Rayovac always seem to leak in my experience - even had some leak while not installed in any device, just sitting in a cabinet at room temperature. Had my first leaks with Harbor Freight batteries earlier this year. Have used those for several years with no trouble until that.
Belated viewer here. Thanks for a thorough evaluation. Loved the bromance exchange in the comments with Project Farm, LOL. Important to comment for those not already used to taking this into account, some of the bar chart scales start at pretty high values so the bar heights shown are not proportional to performance. Picture the bars extending quite a ways below the bottom of the base of the chart.
Great video. A single summary slide at the end showing how much charge per $ you should expect may have been more concise ... but I think I got the gist :-)
Glad you enjoyed it. I think it's more effective to viewers the way I did it. Sometimes you get a point across to viewers easier by talking, rather than showing a chart. Thanks for watching!
@@electronicsNmore Love your videos. Long time watcher first time comment :) I agree with comment above that another graph at the end of the video with something like mAh/cost would be extremely valuable to your audience in these type of testing videos.
@Chris Shaeffer Glad you enjoy the videos. The majority of people like the charts at the end, because they skip through the video to find out the results. I've had multiple viewers admit they do it, and my analytics prove it. I can't have people jumping to the end of my video and not watching the rest of it. People like that aren't supporters of my work. I will always use charts in my videos, throughout the video, but no more charts at the end. I will line up all the batteries, and explain the results. Thanks for watching!
Hi there. The video was only for lower cost batteries, to see which are the best for the money. The video is ideal for those who refuse to pay top dollar for Duracell and Energizer. Thanks for watching! Don't forget to share the link, otherwise videos like this may not happen in the future.
Great analysis! We also were introduced to that Battery Analyzer and to use the NiMH charger as a discharge tester device. I have a LaCrosse BC-700, that does not allow this discharge-only feature, as it recharges after that = not good for primary battery measurements.
Great testing & analysis! Next you should test the respective rechargeable batteries. Since they cost a lot more, I wonder if the total life of the rechargeable batteries is worth the extra expense? Really enjoy your videos........ 👍👍👍👍
Glad you enjoyed the video Steve. If enough people take the time to share the video link, and the video does very well, there will be many more to come. Thanks for watching!
There are virtually no use cases where rechargeable batteries are not cheaper. There are some cases where they make little sense like in smoke detectors (you should NEVER put rechargeables in a smoke detector unless it is specifically made for that detector, mainly because they die very suddenly. When alkaline cells start dying, they can remain weak for weeks which allows the detector to tell you with periodic beeps that it needs to be replaced), but in most cases, especially if you already own a charger, they are better. It's not like the old days either. They now generally last as long per charge as an alkaline would. If you are using them for a high or medium drain device, they are WAY better and will last longer than alkalines between charges. They are usually about 4 times the price. So if a AA costs on average, .50, a NIMH will run around $2-$3. My latest buy was eneloop 8 pack AA and was 18.99 That's 2.38 per battery. They allegedly can be charged 2,100 times. Even if it is "only" 500, that's a lot of charges.
@@RPRosen-ki2fk The problem with lithium ion is that most stores don't sell them. You have to get them on the internet or they come with the thing you are buying. It is generally a very bad idea. Lithium batteries are way more prone to catching fire than other types of rechargeable batteries if improperly charged. If you only charge the cell on an approved battery charger (for that battery), the risk almost entirely disappears. But the big problem is you never know what you are ordering. There are a LOT of fake batteries where the specs are just made up completely. There are also a lot of counterfeits. A LOT of cells are re-wrapped by a local small dealer and their wraps are almost always total fantasy. They will take a very low grade battery and wrap it with a wrapper saying it's 3 or 4 times what it actually is or as a grade A cell, when it is really a low grade cell. The voltage of lithium ion batteries is pretty wide. A charged cell has a 4.2v and a discharged cell has a 2.8 or so. Electronics designed to use lithium ion batteries can deal with the wide range. But they usually come with their own batteries.
@@tarstarkusz I thought they sounded to good to be true. That explains why you don't hear much about them, or see them in retail stores. Thanks for taking the time to reply, I appreciate the info.
Good video, very informative and helpful! Just a tip on the charts - this kind of comparison with bar charts should always have a vertical scale / Y-axis that starts at zero. That way, it is easy to see whether the lowest is 85% of the highest, or 50%, for example. Cheers.
Nice video, been using Dollar Tree Sunbeam AAAs for decades, never let me down, and they last forever in remotes, but they were sure a better deal when they were four to a pack...
A great and informative video. You showed an excellent comparison with graph charts to visually understand what you are getting for your money. Thank you
Thanks for making these videos. RayOvac is made in Middleton (near Madison) Wisconsin. For just a few cents more you can support an American worker. I only buy RayOvac.
You're welcome Philippe! Be sure to share the video link with many others, and check out my very wide range of videos for many other videos of interest to you. Thanks
This is something that i don't think about everyday ..its interesting to see someone do this to see its usage and longevity and cost. i take batteries out when not in use just in case of leakage. Thanks !!!!!! will be sharing your vids
Glad you enjoyed my video. Very few viewers are nice enough to take 1 or 2 minutes of their time to share the video link with others. I appreciate it! Thanks
Have you ever thought about, what the argument for a diagram is? I did, and the conclusion is: To make data visible in a way, that it tells you the story immediately. At 6:13 I get the impression, that the highest voltage of the highest item is 7.5 times the voltage of the lowest. The common y-axis cutting. Looking at the numbers I see, it is only a difference of 1% which you measured. If the span between those batteries was only 1/10th of what you measured, you could have shown exactly the same graph, just with different labels (1.6001 to 1.6016). Don't do this. The discharging is performed until reaching 0.9 V. This would have been a reasonable starting point for the diagram, but should have been pointed out. At 11:46 the next graph with cropped y-axis is shown, the capacity from 890 to 1120 mAh. I don't think there is a better zero point than zero. A chart of double height should indicate, that it will last twice as long under same circumstances. Everything else is exaggerating the differences. In reality, the difference is about 20%. That's the difference, the graph should make visible at a glance. So I have to stop the video and start calculating for my own. Except from that, and maybe the weight measurements, I like your videos and rarely missed one in the last months. Your table calculation program should have the option to produce xy-diagrams, where a comparison price/mAh could be shown intelligently. Building the quotient yourself is of course a second option, but if the battery is hard to change, maybe because of screws or the device hanging from the ceiling, price per mAh might not be the only important measurement.
@@electronicsNmore Well, if I try with with LibrOffice Calc, it produces such misleading graphs by default, and it is a pretty pain in the ass, to get the y-axis right clicked with the mouse, to get a context menu, where axis formatting has to be chosen, tab: scaling, where I have to uncheck the box "automatic" at the entry minimum and select 0. This should be the default. Alternatively, I can click on the diagram such that it gets highlighted and LibreOffice changes to graph-mode (my name for this). Then I can select "format/axis" from the menu and proceede as above. More convenient than selecting an axis by mouse, imho. If I would do this more often, more than once per month, I would investigate, whether there is an option to switch the default, or maybe a macro, to perform this task more easily.
You see......many make the graphs that way. The only reason why 2 or 3 in my video started at zero, is because I edited them with Gimp. It was a real pain.
@@electronicsNmore Yeah, quantity vs. quality. I had a look on how to do it with gnuplot, which I use for a line diagram, but I wasn't successful in finding an easy way to do bar charts. The errormessages from gnuplot aren't helpful for me at all. Might the LibreOffice (like OpenOffice) Calc way help you? If I would edit graphs by hand, I probably would use Inkscape, not Gimp, to do so, but in the beginning Inkscape (a 2D-vector drawing program) has its own hurdles, too. Another solution, I forgot to mention, is inserting a dummy row with 0 value: Curadell 980 Mamazone 1029 Ultratonic 1005 (dummy) 0
Another neat set of tests. I almost hate to bring it up....especially since you went out of your way to go to IKEA to get theirs....but what about Kirkland batteries (Costco)? I hope you got a pack of IKEA's CR2032s while you were there though.... :) (fixed autocorrect's idea of a joke about theorem)
I was going to buy the CR2032's while there, but the expiration date was only 2 years away. Thanks for watching! Sharing the video link would be greatly appreciated.
Hi there. The capacities aren't shown on the packaging. They're only shown on the company's datasheets. The different brands usually test at a LOWER discharge rate, by using a lower rate, the battery capacity will show higher. I chose 100mA because I had several devices that used more than 100mA, and several that were lower. The discharge curve would be very similar in appearance if you looked at a 25, 50, 100, 200mA drain.
I mean, driving to an Ikea 25 miles away just to get batteries won't save you any money if you have a Harbor Freight in the same mall as your grocery store. In any case, the only batteries I buy from HF now are the blue Thunderbolt Edge batteries when they go on sale.
Another TH-camr did Alkaline AA and/or AAA corrosion testing and Energizer was the best at lowest corrosion of the brands and models he tested. In fact, I don't remember there being any at all with Energizer. This is the leakage that others here have complained about in comments here. Have you ever done such testing? If not, that would be my suggestion for another comparison video on Alkaline batteries. I looked through your videos and didn't see one. Thanks for this one!!!
How about the ACDelco AAA Batteries, Alkaline Battery, Bulk Pack, 100 Count? At $25 US on Amazon, those come really cheap at a quarter each. Have you ever had a chance to put them to the test?
Never tested them. I'd make another video, but this video turned out to be a huge waste of time and money because hardly anyone watched. TH-cam has a habit of hiding my videos way down the search results, and pushing inferior videos higher up in the search results.
@@electronicsNmore That's too bad because your videos are great and this one in particular beats all the others in the battery testing arena. I'll make sure to share the link as much as possible, even on FB! Keep up the fantastic work!
If this video did better, I would've already made one for those batteries because many others asked. Sadly this video was a total waste of my time because YT hid the video way down the search results, and not enough viewers shared the video link. I spent many hours filming/editing this video, spent money, and drove 45 miles RT to buy the Ikea batteries. Anything less than 50,000 views is a loss. YT is a full time job for me. Thanks for watching
The new HF thunderbolt EDGE version of batteries are far better than the old thunderbolt. I picked up the Activ ones at Aldi and the ones I tested were very low capacity. I think I only got around 500 mah from AAA's. Must have been old stock. I will have to check at date code on them. Great video as always. Thanx.
@@electronicsNmore Well I just checked the batteries I got. I bought them in Sept 2019. Date codes are 2025 and 2026 for the two 8 packs I have. I also see that they are "Made In China, not Germany. Now that probably explains things. Weird!!! Or as they say, "Now that's your problem". When did you buy yours? I will have to look at the Aldis stock next time I am there to see if they have German batteries now. I am running a test on them now again, with one battery from each year class. I checked no load voltage and they are like 1.605 volts. As soon as I started discharge at 200 ma. they dropped to 1.33 volts after 3 minutes of discharge. 200 ma is as low as my Maha MH-C9000 will go for discharge. That is not an excessive load for AAAs but they should not drop that fast. I will comment again when they are done with results.
I went to Aldi's yesterday and I looked at the Active batteries. They were all "Made in China" Do they still have any "Made In Germany" Active batteries out your way????? The Made in China Active's are crap. I got 375 to 450 mah out of several AAA batteries I tested. They are only 4 months old. SUre would like to get some of the German ones. Good price and good power capability
@@electronicsNmore FOLLOWUP I just checked today. They had the Made in Germany ones. Unfortunately i needed AA they only had AAA. I will grab some and test them to confirm Germany made is superior.
@@electronicsNmore Yeah the new Thunderbolt Edge came out last year I think. It's a blue package. They come 18 to a pack and are a bit more than the regular alkies. I watch for them on sale. Was wondering how much better they are. But I'm glad to know Ikea has great batteries. There's one about 20 minute away. Enjoy your channel.
Thank you, and you're welcome! Be sure to share the video link with others, and watch my 9V alkaline and CR2032 videos below. th-cam.com/video/NlJOuQV_JwU/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/vQwaV5IbZV0/w-d-xo.html
I use Rayovac High Energy AA and AAA batteries... they don't last as long as others, but they do not leak. Lowes sells Rayovac High Energy AA batteries in a 36 pack for $16 and change. This comes to about $0.47 each.
Glad you enjoyed it Alex. Unless enough people start sharing this video on social networking sites, I won't be making another. I can't spend 2 days filming/editing, driving 25 miles to buy stuff for only a few thousand views. Meanwhile people upload pure stupidity to YT and get hundreds of thousand of views or more. Makes no sense. Videos like this need to get a minimum of 50,000 high retention views for my time to be even partially compensated. Thanks for watching!
Battery testing is generally not done like this. Can you do a video where you more closely mimic the real test? The way manufacturers report the batteries is usually at 3 different drain levels done intermittently. Constant drain, like the test you are running here almost always pre-maturely kills the battery. The data sheet tests usually involve an hour or 2 per day. It will take more time, but it can help making the best choice. Can you do a internal resistance test at various intervals of the test? Cheaper batteries will go much higher at 50% than better ones. This is how you end up with 1/2 dead batteries in the trash. The light dims, or the KB starts messing up etc. Open circuit voltage is more or less useless. Voltage under a small load would be useful somewhat. All other things equal, weight is a good measure of battery capacity. Unfortunately, all other things are generally not equal. The battery case could be thicker or thinner depending on the brand.
Incorrect. The test I performed was good, and it mimics REAL LIFE uses. There are a few tests that can be done, you mentioned another one. I guess you didn't see the packages where they show flashlights, small gaming devices, and motorized toys. All those devices draw a fairly high CONSTANT level of current. According to you, I did everything wrong. LOL. I agree with Echo, make your own video. Be prepared to spend many days testing, since you want a low current pulsed test.
@@electronicsNmore What device do you put batteries in, turn on and leave on at a constant current from new to dead? In the real world, current draw will want to go up (though it usually cannot), not stay the same and use is intermittent. Nobody keeps a constant finger on their remote. The recovery between uses extends the life. I'm not saying your test is bad or that you did it wrong. There are reasons to do this test over the test I suggested and reasons to do it the way I suggested. I only suggested it because the battery data sheets all give intermittent use data.
You would have been well served by viewing some better battery test videos before you began. The initial noload voltage test was pretty useless, because even truly crappy batterys can produce a reasonable voltage under noload conditions. Battery weight has no relationship with any other battery property although the lightest battery will waste the fewest resources. It is also true that cheap batteries are inappropriate for high current devices like rc cars, yet these are the only applications where a battery is discharged in one continuous use. Real world usage is either 6-20 sessions of ½-3 hours (portable games, flashlights) or many hundreds of uses of a few seconds each (tv remote).
2 points you did not compare - #1. the harbor freight's bottom anode area is smaller and not sufficiently higher than the case ,which in my experience, results in the device's spring terminal sliding partially or wholly off touching the exterior case repeatedly on multiple devices. especially, if the device is dropped, jarred or vibrated. oh yeah, need that in the dark attic/basement/under the house. #2. in all sizes, the top anode nipple of some low priced batteries is a tad shorter and will fail to connect to deep set positive device terminals. never had that problem with Sunbeams bought at different named dollar stores "BUT" you need to double check the expire date.
A 2D graph showing on X axis the capacity, and on Y axis the resistance would be useful. Practically we want the battery to be in the bottom right. Another important test is the resistance change with temperature.
I though of adding more tests, but due to the low view count(lack of sharing), I'm glad I didn't spend more time making this video. Another money losing video.
I will not recommend Aldi's one, my experience is they are not for long term storage, All the aldi alkaline battery I bought end up being corroded. Many are still inside the device when it happened. These all happened within 2 years of purchasing. But the package seems different from the one in video, may be they get improved?
OK I tested an Eveready AAA gold alkaline battery, discharging it at 100ma. It was at 1.547V at the start and went down to .9V at the end of the discharge. It bounced back up to 1.32V after resting. It had a capacity of 419mah. That's pretty much garbage. I won't be buying those anymore. They are made in the USA. I also tested a Harbor Freight zinc carbon (Heavy Duty) battery, discharging at 100ma. It was at 1.584V at the start and went down to .9V very fast. It's capacity was 1mah. No wonder it was free.
@@electronicsNmore I know it sounds too low. I tested them on my Powerex charger. I think it's pretty accurate. I've tested many NiMH batteries with it. The AAA Eneloops are rated at 750mah and all tested in the 750s on my Powerex. In all fairness to Eveready, the battery I tested probably sat in my drawer for 1 or 2 years. Who knows how long it sat in the store but the voltage was still over 1.5.
Thanks JoLynn! Glad you liked the video. I may test them in the future. Be sure to watch and share my "Battery Testing" video playlist below. th-cam.com/play/PLQ6IOhUBblU2CFaGRj9eB2I38yHnW5FQz.html
I tested the most popular sellers. If enough people share this video, so it doesn't become a total waste of time, then I'll make another showing what viewers suggested. As of now, I'm glad I didn't spend more time making this video. Thanks for watching.
I really don't like those sunbeam batteries. They don't work at all for some of my devices. I put fresh sunbeam batteries in my camera, and it doesn't turn on at all. i switched the brand and what do you know it works
bulk pack 48 energizer AAA batteries on amazon for $23. Less than 50 cents a battery, for a premium brand, with the 'if it leaks, we'll fix anything' guarantee. Cant be beat.
Having the company fix or replace what the batteries leaked inside of is nice, but some devices cannot be replaced, and you also don't need the huge inconvenience of not having the device when you need it.
I explained it really well at the end. If I placed a chart at the end, then people would just skip over the entire video to look at the chart. As a YT creator that spends a lot of money and time making videos, I cannot have that. Thanks for watching!
Keep in mind Harbor Freight has an alkaline and an alkaline "Edge" which is advertised as outperforming even the best alkalizes. Also possibly your dollar store batteries might have reduced the package size from 4 to 3 to keep the price at $1 per package?
Yes, I didn't see the Alkaline Edge, I would've tested them. I thought of that also, about the dollar store battery price, but I think they're selling so well, and that's why they did it. Thanks for watching!
Given the Rayovacs, I think I'll spring for the "Made in America" brand than more cheap Chinese "stuff". Kinda had it with everything in my house being a subsidiary of China. Why no Duracell or Energizer?
I buy the best deal. If China makes the best deal im not spending more just to buy American. Patriotism does not mean over spending & being broke. I don't blame China if they put there country first. Also the higher prices you see in America are attributed to the Federal Governments attack on our own energy sector with stupid Regulations. The same reasons the gas process are so high. Politician's & Partisans like to chalk it all up to Chinas "Cheap Labor" which is very misleading & dishonest. The TRUTH is when everything is taxed & regulated it goes up which causes the cost of living to go up, so solely comparing wages is disingenuous & misleading. Imagine how much more affordable everything in America would be if the Government just did what they were supposed to instead of trying to manipulate everything. What people should be asking themselves is why Politician's tell them saving money & being smart with your finances equates to being a "subsidiary of China".
Try the Harbor Freight rechargeable batteries. They perform better than the Rayovac and the Energizers. Judging from the way they perform I am starting to thing that they are actually LiFePO batteries. They start at about 1.4 run a LONG time and them just die, instead of fading.
LiFePo are 3.6v batteries vs LiOn at 3.7v. Its unsafe to charge LiFePo in a LiOn charger bc of the charging characteristics. So it would be very dangerous for them and a huge product liability to make that substitution
@@MessalineApghar Several companies have done this in larger batteries. Since the power density is so much higher the "battery" part of the battery is very small. Which leaves a lot of room for the electronics to convert the voltage and protect the battery. Whether this can/has been done on AA/AAA batteries I do not know. Space would be tight. I can tell you that the batteries start out and hold at 1.4V. Most other batteries I use(rechargeable) slowly drop voltage and the device gets a little laggy before it stops working. These Harbor Freight run fine and then just stop working. Which in my experience is a LiFePo behavior.
If I needed four batteries, I would not buy two of the 3-pack of SUNBEAM batteries. I wouldn't ever consider that. I would go right to the best four battery deal. They are quite wrong if they think people would buy 6 when they only need four.
When I have a device go dead from battery use, I check all the batteries with a simple tester. 100% of the time, one battery of the bunch has gone completely dead, while the other batteries are still good! So, buy a simple tester and save a lot of money. The real cheap knock off brands seem to have more batteries go dead than top name brands.
Using 920 mAh for the bottom of the scale is deceptive. The 920 mAh Harbor Freight is only 15% less than the 1091 mAh Amazon Basic. Your graphic make it look like it the capacity is only 20% of the 1091 mAh.
@Brian that isnt necessarily true. It could be . but without investigating their production location you have no basis for the comment. They actually have several US plants . "Assembled in the US" requires more than just being packaged here. Just ask dewalt. Probably the terminal caps and electrode spirals and chemicals are all sourced elsewhere and assmbled here in the US.
Really a tough test. I'd need to drain down the batteries, then leave them inside a few devices under higher temp conditions. It would take a very long time to do. Thanks for watching! Be sure to share.
@@electronicsNmore Indeed. I've had some batteries leak; e.g., Duracell, at room temperature when they are depleted. Perhaps snip a 100 ohm resistor across those you have already tested and let them sit.
You can still get 4x sunbeam batteries for dollar, if you are lucky. I would be interested price/capacity for Duracell (for fun). Personally I would never buy Duracell. I am laughing, when I see people buying dry cells :D, and they they think how smart they are.
You capacity bar chart is really misleading because the x-axis does not start from 0. Giving us the impression that Amazon Basics is several times better than Harbor Freight. Also, a simple transformation of a chart showing capacity per $0.01 would have been much useful.
All the numbers were shown, so I don't see how it's misleading. Many of the charting programs do the exact same thing, they chop the bottom of all the bars off, and only show you the upper portion like you see. The 2 charts that started at zero, were because I modified them using an image editor, which is a real pain in the rear. I did find a work around for future videos. As for the capacity per $0.01, the way I explained it to viewers was better. You also have viewers that don't watch the video, they skip through it looking for charts, which doesn't support all my hard work. Thanks for watching
Which AAA Lithium rechargeables are best? Not NiMH - NiMH are useless, their voltage starts too low for most electronics. Lithium is the future. Having some problems with lifetimes. Some haven't lasted ten-recharges. Others are on a hundred cycles? Maybe a depth of charge issue? Also, manufacturer specs on capacity seem arbitrary and haven't found the best yet?
That Sunbeam Ultra package saying "34% more power" is a crock of shit! Lots of brands do this thing telling you percentages better, but they never ever say compared to what, because it's completely made-up!
Many companies exaggerate claims(Or flat out lie). Maybe under very low current drain it lasts longer, but for the type of devices I use, it didn't supply 34% more power. Thanks for watching!
I disagree because low drain and high drain is not a scientific rating as the actual rating for AAA is 10watt in series and when a battery drops below its floating point output wattage its considered spent.
I don't know but any batteries I buy they don't last I been buying brand batteries cheap one as well and they never last me that's why I bought me a wired controller for my Xbox 360 that controller eat lots of batteries every week I wasted 6 batteries I used to spend $100 each month but that's over wired controller are the way to go I only buy for my remote controls tv mini stereo system my boombox remote control and flashlights. 🔦 And nowadays batteries are expensive
You left out quite a few; the 2 warehouse club brands, Berkeley Johnson from BJs clubs, and kirkland from Costco clubs. Also CVS pharmacy has their own house-brand. And Kodak is a cheap brand name often "dumped" on Woot.
@@electronicsNmore i havent seen a sams club branded battery. But BJs clubs do have self branded too. If you dont know or have them around, They're a yankee chain expanding down the east coast
Even without factoring in the false claims on capacity the Sunbeams package says 34% more power but you only get 2 batteries (50% fewer batteries) for the same cost. 🤦🏻♂️
electronicsNmore I think your missing my point. Even if the ultras lived up to their nebulous claim of 34% more power (more than what?) because you only get 2 for the same price as the 3 pack you are in effect getting 50% less power.
Oh, how I wish IKEA were closer. Dollar Tree has batteries for cheap too. I am boycotting Energizer and Rayovac. They have leaked and ruined stuff of mine.
I'm glad I didn't get too carried away buying more batteries, this video should've gotten at least a few hundred thousand views. At this point it was a big waste of time and money due to viewers that don't share, and TH-cam hiding my videos way down the search results. Thanks for watching
Ikea is the Harbor Freight of houseware products. It's all cheap China made items pretending to be from another country. They may not be the cheapest, but I will stay with the American made Rayovac.
@@electronicsNmore Dave Jones is running a test to see which batteries leak. It is going to take time. Should be interesting content once he analyses the results.
You did a terrific analysis on these! Thank you very much and looking forward to your next video!
Thanks for watching! Loved your latest video!
... should get test per 100 batteries of each type and take average.
The man himself!!
Project Farm always helping honest reviews not sold like many youtubers
Yours are better!
My concern with cheap batteries is leakage. I have had significant leakage in such devices as remote controls from both Walgreens and Aldi.
Very educational
Rayovac always seem to leak in my experience - even had some leak while not installed in any device, just sitting in a cabinet at room temperature.
Had my first leaks with Harbor Freight batteries earlier this year. Have used those for several years with no trouble until that.
Belated viewer here. Thanks for a thorough evaluation.
Loved the bromance exchange in the comments with Project Farm, LOL.
Important to comment for those not already used to taking this into account,
some of the bar chart scales start at pretty high values so the bar heights shown are not proportional to performance.
Picture the bars extending quite a ways below the bottom of the base of the chart.
Great video. A single summary slide at the end showing how much charge per $ you should expect may have been more concise ... but I think I got the gist :-)
Glad you enjoyed it. I think it's more effective to viewers the way I did it. Sometimes you get a point across to viewers easier by talking, rather than showing a chart. Thanks for watching!
@@electronicsNmore Love your videos. Long time watcher first time comment :) I agree with comment above that another graph at the end of the video with something like mAh/cost would be extremely valuable to your audience in these type of testing videos.
@Chris Shaeffer Glad you enjoy the videos. The majority of people like the charts at the end, because they skip through the video to find out the results. I've had multiple viewers admit they do it, and my analytics prove it. I can't have people jumping to the end of my video and not watching the rest of it. People like that aren't supporters of my work. I will always use charts in my videos, throughout the video, but no more charts at the end. I will line up all the batteries, and explain the results. Thanks for watching!
Would love to have seen energizer and Duracell in the comparison mix.
Hi there. The video was only for lower cost batteries, to see which are the best for the money. The video is ideal for those who refuse to pay top dollar for Duracell and Energizer. Thanks for watching! Don't forget to share the link, otherwise videos like this may not happen in the future.
Home Depot has quantity packs of Ray-O-Vac AAs and AAAs every Black Friday for about 30 cents per battery.
Great analysis! We also were introduced to that Battery Analyzer and to use the NiMH charger as a discharge tester device.
I have a LaCrosse BC-700, that does not allow this discharge-only feature, as it recharges after that = not good for primary battery measurements.
Great testing & analysis! Next you should test the respective rechargeable batteries. Since they cost a lot more, I wonder if the total life of the rechargeable batteries is worth the extra expense? Really enjoy your videos........ 👍👍👍👍
Glad you enjoyed the video Steve. If enough people take the time to share the video link, and the video does very well, there will be many more to come. Thanks for watching!
There are virtually no use cases where rechargeable batteries are not cheaper. There are some cases where they make little sense like in smoke detectors (you should NEVER put rechargeables in a smoke detector unless it is specifically made for that detector, mainly because they die very suddenly. When alkaline cells start dying, they can remain weak for weeks which allows the detector to tell you with periodic beeps that it needs to be replaced), but in most cases, especially if you already own a charger, they are better. It's not like the old days either. They now generally last as long per charge as an alkaline would.
If you are using them for a high or medium drain device, they are WAY better and will last longer than alkalines between charges. They are usually about 4 times the price. So if a AA costs on average, .50, a NIMH will run around $2-$3. My latest buy was eneloop 8 pack AA and was 18.99 That's 2.38 per battery. They allegedly can be charged 2,100 times. Even if it is "only" 500, that's a lot of charges.
@@tarstarkusz What about the rechargeable Li-Ion batteries? I've seen plenty of YT vids on AA & AAA's but don't see them in the stores.
@@RPRosen-ki2fk The problem with lithium ion is that most stores don't sell them. You have to get them on the internet or they come with the thing you are buying. It is generally a very bad idea. Lithium batteries are way more prone to catching fire than other types of rechargeable batteries if improperly charged. If you only charge the cell on an approved battery charger (for that battery), the risk almost entirely disappears.
But the big problem is you never know what you are ordering. There are a LOT of fake batteries where the specs are just made up completely. There are also a lot of counterfeits. A LOT of cells are re-wrapped by a local small dealer and their wraps are almost always total fantasy. They will take a very low grade battery and wrap it with a wrapper saying it's 3 or 4 times what it actually is or as a grade A cell, when it is really a low grade cell.
The voltage of lithium ion batteries is pretty wide. A charged cell has a 4.2v and a discharged cell has a 2.8 or so. Electronics designed to use lithium ion batteries can deal with the wide range. But they usually come with their own batteries.
@@tarstarkusz I thought they sounded to good to be true. That explains why you don't hear much about them, or see them in retail stores. Thanks for taking the time to reply, I appreciate the info.
Good video, very informative and helpful! Just a tip on the charts - this kind of comparison with bar charts should always have a vertical scale / Y-axis that starts at zero. That way, it is easy to see whether the lowest is 85% of the highest, or 50%, for example. Cheers.
Nice video, been using Dollar Tree Sunbeam AAAs for decades, never let me down, and they last forever in remotes, but they were sure a better deal when they were four to a pack...
Glad you liked the video!
A great and informative video. You showed an excellent comparison with graph charts to visually understand what you are getting for your money. Thank you
Thanks Jim! Please remember to share the video link with others.
Thanks for making these videos. RayOvac is made in Middleton (near Madison) Wisconsin. For just a few cents more you can support an American worker. I only buy RayOvac.
I like buying American as well, but the Rayovacs cost more than twice as much. Thanks for watching!
Energizer owns rayovac now
Very thorough testing. Congratulations and thank you for sharing!
You're welcome Philippe! Be sure to share the video link with many others, and check out my very wide range of videos for many other videos of interest to you. Thanks
Excellent video! Thanks for making it, I've always wondered about the best for the money.
You're welcome! It was fun to make. Don't forget to share. Thank you
This is something that i don't think about everyday ..its interesting to see someone do this to see its usage and longevity and cost. i take batteries out when not in use just in case of leakage. Thanks !!!!!! will be sharing your vids
Glad you enjoyed my video. Very few viewers are nice enough to take 1 or 2 minutes of their time to share the video link with others. I appreciate it! Thanks
Great video and testing, this is info we can use, thank you!
Thanks Rob, but so far it's a waste of 2 days. People don't share the link.
This is the best battery test video!!! Thank you so much!!!
Glad you liked it! Please share the video link with others. Thanks
The cheapest by far is rechargeable. Either Lithium or Ni-Zn. Sometimes, Ni-Mh if the item will work well on the lower voltage.
Have you ever thought about, what the argument for a diagram is? I did, and the conclusion is: To make data visible in a way, that it tells you the story immediately.
At 6:13 I get the impression, that the highest voltage of the highest item is 7.5 times the voltage of the lowest. The common y-axis cutting. Looking at the numbers I see, it is only a difference of 1% which you measured. If the span between those batteries was only 1/10th of what you measured, you could have shown exactly the same graph, just with different labels (1.6001 to 1.6016). Don't do this.
The discharging is performed until reaching 0.9 V. This would have been a reasonable starting point for the diagram, but should have been pointed out.
At 11:46 the next graph with cropped y-axis is shown, the capacity from 890 to 1120 mAh. I don't think there is a better zero point than zero. A chart of double height should indicate, that it will last twice as long under same circumstances. Everything else is exaggerating the differences. In reality, the difference is about 20%. That's the difference, the graph should make visible at a glance.
So I have to stop the video and start calculating for my own.
Except from that, and maybe the weight measurements, I like your videos and rarely missed one in the last months.
Your table calculation program should have the option to produce xy-diagrams, where a comparison price/mAh could be shown intelligently. Building the quotient yourself is of course a second option, but if the battery is hard to change, maybe because of screws or the device hanging from the ceiling, price per mAh might not be the only important measurement.
Can you recommend a free charting program or link to one that starts at zero? The program I use does it the way you see in the video.
@@electronicsNmore Well, if I try with with LibrOffice Calc, it produces such misleading graphs by default, and it is a pretty pain in the ass, to get the y-axis right clicked with the mouse, to get a context menu, where axis formatting has to be chosen, tab: scaling, where I have to uncheck the box "automatic" at the entry minimum and select 0. This should be the default.
Alternatively, I can click on the diagram such that it gets highlighted and LibreOffice changes to graph-mode (my name for this). Then I can select "format/axis" from the menu and proceede as above. More convenient than selecting an axis by mouse, imho.
If I would do this more often, more than once per month, I would investigate, whether there is an option to switch the default, or maybe a macro, to perform this task more easily.
You see......many make the graphs that way. The only reason why 2 or 3 in my video started at zero, is because I edited them with Gimp. It was a real pain.
@@electronicsNmore Yeah, quantity vs. quality. I had a look on how to do it with gnuplot, which I use for a line diagram, but I wasn't successful in finding an easy way to do bar charts. The errormessages from gnuplot aren't helpful for me at all.
Might the LibreOffice (like OpenOffice) Calc way help you?
If I would edit graphs by hand, I probably would use Inkscape, not Gimp, to do so, but in the beginning Inkscape (a 2D-vector drawing program) has its own hurdles, too.
Another solution, I forgot to mention, is inserting a dummy row with 0 value:
Curadell 980
Mamazone 1029
Ultratonic 1005
(dummy) 0
I like the 0 idea.
Another neat set of tests. I almost hate to bring it up....especially since you went out of your way to go to IKEA to get theirs....but what about Kirkland batteries (Costco)? I hope you got a pack of IKEA's CR2032s while you were there though.... :)
(fixed autocorrect's idea of a joke about theorem)
I was going to buy the CR2032's while there, but the expiration date was only 2 years away. Thanks for watching! Sharing the video link would be greatly appreciated.
I said the same thing about costco.. And BJs . and CVS .
What were the claimed capacities printed on the batteries (if at all)? It'd be interesting to know how close it was to the measured values.
Hi there. The capacities aren't shown on the packaging. They're only shown on the company's datasheets. The different brands usually test at a LOWER discharge rate, by using a lower rate, the battery capacity will show higher. I chose 100mA because I had several devices that used more than 100mA, and several that were lower. The discharge curve would be very similar in appearance if you looked at a 25, 50, 100, 200mA drain.
I mean, driving to an Ikea 25 miles away just to get batteries won't save you any money if you have a Harbor Freight in the same mall as your grocery store.
In any case, the only batteries I buy from HF now are the blue Thunderbolt Edge batteries when they go on sale.
Another TH-camr did Alkaline AA and/or AAA corrosion testing and Energizer was the best at lowest corrosion of the brands and models he tested. In fact, I don't remember there being any at all with Energizer. This is the leakage that others here have complained about in comments here. Have you ever done such testing? If not, that would be my suggestion for another comparison video on Alkaline batteries. I looked through your videos and didn't see one. Thanks for this one!!!
How about the ACDelco AAA Batteries, Alkaline Battery, Bulk Pack, 100 Count? At $25 US on Amazon, those come really cheap at a quarter each. Have you ever had a chance to put them to the test?
Never tested them. I'd make another video, but this video turned out to be a huge waste of time and money because hardly anyone watched. TH-cam has a habit of hiding my videos way down the search results, and pushing inferior videos higher up in the search results.
@@electronicsNmore That's too bad because your videos are great and this one in particular beats all the others in the battery testing arena. I'll make sure to share the link as much as possible, even on FB! Keep up the fantastic work!
@@philippebruno8039 Thanks Philippe
Great video! How about a follow u that includes “Kirkland” from. Costco as well. Duracell and Eveready?
If this video did better, I would've already made one for those batteries because many others asked. Sadly this video was a total waste of my time because YT hid the video way down the search results, and not enough viewers shared the video link. I spent many hours filming/editing this video, spent money, and drove 45 miles RT to buy the Ikea batteries. Anything less than 50,000 views is a loss. YT is a full time job for me. Thanks for watching
Costco batteries are just rebranded Duracell.
Being a battery addict...
Very valuable information...thanks
Great to hear Robert! Please share.
Have you used your analyzer to test allmax or Fuji enviromax? Another tester rated those the best and at about $0.32 a battery
The new HF thunderbolt EDGE version of batteries are far better than the old thunderbolt. I picked up the Activ ones at Aldi and the ones I tested were very low capacity. I think I only got around 500 mah from AAA's. Must have been old stock. I will have to check at date code on them. Great video as always. Thanx.
Very surprised, the Aldi batteries did very well.
@@electronicsNmore Well I just checked the batteries I got. I bought them in Sept 2019. Date codes are 2025 and 2026 for the two 8 packs I have. I also see that they are "Made In China, not Germany. Now that probably explains things. Weird!!! Or as they say, "Now that's your problem". When did you buy yours? I will have to look at the Aldis stock next time I am there to see if they have German batteries now. I am running a test on them now again, with one battery from each year class. I checked no load voltage and they are like 1.605 volts. As soon as I started discharge at 200 ma. they dropped to 1.33 volts after 3 minutes of discharge. 200 ma is as low as my Maha MH-C9000 will go for discharge. That is not an excessive load for AAAs but they should not drop that fast. I will comment again when they are done with results.
I went to Aldi's yesterday and I looked at the Active batteries. They were all "Made in China" Do they still have any "Made In Germany" Active batteries out your way????? The Made in China Active's are crap. I got 375 to 450 mah out of several AAA batteries I tested. They are only 4 months old. SUre would like to get some of the German ones. Good price and good power capability
Wow, at my store they all say "Made in Germany".
@@electronicsNmore FOLLOWUP I just checked today. They had the Made in Germany ones. Unfortunately i needed AA they only had AAA. I will grab some and test them to confirm Germany made is superior.
Wish you would have tested the new Harbor Freight batteries. Curious to see how they compare.
New? I only saw the orange packed type.
@@electronicsNmore Yeah the new Thunderbolt Edge came out last year I think. It's a blue package. They come 18 to a pack and are a bit more than the regular alkies. I watch for them on sale. Was wondering how much better they are. But I'm glad to know Ikea has great batteries. There's one about 20 minute away. Enjoy your channel.
Very good video thank you. You need to do this for NiMh rechargeable batteries!
Thank you, and you're welcome! Be sure to share the video link with others, and watch my 9V alkaline and CR2032 videos below.
th-cam.com/video/NlJOuQV_JwU/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/vQwaV5IbZV0/w-d-xo.html
Keep it up 🏅
Only if people share. LOL. Glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for watching
I use Rayovac High Energy AA and AAA batteries... they don't last as long as others, but they do not leak. Lowes sells Rayovac High Energy AA batteries in a 36 pack for $16 and change. This comes to about $0.47 each.
A better deal than Amazon. Thanks for watching Jeff! Please share the video link.
Great video! You should do similar tests with AA batteries.
Glad you enjoyed it Alex. Unless enough people start sharing this video on social networking sites, I won't be making another. I can't spend 2 days filming/editing, driving 25 miles to buy stuff for only a few thousand views. Meanwhile people upload pure stupidity to YT and get hundreds of thousand of views or more. Makes no sense. Videos like this need to get a minimum of 50,000 high retention views for my time to be even partially compensated. Thanks for watching!
Now you need to add Kirkland (Costco) to your test! Word is they are manufactured by Duracell.
I thought of those. :-). If enough people share this video, I may do another. Thanks
That's a good one my friend you are my idol
Nice test again 👍
Battery testing is generally not done like this. Can you do a video where you more closely mimic the real test? The way manufacturers report the batteries is usually at 3 different drain levels done intermittently. Constant drain, like the test you are running here almost always pre-maturely kills the battery. The data sheet tests usually involve an hour or 2 per day. It will take more time, but it can help making the best choice.
Can you do a internal resistance test at various intervals of the test? Cheaper batteries will go much higher at 50% than better ones. This is how you end up with 1/2 dead batteries in the trash. The light dims, or the KB starts messing up etc.
Open circuit voltage is more or less useless. Voltage under a small load would be useful somewhat.
All other things equal, weight is a good measure of battery capacity. Unfortunately, all other things are generally not equal. The battery case could be thicker or thinner depending on the brand.
You make the video then smart guy.
Incorrect. The test I performed was good, and it mimics REAL LIFE uses. There are a few tests that can be done, you mentioned another one. I guess you didn't see the packages where they show flashlights, small gaming devices, and motorized toys. All those devices draw a fairly high CONSTANT level of current. According to you, I did everything wrong. LOL. I agree with Echo, make your own video. Be prepared to spend many days testing, since you want a low current pulsed test.
@@electronicsNmore What device do you put batteries in, turn on and leave on at a constant current from new to dead? In the real world, current draw will want to go up (though it usually cannot), not stay the same and use is intermittent. Nobody keeps a constant finger on their remote. The recovery between uses extends the life.
I'm not saying your test is bad or that you did it wrong. There are reasons to do this test over the test I suggested and reasons to do it the way I suggested. I only suggested it because the battery data sheets all give intermittent use data.
Isn’t there a graphic program you could hook up to the test? And hand another switch program switch the circuit on and off?
You would have been well served by viewing some better battery test videos before you began. The initial noload voltage test was pretty useless, because even truly crappy batterys can produce a reasonable voltage under noload conditions. Battery weight has no relationship with any other battery property although the lightest battery will waste the fewest resources. It is also true that cheap batteries are inappropriate for high current devices like rc cars, yet these are the only applications where a battery is discharged in one continuous use. Real world usage is either 6-20 sessions of ½-3 hours (portable games, flashlights) or many hundreds of uses of a few seconds each (tv remote).
2 points you did not compare - #1. the harbor freight's bottom anode area is smaller and not sufficiently higher than the case ,which in my experience, results in the device's spring terminal sliding partially or wholly off touching the exterior case repeatedly on multiple devices. especially, if the device is dropped, jarred or vibrated. oh yeah, need that in the dark attic/basement/under the house. #2. in all sizes, the top anode nipple of some low priced batteries is a tad shorter and will fail to connect to deep set positive device terminals. never had that problem with Sunbeams bought at different named dollar stores "BUT" you need to double check the expire date.
A 2D graph showing on X axis the capacity, and on Y axis the resistance would be useful. Practically we want the battery to be in the bottom right. Another important test is the resistance change with temperature.
I though of adding more tests, but due to the low view count(lack of sharing), I'm glad I didn't spend more time making this video. Another money losing video.
What are the best cheap batteries to buy at Dollar Tree
My videos show that. Panasonic, Sunbeam, and ecircuit are only sold by me.
@@electronicsNmore should I get sunbeam
Great video!!
Thank you Gary! Glad you enjoyed it. Be sure to share.
I will not recommend Aldi's one, my experience is they are not for long term storage, All the aldi alkaline battery I bought end up being corroded. Many are still inside the device when it happened. These all happened within 2 years of purchasing. But the package seems different from the one in video, may be they get improved?
I've seen the same with Duracell.
OK I tested an Eveready AAA gold alkaline battery, discharging it at 100ma. It was at 1.547V at the start and went down to .9V at the end of the discharge. It bounced back up to 1.32V after resting. It had a capacity of 419mah. That's pretty much garbage. I won't be buying those anymore. They are made in the USA.
I also tested a Harbor Freight zinc carbon (Heavy Duty) battery, discharging at 100ma. It was at 1.584V at the start and went down to .9V very fast. It's capacity was 1mah. No wonder it was free.
That sounds too low. Using a 100mA constant current drain only lasted 4hrs 11 mins? Thanks sucks. LOL Thanks for testing Walt!
@@electronicsNmore I know it sounds too low. I tested them on my Powerex charger. I think it's pretty accurate. I've tested many NiMH batteries with it. The AAA Eneloops are rated at 750mah and all tested in the 750s on my Powerex. In all fairness to Eveready, the battery I tested probably sat in my drawer for 1 or 2 years. Who knows how long it sat in the store but the voltage was still over 1.5.
Very good info! I would be interested to know how the Member's Mark at Sam's Club batteries compare?
Thanks JoLynn! Glad you liked the video. I may test them in the future. Be sure to watch and share my "Battery Testing" video playlist below.
th-cam.com/play/PLQ6IOhUBblU2CFaGRj9eB2I38yHnW5FQz.html
What, no Eveready Gold? They're low price. I buy them for .31 each on sale.
Im not sure but i think E gold is zinc not Alkaline
I tested the most popular sellers. If enough people share this video, so it doesn't become a total waste of time, then I'll make another showing what viewers suggested. As of now, I'm glad I didn't spend more time making this video. Thanks for watching.
hi W P...
'
who is a word - THEY -
@@electronicsNmore Duracell has to be very high in popularity (and price). Next time.........please.
@Lee Almond This video was about LOWER priced alternatives to Duracell and Energizer. Both are high priced.
I really don't like those sunbeam batteries. They don't work at all for some of my devices. I put fresh sunbeam batteries in my camera, and it doesn't turn on at all. i switched the brand and what do you know it works
bulk pack 48 energizer AAA batteries on amazon for $23. Less than 50 cents a battery, for a premium brand, with the 'if it leaks, we'll fix anything' guarantee. Cant be beat.
Having the company fix or replace what the batteries leaked inside of is nice, but some devices cannot be replaced, and you also don't need the huge inconvenience of not having the device when you need it.
I have tested several AA batteries and as long as they are alkaline not the super duty or anything you are good
Yes, many do well, but you also need to factor in cost. Thanks for watching!
it would be nice to have a chart in cents/mah or cent/ah
I explained it really well at the end. If I placed a chart at the end, then people would just skip over the entire video to look at the chart. As a YT creator that spends a lot of money and time making videos, I cannot have that. Thanks for watching!
I have had good luck with rayovac
They're not bad.
I recommend avoiding Ray-O-Vac. Leakiest batteries I ever bought, particularly the AA's. Went back to Duracell.
Keep in mind Harbor Freight has an alkaline and an alkaline "Edge" which is advertised as outperforming even the best alkalizes. Also possibly your dollar store batteries might have reduced the package size from 4 to 3 to keep the price at $1 per package?
Yes, I didn't see the Alkaline Edge, I would've tested them. I thought of that also, about the dollar store battery price, but I think they're selling so well, and that's why they did it. Thanks for watching!
Given the Rayovacs, I think I'll spring for the "Made in America" brand than more cheap Chinese "stuff". Kinda had it with everything in my house being a subsidiary of China. Why no Duracell or Energizer?
This video was testing LOW COST batteries.
I buy the best deal. If China makes the best deal im not spending more just to buy American. Patriotism does not mean over spending & being broke. I don't blame China if they put there country first. Also the higher prices you see in America are attributed to the Federal Governments attack on our own energy sector with stupid Regulations. The same reasons the gas process are so high. Politician's & Partisans like to chalk it all up to Chinas "Cheap Labor" which is very misleading & dishonest. The TRUTH is when everything is taxed & regulated it goes up which causes the cost of living to go up, so solely comparing wages is disingenuous & misleading. Imagine how much more affordable everything in America would be if the Government just did what they were supposed to instead of trying to manipulate everything. What people should be asking themselves is why Politician's tell them saving money & being smart with your finances equates to being a "subsidiary of China".
No maxell battery testing?
Try the Harbor Freight rechargeable batteries. They perform better than the Rayovac and the Energizers. Judging from the way they perform I am starting to thing that they are actually LiFePO batteries. They start at about 1.4 run a LONG time and them just die, instead of fading.
LiFePo are 3.6v batteries vs LiOn at 3.7v. Its unsafe to charge LiFePo in a LiOn charger bc of the charging characteristics. So it would be very dangerous for them and a huge product liability to make that substitution
@@MessalineApghar Several companies have done this in larger batteries. Since the power density is so much higher the "battery" part of the battery is very small. Which leaves a lot of room for the electronics to convert the voltage and protect the battery. Whether this can/has been done on AA/AAA batteries I do not know. Space would be tight. I can tell you that the batteries start out and hold at 1.4V. Most other batteries I use(rechargeable) slowly drop voltage and the device gets a little laggy before it stops working. These Harbor Freight run fine and then just stop working. Which in my experience is a LiFePo behavior.
I hate graphs that don't start at zero, it overemphasises the difference.
If I needed four batteries, I would not buy two of the 3-pack of SUNBEAM batteries. I wouldn't ever consider that. I would go right to the best four battery deal. They are quite wrong if they think people would buy 6 when they only need four.
When I have a device go dead from battery use, I check all the batteries with a simple tester. 100% of the time, one battery of the bunch has gone completely dead, while the other batteries are still good! So, buy a simple tester and save a lot of money. The real cheap knock off brands seem to have more batteries go dead than top name brands.
Why didn't you do Duracell since that is one of the biggest name brands that stores carry?
Because I was only comparing low-cost aaa's
Using 920 mAh for the bottom of the scale is deceptive. The 920 mAh Harbor Freight is only 15% less than the 1091 mAh Amazon Basic. Your graphic make it look like it the capacity is only 20% of the 1091 mAh.
Rayovs "Made in U.S A with US and global parts" means packaging/labels - not "Made in the USA"
True....
I'm pretty sure the Rayovac plants in WI are still spitting out batteries not packaging. They've been at it for over 100 years.
@Brian that isnt necessarily true. It could be . but without investigating their production location you have no basis for the comment.
They actually have several US plants .
"Assembled in the US" requires more than just being packaged here. Just ask dewalt.
Probably the terminal caps and electrode spirals and chemicals are all sourced elsewhere and assmbled here in the US.
They make the batteries in the U.S. with parts from the u.s. and foreign countries
A test for leakage would be nice as well.
Really a tough test. I'd need to drain down the batteries, then leave them inside a few devices under higher temp conditions. It would take a very long time to do. Thanks for watching! Be sure to share.
@@electronicsNmore Indeed. I've had some batteries leak; e.g., Duracell, at room temperature when they are depleted. Perhaps snip a 100 ohm resistor across those you have already tested and let them sit.
You can still get 4x sunbeam batteries for dollar, if you are lucky. I would be interested price/capacity for Duracell (for fun). Personally I would never buy Duracell. I am laughing, when I see people buying dry cells :D, and they they think how smart they are.
Thanks for watching Karol! Be sure to share the video link with others.
You capacity bar chart is really misleading because the x-axis does not start from 0. Giving us the impression that Amazon Basics is several times better than Harbor Freight. Also, a simple transformation of a chart showing capacity per $0.01 would have been much useful.
All the numbers were shown, so I don't see how it's misleading. Many of the charting programs do the exact same thing, they chop the bottom of all the bars off, and only show you the upper portion like you see. The 2 charts that started at zero, were because I modified them using an image editor, which is a real pain in the rear. I did find a work around for future videos. As for the capacity per $0.01, the way I explained it to viewers was better. You also have viewers that don't watch the video, they skip through it looking for charts, which doesn't support all my hard work. Thanks for watching
I don't know what charting program you use, but Excel and Google Sheet can certainly start from 0.
Which AAA Lithium rechargeables are best? Not NiMH - NiMH are useless, their voltage starts too low for most electronics. Lithium is the future. Having some problems with lifetimes. Some haven't lasted ten-recharges. Others are on a hundred cycles? Maybe a depth of charge issue? Also, manufacturer specs on capacity seem arbitrary and haven't found the best yet?
Very tough testing them for cycles(extremely time consuming), but different capacity tests aren't a problem. Thanks for watching Tom!
That Sunbeam Ultra package saying "34% more power" is a crock of shit! Lots of brands do this thing telling you percentages better, but they never ever say compared to what, because it's completely made-up!
Many companies exaggerate claims(Or flat out lie). Maybe under very low current drain it lasts longer, but for the type of devices I use, it didn't supply 34% more power. Thanks for watching!
Rayovacs are about .28 cents at walmart in a 48 or 72 pack.
me I have had curiosity in battery power and capacity
Thanks for watching William!
I disagree because low drain and high drain is not a scientific rating as the actual rating for AAA is 10watt in series and when a battery drops below its floating point output wattage its considered spent.
My testing results are reliable. Buy what you want.
@@electronicsNmore You should test in led licht which is not causing as much heat
I don't know but any batteries I buy they don't last I been buying brand batteries cheap one as well and they never last me that's why I bought me a wired controller for my Xbox 360 that controller eat lots of batteries every week I wasted 6 batteries I used to spend $100 each month but that's over wired controller are the way to go I only buy for my remote controls tv mini stereo system my boombox remote control and flashlights. 🔦 And nowadays batteries are expensive
Which one won?
I made that very clear if you watched the video.
You left out quite a few;
the 2 warehouse club brands, Berkeley Johnson from BJs clubs, and kirkland from Costco clubs.
Also CVS pharmacy has their own house-brand.
And Kodak is a cheap brand name often "dumped" on Woot.
If I had to include every brand, the video would be almost 1/2 hr long. I chose the most popular sellers. Thanks for watching.
@@electronicsNmore good video BTW, which is why we're all curious about all the brands lol. If it were poorly done we would click and move on.
CVS and other drug store alkaline batteries are overpriced, Kodak batteries are hard to find, but Sams & Costco are fairly popular.
@@electronicsNmore i havent seen a sams club branded battery. But BJs clubs do have self branded too. If you dont know or have them around, They're a yankee chain expanding down the east coast
@@electronicsNmore experientially i am not surprized ikea did so well but also i expect costco edges out the ikea for value .. in price per mAh
Weird. Back on Jan 28th, I got 100pk of amazon performance AAA for $21.99. Wouldn’t that make theses the Best Buy ??
That's a very good deal at 22 - 23 cents each, but most people won't buy that many at one time. Thanks for watching!
Sadly dollar tree no longer carriers Panasonic or Sunbeam its all E Circuit now.
I still see them, but in much smaller quantities. Thanks for watching!
Those IKEA ones WILL LEAK over time. I've had SO many of them leak on me, so avoid those.
Duracells also leak.
Packaging is a bit over the top for 2.
Amazon and Ikea?
@@electronicsNmore For 2 batteries.
Even without factoring in the false claims on capacity the Sunbeams package says 34% more power but you only get 2 batteries (50% fewer batteries) for the same cost. 🤦🏻♂️
I only buy the Sunbeam Alkaline batteries from the dollar store.
electronicsNmore
I think your missing my point. Even if the ultras lived up to their nebulous claim of 34% more power (more than what?) because you only get 2 for the same price as the 3 pack you are in effect getting 50% less power.
No, I understood. :-)
electronicsNmore
Then I don’t get the relevances of your first reply, I already stated they cost the same per pack.
Oh, how I wish IKEA were closer. Dollar Tree has batteries for cheap too. I am boycotting Energizer and Rayovac. They have leaked and ruined stuff of mine.
Too bad there was no test on Kirkland
I'm glad I didn't get too carried away buying more batteries, this video should've gotten at least a few hundred thousand views. At this point it was a big waste of time and money due to viewers that don't share, and TH-cam hiding my videos way down the search results. Thanks for watching
They cant be worse than duracell with leakage.
Duracell batteries are pretty bad when it comes to leaking.
plot $/mAhr
another tweak. what's the point.
What are you talking about?
Thunderbolt and Dollar general are Junk
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which AAA batterys are MADE IN AMERICA
He clearly said where each battery brand was made in the video. There was only one made in America.
EH KOK MADE IN INDONESIA?
Disposable batteries should be banned. Only rechargeables should be sold.
AAAs meh
Ikea is the Harbor Freight of houseware products. It's all cheap China made items pretending to be from another country. They may not be the cheapest, but I will stay with the American made Rayovac.
I agree with that. I like to buy American also, but sometimes the cost is too high, especially for people on a fixed income. Thanks for watching!
I’ve been buying the Sunbeams at DollarTree for years.
Same with me. I did a test on Sunbeam Alkaline AA's 2 1/2 years ago, and they performed very well. Thanks for watching! Please share.
The cheapest by far is rechargeable. Either Lithium or Ni-Zn. Sometimes, Ni-Mh if the item will work well on the lower voltage.
My concern with cheap batteries is leakage. I have had significant leakage in such devices as remote controls from both Walgreens and Aldi.
Duracell just as bad.
@@electronicsNmore Dave Jones is running a test to see which batteries leak. It is going to take time. Should be interesting content once he analyses the results.
@@electronicsNmore Yes I had Duracell ruin a $80 multimeter. I no longer buy them no matter what the cost.
I find that to be a problem with some brands. Ikea and costco seem to be relatively good about chemical leakage