Sanyo eneloop at Costco

ASAAR wrote:
> On Thu, 06 Sep 2007 14:20:56 GMT, Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
>
>> Put an Eneloop in your clocks and you might change your mind.
>> At $0.30 cents per alkaline, it will pay for itself in 9 charges ... so
>> the remaining 491 charges are free Granted, you will probably
>> only have to charge the battery every 7 or 8 months
>
> There are clocks and there are clocks. I bought a pair made by
> Casio about 16 years ago. They use a single AA battery and are
> electronic (LCD display) rather than mechanical. So far I've only
> had to change the batteries in each twice. If eneloops were used in
> these, I might have to recharge them once every two years.
> Correction. Change "have to" to "want to"
>
I have a little 'egg clock' that eats a set of AAA alkaline batteries in
about 2-3 months (it lights when touched). Will probably put eneloops
in it next time.

Ron Hunter

On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 03:56:36 -0500, Ron Hunter wrote:

>> There are clocks and there are clocks. I bought a pair made by
>> Casio about 16 years ago. They use a single AA battery and are
>> electronic (LCD display) rather than mechanical. So far I've only
>> had to change the batteries in each twice. If eneloops were used in
>> these, I might have to recharge them once every two years.
>> Correction. Change "have to" to "want to"
>
> I have a little 'egg clock' that eats a set of AAA alkaline batteries in
> about 2-3 months (it lights when touched). Will probably put eneloops
> in it next time.

Yep. There's no one rule that fits all. Any type of AA/AAA
battery can be preferable, and if the drain is extremely low, as in
the clocks I mentioned above, even cheap non-alkaline batteries (aka
Heavy Duty) can perform very well. I discovered this about 15 years
ago when the first AAA battery I used in a new (gray market), tiny
Sony AM/FM radio was one of those cheap non-alkalines. I expected
that I'd have to replace the single AAA cell within a few hours, but
to my surprise, it lasted, over a period of several weeks, for about
40 to 50 hours. An alkaline AAA wouldn't have done much better.
How long do estimate the batteries would last in your 'egg clock' if
it was used very infrequently, say, once/month?

ASAAR

Ron Hunter wrote:

> It might also be due to most DSLRs being used in 'studio' applications.
> In the field, AA batteries may be preferable due to their ubiquitous
> availability.

At least as an emergency back-up. The vertical grip is an acceptable
back-up venue for AA cells. Li-Ion packs are inexpensive and much more
convenient. Six eneloop cells cost around the same a Li-Ion pack (i.e.
from Amazon, the eneloop cells have an effective cost of $2.50 each when
purchased in eight-packs, for a total cost of $15. A 2000mAH/7.4V BP511
after-market Li-Ion pack is about $12. The smart battery for the newer
Nikon's is $18.50 for a 1500mAH 7.4V pack.

When you had to buy $60 li-ion packs from the manufacturer then there
was a real case for AA cells, at least in terms of price. This is long gone.

SMS

ASAAR <> wrote:
>
> There are clocks and there are clocks. I bought a pair made by
> Casio about 16 years ago. They use a single AA battery and are
> electronic (LCD display) rather than mechanical. So far I've only
> had to change the batteries in each twice. If eneloops were used in
> these, I might have to recharge them once every two years.
> Correction. Change "have to" to "want to"
>

Agreed ... there probably isn't much benefit to that.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse

We have more to fear from the bungling of the incompetent than from the
machinations of the wicked.

Thomas T. Veldhouse

Ron Hunter <> wrote:
> Let's see. 491 charges at, say 1 recharge/6 months (to make the math
> easy) is 245 years. I am 64, so unless I plan to live about another 100
> years, it probably isn't worth the difference, not to mention the
> hassle. Some things just don't make sense for the 'real world'.

So you won't last as long as the battery

Anyway, whatever works for you. I get longer life out of the AA Eneloop then
alkaline in my clocks and keep spares charged ... so for me, it is just a swap
like any other when they go dead ... and no new landfill.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse

We have more to fear from the bungling of the incompetent than from the
machinations of the wicked.

Thomas T. Veldhouse

Bill Tuthill <> wrote:
>
> Toyota Motors recently announced a further delay (of another 2-3 years)
> in the introduction of lithium-ion batteries to replace NiMH batteries
> in their hybrid vehicles. Warranty issues, I bet.
>

To my knowledge, they still haven't got LiIon (or poly) to last long enough to
make them cost effective for their owners. Replacing an $5000+ battery every
few years is not exactly a good selling point. Also, LiIon has narrow
charging limits and if there is a failure in the charging circuitry, there
could be a nice fire ... like the laptop batteries. Still, if/when they
finally achieve what they are after, I suspect we will see the technology
trickle down to portable devices and get much longer lifespans on our LiIon
batteries.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse

We have more to fear from the bungling of the incompetent than from the
machinations of the wicked.

Thomas T. Veldhouse

Ron Hunter <> wrote:
>
> It might also be due to most DSLRs being used in 'studio' applications.
> In the field, AA batteries may be preferable due to their ubiquitous
> availability.

I dare say that most, professional or otherwise, are NOT used in 'studio'
applications.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse

We have more to fear from the bungling of the incompetent than from the
machinations of the wicked.

Thomas T. Veldhouse

SMS <> wrote:
>
> At least as an emergency back-up. The vertical grip is an acceptable
> back-up venue for AA cells. Li-Ion packs are inexpensive and much more
> convenient. Six eneloop cells cost around the same a Li-Ion pack (i.e.
> from Amazon, the eneloop cells have an effective cost of $2.50 each when
> purchased in eight-packs, for a total cost of $15. A 2000mAH/7.4V BP511
> after-market Li-Ion pack is about $12. The smart battery for the newer
> Nikon's is $18.50 for a 1500mAH 7.4V pack.
>

What?

The MB-D200 takes two LiIon or six AA? You can get six Eneloop for about $15.
Each of the LiIon is $30 to $45, depending on whether you buy Nikon or third
party. Further, you get 12000mAh out of the Eneloops in that grip and 3000mAh
with the LiIon batteries. So, if the weight doesn't bother you, the AA is
definitely the way to go.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse

We have more to fear from the bungling of the incompetent than from the
machinations of the wicked.

Thomas T. Veldhouse

Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
> Bill Tuthill <> wrote:
>> Toyota Motors recently announced a further delay (of another 2-3 years)
>> in the introduction of lithium-ion batteries to replace NiMH batteries
>> in their hybrid vehicles. Warranty issues, I bet.
>>
>
> To my knowledge, they still haven't got LiIon (or poly) to last long enough to
> make them cost effective for their owners. Replacing an $5000+ battery every
> few years is not exactly a good selling point. Also, LiIon has narrow
> charging limits and if there is a failure in the charging circuitry, there
> could be a nice fire ... like the laptop batteries. Still, if/when they
> finally achieve what they are after, I suspect we will see the technology
> trickle down to portable devices and get much longer lifespans on our LiIon
> batteries.

There are some after-market plug-in hybrid systems that use Li-Ion, but
it's very expensive. It's really only cost-effective for high mileage
fleet vehicles.

A lot of people would be thrilled with a plug-in hybrid that could go 30
miles on batteries.

SMS

Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:

> What?
>
> The MB-D200 takes two LiIon or six AA? You can get six Eneloop for about $15.
> Each of the LiIon is $30 to $45, depending on whether you buy Nikon or third
> party.

EN-EL3e Battery

"http://sterlingtek.com/enbafornid2d.html" ($18.49/1500 mAH)
"http://www.shentech.com/nienreliba71.html" ($17.00/1620 mAH)

There are probably less expensive sources, I just am familiar with these
two having purchased items from them in the past. I probably would pass
on Shentech though and stick with a company that specializes in
batteries. My experience with Shentech was okay, but not spectacular (it
was not for batteries).

Another source is
"http://www.digitalinnovationsny.com/items/Item.aspx?itemid=5449263"
($17.49/1900mAH).

The EN-EL3e is one of the more expensive packs due to the built-in
micro-controller. It took a while for the after-market EN-EL3e packs to
appear. I'm glad to have three Canon devices that use the ubiquitous and
inexpensive BP511/BP512, though that was not a factor in choosing them.

I've added the EN-EL3e to the table on the web site that compares
battery costs. I've also added eneloops. An interesting comparison is
the net cost of six eneloops versus one EN-EL3e. The eneloops are
slightly less if you assume 500 cycles for the eneloops and 300 cycles
for the EN-EL3e (100 cycles/year for three years), but the reality is
that the difference in costs are inconsequential. For the more expensive
Li-Ion packs you're slightly better off with eneloops if cost per
cycle is the only criteria you use. For the less expensive Li-Ion packs
you're slightly better off, cost-wise, with Li-Ion.

Steve
"http://batterydata.com"

SMS