reversed from the way they were in before (put them in the device properly but swap the location of the 2 batteries. If Bat A was pointing -+ and Bat B was pointing ±, put B in the -+ position and vice versa.) You cannot repeat this procedure indefinitely but you can do it many, many times.