Bob Werre

I only have a few things that use standard batteries--generally AA or AAA. I have 4 Pocket Wizzard remote controls in which I've been using Ever-ready (my assistant calls them Never-ready!). They've been good to me until just recently. I'll recharge them but find them nearly dead a few days later. My problem is I don't know the 'health' of each battery as I mix them up and only have put dates on a few. I have a standard volt meter but that doesn't show how long a battery will last in use. Other than replacing every 2-3 years is there a meter I can use?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Are the Eveready batteries rechargeable? If they are alkalines, that's why they don't hold a charge after recharging. They are not designed to be recharged.

I get Mallory AA/AAA Duracells (alkaline) in bulk at Costco for the everyday stuff, remotes, thermometers, clocks, ... . They last a long time on the shelf.

MANY YEARS ago I found a battery meter (Berkley Outdoorsman), possibly at Walmart or a sports store. It checks C, D, AA, AAA and 9-volt.

Check Home Depot; Lowes has one by Amprobe for about $8.

rrkazman

You can apply a heavy load to the battery for a few seconds. Check the Voltage level before applying the load. Then I recommend a 10 ohm 2 Watt resistor across the thermals for a couple of seconds. Not to long it is a heavy load. The resistor could get a little warm. When your remove it check the voltage again, it should be very near what it was if the battery is good. If it is marginal the voltage will have fallen off significantly.

Bob Werre

I'm sorry, the Ever-readies are rechargeable and I've been doing so for maybe 4-5 years, so I've gotten good use from them overall. What I can't figure out--is which ones are going bad and which ones are really bad--after a couple of days! Generally, I tend to use either Powerex/One Power or Eneloop from Thomas Distributing, but I hate to wait several days for them to show up--hence the Ever-readies. The Eneloop are supposed to discharge slowly but I don't really have a way to determine that. I've been told that Panasonic makes them. I use the 9volt versions in my hobby of model railroading where I generally get 4-5 years from them at 10-8 volts which is amazing to me. Indeed I'll try the 10ohm 2 Watt load to check things out! It's embarrassing to try a couple of batteries then find out the replacements you just charged are doing the same. I do carry some lithiums as a back up of the backups!

PhotogHobbyist Loc: Bradford, PA

I have been using NiMH rechargeables for several years and they have held up quite well for me. I use them for flash attachments, strobe slaves, and for my Pentax Kx cameras. They are the Eneloop brand which I recharge in Ever Ready one hour chargers. The NiCad ones I started with long ago wore out rather quickly, that's why I went to the Eneloop brand.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Everyone gave up on NiCad ones and all brands switched to NiMH some time ago.

Woodsman Loc: North of Peterborough Ontario

I use NiMH from Amazon in my trail cams as I did not want to spend a fortune on the batteries as each cam takes 8. Alkalines were getting too expensive as I take videos and if you get 30 or more vids a night with the IR flashes they can drain fast. The cams are out all winter in severe cold and I find I can get a week of charge on them during the winter and up to 3 weeks in summer. These were high capacity 2300mah batteries that were made in Japan which is why I got them. Ordered more in December and although they look the same and are marketed as the same they are now made in China and user experience online has not been as good. I also purchased a Lacrosse bc700 which does a good job displaying battery condition and charge. I have not used the deep discharge cycle yet to try to bring back marginal batteries but may soon because after this winter the charge cycles seem more frequent.

jim quist Loc: Missouri

I use the Eveready batteries and get a lot of use out of them in my pocket wizards, strobes, and other things we have that use them. When mine start going bad I toss them out and buy new ones. Your simplest solution is just to replace them all.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Used to be that the only batteries I had to worry about maintaining were the old-style lead-acid kinds in my portable strobes. They had built-in hydrometers- those little red, red. green and black balls, floating around in the acid that would indicate the charge condition of each cell. After a few years of heavy use, the would hold less of a charge, yield fewer flashes per charge cycle, so I knew to replace them- they were inexpensive. Nowadays, just about everything in my studio is electrical or electronic and battery maintenance has become a chore.

Some of the latest gear has built-in Lithium-Ion batteries and there are many other newfangled types of reliable rechargeables with fewer maintenance worries like bad memory issues wit some of the Nicads, Energy storage has become a much more complex industry. I still have lots of older accessories like a dozen Pocket Wizard radio triggers, a bunch of smaller Speedlights, 3 flash/exposure meters and more. These all use standard double and triple "A" batteries, 9-volt batteries and a few odd-size
strange models like a 22/5- volt battery and a bunch of button-type cells.

Frankly, I find, especially during busy periods, that using rechargeable batteries in the "A" types is just too time-consuming and as the batteries age, they become less reliable out on locations. So..I decided to go back to good quality standard alkaline batteries- Energizers and Copper-Tops for the radio triggers, Speedlights, and meters.

Hers's my reasoning- There is no practical way to assess the general condition of a rechargeable battery in as it ages. The equipment I use theses in does not have the circuitry to make theses measurements even as to remaining usage in any charging cycle. I can use my battery tester, which tests under load, but all that tells me if there has been a voltage drop. I can, however, test the condition of the regular disposable batteries and take them out of service before long shoots. When the batteries test borderline, I put them in non-critical use at home like TV remotes, etc. until they expire.

Whatever types of batteries you decide to use, here are some tips based on many years of battery usage in the aforementioned gear.

* Keep the batteries that are used in each specific piece of equipment together- number and date them for example "Pocket Wizard #1 March 4, 2020".

* Do not mix batteries of different ages, lengths of use, or of different charge conditions in the same piece of equipment.

* Test batteries under load. A battery tester like the one in the attached image provides the load which is adjustable to the type of application. Reading the voltage without the load will result in false readings.

* With rechargeable batteries, use a Sharpie-type of a marker and place a dot on the batteries each time you recharge them.

By following these steps you will get better performance and longevity from your batteries. If any of the equipment is faulty and is causing your batteries to discharge or expire prematurely, you will know how to track the problem down.

* Keep the battery terminals and the battery compartments clean and make sure the tension springs are providing a snug fit.

* If you are using a manual external charger you can check to see if the charge rate is correct with a milliampere meter by putting the meter in series with the charger and battery and observe the correct polarity.

* External rechargeable battery pack for Speedlights will yield more flashes per charge and are easier to maintain.

Attached is a shot of my meters and the "battery graveyard" that goes to recycling every other month.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

I use eneloops,I charge them and up to a year later, they still work!

Tomfl101 Loc: Mount Airy, MD

I’ve used many different brands and have been most happy with Eneloop but I don’t expect them to last more than two years with regular use. I suggest you buy new batteries and label them so as to charge and use in sets, never mixing new with old. Also get a quality charger that senses errors. My charger will do that and I just recycle them immediately when that happens. I get more errors with Everready and Duracell compared to Eneloop.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Eneloops - or the Amazon equivalent - are very good. When a rechargeable starts losing its charge quickly, get rid of it quickly. The only bad rechargeables I have had to throw away were the very old type. I don't even remember what they were called.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

It might be advantageous to look into a battery charger/analyzer. These assess the "health" of the battery as well as charge them.
--Bob

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

I used the IKEA Ladda 2450 (not the 1000) Much less expensive and I have had no issues with them.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Here's one I will look into.

https://eneloop101.com/charge/advanced-chargers/