Batteries

chicaloca

sorry if this isnt quite the right place to post this. It might well be a stupid question but is it worth buying more expensive brand name batteries? When I've been camping recently I've been using cheap batteries for my CD player but wondering now if this really is false economy but didnt want to buy for a full set of brand name ones unless some wiser person could give me some advice.

While I'm at it i seem to think you shouldnt mix different brand names of batteries in the same appliance but I dont know why. Just curious, can anyone shed any light on this please? :j

AndyPix

Hi


This is answered quite throughly here :-


http://www.wired.com/2012/01/are-expensive-batteries-worth-the-extra-cost/


In a nutshell , you get what you pay for ..
ie if the duracell are 4x the price of the cheapos , then the duracell will last 4x longer .


But have a read and come back if you have any questions ..


Hope this helps
Andy

bsod

mp3/flac/wav players don't have moving parts, or lasers, so require far less power than a cd player

a £15 mp3 player with a lithium battery will probably hold all your music, last all week between charges, and be a far more convenient way of carrying music about. Most mobile phones have the same capability, but the battery may not last as long

really cheap non-alkaline/non-rechargeable batteries have a habit of leaking, which if not caught early enough can damage the device. You can mix brands, but it's sensible not to mix types (zinc/alkaline/rechargeable), and use a multimeter to identify which batteries are dying and which are ok before discarding a full set. Most brands have a range of capacities to suit the marketplace price points, so a cheap duracell is unlikely to last as long as a more expensive duracell

Carrot007

More expencive batteries will last longer but not always proportonal to the cost depnding on what you use them for.

And it really depends on what barreries you are currently buying.

Pound shop massive multipacks are next to useless in anything but a very low drain situation.

Supermarktet own brand alkaline batteries are usualy a good bet for general usage.

The mixing think is about not using different "strengths" of batteries and it could lead to overheating and explosion. (in some circumstances). This applies to different products from the same manufacturer too, not just brands. Also mixing old and new batteries is not a good idea for the same reason.

Also don't leave cheap batteries in things, they will leak.

chicaloca

thanks very much for taking the time to reply to me in such detail, I really appreciate all the effort

Nilrem

I've been using some Phillips Alkaline batteries for the past couple of years instead of Duracell as they're a lot cheaper (about £8 for 32) and last about the same time as Duracell Plus whilst being much cheaper.

However really if you're using them for a CD player as mentioned you'd probably be better off buying a cheap but half decent mp3 player (sandisc sansa models are reasonable), as they'll be much smaller saving you a lot of space, and have built in batteries that last a long time and can be recharged pretty much anywhere you'd be able to recharge your phone (or add in a cheap powerpack for £5-10 and have the ability to recharge the mp3 player and your phone).

pinkladyvenus

I find Lidli own brand batteries compare quiet well with the more expensive brands.

Strider590

Aldi own brand have been shown to out perform the leading brands in actually capacity testing, but here's an interesting Youtube video worth watching............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I4liMndTsI


Something worth noting is always use alkaline batteries, the cheap zinc chloride batteries are really only any good in things like TV remotes.

shaun_from_Africa

Strider590 wrote: »

Something worth noting is always use alkaline batteries, the cheap zinc chloride batteries are really only any good in things like TV remotes.

about a year ago, I started using Energiser lithium batteries

These are about £5.50 for a pack of four and I've found that they last about 3 times as long as Duracell. (when fitted in Bose headphones).

chrisw

Ikea batteries seem to come out well in the value for money tests - £1.50 for 10.

S0litaire

I usually end up buying "Amazon Basics" range of Batteries.

cheep 'n' cheerful, you can get either disposable or rechargeable (which come pre-charged) ones.

They come in "performance" or "everyday" capacities (no actual figures though!).