Battery Warranties

[Winston_Smith]

I find it curious that his idea of "fixing" some existing problem that developed on a machine that was satisfactory for a long time - is to try to ADD a service pack.

If it worked to his satisfaction the last couple years, clearly the pack was not necessary. And unlikely to "fix" whatever problem developed in the original install over time. He wanted to go back, not change to something new.

It's one more variable added to a machine that doesn't need more confusion.

I'm amazed how many people decide to "do something" and hope for majick to happen. Of course this is Stormin's second if not third trip down this road in under five years.

[rbowman]

I know. I've been to Egbert. It might not have been Egbert but it was one of those little towns east of Cheyenne. My log book was still back in Nebraska when I pulled into a little truckstop. It was Saturday night and the place was full of shitfaced bull haulers. I've been in some rough places but I looked around and decided to take my chances with the Port of Entry.

otoh, I sort of like Buffalo. Nice little ice cream joint in the park.

[Larry]

I have a box of Everready alkalines you can look at, still in the shrink wrap and within the date on the battery. About a third of the batteries in the box have sprung leaks. I sure wouldn't put them in my equipment. I'll send them back to the company if I can find an address.

It's sure a far cry from 50 years ago when EverReady guaranteed that if their batteries leaked they would repair or replace any equipment damaged by the leak. I got four new geiger counters that way. ;>

[Stormin Mormon]

I'm guessing that you can find their adress on the web. Or, maybe on a new package of batteries from the same company. I've also heard them called "never ready" batteries. Or "BADderies."

As of this moment, Rayovac has emailed me back. Wanted to know the date code. Second email wanted to know the batch code in dot matrix printing near the positive end of the battery. Energizer sent a post paid return label, and I sent the leaky Energizers back. Duracell wanted to know the month and year of my birth. I wing it and guess and put "something". Now they say I'm not suitable to communicate with them.

. Christ>

[Bob_Villa]

On Saturday, August 3, 2013 6:01:49 AM UTC-5, Stormin Mormon wrote: Now

No "top poster" is...

[Dustin]

Winston_Smith wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Sort of right. Win95 actually rode on top of DOS as well. Cuter shell, but I digress.

[Stormin Mormon]

Turns out there weren't enough leaky Energizers to bother (two). Same with the Duracells (two or three). Rayovac did write back, asked a couple technical questions and promised to send replacements.

. Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

.

[nestork]

Stormin:

Here in Canada the CBC has a show called "Marketplace" where some investigative reporters investigate marketing claims and report on problems people are having with merchandise they've purchased.

In one show they investigated batteries, and the result they came up with is that paying extra for Duracell or Energizer batteries was a waste of money since all alkaline batteries use the same mature technology, and since the size of the battery is fixed, they all contain the same amount of energy.

So, instead of buying Duracell or Energizer, maybe just go to your local dollar store and buy five AA no-name batteries for $1.

That way, if they leak on you, it's not worth the bother to try and get them replaced under the manufacturer's warranty.

[The Daring Dufas]

I discovered long ago that the best policy is to remove the batteries from equipment that's not used every day and put them in a Ziploc bag keeping them with the gear. ^_^

TDD

[Stormin Mormon]

Thanks, that's a good idea. Might save a pile of money, over the years. In my part of the world, there is a big price difference between the name brands, and the off brands. I get coupons, now and again. But for the most part, I do buy the off brands.

The Dollar Tree near me has two alkaline AA cells for a dollar, which is OK. Often, I can do better price than that.

The leakers I'm sending back are C and D size. Which cost more like a dollar and a half per cell. With those sizes, there's also other places that sell them less cost. Harbor Freight, Advance Auto Parts, and so on.

I can't remember where I saw the article, on the web. Someone did test various brands of battery in digital cameras. Found that there were some brands that lasted a lot longer.

Most of my battery use is rechargables, now days. I've gotten some NiMH cells for my digicam and mini mag. I use Powergenix for my computer speaker.

. Christ> Stormin:

[Nate Nagel]

IME it's not "if" but "when" they leak on you.

I've quit using alkalines altogether, save for 9V batteries and one D-cell flashlight, and completely converted everything AA or AAA cells is now using Eneloops. I've had too many leaking incidents in the past few months... (I think one was Energizer and one was a set of GP)

My theory is that the tech is *so* mature that the companies are trying to "optimize" them to make them less expensive to produce, making them more likely to fail then they used to be.

nate

[Vic Smith]

Same here. First Eneloops, then Sony when my 2 Eneloop chargers got fried when my basement flooded. The Sony's seem just as good, the chargers are smarter, and they were cheaper. I don't even use my D cell Maglites any more. Just AA Maglites. All the light I need from batteries. Just don't get to carry a combo flashlight/club any more.

[Stormin Mormon]

It's also wise to have two set of batteries. I'm remembering the one time I was helping with a haloween show. I was on the third floor of a rather tall building, and rather ancient. My walkie talkie batteries went dead, and the nearest replacements were in the work van. That was a heck of a lot of stairs up and down.

The battery makers say storage in the refrigerator is good, freezer is not advised. I've been considering getting some storage bins, and put my battery storage in my refrigerator.

. Christ>

[Stormin Mormon]

There are size adaptors, so you can run AA cells in C or D battery devices, so the eneloops may be the way to go. I've got some NiMH "precharged" that seem to do a good job. Time to give some thought, what needs batteries, and what I use.

My big users of cells are my mini mag, digital camera, and computer speakers. And these all use rechargable. I do have a couple big Mag lights in the vehicles for reading street signs. So far, knock wood, they have no had leakers. One friend did have leak in his D mag light, that was sad. Sent it back to Duracell for warranty.

Of course, it's wise to store devices with no batteries, until the moment of use.

. Christ>

[Stormin Mormon]

Have you tried the battery size adaptors? I bought some, years ago, and they did work for my tryout. I don't actively use the anysizers, but they are available if I need them some day.

Ebay, AA to D battery adapter, about 600 hits.

Some hold one or two AA cells, for longer run time.

Hong Kong might be better quality than China.

. Christ>

[Stormin Mormon]

9 volts for smoke alarms AA for carbon monoxide detector AA cells for caller ID telephone AAA for caller ID box AA for clocks AA for digital thermostat AAA for remote reading thermometer D for mag light D for battery power fan

. Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

.

[Nate Nagel]

keep in mind though that an AA eneloop is something like 2000 mAh so runtime of a device that uses D cells will be severely shortened.

The good news is that Tenergy makes LSD NiMHs in C, D, and 9V sizes which are apparently of good quality as of today. (seems that you always have to research this stuff though... candlepowerforums is a good place to start) Better news is I can actually buy those at Micro Center unlike Eneloops which I have to mail order. I'm glad I took the plunge and tried them though; I really haven't noticed any difference in most devices between the Eneloops and alkalines, other than that I'm not worried about them leaking.

"Precharged" is another trade description for "low self discharge" which is what you want for things like remotes, flashlights, other not often used battery powered devices etc. Unfortunately most don't seem to get very good reviews save for one particular Duracell battery that also has a not-very-good variant that's sold in almost exactly the same packaging, so it's easier just to mail-order Eneloops and know you're getting good quality (at about the same price.)

nate

[Stormin Mormon]

I can't remember the spec, but alkaline D cell is rated at something like ... uh, go look. Says at 500 mA draw, about 10,000 mA output. Much more than the Eneloop AA. But, not surprising, as the AA cells are much smaller.

. Christ>

[Vic Smith]

Yep, but they work in pinch if you are saddled with something that uses C or D. I use them on occasion for a magnifier that uses C. Take them out as soon as I'm done using it. I avoid buying C and D cell devices.

[Nate Nagel]

Right, exactly.

That said, having a couple 2xAA to D adapters laying around is still not that bad an idea for emergencies as it seems that AA cells are the most common type, so if/when you run out of D's you can scrounge cells out of remotes, small flashlights, cordless phones, etc. and use your D-cell-powered device for a little while at least.

nate