We have a half dozen or so trail cams for spotting wildlife around our
property. They all take between 8 and 12 AA batteries.
Regular alkaline AA batteries do OK, but have to be tossed after 3
months or so.
So we have been using NiMH batteries, which are rechargable. They last
as long or longer than the alkaline and can be recharged hundreds of times.
We have learned a few things about the NiMH vs alkaline.
First, and possibly the most important is that NiMH run at a nominal 1.2
volts, while alkaline run at a nominal 1.5 volts. Some devices just
won't tolerate the lower voltage, so you have to test them to see how
they work. In the favor of NiMH batteries, the voltage holds longer and
does not go below 1.2 volts until they are about done. Alkaline OTOH
will continuously degrade from their nominal voltage.
Second, don't get just any NiMH batteries, get Panasonic Eneloop Pro
(black). They last the longest, and will hold a charge longer while
sitting on the shelf.
Finally, the NiMH "AA" batteries are a tiny bit larger diameter than
alkaline. Most devices are OK, but we have a few where shoe-horning the
NiMH into the same space is a bit of a challenge.
Also, as another alternative, you might look at Lithium
(non-rechargable) batteries. They are the same size and voltage as
alkaline, but will last 5-10 times longer. They are also the most expensive.
bp
<part15sbs{at}gmail{dot}com>
On 10/4/2021 12:47 PM, Nate Burke wrote:
At Church we use a some wireless microphones, they all use 2 AA
batteries. There is a battery indicator on the units, but Invariably,
they will start to alarm in the middle of using them. I'm pretty sure
the indicator is logarithmic, like my gas gauge, so it will spend %75
of the time reporting full, and then quickly fail after that. So I'm
thinking about just mandating that all batteries are replaced at the
beginning of each use. We're not talking about a ton, ~20 batteries
per week.
How good are Rechargeable AA batteries, It's been years since I've
last used them, would they be worth looking into? Does anybody take
half used alkaline batteries and do anything with them other than
throwing them out?
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