No, those are not really a good discount. See here, where u/Jeruuu bought the same kind:
There are several differences between those and standard Eneloops, which you can see if you compare the specifications on the packaging:
The worst difference in the substandard Eneloop packaging you found is the charger. It's a dumb charger, and it's probably the reason the longevity specification of the cells was reduced from 10 years to 5 years. In other words, you could interpret that to mean you must buy the substandard Eneloops 2 times to match the longevity of the standard Eneloops. You won't save money that way.
I don't see where the substandard cells are made, but I'm guessing it's China instead of Japan. None of the photos show where it says on the packaging which country it is made in. It's possible they're Japanese cells paired with a crappy charger, but I can't rule out the cells might be substandard too.
It seems the right way to save money is to buy the standard Eneloops for $5 more instead of buying the $12 substandard Eneloops twice for $24. Here they are:
I easily get a couple of weeks or more per charge. Of course Amazon sells these. Buy a 4 pack with wall charger for ~$30. That way you always have spares to do a quick changeout. Once charged these batteries hold their charge for a very long time as well.
Just search you local Amazon store for ' eneloop aa ' and you will find them. Probably on ebay as well.
Thank you for clarifying!
My pleasure, I'm glad it was helpful.
I just have an iPhone and the power bank that I’ve linked in the post.
Oh, OK. The power bank link wasn't there, but I see you added it. That doesn't say the number of watt hours, but you can calculate it from the voltage and amp hours:
That's an overestimate, because the 12'000 mAh is probably referring to the internal 3.7 volt cells, so a more accurate calculation is this:
So, it's under 100 watt hours. Your phone is around 1/4 that size, so it's probably something like 50 Wh total that you're taking with you, which is well under the 100 Wh limit. Even if we use the over estimates, your still only at around 75 Wh.
So, it seems you're under the limit. Just remember the calculation if the airline people want to keep your stuff.
Also, remember this only applies to explosive lithium batteries. If you use AA NiMH batteries, there are no limits. The only downside is they are bulkier, heavier, and more expensive, but they do last a LOT longer. That's what I use. Just get an AA battery USB-C power bank for your phone, and keep some spare AA NiMH batteries with you.
I recommend you get these ones (make sure your battery specifications match the packaging in this photo):
Get this package first to get the highest quality charger on the market:
You need that charger to get the full life out of Eneloops. If you take care of them, Eneloops will last at least a decade, maybe longer.
If the Eneloops are too expensive for you, or you want 25% longer run time, these are decent NiMH rechargeables, but you will need to buy them 5 times to match the longevity of Eneloop, so they will cost more in the long run even though they're cheaper up front:
Another good option are AA Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries, which are not rechargeable, but they're lightweight, and they last longer than any other battery on the market, by far:
That should give you some options to choose from to allow you to take control of this situation and get around all the hassles of using explosive batteries on airlines.
If corrosion is the only reason you want to change battery types, then you're changing battery types for the wrong reason. Just get AA batteries that don't leak. Energizer alkalines are guaranteed not leak for 2 years after they're depleted:
Even better, get rechargeable AA batteries, which also don't leak. I recommend you get these ones (make sure your battery specifications match the packaging in this photo):
Get this package first to get the highest quality charger on the market:
You need that charger to get the full life out of Eneloops. If you take care of them, Eneloops will last at least a decade, maybe longer.
Another good option are AA Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries, which are not rechargeable, but they're lightweight, and they last longer than any other battery on the market, by far, and of course they don't leak:
Excerpt:
Amazon offers the Panasonic eneloop Power Pack with charger, 8 AA and 4 AAA rechargeable batteries for $34.99 shipped. Also at B&H. As a comparison, it typically goes for upwards of $50 with today’s deal being the best we’ve tracked at Amazon in years and a match of our previous mention. Panasonic’s eneloops are a must-have for any tech-laden setup. This bundle includes 12 batteries and a quick charger.
The quick charger is nice to have, but to maximize battery life, this is better:
If you already have the standard charger, it might be a good time to add a quick charger to your inventory.
Going back to my purchase actually made me realize I misread the sale!
It's a panasonic charger with eneloop batteries provided. Just a regular sale, not prime only, but here is the link if you still want it: http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-Advanced-Individual-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B00JHKSMJU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1436995372&sr=8-2&keywords=eneloop
Flashlight. [...] I also picked one that uses AA batteries and not the fat D batteries or the C batteries you can never find.
Alternate light sources. I don't know how common blackouts are where you live [...] one was 3 weeks long. [...] I picked up some of those little cheap lanterns, that slide on and off, they take AA batteries.
Batteries. Seems trivial but nothing is worse than not having fresh batteries for tv remote; the electric toothbrush will still work without batteries. I avoid buying things that use anything besides double AA batteries, cept the remotes which uses AAA of course. [Are batteries internationally universal? I never looked that up] By keeping all the batteries to the same size, it is much easier to keep track of how many fresh ones I have on hand. [YES I would love to invest in rechargables, they are on my Amazon wish list the next time I give myself a gift.] I keep batteries in an clear plastic jar on top of the fridge. When it gets low I put them on my shopping list.
You are one of us: r/AAMasterRace. When you get rechargeable AA batteries, I recommend you get these ones (make sure your battery specifications match the packaging in this photo):
Get this package first to get the highest quality charger on the market:
You need that charger to get the full life out of Eneloops. If you take care of them, Eneloops will last at least a decade, maybe longer.
Another good option are AA Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries, which are not rechargeable, but they're lightweight, and they last longer than any other battery on the market, by far:
See also r/flashlight.
EDIT: I also recommend Zebralight AA flashlights, namely this one:
They have extreme battery life for extended power outages. On the lowest setting, the can last 90 days on a single AA battery. Since they only take 1 AA battery, you never have to worry about having enough of them, or matching them. You can use "dead" alkalines, and the DC-to-DC voltage conversion circuitry will boost the voltage enough to squeeze out every last drop of energy from them until they are truly and totally dead.
Also, for extended power outages, 3 D cell (or more) lights are awesome, and you can pack them AA batteries using AA-to-D adapters. I want to get a 6D Maglite with an LED conversion:
With the brightest LED module, it is bright enough to replace your normal home lighting. You can put any battery that will fit in an AA-compatible device, including AAA, AAAA, C, D, F, 14500, 18650, 21700, 26650, 32600, 32650, etc. Since it's a Maglite, you can upgrade it any time to whatever the latest technology is. It's a good investment.
I tried to price out some AmazonBasics a little while ago, and they're only worth considering after you get the Eneloop charger. You need the BQ-CC17 "advanced" charger in their standard package to get the maximum life out of Eneloops:
A nice -dv/dt termination with only a small temperature increase and no trickle charge, this looks very good. [...] The charger is very good at filling the batteries.
You need that charger to get the full life out of Eneloops. If you take care of them, Eneloops will last at least a decade, maybe longer. They achieve maximum longevity when you charge any time before they reach 60% depth of discharge (40% remaining capacity). So, if you charge them when they're half discharged or sooner, that's easy to remember.
The BQ-CC55 "quick" charger is also good, but it will shorten the life of the Eneloop cells at least a little bit. I'm not sure how much it shortens the life, but my best guess is it's not very much, so if you must have quick charging for some reason, it's worthwhile to get the quick charger.
That said, it's a much smarter strategy to get spares. You're going to need the spares anyway, and waiting 3 hours for the quick charger isn't much better than waiting 7 hours for the normal charger, since in both cases you have to stop whatever it was you were doing, which is unacceptable in my opinion. With spares, you don't have to stop. If it takes you at least 7 hours to deplete 60% of the capacity of your Eneloops, then you won't benefit from the quick charger, even if you don't have spares.
For example, if you burn through 60% of the capacity of your Eneloops in 3 hours, AND you use your AA battery device for more than 3 hours per day, then you still need spares, and you can benefit from the 3 hour quick charger. Even in that case, you're still probably better off getting another set of spares and a second slow charger.
One use case where a fast charger might be helpful is in solar charging. You might have a plenty of solar power, but it's cloudy, and you only get 3 hours of sunlight. Then the fast charger is helpful. Even then, you should prefer the slow charger first.
The best use case I have found for generic NiMH's like AmazonBasics is when a device supports internally charging AA batteries, but it isn't as good as the Eneloop charger (few chargers are as good). Then, there's a slight advantage to putting cheaper cells in it, because their longevity is already short enough the lower quality charger won't make much difference.
I'm currently trying this out myself, and so far it appears the cheaper AA batteries are a hassle. They don't last as long as Eneloop, AND when I want to use my devices, sometimes the cheaper NiMH's self-discharged, and that's super annoying. I'm starting to think I would prefer to shorten the life of the Eneloops with shoddy internal charging, just so I don't have to deal with dead battery surprises like I do with cheaper cells.
Even worse, one of my cheaper cells died before the others, making the other good cell useless. The lower quality control means cells aren't matched as well as Eneloops are, so a slightly weaker cell will be driven into cell reversal every time you use it, and it will just die completely eventually, long before the other cells in the device. Then you end up needing to replace only one cell, and you have the exact same cell mismatch problem all over again, and your cells start dying prematurely again. It sucks, and there's no easy way around it, other than to buy a ton of junky cells, testing them all, and trying to make matched sets.
With Eneloops, quality control is so tight, they're already well matched straight out of the packaging. As long as they come from the same package and with the same charge, they're always matched. Since Eneloops don't age like other batteries do, even batteries of different age are likely to be well matched, as long as they don't have a lot of charge cycles on them, and they all start use after being fully charged.
Life is so much easier and more predictable when you start with reliable good quality.
The best rechargeable AA's are Eneloops.
Panasonic K-KJ17MCA4BA Advanced Individual Cell Battery Charger Pack with 4 AA ene... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JHKSMJU/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_i_orZ1EbHJN86EE
Also paging /u/badon_ because they know a heck of a lot more than I do.
Thanks for grabbing my attention. I recommend these ones:
Get this package first to get the highest quality charger on the market:
You need that charger to get the full life out of Eneloops. If you take care of them, Eneloops will last at least a decade, maybe longer. This USB charger is also good, and will work well for Eneloop or any other NiMH batteries:
Ah nice. Good, I literally just bought these today on Amazon haha.
I’m just putting them in some Xbox controllers man, charging time won’t matter when I get days of playing from one charge. I’m not trying to ultra maximize the longevity of my batteries for 10 years, I just want some decent rechargables that don’t cost a ton like some of these larger brands at the store. I’m not paying 20 bucks for 4 batts and no charger just to power some remotes. I can get 8 Amazon Basics and a charger for like 35 bucks and free shipping.
In that case, the $17.99 Eneloop package I recommended is the most economical deal. It comes with the good charger, and 4 AA Eneloop NiMH batteries. You can buy 16 more Eneloops for about $34 on the same page, but it's probably better to just buy 2 of the cheaper packages to get 2 chargers and 8 AA batteries. Here's the link again:
You won't save money with AmazonBasics, and your use case is actually ideal for Eneloops. If you do buy some AmazonBasics, you won't need any other charger because the Eneloop charger is the best, and you can use it an any NiMH batteries, including AmazonBasics.
The Eneloop charger only adds about $6 to the cost of AA batteries. You can get 4 AA Eneloop NiMH batteries without a charger for $11.99 if I remember correctly, so if you only want 1 charger and 8 AA batteries at minimal cost, your total is $29.79, which is less than the $35 you're planning on spending for 8 lower quality AmazonBasics.
Again, you won't save any money on AmazonBasics. You will pay more, and get less. That is all.
Get these ones:
Get this package first if you can find it, to get the highest quality charger on the market:
You need that charger to get the full life out of Eneloops. If you take care of them, Eneloops will last at least a decade, maybe longer.
Don't believe any of the shills claiming non-Eneloop batteries with completely different inferior specifications are Eneloops. They're obviously not, and they will cost you more in the long run, because they don't have the 2100 charge cycle life of real Eneloops. You will need to buy the shilled batteries 4 times to match 1 purchase of real Eneloops.
The manual for the Ruby says it comes with rechargeable NiMH batteries and has a built-in charger for them. I gather you were using alkaline because you may need to swap batteries during a shift, so why not just buy an external charger and a dozen high quality NiMH batteries and never have to worry about paying for batteries again?
The best simple charger for NiMH is the Panasonic BQ-CC17. It's available in a kit with either AA or AAA, but the AAA price is a bit of a rip-off; you may as well get the AA version and order some AAA separately.
https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-4x-Eneloop-AA-with-Charger/dp/B00JHKSMJU/
For batteries, get as many AmazonBasics AAA as you would like. They come in high capacity and regular versions, but the cost difference is a lot higher than the capacity difference, so just decide for yourself what you prefer.
https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-High-Capacity-Rechargeable-Batteries-Pre-charged/dp/B00HZV9YE0/
https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Rechargeable-Batteries-8-Pack-Pre-charged/dp/B00CWNMXQW/
Important note: you should not mix NiMH and alkaline batteries in a device.