I remember as a kid my dad having his battery recharger set up all the time, constantly recharging batteries. It would take a long time to recharge batteries and when they were recharged they did not work as well as disposable batteries.
Recently Kazuki, a Futuremaker, pointed us to Eneloop batteries. According to Kazuki, and the Eneloop site, they have a very long shelf life, come pre-charged and have a low-self discharge rate - which means they don’t lose energy after being charged when they’re not in use.
They sound great, and I’m going to give them a try.
Has anyone used the Eneloop batteries? Any other rechargeables you’d recommend?
In a very similar fashion -
http://tutorialninjas.net/2007/04/18/deals-rechargable-usb-batterys/
Amazingly awesome ideas,
I was surprised at how much cheaper rechargeables have gotten. I wanted to get some for a couple of things around my house, and I found some cheap Duracell ones - they were something like $20 for 2 AAs including the charger. Then we just bought a couple of extras AA and AAA batteries to cover our other needs.
We use them in our TV/stereo remotes and for my computer’s wireless keyboard and mouse. In those kind of devices they last quite a while (not very much energy drain), and after a few charges they’ve already paid for themselves.
Eneloop batteries work very well. I was always finding my camera batteries flat, after not being used for a week or so; both the ones in the camera and the spare pair, too. Since buying Eneloops, I have no trouble, they keep their charge for many weeks, when I am not using the camera; so I am no longer caught out, with no charge.