AAA Rechargeable Batteries

[seekermeister]

I need to get some new batteries for my headphones, and since the last ones that I bought died prematurely (Eveready) I'm looking at some fairly non-descript brands. Most of the batteries that I have are 15 minute rechargeables, but that really isn't necessary for the headphones, since they have their own recharging cradle and spend a lot of time on it.

Therefore, I'm looking more at the mAh ratings, which is fairly simple (the best that I have found is 1800mAh), but some of them have cryptic suffixes to their listing such as Cell 0, P1, BU, M1 and the list goes on. Do these have any real significance?

 

[Britton30]

I think those suffixes are brand specific to confuse people.:sarc: Or a part number to differentiate, Alakline, NiCAD, Lithium, etc.

1800mAH is about the best you'll get with AAA batteries.

 

[Zepher]

Buy a set of Sanyo Eneloops. Best rechargeable batteries you can buy.
Amazon.com: SANYO NEW 1500 eneloop 4 Pack AAA Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries: Electronics

How long to normal Alkaline batteries last in those headphones?

 

[seekermeister]

Buy a set of Sanyo Eneloops. Best rechargeable batteries you can buy.
Amazon.com: SANYO NEW 1500 eneloop 4 Pack AAA Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries: Electronics

How long to normal Alkaline batteries last in those headphones?

I didn't see the specs in that ad, but all of the Eneloop batteries that I have found previously are only 800mAh.

The original batteries usually lasted ~24 hours on a single charge, and their lifetime was perhaps a couple of years. The Eveready bunny must have gotten sick on my last batch of batteries. The pair that I put in one headphone is already dead after a few months, and the other pair only last 2-3 hours on a charge.

EDIT: I misread your question, I have no idea of how long normal alkaline batteries would last, I have never tried them.

 

[seekermeister]

Something else that seems curious, is that as might be expected, all of those generic batteries comes in a variety of colors, but the ads make a point of stating the colors, even though each ad already has a photo of them. Apparently, they must think that most people are color blind, or they want to leave the impression that the color makes a difference.

 

[carwiz]

I've got the Sony 970R headphones with the stock batteries. I only put it on the cradle to charge about once a week. I haven't had them long enough to form an opinion on the batteries but the cradle charges for 16 hours then shuts off. This occurs no matter the charge state of the batteries so using the headphones for a few hours and recharging could lead to premature battery failure. "They" say the charge current is low but mine gets noticeably warm over the 16-hour charge. I haven't timed the use but it must be at least 24-30hrs a week and they've never died in use so I keep to the weekly charge cycle.

 

[Britton30]

The MiMH batteries are the most tolerant of being charged all the time. NiCADs will develop a "memory" and run down before needed if charged all the time.
Unless you run them dead every day, it would be better to charge them on some schedule, say, every 3-4 days. I have a Logitech remote with 2 rechargeable NiMH AA's and I charge it once a month. It is always on a bit.

 

[A Guy]

The Sanyo Eneloop are very good, and hold their charge a long time when not used, which is a major advantage if they sit until needed. The AA are rated at 2000mAh, but the AAA are 800mAh as you stated. But, they do have a great number of recharging cycles. I'd think the cheaper ones might have a higher mAh rating, so would last longer between charges, but the question is how many charge cycles they have.

Basically, I use the Sanyo Eneloops in my digital camera I use for work. They last a long time, and will have many charge cycles (these are AA). But if the price of the generics is low enough, I'd think they would be worth it. I just know the Sanyo Eneloops are very highly rated. I did some research when looking for mine.

Sanyo Eneloop Batteries Power Pack Flashlight Reviews

A Guy

 

[seekermeister]

I wish that the charging could be turned off and on at the cradles, but it can't. the cradles are part of the transmitters of the Sennheiser RS 140 systems, which I have wall mounted, and serve nicely for a place to keep them hung without having them laying around this place and that. I do understand the idea of charging cycles, but since the original batteries held up well to this practice, I would think that others would also.

EDIT: Hmm. Maybe I need to devise a means of keeping the charging surfaces from coming into contact with each other, until they need charging. Not sure how I would do that, but it shouldn't be too difficult.

 

[Britton30]

Here's an Idea, next to the charger install an attractive hook to hang them on until you charge them.

 

[pebbly]

The MiMH batteries are the most tolerant of being charged all the time. NiCADs will develop a "memory" and run down before needed if charged all the time.
Unless you run them dead every day, it would be better to charge them on some schedule, say, every 3-4 days. I have a Logitech remote with 2 rechargeable NiMH AA's and I charge it once a month. It is always on a bit.

Some people think that NiCad batteries should be completely discharged now and then to prevent loss of capacity via the "memory" effect. This is not the case. To explain why, I'll discuss "memory", and what you can do to avoid it.
Most people think NiCad "memory" comes from recharging your batteries after only partial discharge. The folk lore is that the battery somehow "remembers" the smaller capacity that was used, and only allows you to use this capacity in the future. This is rubbish. This effect has never been documented in any consumer system, in certainly not in bike lights.
However people in the battery industry use the term "memory" to apply to another phenomena that NiCad batteries do exhibit, which is more properly called voltage depression. Voltage depression is caused by overcharging NiCad cells at a slow rate (typically, the rate given by cheap AC/DC converters provided as chargers by light manufacturers). Once the battery is charged, the additional energy being added to the battery is converted into heat, and the heat changes the crystal structure of nickle and cadmium alloys, producing a different kind of crystal that produces less voltage than the desired crystal structure. When the battery is then discharged, the presence of the bad crystals means that they voltage of the battery is lower than it ought to be. The result is a somewhat dimmer, more yellow light, where before they were whiter and brighter.
Please note that voltage depression only results from overcharging your battery at a low rate. If you overcharging your battery at a high rate, you will do irreparable damage to the battery.
There are two ways to avoid "memory". (I must admit that I hate the term memory as applied to voltage depression, because it has nothing to do with what most people think of a NiCad "memory", and because the battery isn't "remembering" anything, it has just been overcharged.) The best way to avoid it is to get a charger that doesn't overcharge the battery, namely a smart charger that switches to a very low current when it detects that the battery is full. See here for more info on smart chargers. Halogen-Bulb High-Powered Bike Lights

 

[seekermeister]

Pebbly,

That is an interesting explanation, but it brings to mind my earlier days in aviation, in that it was necessary to periodically deep cycle the batteries on aircraft with Ni-Cad batteries, to prevent memory issues. The aircraft batteries were not being overcharged, and the system that regulated charging was not in any way "cheap". Therefore, I'm wondering about what the source of your perspective is, or if you can document it?

 

[Joan Archer]

I've only got AA rechargeable which I use in my camera. They are Energizer ones and the charger is the same make, it takes about 15 minutes to charge, there is a red light when you first start to charge which turns to green when the batteries are charged. The charger takes AA and AAA. Trouble is I don't use the camera enough so you can bet each time I want to use it I've got to charge the batteries before I can.

The only headphones I have don't need batteries they were cheap ones and just plug into the computers front jacks.

 

[pebbly]

Pebbly,

That is an interesting explanation, but it brings to mind my earlier days in aviation, in that it was necessary to periodically deep cycle the batteries on aircraft with Ni-Cad batteries, to prevent memory issues. The aircraft batteries were not being overcharged, and the system that regulated charging was not in any way "cheap". Therefore, I'm wondering about what the source of your perspective is, or if you can document it?

Here you go seekermeister Halogen-Bulb High-Powered Bike Lights

 

[seekermeister]

Myra and Simon's personal website? I have no idea of who either of these people are, or how qualified that they may be on the subject. Do you have an academic or technical source...one that is not simply promoting a product that they are affiliated with?

 

[pebbly]

Myra and Simon's personal website? I have no idea of who either of these people are, or how qualified that they may be on the subject. Do you have an academic or technical source...one that is not simply promoting a product that they are affiliated with?

I only found the info by searching Google but reading the credits for the NiCad info it takes you to the original author Sci.Electronics FAQ: NiCd Battery FAQ hope that helps to provide more info

 

[Shadowjk]

Extend battery life: Conserve battery power on laptops, notebooks, and netbooks

This is from microsoft about Laptop Batteries Just incase it helps

 

[seekermeister]

Myra and Simon's personal website? I have no idea of who either of these people are, or how qualified that they may be on the subject. Do you have an academic or technical source...one that is not simply promoting a product that they are affiliated with?

I only found the info by searching Google but reading the credits for the NiCad info it takes you to the original author Sci.Electronics FAQ: NiCd Battery FAQ hope that helps to provide more info

Thanks for the link, but I've read it and am still trying to absorb it, yet I found nothing that seems to support Myra and Simon's perspective in it:

Sci.Electronics FAQ: NiCd Battery FAQ

The author appears to be qualified on the subject, but his manner of explanation doesn't seem to quite match that of M and S.

 

[pebbly]

I think they are both saying the same thing , The Sci.Electronics team use of technical jargon can be quite off putting but it still does not give any tangible evidence that can be stated as fact

 

[seekermeister]

It is obvious that we are reading it quite differently. While it doesn't clearly support battery memory, it doesn't dispute it either.