A while back I decided to go the rechargable route on batteries... figured I'd get a good supply of them and I'd never have to buy batteries again, right? Well, for a while they worked well, but now they don't seem to hold a charge for very long. Is this normal? Do you think it's the batteries or the charger or is it just the way it goes? I am going to go to Costco and buy a big brick of batteries for our upcoming trips to WDW & DLR so my camera doesn't die on me and we can keep our fun little fans and things going.

What are your opinions on this?

What kind did you get?
NiCd
NiMH
LiIon

What kind did you get?
NiCd
NiMH
LiIon

NiMH

NiMH batteries should not build up a "memory" and should only diminish in capacity over a long time or heavy use. That is puzzling. With all rechargeable batteries, it is advisable to charge them completely full, and use them until they are completely empty the first time. With my rechargeable, also NiMH, I usually get about three years before it is noticeable.

What brand are they?

Most are Panasonic (I bought a pack w/charger at Costco... maybe a year ago, or a little more than a year) some are Energizer.

Maybe I should take it back to Costco and exchange it for a new one and see if that takes care of the issue.

That might work. If it is any consolation, I found it more of a hassle and it took to long to recover the cost, so I switched back to getting the large bricks at Costco.

FWIW, I was using the green batteries from Radio Shack and they seemed pretty good.

Take a look at the "mAH" or MilliAmp Hours rating on the batteries. Most of the larger NiMH cells (C and D size) aren't very dense and in fact don't have much more capacity than their AA counterparts. The newer AA NiMH cells (Energizer comes to mind) are now much higher energy (2300 mAH versus 1600 mAH for the older cells), which is cool. I don't know what the mAH rating for alkalines are, but I've always assumed that alkalines will outlast the NiMH cells for a single charge. The cost savings are tremendous, though, I use rechargables whenever I can. (Note that the cell voltage for NiMH is 1.2V versus 1.5V for alkalines. This usually isn't a problem for electronics i.e. MP3 players etc., but some electro-mechanical devices such as toys, flashlights etc. may be slower/dimmer with NiMH.)

Enough long winded geek talk... :geek:

I purchased the Panasonic NiMH from Costco also. Depending on when you purchased it, the package came with a mixed of 1600, 2100, or 2300. I always use the 2300 for high drain devices. I left the 1600 for portable radio.

In addition, I always use the same pair of 2300 for camera and charge the same pair at the same time. I don't mix the NiMH with different ratings. Rubber bands will do the trick.

If I were to buy some more NiMH, I definitedly will buy the Energizer 2500 from Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart sells a pack of 4 for $10.