I remember as a kid I’d go into radio shack and buy those super cheap green batteries. They were pretty bad, but when you’re a little bro and need your mom to give u change, they came in clutch
Thank. It surprised me too. Here’s a followup where I checked the results vs an actual use scenario: Best AA Battery - Real World Test | Thunderbolt Edge - Rayovac - Duracell Energizer - Voniko + th-cam.com/video/WAOunvjucwk/w-d-xo.html
Alkalines are better for longevity, but if you want real performance (for flashlights, RC cars, Cameras, thermostats etc) Lithium is the best option. They provide 1.5V until the end of it's life, idle drain is much lower thus 50% more battery life compares to similar mAh Alakalines and they are totally weather proof too. Alkalines drop their voltage drastically over time and their idle drain is very noticeable. NiMH and Lithium rechargeable batteries will save you a ton of money compared to all those disposable batteries but charging them over and over again will become bit of a hassle for some folks.
That Opus charger is good gear. I've been using one for several years and newer one purchased 2022-ish. I second the opinion about duracell leaking. I gave up on them (and the Kirtland/Costco version seems the same). Energizer and Ray-O-Vac haven't leaked for me. I have some Sony now, so far so good. The Ray-O-Vac were a couple of 16 packs purchased locally because I ran out. Usually I buy bulk. The Energizer were their "industrial" version packaged about 100 in a cardboard box. In AAA I'm currently using Husky (Home Depot). Whatever you do, avoid Lucas batteries. Bulk purchase but 4 to a package and at least one of them from each pack were dead out of the package so I had to set them aside and get some others for the family to use. Now in addition to being dead (about 5 years in because I use them slowly without the family helping) almost every pack I have also has leakage.
I started using the thunderbolt's in anything that uses batteries that i can reach, anything i need a ladder for gets Energizer Lithium. You typically can catch the Thunderbolts on sale for much less than what you paid, last batteries i bought were about $5 a pack. If they arent on sale, they almost always have a 10% off coupon now
Very true. I actually paid $5.99 for these thanks to a 20% coupon, but I thought I should use the regular price since someone that needs batteries is likely to need them NOW and might not have the luxury of shopping smart....especially with 9v smoke detector battery needs 😁
I just bought a 48 pack of Kirkland AA batteries at Costco yesterday for $15.99. I wonder how they would fare in your testing. They have the 12 year shelf life guarantee too. They say they are assembled in the USA of foreign and domestic components. The price is right, but this is the first time trying them.
I tested AA alkaline, carbon-zinc, and lithium cells to compare cost to energy. I found that alkaline cells are by an order of magnitude the best cost per watt. I have had several batches of alkaline cells leak prematurely causing significant damage to appliances and toys. I was giving my kids the cheaper heavy duty cells until I discovered they are extremely expensive per watt. I hesitate to use alkaline now because of how much time I waste cleaning the electrolyte from appliances and toys. I met a guy that had some cheap Chinese made alkaline cells burn up in the truck of his car. I'm guessing there was some magnesium that came out of solution and shorted which spontaneously ignited.
The more important thing is if the batteries leak. Doesn’t matter how much power if the battery leaks and ruins your devices. Energizer lithium is the way to go.
I'm surprised you are surprised. If your only competition is another company you own you never lose. Years ago my father proved yo me that there was only four manufacturers of aout batteries. Turns out almost the same with tires. 😅
The fan better replicates actual conditions since without it the electronics is the device warm the two inner cells making them perform better than the outside. The fan mitigates that heat.
Two bicyclists pedal 1000 times in 5 minutes until they are equally tired, analogous to current for a duration of time to a terminal voltage. The better rider goes a full mile, the weaker rider travels only half a mile. Why is that? The Opus tester would say both riders performed the same thing. It's basically reporting how hard they tried, not how well they went the distance.
Does the average person that puts a battery in their device care if the internal chemistry was optimized to work more efficiently? I don’t think so. I think they just want a battery that will last 5 hours instead of 4 given the same load. Which is what this discharge will show simulating a 400mA draw
@@kev-reviews mA is not power. It is not load. It is a means to an end. Your engine turns at 3000 RPM on the highway. It would be wrong to say that the only thing people care about is their cars ability to spin at 3000 RPM for 4 hours. It would only apply for engines of the exact same size and hp curve
@@kev-reviews Except when it doesn't. Take a look at hunting farmer battery test in a camera. He got 5X the battery life out of lithium cells which only have 2X the mA*h rating of alkaline cells. How do you explain this? Recommend learning: Ohm's law and Watt's law.
I remember as a kid I’d go into radio shack and buy those super cheap green batteries. They were pretty bad, but when you’re a little bro and need your mom to give u change, they came in clutch
Great video. I am just beside myself on the Energizer Max doing so poorly. Thank you for doing these tests.
Thank. It surprised me too. Here’s a followup where I checked the results vs an actual use scenario:
Best AA Battery - Real World Test | Thunderbolt Edge - Rayovac - Duracell Energizer - Voniko +
th-cam.com/video/WAOunvjucwk/w-d-xo.html
Alkalines are better for longevity, but if you want real performance (for flashlights, RC cars, Cameras, thermostats etc) Lithium is the best option. They provide 1.5V until the end of it's life, idle drain is much lower thus 50% more battery life compares to similar mAh Alakalines and they are totally weather proof too. Alkalines drop their voltage drastically over time and their idle drain is very noticeable. NiMH and Lithium rechargeable batteries will save you a ton of money compared to all those disposable batteries but charging them over and over again will become bit of a hassle for some folks.
That Opus charger is good gear. I've been using one for several years and newer one purchased 2022-ish.
I second the opinion about duracell leaking. I gave up on them (and the Kirtland/Costco version seems the same). Energizer and Ray-O-Vac haven't leaked for me. I have some Sony now, so far so good. The Ray-O-Vac were a couple of 16 packs purchased locally because I ran out. Usually I buy bulk. The Energizer were their "industrial" version packaged about 100 in a cardboard box. In AAA I'm currently using Husky (Home Depot).
Whatever you do, avoid Lucas batteries. Bulk purchase but 4 to a package and at least one of them from each pack were dead out of the package so I had to set them aside and get some others for the family to use. Now in addition to being dead (about 5 years in because I use them slowly without the family helping) almost every pack I have also has leakage.
Thanks for sharing
I started using the thunderbolt's in anything that uses batteries that i can reach, anything i need a ladder for gets Energizer Lithium.
You typically can catch the Thunderbolts on sale for much less than what you paid, last batteries i bought were about $5 a pack. If they arent on sale, they almost always have a 10% off coupon now
Very true. I actually paid $5.99 for these thanks to a 20% coupon, but I thought I should use the regular price since someone that needs batteries is likely to need them NOW and might not have the luxury of shopping smart....especially with 9v smoke detector battery needs 😁
Great job.
you should do more of these videos! They are super interesting!
I just bought a 48 pack of Kirkland AA batteries at Costco yesterday for $15.99. I wonder how they would fare in your testing. They have the 12 year shelf life guarantee too. They say they are assembled in the USA of foreign and domestic components. The price is right, but this is the first time trying them.
Sadly, we don’t have a Costco. If you want to spare 4, I’ll test them 😁
I have had good success with Edge and AC Delco Ultramax
Love to see a House Brand shootout. HDX from home depot etc. Thanks
I tested AA alkaline, carbon-zinc, and lithium cells to compare cost to energy. I found that alkaline cells are by an order of magnitude the best cost per watt. I have had several batches of alkaline cells leak prematurely causing significant damage to appliances and toys. I was giving my kids the cheaper heavy duty cells until I discovered they are extremely expensive per watt. I hesitate to use alkaline now because of how much time I waste cleaning the electrolyte from appliances and toys.
I met a guy that had some cheap Chinese made alkaline cells burn up in the truck of his car. I'm guessing there was some magnesium that came out of solution and shorted which spontaneously ignited.
The more important thing is if the batteries leak. Doesn’t matter how much power if the battery leaks and ruins your devices. Energizer lithium is the way to go.
I'm surprised you are surprised. If your only competition is another company you own you never lose. Years ago my father proved yo me that there was only four manufacturers of aout batteries. Turns out almost the same with tires. 😅
You don't want to use a fan because in real world conditions you won't have a fan on them.
The fan better replicates actual conditions since without it the electronics is the device warm the two inner cells making them perform better than the outside. The fan mitigates that heat.
Two bicyclists pedal 1000 times in 5 minutes until they are equally tired, analogous to current for a duration of time to a terminal voltage. The better rider goes a full mile, the weaker rider travels only half a mile. Why is that? The Opus tester would say both riders performed the same thing. It's basically reporting how hard they tried, not how well they went the distance.
Does the average person that puts a battery in their device care if the internal chemistry was optimized to work more efficiently? I don’t think so. I think they just want a battery that will last 5 hours instead of 4 given the same load. Which is what this discharge will show simulating a 400mA draw
@@kev-reviews mA is not power. It is not load. It is a means to an end. Your engine turns at 3000 RPM on the highway. It would be wrong to say that the only thing people care about is their cars ability to spin at 3000 RPM for 4 hours. It would only apply for engines of the exact same size and hp curve
They care how far they can get. When I’m comparing mah draw and over how long that took…pretty good example of what to expect from a battery
@@kev-reviews Except when it doesn't. Take a look at hunting farmer battery test in a camera. He got 5X the battery life out of lithium cells which only have 2X the mA*h rating of alkaline cells. How do you explain this? Recommend learning: Ohm's law and Watt's law.
And if I were discharging lithium cells using my same method they would last longer than the alkaline