Summary for those who value brevity:
1. I've been using rechargeable batteries when camping, very successfully.
2. Maplin do a nice range - I've nothing to do with the company but I adore them.
3. It's a little costlier at the outset but relative cost per use drops over time and in the
long term I think they are much better value.
4. They might be better for the environment but I'm not wholly convinced.
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I've recently made the move from Duracell and M+S own brand (excellent) batteries to
rechargeable ones from Maplin - this is because I was getting through an awful lot of them
with my camera (2xAAA) and CD walkman (2xAA) and there was, until just now, no easy
way to recycle them (some London boroughs are now making it easier to dispose of used
batteries and are presumably doing something useful with them but I don't know what).
I am not really sure if recharging batteries is that much greener than buying new and
disposing in a recycling bin as you have to put the batteries in the charger on the mains
supply to get the power in the first place so I suppose the only obvious environmental
benefit is that fewer noxious chemicals are used / released in their production as they
are locked in to the product for longer (the battery lifetime is longer) and in lower volume
(you use fewer of them over time, as they are reused!).
The batteries are around two times as expensive as non-rechargeable ones but I've used
and charged them a few times now and they don't owe me any money - as far as I'm
aware they've got rather a lot of life in them and so the long-term cost will be considerably
less. I've also noticed that they're very very good - they seem to hold charge well and
perform well for longer than some other batteries I've used. Perhaps over time this will
drop off but so far there have been no problems.
When I first went off on a course and was taking a headtorch (3xAAA) with me as well as
my camera I thought this would be a good time to get a bit of a system in order.
I have a cheap camera from Woolies, a Sony Walkman CD player and an Alpkit
headtorch - the camera and CD player have moving parts and use a lot of power (so
with heavy use I expect to change the batteries on an every other day basis in some
cases).
My system is very simple - buy batteries in two different colours so that your fresh spares
look different from any used ones! Failing that keep them in different compartments but
there's always the danger that the headtorch might fail in the dark anyway in which case
it would be a case of trial and error! Fortunately Maplin do a variety of own-brand products
and as far as I can tell they are largely interchangeable (as long as the battery type - in
terms of chemicals involved) are the same. Some rechargeable batteries might have to
be used only in their own recharger.
Jo
1. I've been using rechargeable batteries when camping, very successfully.
2. Maplin do a nice range - I've nothing to do with the company but I adore them.
3. It's a little costlier at the outset but relative cost per use drops over time and in the
long term I think they are much better value.
4. They might be better for the environment but I'm not wholly convinced.
***************************************************************************************************
I've recently made the move from Duracell and M+S own brand (excellent) batteries to
rechargeable ones from Maplin - this is because I was getting through an awful lot of them
with my camera (2xAAA) and CD walkman (2xAA) and there was, until just now, no easy
way to recycle them (some London boroughs are now making it easier to dispose of used
batteries and are presumably doing something useful with them but I don't know what).
I am not really sure if recharging batteries is that much greener than buying new and
disposing in a recycling bin as you have to put the batteries in the charger on the mains
supply to get the power in the first place so I suppose the only obvious environmental
benefit is that fewer noxious chemicals are used / released in their production as they
are locked in to the product for longer (the battery lifetime is longer) and in lower volume
(you use fewer of them over time, as they are reused!).
The batteries are around two times as expensive as non-rechargeable ones but I've used
and charged them a few times now and they don't owe me any money - as far as I'm
aware they've got rather a lot of life in them and so the long-term cost will be considerably
less. I've also noticed that they're very very good - they seem to hold charge well and
perform well for longer than some other batteries I've used. Perhaps over time this will
drop off but so far there have been no problems.
When I first went off on a course and was taking a headtorch (3xAAA) with me as well as
my camera I thought this would be a good time to get a bit of a system in order.
I have a cheap camera from Woolies, a Sony Walkman CD player and an Alpkit
headtorch - the camera and CD player have moving parts and use a lot of power (so
with heavy use I expect to change the batteries on an every other day basis in some
cases).
My system is very simple - buy batteries in two different colours so that your fresh spares
look different from any used ones! Failing that keep them in different compartments but
there's always the danger that the headtorch might fail in the dark anyway in which case
it would be a case of trial and error! Fortunately Maplin do a variety of own-brand products
and as far as I can tell they are largely interchangeable (as long as the battery type - in
terms of chemicals involved) are the same. Some rechargeable batteries might have to
be used only in their own recharger.
Jo
