Updated: Are Energizer Rechargeable D Batteries AAs In Disguise?
UPDATE: Energizer Responds To Weak Rechargeable Battery Claims
Ever notice how rechargeable batteries seem weak and barely hold a charge? Mike Adams, a blogger for Natural News made an interesting discovery about his Energizer Rechargeable "D" batteries. The "stated capacity of the battery is just 2500 mAh - the same capacity as typical AA batteries." So if they seem weak, it's because they are weak.
But let's give Energizer the benefit of the doubt: perhaps there are technical reasons that reasons that rechargeables are weaker. In fact, at 1800 mAh, Rayovac D batteries are even weaker than Energizers.
But that can't be it. A number of rechargeable D batteries are available online at comparable costs with up to 10,000 mAh.
Adams discovered that if you take the Energizer "D" battery apart, you'll find a surprise:
The Energizer "D" battery is actually just a cheap plastic shell surrounding a much smaller, low-capacity battery similar in size and capacity to an "AA" battery.
Batteries with the higher capacity are, unsurprisingly, significantly heavier than the Energizers.
A rep for Energizer responded:
All Energizer NiMH batteries have the mAh capacity rating on the label. There is no deception concerning the battery capacity and the D size designation only represents the batteries physical dimensions. We have found that most D size devices will work satisfactorily with the Energizer NiMH batteries and the rechargeability of the product is the true advantage of this chemistry.
D size rechargeable batteries have historically used a smaller internal unit cell. The main driving force behind this design is to keep the battery affordable to the average consumer. High capacity rechargeable batteries are more expensive than our standard rechargeable D size battery due to the increased volume of materials needed. In addition, they require a higher capacity charger to deliver acceptable recharging times which are also more expensive. Our research indicates that the high upfront cost for high capacity rechargeable batteries and special charger would discourage many users from trying these batteries.
Clearly a high capacity D size NiMH battery would be beneficial in certain applications but we have found that the market for this type of battery is minimal due to overall cost. Energizer will continue to evaluate this market and look for a cost effective opportunity for higher capacity NiMH batteries.
In other words, Energizer did the research and found that a stronger D battery would be less profitable. (It's worth noting that Energizer rechargeable D batteries cost roughly 50% more than Energizer AA's. Not misleading, huh?)
For his part, Adams sees this ploy as a concerted effort by battery manufacturers to dampen consumer interest in the rechargeable market, thus maintaining profits from a lucrative throwaway product. But whether you buy into the planned obsolescence theory or not, it's probably a good idea to shop around for your rechargeables, and to compare stated capacities.
Energizer "D" Battery Exposed [Natural News] (Thanks to Jamie Hodges!)
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Comments:
Who still uses D batteries?
I've got to ask this question now.
Doesn't it say on many (if not all) battery packages to not take the battery apart?
I always thought that upon doing so would release a burning fury of acid resulting in the removal of several layers of skin.
Now I don't want to start a conspiracy theory here, but could it be the manufacturers don't want you to dismantle a battery simply because they're hiding stuff like this?
Nobody buys D cell batteries because they have "more power", they buy D cell batteries because that's what fits in the battery compartment of whatever it is they're trying to use.
But yeah, putting a single AA battery inside a D-cell sized wrapper and then charging more is deceptive. If I had wanted a AA battery in a plastic shell, I'd have bought a AA battery and a $3 adapter.
Notice the "D2" has the 2 as a subscript, not a superscript.
I don't know if this is a "concerted effort by battery manufacturers to dampen consumer interest in the rechargeable market". That seems like pure speculation.
However, this is a GREAT post. Kind of "recharges" my interest in site. I never would have even considered that Engergizer would be doing this.
For shame, Energizer!
I guess the Energizer bunny no longer keeps on going.. and going... and going
@Frapp: Having had batteries explode on me, I'd say for the most part it's because, well, it's dangerous.
@brain_grenade: Oh and we use 'em at work a lot for equipment, flashlights, etc. (I work in the office inside a big warehouse)
LOL++, those are the same one I bought from the same place I bought them from. Good job!
(They work quite well, too, although for devices with unusual contacts, you will need some tinfoil to help these adapters make good contact!)
@HiPwr: What it is is rank conspiracy thinking wrapped in fallacies.
The most likely explanation, and the one we should default on (Occam's Razor and all that), is that Energizer is doing it for PROFIT. As anyone who's taken even the simplest economics course can state:
revenue - cost = profit.
So, how do you increase profit in D batteries, which likely have higher marginal costs than AAs, as well as lower volume?
Reduce costs!
Simply put, Energizer is being skeezy in order to increase the bottom line. I sincerely doubt that anyone at Energizer thought, "how can we keep people buying alkalines? Let's make conspiracies!"
You know what's even easier? Lower the price on alkalines even further, and watch people buy fewer rechargeables.
I'm actually shocked that Natural News (one of the web's biggest repositories of woo, run by the vile Mike Adams) actually produced a piece that is somewhat worthwhile.
@jrizos: that's because there are two in the package. When you buy an 8-pack of AA batteries, it says AA8.
Bought rechargables-- they worked once. The the charger broke. There's really no reason every device shouldn't have a simple rechargable built-in- its not that much more expensive.
If you really want to be thrown for a loop, open up a 9V and look at the cute and adorable sub-AAA sized batteries. Each is 1.5V, in case you're working on an electrical project and have no room to stash AAAs and don't want to deal with the extra hassle of adding on a recharge circuit & LiPoly
The Eneloop rechargeable battery system (which has worked really well for me) uses AAs as the core for their C and D rechargeables. You charge all AA and then slip them in to C or D size shell so they fit in the appliance. Naturally they don't last as long but, you know, they're rechargeable - and affordable enough to get a couple chargers so if you plan ahead your boombox won't crap out right in the middle of your breakdance routine.
Could you have done a little research before you posted this article? Every battery company does this not just Energizer and it's not some great conspiracy to rip off consumers. If anything it SAVES consumers money. Most electronics designed for D Cells don't require the extra power that those cells can produce. These cells are also about 1/3 of the weight of a regular D cell, which adds up when your appliance requires 8 or 12 of these things.
They are also doing you another favor in that they can market one charger for their entire line of batteries. A full capacity D cell would require 4 times the charge current or 4 times the charge time to fully recharge.
Finally they aren't hiding anything it's clearly labeled as 2600mah or 1800mah you can buy the full size 10,000-12,000mah D cells they are of course more expensive and heavier. It's up to you the consumer to understand the costs, benefits, and downsides to all the options on the market.
Oh and yes batteries should NEVER be disassembled. The cells themselves contain acid and can potentially vent toxic gases. It's a blanket statement battery companies make to protect their asses. Some batteries, both alkaline and rechargeable, are just metal casings with internal individual cells. Good examples are 9 volt batteries or Lantern type cells. Unless you KNOW what your doing you should never try to pry a battery apart.
@Frapp:
They don't want you to disassemble (modern) batteries, not because of liquid acid (wet cells have gone away with the dinosaur, apart from things like car batteries/alarm batteries/wheelchair batteries/etc), but because most batteries contain poisonous substances. And, yes, they are going to (eventually) cause skin damage and other lovely things if you get the paste on you without washing it off. And, I suppose it would hurt your eyes if you manage to "splurt" out some of the paste into them.
For some other treats:
- Some 9v batteries contain 6 AAAA batteries to make the 9v (others contain watch batteries, or custom sized batteries to make 9v). Considering the cost of AAAA batteries, if you need them, this is the way to go. Note they may be reversed polarity.
- A23 batteries (12 volt) contain 8 LR392 watch batteries.
- 6v lantern batteries contain 4 F cells, 12v ones contain 8. I suppose if you had a need for F cells (never heard of one).
Basically, any battery that isn't the natural voltage for the material listed is going to have multiple cells inside.
If your really cheap you can wrap foam rubber or something else around an AA battery to make it fit in a C size device. This works best when you need batteries for something that takes C size batteries but only have AA's laying around. I actually tried this and it works perfectly, a C size battery is just an AA battery in disguise. If you have something with odd contacts you may have some trouble, because the battery terminals must reach the springs in order to make a connection.
I go to a lot of yard sales and throw everything in the bag sales, I try to throw things in the bag that have batteries in them which is where I get most of my battery stock. When I buy stuff at yard sales it usually comes with the batteries right in it. Most kids toys hardly drain batteries so you get nearly perfectly brand new batteries for almost nothing. In fact my stock of batteries is so large that I will probably never use all the ones I have and I have never paid full price for a set of batteries in many years.
With a D size your better off buying the adapter where you can stick 2 AA's in each D size adapter so you can get a reasonable amount of power out of it.
Chargers for C and D size batteries are also significantly more expensive than just an AA/AAA battery charger so this tip will save you money on a charger as well.
@shepd: When I bought rechargeable Ds, they were for a large boom box. I was worried the AAs wouldn't last as long as actual Ds would. Was I wrong?
Anyone notice that the battery shown in that article is listed as 1.2v? Most akaline batteries are 1.5 volts. It also never says that the AA batteries being compared are either alkaline or NiMH or NiCD.
@JGKojak:
Stick with the standards, NiMH or NiCd if you're old, and then you can just buy another charger and keep charging them. :)
@brain_grenade: My cats' Litter Maid uses 6! D batteries as backup power. If I didn't have batteries in it, the Litter Maid goes through a cleaning cycle every time we have a power tremmor..
The last time we had an outage the power flickered a few times and finally went out with the Litter Maid rake in the MIDDLE of the box so my cat's couldn't use it.. It was really bad.
I'm so glad I have batteries in that thing now.
That's too big to be the same NiMh cell from a AA battery.
Also...are rechargeable batteries actually better for the environment? Electricity doesn't grow on trees.
@Murph1908:
Wow I'm dumb. Reading other comments put 9-volts in the forefront of my mind, and I then replied with that previous stupid comment.
And as a parent, yes, many toys use D batteries.
@henneko: I think you're misinformed. D-cells are often designed into devices that can deliver a higher current over a shorter period of time; flashlights are a prime example of this. D-cells can deliver a higher current because they have a lower internal resistance, which a C- or AA-cell doesn't. Other devices do use D-cells because of the higher energy capacity; a portable radio is a good example of this; portable radios are often used in emergency situations, and you may need 8 hours of use from a set of batteries, instead of only 2-3 hours like you'd get from lower-capacity cells.
@Murph1908: My Zenith Transoceanic Royal-1000 uses nine D Batteries! Plays forever on a set of Alkalines. I can only imagine how often I'd have to recharge it using these Energizers.
I noticed quite some time ago that anything larger than AA-size NiMH cells were the same capacity and wondered about it. I came up with three possible explanations:
1. Cost. A full-sized D-size NiMH cell would be very expensive and the average consumer wouldn't be willing to pay for it.
2. Safety. A NiMH cell has a lower internal resistance than an alkaline primary cell of the same size has, which means that if the cell were shorted, there would be a significant chance of fire, or even a small explosion.
3. Recharging. A D-size NiMH cell would require a rather large and expensive charger to recharge overnight, or a smaller charger and a full 24 hours to recharge. There would also be a significant amount of heat generated by the cell during recharging, which would likely alarm the average consumer. Here again, there might be a safety issue if something happened to the cell during recharging.
There is one more possibility, one that is a non-technical one: Profit. Sell more D-size-with-AA-size-capacity cells to consumers.
Being a consumer is hard work. You have to really pay attention to everything. Example: I bought a faucet from home depot.com and it turned out to be a bathroom faucet and not the kitchen faucet. The picture was the same picture they used for the kitchen faucet. I returned it for $7.00 for my mistake. The second faucet was the right faucet, but was missing the handles! Sure, the description mentioned there were no handles, but it never occurred to me that the picture in the listing showed handles that weren't part of the package. I could go on... but the basic point is that buyer be aware. There is a lot of deception going on using consumer's assumptions and biases. They vendor will mislead by making use of our natural assumptions and biases. When we fall victim to these, they blame us for not paying attention. yea. It's my fault. I'm just going to stop buying so much junk because I keep falling for the same trick over and over.
@Frapp: just search [www.instructables.com] for things people do to batteries. i've seen a safe made from a battery, someone posted how to extract the lithium from a battery.... not to say it's all super-safe. that doesn't stop people from doing it though
I too think this is dangerously close to crossing the line into unethical territory.
The reason different sizes of 1.2V (rechargable) and 1.5V (alkaline) batteries are offered is capacity. Physically larger batteries have increased capacities. Devices such as flashlights and portable power tools draw a lot more current from the batteries than things like digital cameras and remote controls, and this is why some devices specify "AA" cells while others require "D" cells. Using "AA" cell capacity in devices more suited to "C" or "D" cells will simply require the batteries to be recharged more often (and therefore replaced more often). Also the device in question might not function properly because smaller batteries cannot deliver high-current impulses (required when an electric motor is first switched-on in a portable power tool for example) to the degree that larger sizes can.
Not to be too geeky, but here are the industry specs for alkaline battery capacity:
"AA" cells: 2850 mAh
"C" cells: 8350 mAh
"D" cells: 18000 mAh
For NiMH batteries, capacities for each size can range a bit but here are some good average figures:
"AA" cells: 1800-2800 mAh
"C" cells: 4000-6000 mAh
"D" cells: 7500-10000 mAh
Capacities are given in milliamp-hours. This does NOT necessarily mean that a "D" cell rechargable rated at 10000 mAh can power a device that draws 10 amps for one hour. Battery chemistries and the way the device uses the current play a role. For example, a NiMH rechargable "AA" (1800 mAh) will actually last LONGER in a digital camera than an alkaline "AA" (2800 mAh); alkaline batteries are better at providing sustained, moderate current levels as they discharge while NiMH batteries are better at delivering brief spikes of high current very rapidly (when snapping a pic for example).
If Energizer is indeed selling "D" cell rechargables with the same rated capacity as its "AA" rechargables, there is definitely a problem.
However, any good "Consumerist" reader should know better than to buy retail-packaged batteries (rechargable or otherwise) at retail stores! (Same principle as HDMI cables.)
Just buy one size (okay, two if you use AAAs) and be done with it. You can buy D cell converters that will fit two AAs, and C cell converters that will fit one AA.
So, you carry only one size of battery with you, and it's the cheapest size. And the converters cost well under $1 each (sometimes less than $0.25 each, if you look around).
Plus, two decent AA NiMH batteries are going to give you a total of 4 Ah, which isn't bad at all for a D cell.