I've been using the Rayovac for a year. I agree with you, much better than NiCad. A good investment. harvey wrote: > In the original Journal segment, I mentioned buying and trying the Rayovac > renewable alkaline system. Since that article, I have responded to several > snail-mail inquiries as to the results of using the system. Although not > very scientific, these recent findings caused some raised eyebrows for me. > > The 'batteries' (sic) cells responded as advertised during my local tests, > except for a couple that simply refused to accept a charge. I believe they > were flawed out of the box. These things happen. > > I became involved in increasing amounts of work far from home, and of > course needed to power all my 'road toys'. Since the recharger, although > quite small, was another thing to remember *and* carry, I abandoned the use > of the system altogether. I returned to buying my 'AA' and 'AAA' alkalines, > usually through my universal parts supplier -- Wally World. > [Sidebar] Actually, I try to spend no more than 48 cents per cell, and buy > whatever packaging comes closest to that -- whether it's a 24-pack of > Toshibas at Sam's, a case of Brand 'xxx' at Big Lots, or an 8~10 plus 2 > free package elsewhere. I also suspect the two free bonus cells are not > ready for prime time, but that's another story. > > Recently, while perusing some of the thousands of Internet sites dedicated > to Palm Pilots, I ran across a discussion about the use of... you got it... > the Rayovac system. One topic, that I had forgotten, was regarding the > charging parameters. The renewals, like car batteries and *unlike* Ni-cads, > enjoy and possibly benefit from partial discharge/recharge cycles. I > decided to give mine another try, but first had to find the charger! > > I planned to use the existing charger and buy new cells, thinking that by > now they would be past a reasonable shelf life, leaking or who knows what. > I finally located the charger, buried under other ju... ,uh, valuable > possessions. The charger still held two 'AA' cells from whenever it was > unplugged. I don't know how long it was buried, but certainly a couple of > years. With nothing to lose, and two cells handy, I plugged in the charger. > The charge lamps flickered and extinguished. I thought that (a) my > suspicions were confirmed about cell life, or (b) I had just nuked the > charger. > > I removed and tested the cells with a battery tester (w/built-in load). > They showed a full charge. I then put them in my ever-present > Mini-Maglight, and made the mistake of looking at the bulb while turning it > on (Ni-cad mentality at work). > > Impressive! Based on those results, I was off to Wally World to buy more > cells, perhaps another charger (for the road). I then happened to find more > cells in a -- safe place -- where a lot of my stuff disappears, and tested > them *without* plugging them into the charger. They were all charged, > except for two. These I believe to be the original defects that Mr. Packrat > failed to dispose of. > > There, a glowing testimonial of American technology at work. I tried to be > brief -- please no flames! > > Jim Harvey > harvey@greenwood.net > Greenwood (n): the largest city in South Carolina WITHOUT an Interstate
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