Best rechargeables for Jetbook?

[GhostHawk]

Anyone care to share what they think would be the best rechargeable batterys with charger for the Jetbook at a reasonable price?

My wife's boss bought a JBL for her mother, sounds like she reads a lot. Has been going through alkaline battery's every other day. I'd like to be able to point her to a really good set of battery's/charger that she can get.

Thanks in advance.

[Ken Maltby]

Best, not the easiest thing to establish, for most things. It often ends up being a
matter of personnel experience. The one that works "Best" for some may appear a
dud for others. Even here where we are talking about use in a common device.

Another factor is the short time the JBL has been available, not a lot of experience
to draw from. Most people, with a life, wouldn't be able to get as much use out of
the device as your wife's bosses mother seems to.

That said; it might be helpful to establish a baseline, for reference. For that I would
nominate the Energizer NH15 1.2v HR6 2300mAh and their Model CHDC8 "Quick Charger".
The Bunny has left these behind everywhere he has gone, it seems. I got mine at the
local grocery store.

They seem to be working well enough for me, but I have no idea if they have a chance
at being the "best".

Once there are those who have tried the ubiquitous Energizer product and then found
something they find that works "better", we will have a usable point of comparison.

Luck;
Ken

[chainring]

If it's AA size batteries (sorry, don't know what the JetBook uses), then hands down it will be Sanyo Eneloop. They are low self-discharge NiMh batteries that are very tolerant of abuse and perform better than just about every other rechargable battery out there.

[ngrant]

I agree with Ken, it's a matter of personal experience and preferences rather than anyone being able to justify their choice as "best". I have had good experiences with buying my rechargeable stuff from Thomas Distributing

http://www.thomasdistributing.com/

I have the 2500mAh MAHA Powerex AA batteries and after more than 5 years of off-and-on use they are still holding their charge and performing well, in my jetBook Lite and other devices. There are now 2700mAh and even 2900 mAh batteries now, that may last even longer than alkalines depending on the device and how it drains the current.

[Ken Maltby]

Chainring;

It can certainly be of some value to have such opinions provided, it helps in a general
sense. But this is something like finding the "best" DVD blank disks to use, you really
need to be talking about use in the particular piece of equipment, under the same
conditions.

I know that pointing this out, will not be too popular, nor do I mean to discourage
such contributions to another's thread, but I am also hoping for some real useful
results.

Luck;
Ken

[GhostHawk]

Thanks guys, information forwarded.

Looks like a good site for battery's and chargers. Was pleasantly pleased by the prices.

[ngrant]

Originally Posted by GhostHawk

Looks like a good site for battery's and chargers. Was pleasantly pleased by the prices.

I can vouch for the company's reliability and great customer service over the years. I like that the site provides a lot of good information about the products and explain the chemistry and how the batteries and chargers work. And for instance the Sanyo batteries (recommended by chainring) have an unconditional 30 day money-back guarantee. Love the battery holder that they send you with any set of 4 AAs (and you can buy extras) - they are great for tucking into a bag with your JBL so you are never without backup power!

[chainring]

Originally Posted by ngrant

I agree with Ken, it's a matter of personal experience and preferences rather than anyone being able to justify their choice as "best". I have had good experiences with buying my rechargeable stuff from Thomas Distributing

http://www.thomasdistributing.com/

I have the 2500mAh MAHA Powerex AA batteries and after more than 5 years of off-and-on use they are still holding their charge and performing well, in my jetBook Lite and other devices. There are now 2700mAh and even 2900 mAh batteries now, that may last even longer than alkalines depending on the device and how it drains the current.

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

Chainring;

It can certainly be of some value to have such opinions provided, it helps in a general
sense. But this is something like finding the "best" DVD blank disks to use, you really
need to be talking about use in the particular piece of equipment, under the same
conditions.

I know that pointing this out, will not be too popular, nor do I mean to discourage
such contributions to another's thread, but I am also hoping for some real useful
results.

Luck;
Ken

Ok, time to pull out links. Yes, there is factual evidence to backup claims that the Sanyo Eneloop is, in this case, probably the *best* NiMh. There are other use case scenario where the Eneloop may not be best, only by virtue of not having the highest immediate capacity as another cell. Such a case might be with a professional photographer who needs that extra bit of capacity, and for that would likely go with Maha PowerEx 2700 AA NiMh.

1. They stand up to abuse. Check this link, and scroll 3/4 down for the graph. Keeping above 1.0V at a 10A discharge is not an easy feat, and that gives an indication as to their quality construction. This level of performance isn't only on new cells.

2. Eneloop self-discharge rate actually slows down over time. There have been reports of three year old, new in package, Eneloop being tested with ~74% capacity still remaining. Normal NiMh lose capacity at the rate of 1% per day. Yes, per day. So, charge your Energizer, take it off the charger and lose 1% per day, and that's best case scenario. There exist others that lose more than 1% per day. Eh, no thank you. I have better things to do than babysit my batteries. Eneloop Self Discharge Study

Here's a user extolling the virtues of Eneloop. Battery Soapbox - I'm Sold on Eneloops

If you don't get Sanyo Eneloop, check out Maha Immedion, or RayOVac 4.0 (Fry's) or the RayOVac Hybrid (Green and silver wrapper). Just do a search within the "Flashlight Electronics - Batteries Included" sub-forum at candlepowerforums.com for Energizer and make your own decisions.

Soapbox mode on...
If anyone here wants to throw money at companies that don't give a crap about the environment, or actually producing a really good product, be my guest. Sanyo backs up their claims. They walk the walk and have invested heavily in rechargeable. Energizer has rechargeable only as a facade; their primary business is to suck people dry with their alkaline and lithium products. Duracell, at least, has made a better effort than Energizer.

I agree 100% with the recommendation for Thomas Distributing. Excellent customer service, and many excellent products.

[Ken Maltby]

It is all well and good to take a manufacturer's claims into consideration.
Their descriptions of the benefits of their own special technological
development, their special ingredient, might be better taken with a grain
of salt, though.

That you buy a particular company's claim and find another company to
be less committed to an agenda, is all a personal/subjective opinion. That
you can find others that share that opinion, adds to the impact of the
opinion but tells us nothing about its validity - particularly as relates to
the one piece of equipment under discussion the JBL.

I have no horse in this race. If we can find rechargable batteries with a "better"
performance -in the JBL, then I would be very interested. It would be very easy
to find those who claim to have made a "better" battery, and those who are very
enthusiastic about them. They may even be right, but until we have a comparison
of their performance in the JBL, it is all conjecture based on theoretical claims.

Luck;
Ken

P.S. I also find the Thomas Distributing site very interesting.

[chainring]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

It is all well and good to take a manufacturer's claims into consideration.
Their descriptions of the benefits of their own special technological
development, their special ingredient, might be better taken with a grain
of salt, though.

I'm skeptical of any company's claim, but in this case Sanyo is not exaggerating one single bit. Their claim is backed up by many users findings of the product performing, or even outperforming, the marketing claims.

That you buy a particular company's claim and find another company to
be less committed to an agenda, is all a personal/subjective opinion. That
you can find others that share that opinion, adds to the impact of the
opinion but tells us nothing about its validity - particularly as relates to
the one piece of equipment under discussion the JBL.

Personal/subjective, maybe. I can tell you Sanyo manufactures no primary cells (non-rechargable), but Energizer is still heavily invested in non-rechargable (read: throw away). So, tell me, who is the more forward looking company?

I have no horse in this race. If we can find rechargable batteries with a "better"
performance -in the JBL, then I would be very interested. It would be very easy
to find those who claim to have made a "better" battery, and those who are very
enthusiastic about them. They may even be right, but until we have a comparison
of their performance in the JBL, it is all conjecture based on theoretical claims.

No horse, and not even a contender without some good data. I've provided links with tests.

Luck;
Ken

P.S. I also find the Thomas Distributing site very interesting.

Luck has nothing to do with it. Facts are my driving motivator.


Did you even take the time to read the links? It has nothing, absolutely zero to do with me *thinking* the Eneloop's consistently outperform other NiMh rechargeable, or taking Sanyo's word for it. It has everything to do with many different people testing them in different devices and coming to the same conclusion. If you have some data to prove the Energizer 2300 is more suited, please provide the information. Fact is, the JBL is just a device that consumes energy, whether that is slow or fast is the main point of consideration. The Eneloop excells at high Amperage demands, and yet handles the "sipper" devices as well.

I have used and tested the following:
Energizer 1850 NiMh
Energizer 2200 NiMh
Energizer 2500 NiMh
Duracell 2650 NiMh
Sanyo 2700 NiMh
Maha PowerEx 2500 NiMh
Maha PowerEx 2700 NiMh
Sanyo Eneloop 2000 NiMh

My charger/discharger/tester (I have two): Maha MH-C9000

I also have two of the following hobby chargers: iCharger 208B

Your experience is?

How about this: one more, and very thorough test. It even got the attention of Sanyo Europe. Link

[Ken Maltby]

My experience is with the JBL. Your's and those you reference appears to be
with the performance of your favorite battery in general or in other equipment.

I think you have made your case for your favorite battery. Are you going to
keep it up until I am convinced your choice is in fact "Best", for the JBL? That
will not happen, especially without a number of creditable reports of its
performance in the JBL.

Luck;
Ken

[chainring]

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make 'em drink.

JetBook Lite, clock, radio, whatever... They're all electronic devices that require a certain amount of voltage and ampere hours to operate. I could care less which one, just tell me the power requirements. It's like you've got a personal vendetta against something you've never even tried, yet you won't listen to facts. How about this, instead of sitting on the fence, actually try the Eneloop. Get off the sidelines and into the game instead of armchair coaching.

[DJHARKAVY]

Originally Posted by chainring

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make 'em drink.

JetBook Lite, clock, radio, whatever... They're all electronic devices that require a certain amount of voltage and ampere hours to operate. I could care less which one, just tell me the power requirements. It's like you've got a personal vendetta against something you've never even tried, yet you won't listen to facts. How about this, instead of sitting on the fence, actually try the Eneloop. Get off the sidelines and into the game instead of armchair coaching.

He has no vendetta that I can see.

He just doesn't care about the Eneloop per se, unless someone tests it in the JBL and compares it to other batteries in the JBL.

[GhostHawk]

Easy guys, the idea is to put the data out there and let people make up their own minds.

Don't care how conclusive your data is, your never going to convince all the people, all the time. You've given us some good data to chew over, so relax.

[jj2me]

Just to sort of summarize: There are basically three types of rechargeable AAs available today (ignoring the older NiCad because of its lack of any real advantage):

• low self-discharge NiMH, like Eneloops, Rayovac Hybrids, Rayovac 4.0, etc. Advantage: slow discharge when not in use.
• regular discharge NiMH, losing 1% charge per day. Advantage: comes in higher mAh ratings.
• rechargeable alkaline. Advantage: 1.5V instead of 1.2V.

Rule of thumb:
- Use Eneloops et al. if you often don't use your reader for days.
- Use higher mAh rated regular NiMHs in a device requiring more juice, like a digital camera. Also use them in a reader that you use daily, though I don't know at what level of use the plot of the higher mAh/higher self discharge battery crosses that of the lower mAh/lower self discharge battery.
- Use rechargeable alkaline only if your device requires 1.5V, and won't work on anything lower, and you prefer rechargeables. Rechargeable alkalines are also slow self discharge, which made them attractive before low self-discharge NiMHs were invented. But rechargeable alkalines have several disadvantages: not popular and not sold many places anymore, require special charger, offer many less recharge cycles before they're bad (maybe as few as 12), lifetime number of cycles is lessened substantially by deep discharges, offer less mAh with each charge cycle. I suspect most people would rather just use regular non-rechargeable alkalines.