5/18    I'm looking for a good rechargeable AA battery system. What do you guys
        use? I'm thinking of getting a bunch of AA NiMH and a really good
        charger that can do a full drain/recharge cycle to reduce memory
        effect as well as battery tender since NiMH seems to lose 10% charge
        per week, or AA Li-Ion with normal chargers. What do you guys think?
        \_ http://www.steves-digicams.com/nimh_batteries.html
        \_ http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=79302
           The candlepower guys are scary about batteries.  It's pretty
           strange how much variance there is between simalarly rated
           batteries, both in prefered load and total wattage.
        \_ I wouldn't bother with "regular" NiMH, unless your usage
           pattern is "charge, use aggressively within a week,
           repeat."  The obvious choice for the low-self-discharge
           type is the Sanyo Eneloop, but I've had success with
           cheaper Hybrio stuff (batteryjunction.com).  I hear the new
           MAHA Imedion are very good, too.  As for the charger, I own
           two MAHA C401FS as well as a MAHA C9000.  I think C9000 is
           a neat toy and useful at times, but most of the time, I
           stick to C401FS.  I hear LaCrosse charger is fine, too, as
           long as you avoid the earlier revision.
           \_ How's the usability for MAHA? I've heard a lot of bad
              things, like having to input 48 keystrokes to charge
              4 batteries properly. LAME.
              \_ Yeah, it takes fair amount of key presses to make it do
                 interesting stuff, but I don't find it annoying at all.
           \_ I recently got a LaCrosse charger, and love it.
           \_ Eneloops are awesome, now you can use rechargables electronics
              that don't need new batteries every month.
              \_ How are Eneloops different from other NiMH rechargable
                 batteris?  I bought the Eneloop package from Costco
                 (AA and AAA batteries and charger in blue plastic case), and
                 I'm using it just like the other rechargable batteries
                 (e.g. Panasonic NiMH) that I have.  I haven't been paying
                 attention at its performance.
                 \_ Regular rechargables lose charge very quickly even if
                    they aren't used.  (Like within a month.)  It makes
                    them pretty much useless for electronics that don't
                    get regular use (or have a low power draw).  Eneloops
                    on the other hand keep their charge for years.  Also
                    they seem to last longer under high draw usage than cheap
                    rechargables do, even ones rated the same mah or higher.
        \_ I don't use rechargeable. Alkalines are pretty cheap nowadays
           and they last 2-3X as long. Besides, 1.5V >> 1.2V. This whole
           1.2V thing really renders rechargeable useful for only a short
           amount of time before they drop to unusable voltage.
           \_ Alkalines drop to 1.2V very quickly.  Rechargables stay at or
              above 1.2V just as long as alkalines.
              \_ doubtful. I get about 30 flashes with a brand new NiMH
                 rated at 2200mA, whereas I get over 100 flashes with
                 alkaline. As a photographer, I can't afford to have to
                 switch batteries all the time, or an extra clunky 12V
                 NiMH pack at 5-8 pounds on my belt.
                 \_ http://batteryboulevard.com/alkaline-aa-15-volt-vs-nimh-aa-12-volt-smackdown
                    Also it really depends on the NiMH batteries you use.
                    \_ Again, whatever people say is still FULL OF SHIT
                       unless they provide an exact voltage/amp chart
                       of different appliances in respect to time. What is
                       the curve, drop off point, etc. You can't just say
                       X is better than Y or vice versa without knowing
                       exactly what the driving appliance is, and what the
                       useful voltage for that appliance is, and what the
                       chart looks like. Full of shit. Aspolito you're full
                       of shit as expected. Try again.
                       \_ Oh aren't you a cranky little pissant.  There are
                          plenty of battery geeks who have done voltage over
                          time charts that support me.  I frankly don't give
                          enough of a shit to hunt down the data for some
                          asshole.  Fuck it.  Keep using non rechargable
                          batteries.  It's not like they aren't a major
                          source of environmental damage and toxic landfill
                          waste.
                          \_ Ok I lied.  I do give enough of a shit.
                             http://www.powerstream.com/AA-tests.htm
                             \_ Cool link, and thanks for trolling, and
                                you're a fucking loser.
                                \_ People with any social skills apologize
                                   when they attack someone and are proven
                                   wrong.  You may want try it someday.
                                   \_ dude, you're STUPID
                                      \_ Are you saying he's stupid because
                                         he's still conversing with a dick?
                                         \_ you got trolled             !op
                                          \_ Trolls are still dicks.
                             \_ Thanks for the link.  It seems that NiMH
                                is superior to all but Lithium?  I guess
                                the Energizer Lithium is not rechargeable?
                                -jrleek
                                \_ Lithium batteries do bad things when
                                   recharged poorly.  Explosivly bad things.
        \_ On a somewhat related note, I have a MAHA C401FS and Maha Powerex
           and Duracell batteries I got a few years ago. I really haven't used
           them all that much (maybe 20 times). There was a period of
           maybe a year where I didn't use them at all. A few months ago,
           I had occasion to use them again, but the batteries and/or
           charger seem not to be working anymore (the batteries don't seem to
           hold a charge for long). I read recently that these NiMH batteries
           need to be charged on a regular basis, or else they lose their
           ability to hold a charge? This seems really lame. My batteries
           are only maybe 3 years old. Anyone else seen this happen?
           \_ I recently found some pretty ancient energizer NiMH batteries
              (6+ years old?) that I hadn't used for at least 3-4 years
              and they still seem to work well.
           \_ You need to 'refresh' them, ie, go through several
              charge/discharge cycle to bring back the full power.
              Some chargers like the LaCrosse do this automatically
              for you when you select that mode.