Energizer Rechargable "D" Battery Exposed
AllEmailDeletedImmediately
batteries are no more powerful than common "AA" rechargeable batteries. In
fact, an off-the-shelf Energizer "D" rechargeable battery is actually made
of a much smaller AA-capacity battery wrapped in a cheap plastic cylinder
with air gaps, designed to make it appear physically like a "D" battery
while only delivering the performance of an "AA" battery (2500 mAh).
The photos, taken by NewsTarget editor Mike Adams, reveal what's really
behind the Energizer "D" rechargeable battery: A plastic cylinder, air gaps
and a much smaller AA-style battery that only delivers 2500mAh of power.
Competing rechargeable "D" batteries on the market deliver a much as
11,000mAh of power and are priced at only slightly more cost than the
Energizer "D" battery (which costs approximately 400% more than Energizer's
2500mAH "AA" battery of the same capacity).
Note from the editor: I believe these Energizer "D" rechargeable batteries
are deceptively marketed and made to appear to be high-capacity batteries
when, in reality, they are nothing more than common AA-capacity batteries
inside. I am warning consumers to be aware of this apparent battery
deception and to avoid purchasing Energizer rechargeable batteries.
Recommend honest brands are Sony, Sanyo and Powerex, all of which are
available in much higher capacities than the Energizer "D" battery (at about
the same cost).
I believe that rechargeable batteries are an important "green living"
technology that can help consumers be less wasteful in their use of valuable
earth resources. NiMH batteries can be reused 1,000 times before being
thrown away, greatly reducing landfill and the introduction of toxic metals
into the environment. Energizer's intentional manufacture and marketing of a
"crippled" D battery is hampering the ability of consumers to purchase
reliable high-capacity rechargeable "D" batteries. By doing so, the
Energizer company is, in my opinion, engaged in practices that are extremely
unfriendly to both the environment and consumers.
I believe the Energizer company has a responsibility to consumers to produce
an honest line of rechargeable batteries that delivers the power density
expected by consumers and implied by the battery's shape and size. But the
prettty Energizer label reveals a startling secret inside these "D"
batteries: Cheap plastic filler and a "crippled" low-capacity battery
inside. It's like buying a Ford F350 truck with a V8 engine inside, then
opening the hood and discovering a tiny 4-banger engine hidden inside a fake
plastic V8 engine shell.
http://www.newstarget.com/PhotoTour_Energizer_Batteries_1.html
Logan Shaw
> A NewsTarget photo investigation reveals that Energizer "D" Rechargeable
> batteries are no more powerful than common "AA" rechargeable batteries. In
> fact, an off-the-shelf Energizer "D" rechargeable battery is actually made
> of a much smaller AA-capacity battery wrapped in a cheap plastic cylinder
> with air gaps, designed to make it appear physically like a "D" battery
> while only delivering the performance of an "AA" battery (2500 mAh).
I don't see anything wrong with that. It'd designed to appear physically
like a "D" battery because it needs to physically *be* a "D" battery.
Some devices exist which require "D" batteries, and you can't put an "A"
battery in those devices because it will fall out of place.
Also, I don't get how they're being deceptively marketed. If you go
to their web site here:
http://www.energizer.com/products/rechargeables/sizes.aspx
then you'll see that it says quite prominently what the mAh ratings
are for the various sizes of batteries. It even has a paragraph
explaining what a mAh rating means in case you don't already know.
- Logan
Bert Hyman
<lshaw-...@austin.rr.com> wrote:
> Also, I don't get how they're being deceptively marketed. If you go
> to their web site here:
>
> http://www.energizer.com/products/rechargeables/sizes.aspx
>
> then you'll see that it says quite prominently what the mAh ratings
> are for the various sizes of batteries.
If that info is also "quite prominently" listed on the retail package,
then you're right.
--
Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN be...@iphouse.com
nicks...@ece.villanova.edu
>The photos, taken by NewsTarget editor Mike Adams, reveal what's really
>behind the Energizer "D" rechargeable battery: A plastic cylinder, air gaps
>and a much smaller AA-style battery that only delivers 2500mAh of power.
What do you mean by "2500mAh of power"? :-)
Nick
George
They certainly give the mAh rating of their batteries but I doubt the
average person would know that their Mickey Mouse "D cell size
replacement" only has 12% of the energy of an alkaline D cell which is
nominally 20,500 mAh.
Anthony Matonak
> In news:472cbf35$0$15369$4c36...@roadrunner.com Logan Shaw wrote:
>
>> Also, I don't get how they're being deceptively marketed. If you go
>> to their web site here:
>> http://www.energizer.com/products/rechargeables/sizes.aspx
>> then you'll see that it says quite prominently what the mAh ratings
>> are for the various sizes of batteries.
>
> If that info is also "quite prominently" listed on the retail package,
> then you're right.
It's displayed on the packaging but it won't mean anything to you
unless you know what what mAh means and the capacity of comparable
batteries.
Deceptive packaging abounds. That's why carbon batteries are marked
"Heavy Duty" in big letters and why cereal boxes are tall, wide,
very shallow and only half filled.
Anthony
Jeff
What do you take the Ahrs of a AA alkaline?
Jeff
jo...@phred.org
> A NewsTarget photo investigation reveals that Energizer "D" Rechargeable
> batteries are no more powerful than common "AA" rechargeable batteries. In
> fact, an off-the-shelf Energizer "D" rechargeable battery is actually made
> of a much smaller AA-capacity battery wrapped in a cheap plastic cylinder
> with air gaps, designed to make it appear physically like a "D" battery
> while only delivering the performance of an "AA" battery (2500 mAh).
This has been true of many D-size rechargeable batteries for decades.
It was true of GE-branded NiCads back in the 1970s, for example.
Ray-O-Vac D-cells are 2200 mAh NiMH, actually lower capacity than many
AA NiMH cells.
GP D-cells are, if I remember correctly, a C-cell with spacers, 4500
mAh.
There are a few brands of 1 Ah NiMH D-cells available from electronics
suppliers, but they're the exception rather than the rule in consumer-
oriented rechargeable Ds. Indeed, some places don't even bother
sticking a battery in the spacer, you can buy D-cell jackets for your AA
cells so you don't need a second charger for bigger batteries.
--
jo...@phred.org is Joshua Putnam
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/>
Braze your own bicycle frames. See
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/build/build.html>
Logan Shaw
> Bert Hyman wrote:
>> In news:472cbf35$0$15369$4c36...@roadrunner.com Logan Shaw wrote:
>>> Also, I don't get how they're being deceptively marketed. If you go
>>> to their web site here:
>>> http://www.energizer.com/products/rechargeables/sizes.aspx
>>> then you'll see that it says quite prominently what the mAh ratings
>>> are for the various sizes of batteries.
>>
>> If that info is also "quite prominently" listed on the retail package,
>> then you're right.
>
> It's displayed on the packaging but it won't mean anything to you
> unless you know what what mAh means and the capacity of comparable
> batteries.
Well, if you don't, you don't really have any basis on which to make
choice between batteries. It would be sort of like buying a car (to
use the analogy in the original article) and not knowing what "horsepower"
means. Of course, a car is a bigger decision worthy of investing more
effort, but if you put too little effort into your purchasing decisions,
you're going to get bad results.
For what it's worth, I went browsing for info about "D" NiMH batteries
and going prices on them over at amazon.com, and I found that the
aforementioned 2500 mAh Energizer ones were going for $10.12. Several
other companies also sold "D" batteries of similar capacity for similar
prices. MAHA PowerEx had some with a much higher rating of 11000 mAh,
but the price on those was $35.95. The capacity is over 4 times as
high, but the price is about 3.5 times as high as well.
I think what's really going on here is that a lot of devices are built
with "D" batteries in mind, but making a NiMH "D" cell in the obvious
way is expensive and in many cases unnecessary. So manufacturers are
doing both, and offering the cheaper ones as an alternative that is
still compatible with the gear that requires batteries of that size but
doesn't cost $35 for two batteries. This is violating the assumption
that a lot of people have that a "D" battery is supposed to be able to
store more energy than a "AA" battery. But that's just an assumption.
The only real rule is that a battery should work in the equipment it
needs to power and provide the amount of energy that the user needs.
Well, and that manufacturers shouldn't be deceptive, but I don't think
they're being deceptive in this case.
- Logan
Logan Shaw
It's pretty easy to spot in this version of the retail packaging:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Nv85Umu3L._AA240_.jpg
- Logan
larry
in our 2 cell flashlights. Still have the "12/83" paper
labels I marked them with when first put in service!
Recharge them about once a month in the original 16hr GE
"wall wart" charger, which I attribute to why they lasted
this long. And these are the smaller C cell in a D case.
Did change the flashlight bulbs to kryptons, but these
nicads still will outlast a set of carbon/zincs. Originally
bought 12 cells, but the other six died from nichrome
"wisker" shorts within five years. The nicads don't self
discharge in a month like the newer NiMHs do. Important for
the flashlights in the vehicles.
I don't think it makes much sense to use high AH cells in a
flashlight. These match the load and have saved a lot of
carbon/zincs over the years. I CAN see using high AH in
digital cameras, ours can't make it thru 2 hours with
2600mAH NiMH AA's ;-)
With the new high power/fast smart chargers and batteries,
we're lucky to get three years use out of the new storage
technology. Be it alarm system, ups, cellphone, or laptop.
-larry / dallas
nicks...@ece.villanova.edu
>their Mickey Mouse "D cell size replacement" only has 12% of the energy
>of an alkaline D cell which is nominally 20,500 mAh.
What do you mean by "20,500 mAh" of energy? :-)
Nick
max
Logan Shaw <lshaw-...@austin.rr.com> wrote:
> Well, if you don't, you don't really have any basis on which to make
> choice between batteries. It would be sort of like buying a car (to
> use the analogy in the original article) and not knowing what "horsepower"
> means. Of course, a car is a bigger decision worthy of investing more
> effort, but if you put too little effort into your purchasing decisions,
> you're going to get bad results.
Since crystalization of space time from the frothy boil of the
multiverse, AA capacity has been fractional to D. I am unaware of any
exceptions to this, and i've been buying or using batteries for almost
50 years.
A reasonable basis for battery comparison within a chemical family is
simple: How Big Is It? More volume means more room for battery guts=>
more power. Always has. And for emphasis: reasonable.
Size also is, or should be, fairly probative across manufacturers, since
battery technology is pretty cut-and-dried. Nobody really has any
tricks. It would be frankly quite surprising to find much more than a
10% spread. Oh. wait. It IS surprising!
D cells have always had more more ma-hrs than AA's, at least until
Energizer came along.
Energizer's rechargable D-cell is a purely fraudulently promoted product
and they should be nailed to a fence over it.
so, i have to disagree.
.max
--
The part of betatron @ earthlink . net was played by a garden gnome
Don K
news:472cf85e$0$19659$4c36...@roadrunner.com...
> Deceptive packaging abounds. That's why carbon batteries are marked
> "Heavy Duty" in big letters and why cereal boxes are tall, wide,
> very shallow and only half filled.
It's not deceptive, the extra space in those Duracells is simply the result
of electrons settling during shipment.
Don
Don K
news:betatron-2A8BB2...@news.ftupet.com...
>
> D cells have always had more more ma-hrs than AA's, at least until
> Energizer came along.
As I recall, Radio Shack also made some batteries that were built from
regular smaller ones soldered inside a larger case package.
They were extraordinarily light for the size.
Don
Logan Shaw
> "max" <beta...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:betatron-2A8BB2...@news.ftupet.com...
>> D cells have always had more more ma-hrs than AA's, at least until
>> Energizer came along.
>
> As I recall, Radio Shack also made some batteries that were built from
> regular smaller ones soldered inside a larger case package.
Rayovac also makes (or made?) D cell batteries with a similar capacity.
In fact, theirs are 2200 mAh instead of the 2500 mAh that you'd get from
Energizer batteries:
And wikipedia says they won a contract to supply batteries to Radio Shack:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayovac
So maybe that's what's going on with that.
- Logan
Bob F
There were nicads built the same way in the past. It's just a way to make a
battery for devices requireing a D cell for a moderate price. Don't make a big
deal out of nothing.
Bob
Bob F
"larry" <no...@home.com> wrote in message
news:NddXi.676$RR6...@newssvr22.news.prodigy.net...
I've still got some 4 AH D cell Nicads that work - acquired about 1972 or so.
Don Klipstein
He did not say 20,500 mAh of energy. And I am aware that mAh is a
unit of charge, not energy. (I wonder if the OP is.)
But if the cells have same voltage (and I think that averaged over
discharge they roughly do), then energy is proportional to charge. So if
Cell B has 12% of the charge of cell A, then cell B also has 12% of the
energy of cell A.
- Don Klipstein (d...@misty.com)
Don Klipstein
Back in the days before NiMH was something anyone could get in a retail
store, Radio Shack NiCd D cells were something smaller plus packaging and
filler, but bigger than AA. I think it was sub-C.
- Don Klipstein (d...@misty.com)
Larry Bud
<anthony...@nothing.like.socal.rr.com> wrote:
> Bert Hyman wrote:
> > Innews:472cbf35$0$15369$4c36...@roadrunner.comLogan Shaw wrote:
>
> >> Also, I don't get how they're being deceptively marketed. If you go
> >> to their web site here:
> >> http://www.energizer.com/products/rechargeables/sizes.aspx
> >> then you'll see that it says quite prominently what the mAh ratings
> >> are for the various sizes of batteries.
>
> > If that info is also "quite prominently" listed on the retail package,
> > then you're right.
>
> It's displayed on the packaging but it won't mean anything to you
> unless you know what what mAh means and the capacity of comparable
> batteries.
So now you want a fucking physics lesson on the package of batteries?
Do your homework before you pull your wallet out.
No wonder why hair dryers having warnings of using them in the bath
tub.
Larry Bud
> and they should be nailed to a fence over it.
What exactly is fraudulent? They list the mAh of the batteries on the
packaging, for crissake.
nicks...@ece.villanova.edu
>>>their Mickey Mouse "D cell size replacement" only has 12% of the energy
>>>of an alkaline D cell which is nominally 20,500 mAh.
>>
>>What do you mean by "20,500 mAh" of energy? :-)
>
> He did not say 20,500 mAh of energy.
Not *exactly* :-)
> But if the cells have same voltage (and I think that averaged over
>discharge they roughly do)...
Were we talking nicads or nimhs?
Nick
Don Klipstein
nicks...@ece.villanova.edu wrote:
I thought the OP was talking about NiMH, and the 20,500 mAH was for
alkaline. It appears to me that all three have voltage under load,
averaged through the usable portion of their discharge, close to 1.2-1.25
volts.
- Don Klipstein (d...@misty.com)