Lithium Ion Batteries

Nickel Metal Hydride Battery Pack

Energizer NIMH Batteries

Lithium Ion Button Battery

Buying a battery for your portable device can be very confusing. More times than not consumers are unaware of the differences between the different batteries available. Comparing apples to apples is very important in the battery world. Consumers get so caught up in comparing the price that they don’t understand the different types of batteries. When I say apples to apples, I’m referring to the exact same battery in size, chemistry, manufacturer and milliampere-hour (MAH). The size generally speaking is correct, however the consumer don’t thoroughly understand the chemistry and Mah side of the equation. The old saying that all batteries are created equal couldn’t be further from the truth.Battery technology has come so far over the last decade alone to squash those beliefs. We here at BestBatteryTips.com want to provide some insight to consumers on purchasing the right battery for their portable electronic device.

One of the first steps to purchasing a battery is knowing what your battery model number is. The model number on a battery represents everything about that exact battery. The battery model number tells us what electronic device the battery will fit in, MAH capacity, and chemistry. You will find that while shopping online some battery websites have cross-reference search engines for battery model numbers to take you right to the battery you are needing. Once you find the replacement battery you may have several selection options. Two of the primary selections will be MAH and Chemistry. You can always go with more MAH, it will allow your electronic device to last longer on a charge. However, you will have to pay for more available power. Depending on whether your comfortable with your existing MAH will depend on if you want to upgrade or not. Chemistry is also a very important consideration. Generally speaking I would stay away from any Nicad chemistry batteries if at all possible. These batteries suffer greatly from the so called memory effect. Nicad batteries as compared to Nickel Metal Hydride and Lithium Ion, don’t have the capacity of their superiors. When we talk about purchasing a battery for your power tool, its difficult to buy anything but Nicad. There is some new power tools out there using Lithium Ion technology, but it seems Nicad is in most. Lithium Ion also called Li-ion is what consumers are most familiar with. They are in most phones,cameras, watches, and camcorders. They don’t suffer from memory effect and also have a excellent available capacity. When purchasing a new battery, you can’t go wrong with Lithium Ion. Nickel Metal Hydride also known as Nimh, is also a excellent choice. Nimh can be charged and discharged thousands of times without deteriorating over time. No need to worry about memory effect with Nimh. With Manufacturers its hard to tell whats going. Consumers are gonna be hard pressed to find a portable electronic battery made here in the USA. 99% of all the batteries for these Gizmo and Gadgets are made over seas. Now that doesn’t mean you can’t get a quality product. However its hard to know what you are buying, and sometimes may feel like a crap shoot. Your best bet is to purchase the battery from a retailer who stands behind the product they sell.

So when we speak of comparing apples to apples, be sure to look over the batteries stat sheet. What chemistry am I looking at? How much MAH does this battery offer? Does this retailer stand behind their product? What will this battery cost me? These simple steps will help your battery buying experience, and will make sure you get the right battery for your needs.

Duracell NIMH Batteries

Duracell Alkaline Battery

Alkaline are the most common used batteries in households. The number one reason for this is because of the cheaper price that alkaline batteries have over their competition. Consumers seem to buy the alkaline batteries thinking they are saving money at time of purchase, when they are really spending more money over time. Alkaline batteries are not designed to be recharged, and are generally discarded once the the battery is exhausted of its stored power. The only advantage that alkaline batteries have over NIMH batteries is cost and discharge rate. The NIMH batteries cost 2 1/2 times more than alkaline batteries, and have a high discharge rate as compared to the alkaline battery. People who keep equipment stored for emergency purposes, such as flashlights when the power goes out. NIMH batteries do not store well over long periods because of their high discharge rate. When the flashlight would need to be used, you could possibly only have 65 to 70% of stored power depending of course on length of time stored. Alkaline batteries have a very slow discharge rate, and are a excellent choice for these applications. Now with that being said its time to take a look at what NIMH batteries have to offer over alkaline batteries. NIMH batteries have a much higher capacity than alkaline. Bottom line, NIMH batteries have a lot more power to offer for high drain devices such has digital cameras. NIMH batteries are rechargeable batteries, and consumers can expect to get 750 to 1000  or more charge discharge cycles out of them. That’s a huge advantage over alkaline batteries for applications such as remote controls, wireless controllers, and kids toys. NIMH batteries can also be recharged to full capacity in less than a hour. As we mentioned above, the NIMH batteries have a higher initial cost than alkaline batteries. Consumers can expect to pay around 29 dollars for a 15 minute quick charger and 4 AA NIMH batteries included. Keep in mind you get 750 to 1000 recharge cycles with that purchase. A pack of alkaline batteries will cost you almost 5 dollars a pack. So you can recharge your NIMH batteries 5 times and you get your money back on the alkaline batteries, and still have 750 to 1000 recharge cycles left! The NIMH batteries are also good for the environment because they have no cadmium in them as opposed to NICAD.

EDIT: Customer Service at Sentry Safe recommends Duracell or Energizer; see comment section

Product names, logos, brands, and other trademarks featured or referred to within bestbatterytips .com website are the property of their respective trademark holders.

Lithium batteries offer a huge advantage over Alkaline batteries. Its not even a fair playing field when comparing Lithium batteries to alkaline batteries. Lithium batteries offer more voltage over a longer time frame hands down. A Lithium battery will last up to 8 times longer in a digital camera compared to a alkaline battery.

Energizer AAA Battery

Lithium can power a MP3 player up to 4 times longer when compared to Alkaline. Battery types offered in both lithium and alkaline are AA, AAA, and 9 Volts. Generally speaking lithium does not offer larger general purpose battery types than the above mentioned. Keep in mind when purchasing batteries that some electronic and photographic devices are designed to only be used with either lithium or alkaline batteries, some devices allow either type to be used. Do not put Lithium batteries in a device that requires only alkaline batteries. In some cases when putting lithium batteries in a device that only accepts alkaline batteries, lithium can cause permanent damage due to over voltage.

One disadvantage that lithium batteries have to the alkaline batteries is the considerably higher cost of the lithium batteries. Consumers at first were not fond of the price tag of the lithium batteries.  Sense, the sales of lithium batteries have gone through the roof. Lithium batteries have proved to consumers that they can last 8 times longer in high drain devices like digital cameras. The average cost of a 4 pack of AAA Alkaline batteries is roughly 5 dollars. The average cost of a 4 pack of AAA lithium batteries is 12 dollars. Lithium batteries cost nearly 2 1/2 times more than alkaline batteries. Lithium batteries however are a excellent choice for the holidays when numerous photos are taken. Lithium batteries last 8 times longer and cost 2 1/2 times as much as comparable alkalines, we’ll let you be the judge.

Product names, logos, brands, and other trademarks featured or referred to within bestbatterytips .com website are the property of their respective trademark holders.