Who makes decient Alkaline flashlight batteries?

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Chris142

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I'm always needing a flashlight and it seems that every time I grab one the batteries are low or dead.

I have been buying store brand batteries because they are cheaper and I was thinking that they were probly made by Duracell or Eveready. Now I'm not so sure.

Sometimes The store brand ones die before I even use them.

I just want a decient battery. Are the name brands worth the extra cost? I just cant get my self to pay $2 per battery unless they last a very long time.

I'm not interested in rechargables at the moment.
 
Ive always been happy with Panasonic batteries.

I wonder if anyone has rated self discharge rate and mAh capacity of various brands... you want low self-discharge and high amp-hours...
 
If you really want to make an informed objective decision then go to the manufacturer's website (duracell, energizer, rayovac,etc..) and then look at their spec sheets.
Whichever has the highest mAh and the lowest impedance will be the winner.

Keep in mind there are multiple product lines of the same manufacturer - for example duracell makes their regular alkaline and then "extra" power alkaline and then higher end chemistry(lithium and such).
I believe as you go higher in the product line you do get the said performance - ofcourse at a price($$).
 
Originally Posted By: John_K
Ray-o-Vac works for me, they are often pretty cheap at Walmart.

John



Don't last long for me. I usually end up with Duracells..
 
You said you're not interested in rechargeable batteries, but NiMH are my favorite. No memory like NiCad, and a pop on the charger the night or week before I need them leaves me with four good-to-go batteries for my flashlight, radar detector and mouse.

The radar detector and mouse both take 2-AA, which seem to last for months and months before a recharge, though I'll usually pull 'em out for a good conditioning every so often.
 
IMO, NiMH & LED makes an awesome flashlight combination. It's what I use at home and work.
 
Duracell works for me.
They seem to last longer than Energizers in the same apps around my home.

My problem with flashlights is an 11 year old son with AS that wants to take one into his room at night.

At least I know where they are!
 
Originally Posted By: Michael_P
IMO, NiMH & LED makes an awesome flashlight combination. It's what I use at home and work.
My main flash light is a 3 D-cell Maglight.

I use it all the time because everytime someone opens a door my cat takes off.
 
If you are looking for about the highest performance possible (for example, emergencies) in non-rechargeable batteries, Lithium is the best.....light weight, very long shelf life, large temp range......

and expensive!!!!
 
Duracell are the only ones that don't leak for me. Energizers leak horribly, and have less capacity. Rayovac are alright, and so are Kirkland brand, but they too will leak.

Change your mind about Ni-MH. It will benefit you. Get some Sanyo Eneloop or Duracell Pre-Charged cells. They don't go dead quickly (they're a low self discharge dechnology) like regular Ni-MH cells do, and they will run longer in a flashlight.

I used to be a flashlight tester. I've tested a lot of different cells and flashlights. Believe me when I say that investing in some low self discharge cells and a good charger is worth it. Especially if you have a decent flashlight (no, a Maglite is not a decent flashlight)

AA%20cells.png


That 2650mAh Ni-MH is great when freshly charged, but they develop a very high self discharge rate.

Uniross%20Hybrio%202100mAh%20vs%20Duracell%202650mAh.png


That 2650mAh cell lost nearly all of its capacity in only a week. The low self discharge cell will retain about 85% of its power after 1 year.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Originally Posted By: Michael_P
IMO, NiMH & LED makes an awesome flashlight combination. It's what I use at home and work.
My main flash light is a 3 D-cell Maglight.

I use it all the time because everytime someone opens a door my cat takes off.


Nevermind then, my info was more for AA lights. There aren't many low self discharge cells in D size right now, and D size Ni-MH are very expensive.
 
I agree nimh and an led best combo out there. I have never thrown out a recharable battery yet. But if its a aa flashlight you might want to try energizer lithiums. WWW. batteryjunction.com has high capacity d cell rechargeable batteries.I use a quark aa flashlight and its five times brighter than my four cell maglight and lasts a lot longer.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Michael_P
IMO, NiMH & LED makes an awesome flashlight combination. It's what I use at home and work.


NiMH are good batteries, but they do have a very high initial self discharge rate. Within a day or so, you are down to about 90% stored energy, then the discharge slows from there.

The eneloop batteries, though less energy overall, have a far lower self discharge. I think they are only at 85% after 1 year! that to me is the best combo, too bad they only make AA cells (and maybe AAA too).
 
Originally Posted By: chevrofreak

I used to be a flashlight tester. I've tested a lot of different cells and flashlights. Believe me when I say that investing in some low self discharge cells and a good charger is worth it. Especially if you have a decent flashlight (no, a Maglite is not a decent flashlight)


Beat me to it. So if maglite is no good, what is a good flashlight? It has to be made in the USA, though I may accept other places... NOT china or Mexico or equivalent though?

Do you know if theyve come out with low self discharge larger NiMH cells? Specifically 9V or D cells?
 
Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
You can get adapters to allow you to use the AA cells in a D or C device.


But a AA cell is ~2000mAh, where as a D sell is 10-15000 mAh. BIG difference...

And "C" rate will have an effect on how much of the energy you can actually get out of the battery.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: chevrofreak

I used to be a flashlight tester. I've tested a lot of different cells and flashlights. Believe me when I say that investing in some low self discharge cells and a good charger is worth it. Especially if you have a decent flashlight (no, a Maglite is not a decent flashlight)


Beat me to it. So if maglite is no good, what is a good flashlight? It has to be made in the USA, though I may accept other places... NOT china or Mexico or equivalent though?

Do you know if theyve come out with low self discharge larger NiMH cells? Specifically 9V or D cells?


Surefire, Pelican, Inova, Princeton Tec, Streamlight, and even the new Maglite LED lights are good if it has to be USA made. The reality is that you get a LOT more bang for the buck if you buy something made in China or Taiwan.

The big names aren't likely to bring out any low self discharge cells in C or D size. Most of the name brand C and D size cells have the same capacity as the typical AA rechargeable (2500mAh) but they don't have the size constraints that plague the AA cell (the high discharge is coming from them having to pack stuff so tight in the AA form factor). Battery Junction sells some D sized ones called AccuEvolution that are Low Self Discharge, and 10,000mAh capacity. They are not cheap. They're even available in 4500mAh C cell size.

You would need a good independent channel charger, too. Cheap chargers are no good when you have to use multiple cells in series. You need to have nearly identical charge states in each cell.
 
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