Lots of us standardize our batteries (e.g., only use AAs), so that we don't have to play around with a million different types. However, you can't always get away with AAs for some devices. So, I'm curious, what do you make exceptions for?

First, why I standardize:

Pros:
1) Just charge your devices, throw 10 extra AAs in your pack, and you're easily covered for the weekend and then some.

2) You can buy/find them anywhere in the world. You can also pull them out of other devices (cannibalize 'em).

3) NiMH AAs work great. I have LaCrosse BC900 and a Maha C401FS chargers and I can recharge from solar, my car, a portable SLA battery, AC, etc. I use PowerEx 2700mAh batteries, which are the highest capacity available. I always have fresh trickle charged ones ready to go.

4) Non-rechargeable AAs are dirt cheap. The more expensive Lithium AAs work great in very cold temperatures. Alkalines and Lithiums (non-rechargeable) have incredibly long shelf lives.

5) Good flashlights no longer require CR123s.

6) My AA Gear:

• Flashlights: Photon Proton and Freedom Fusion, Fenix L2D premium, random others...
• Radios: Sangean DT200VX (AM/FM), Yaesu VX7/VX2 emergency backup power (ham), Uniden BCD396T (scanner)
• GPS: Garmin 60CSx
• Cell phone power-backup

And now, here are what I make exceptions for:

• Photon Freedom Micro lights (2xCR2016). I always have at least 2 of these with me, as they're on keychains and they're clipped to every bag I own. Very low self-discharge rate.
• Ham radio battery packs are proprietary Lion. (Yaesu VX-7 and VX-2. They have AA backups, but those are mainly for receive, not transmit.) Usually carry 2-3 battery packs per radio.
• Surefire E2E and some other random CR123 lights. I take a Xenon E2E camping, as IMHO the beam is better in fog than LED. But I don't buy anything new that requires CR123s. This is legacy equipment to me.
• Glo-toobs (A23): I just love these things. I keep them clipped to bags and I even EDC one.
• Radios for emergency use when on battery power (D cells): CCrane Radio Plus, Sony 2010, XM boombox, and too many others. (The Sony also requires AAs.) I also have C and D size "cases" for my rechargeable AAs, but I haven't used them.
• Green laser pointer (2xAAA). Useful for pointing out constellations when camping, as the beam is visible if there's no moon. (I use rechargeable AAA NiHMs.) This might be useful for emergency signaling, as it's so damn bright, but that's not why I bring it.
• Sealed lead acid (SLA) batteries, both portable and not so portable, that can be solar charged and power AC (120V) or DC (12V) devices.

So, who else is trying to standardize and what are you making exceptions for? Are the exceptions for critical items (e.g., water purification) or things you could manage without?

Fitz

I buy as many things as I can based on a common battery type. I try to stay with devices that use AAs and D batteries, but have a few things that come in C size batteries.


But you can’t do that with rechargeable items as easily. My cell phone and Palm Pilot have internal rechargeable batteries and I can’t get around that.

I refuse to buy anything that runs on the CR-123 batteries as they are expensive compared to AAs and I don’t feel they give much advantage for a flashlight. I have some fairly bright flashlights that run from AAs and C batteries. My digital camera runs from AAs, I made a battery charger / pack for my Palm Pilot that runs on 4 D batteries (also charges and runs my cell phone) so I standardized the rechargeable batts to run on a common battery.

I also have 12-volt chargers to run things so I guess you could say I standardized lots of things to run from a common voltage source.

But CR123s have much longer shelf life if you're looking long term.

Not if you buy Lithium AAs, they have a very long shelf life (several years longer then Alkaline.) and they deliver a lot of power. I use them in my digital camera and they last many times longer then Alkaline batts do.

And then you also have the option of using lesser batteries Alkaline AAs if needed.

CR123 powered devices limits you to expensive harder to find power sources.

About everything I use these days runs on AA's or AAA's, the division between those two types being pretty even. So those are my standards. I buy them in the largest packs I can find when they go on sale. My personal experience is that RayOVac alkalines perform as well as, and leak less frequently than, Energizers or Duracells. Plus, they're cheaper and come in even bigger bulk packs. YMMV.

Smoke detectors take 9v, and I buy those only as needed at daylight->standard time changes, when I change all my detectors. I have some old MagLights that run on D's and C's, but I never use those much anymore and don't keep spare batteries on hand for them. If I need D's or C's, I only pick them up at the store at the time of need.

AA batteries for almost everything I use every day - flashlights in particular, the Red Rock lantern etc. But an important exception for my headlamps, which aside from the Fenix 1xAA light in my pocket, are my go to source of light in an emergency.

I buy a bulk 32xAA standard alkaline package at least once a year - I feed these to my son, who seems not able to differentiate between rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries and has fried at least one charger because of it. He uses them in his toys most of the time. I also like to have a certain number of alkaline batteries around just in case - if the lights blow, and are going to stay off for a while, a pocketful of alkalines are comforting. And I'm way more likely to hand a friend (let alone a complete stranger) 4xAAs alkaline rather than 4xAA eneloop or NIMHs. When our power was out for 9 days a couple years ago, I had to make specific allowance for recharging my NiMHs, kind of a hassle.

AA eneloop and NIMHs - I really like eneloop, they don't trickle out charge nearly as much as NIMHs. I don't think we can have enough of these, I buy them when I find them on sale. NIMHs mostly in everday devices, like TV remotes, also in my camera, fenix and minimaglites in glove compartments, first aid kits etc etc Sony via Costco in their eneloop SKU distributes neat C and D sized shells that you can slip a single AA battery into, I'd like to use those on my World radio that takes 8xC type batteries.

AA lithiums, about 12 or so, socked away in my earthquake supplies. Good for a long time, when I need them they should be there.

AAAs, only for a TV remote and a Petzl headlamp I still use sometimes hiking. If I ran out of AAAs though, I'd be okay with another headlamp, which is

The Doug Ritter headlamp, runs on 2xCR2032s. I own several of these ($15.95 per, why not) Usually a pricey battery, but I bought a bunch online for very cheap, their charge doesn't trickle away either. Keep one in my first aid kits (4 total), one in my backpack, another in my daypack. Good, reliable strong beam of light, no hands, inexpensive. I love the small size of the CR2032 battery, easy to pop in spares wherever the headlamps live.

Also I found 6xCR123 in my sock drawer the other day, and had to think what they were for. For my green Glo-Toob, I'd forgotten them but I bought them with the CR2032s for cheap online and use them to replace the default. But after 20-30 hrs of glowing, no replacement necessary so far, and I doubt I would remember to pack them along with the GloToob itself. Its a neat source of light or glow, but not critical for me most of the time.

I wish I could settle on just AAs.

My head lamp uses AAAs. If I could find one that I liked as much as the Tikka that ran on AAs and didn't have a battery box on the back I'd go with it. I've also got a couple of Solitaires still, but I'm probably going to replace them all at some point.

My Surefire uses CR123s. If I could find a comparable light that I could afford that used AAs, I'd go with that to.

Leaving me with my mini strobe, which uses a pair of 2032s. Not sure much can be done there.

Everything else uses AAs.

While I'd like to standardize everything to AA, I find a few AAA items very useful and many items I carry are themselves smaller than a AA cell so complete standardization would be difficult.

That said, all my radios (receivers) are AA. One AM/FM/SW will recharge NiMH batteries when plugged into 110AC, can accept both AA and D cell batteries; I keep a set of AA's in that radio and would like to get four D cell NiMH batteries, so that if necessary I could pull teh AA batteries for other apps and keep the radio running on the D cells

Most of my lights are AA. The 4xAA UKeLED has great battery life and can run on alkaline, NiMH and Lithium AA batteries (although the hazardous area ratings go away if it's used with Lithiums cells). The lights that aren't AA are either 1xAAA LED lights I have for pocket carry, or 3D and 2D Maglites with LED bulbs that are rarely used. My CR123 lights have all been retired.

The lights and GPS attached to my bicycle are all AAA. So in a sense I've standardized to AAA for bicycle applications.

Back to AA -- my primary GPS and digital camera run on AA batteries. The GPS alone is a great reason to standardize on AA batteries. If you see me walking with a Garmin 60CSx, everything else I carry will also run on AA batteries, probably NiMH rechargeables with a solar recharger in my pack.

You do know they now make CR123 glo-toobs?

I've gone to "I'll carry 2 types" - AA and CR-123

I too stay with AA's whenever possible. Best, most versatile power package by far IMO. However I make exceptions for photons/petzl e+Lite (CR2016/CR2032), one light that uses CR123, upgraded maglites (D cells), and of course some AAA's. Standardizing on one battery makes things a heck of a lot easier.

AA, AAA (keychain light), and CR123.

I don't run anything with C or D. Maybe a radio when I get one Did you know you can get converters though, to run 4 AA as a D and 4 AAA as a C. They are rectangles and you can get them at radio shack. They also have 'spacers' so you can run less power but still listen to the radio. Radio shack too.

-Todd

I'm mostly AA, but I like my CR123 lights too much to banish them to a drawer. In fact, my MSR Miox takes CR123s as well, so I'm actually closer to CR123s as a standard than AAs. I'm a flashlight nut, so I want my 230 lumen/ 2 cell/1.5 hour regulated light with me, or my 8 hour/80 lumens. I can't get that from AA's.

CR123s have the advantage of being better for cold, and have the ability for more output, and are great for storing longer term. I also like that 2 of them fit nicely in a waterproof matchcase with a foam buffer. They can also be found for 1.25-1.50 per cell if you don't buy retail, and buy a few at a time.

Damnit! Now I've got something else to buy...

Lithium battery chemistry has "the advantage of being better for cold", that advantage is available with Lithium AA batteries too.

Hi ToddW,



That makes a lot of sense. Putting 4 AAs in a D converter is certainly better than putting a single AA inside a D and then selling it as a D with a 400% mark up.

http://www.naturalnews.com/PhotoTour_Energizer_Batteries_1.html

Where I live, lithium AA's still cost $9/4.

Yeah, they're not cheap, but you don't need to use them all the time. Alkalines are inexpensive and NiMH can be recharged from solar. Lithiums have a great shelf life and are just in case. The problem with CR123's is that so many common things don't run on them and I can get by without the things that do or find an adequate option that runs on AA. YMMV and that's fine.

my next purchase will be the heavier original SteriPEN cause it uses AA's.

Wish they'd standardize memory cards too. But until pc's start dedicating slots we're stuck with multiple items doing the same thing and not compatable.

I am really aware now of how many battery types my gear uses.

The great thing about standards is there so many of them to choose from.

Yep, totally agreed. I store the lithium AAs in the house, take Alkalines along as backups, and almost always use NiMHs exclusively, which ends up saving some $.

I'll mention that the rechargeable Energizer 2500mAh AAs you find at Sam's or CostCo are junk. They don't come close to their advertised specs, even after reconditioning them for a week in a LaCrosse BC900. (I don't remember what their actual, terrible specs turned out to be, but if I recondition them again, I'll be sure to write it down. )

As I mentioned right above, the Energizer rechargeable NiHMs are pure junk. Fully charged (and reconditioned), 2 AAs won't even light up a Fenix L2D. I wonder why Energizer would even put their name on someone else's garbage...

Energizer rechargeable NiHMs are pure junk.


I agree! I won’t buy anything made by Energizer any more. I charge them up and put a set in my digital camera and 15 or 20 pictures and the camera shuts off because it’s out of power. I put Lithium (non rechargeable) and it goes for 300 pictures.

Also I noticed NiHMs loose about 40% of their charge in less then a week after being charged.

Thats because of there self discharge rate. It's easly solved by buying NiMH with a low self discharge (Eneloops, Recyko's, etc). Almost all brands has a low self discharge version of there NiMH.

I know about the discharge rate. I have a problem with them just pulling them off the charger and putting them in my camera right away and take pictures that day. Less then 20 pictures and they are dead. They should last longer then that. Energizer Company has some problems with the design. Energizer in my opinion screwed me, I won’t buy anything else from, they have cute commercials with the bunny, but it’s a farce.



I bought some inexpensive off brand rechargeable batts (Harbor Tools) and they last for 70 pictures, and hold a charge.

That is odd because rayovac are the only batteries I have ever had leak. I just pulled a leaky one out of a kid toy last week, was from the last pack of rayovac batteries I'll ever buy, I'm tured of them and their problems.

I had a similar problem and I started researching and it turned out my charger wasn't fully charging the batteries, so you started out ay way less that full capacity and then self discharged the rest away. Mine was a raoyvac ps4 that I wasted $30 on when I could have paid $40 for a decent charger.

I have pretty much standardized on AA, ots just too much of a hassle to keep and carry several battery types and sizes. For the most part all my primary gear is AA powered, GPS, flashlights, radios, cameras, scanner. For most items you can find a AA powered version which is just as good as the non aa powered version so you can eliminate the hassle of a charger and replacing the attery pack every few years.

I don't think that's it. If you read my above posts, I put the Energizer NiHMs through the massive reconditioning cycle of my LaCrosse charger; this took an entire week. Then, straight into a Fenix L2D. They wouldn't light it up. There was no time for self-discharge, unless they do so instantly. Also, they never made it to 1.2V during charging.

Yes, they discharge within days, but that's not what I referring to here.

On the other hand, the PowerEx 2700 mAh AAs work just great. Extremely low self-discharge rate and they keep coming back for more.

The higher capacity cells have thinnner layers of material inside which is easier to damage from excessive loads, heat, fast charging, dropping, etc. Damage to those layers causes self discharge as well not completely charging, etc. self discharge is just one syptom of a battery problem.

The Energizers are only 2100 mAh, so they are at the low end of the capacity range for NiMH AAs.

But for high capacity batteries, I tend to use very small charging currents (e.g., 200mA) to keep the temperatures low.

I had standardized on CR123A because of their advantages. The main reason that push me towards CR123A is the leakage of normal batteries in devices.

Once there was a power failure and I was left in the dark. I had various sizes Mag lite (about 6) and none of them works. It was not due to flat battery but leakages and I had to dispose of all Mag. I also had other devices that were ruined by battery leakages.

With an inventory of 200~300 pieces of CR123A at home. I could easily carry several dozens of CR123A on my trips. So shops not selling CR123A is not an issue for me.

I am always on the lookout for CR123A devices, do let me know if you are aware of any GPS, walkie talkie that use CR123A. Thanks.

200-300 CR123s at home?? Yikes!!

You do know they have been known to explode, especially when dropped or partially discharged batteries are mixed together in a device? (The least discharged battery will start charging the other battery. This is bad, as regular 123s are not meant to be recharged.)

I don't know what the current TSA ruling is, but they were banned from air travel in any great number.

Never thought about the charger not working right, after all it’s somewhat new and made for NIMH batteries. I have a few older chargers made for NiCad batteries but I think the charge rate is wrong for NiMH. But then I don’t use any of the Energizers I have so it’s no big thing if they don’t charge right. But I don’t want them to leak and destroy the device I have them in.

I will see if my brother has a NiMH charger and barrow it to see if it charges them better then the one I have.

I am only aware of 2 ~ 3 incidents that CR123A exploded. This is against the backdrop of millions of CR123A batteries in use worldwide. All the explosions are due to a) inferior batteries (without built-in safety feature) b) mixing new & old(nearly exhausted) batteries in devices that draw a big current from the batteries.

TSA ban the shipping of CR123A in cartons. But carrying 1~2 dozen spare for your electronic devices should not be an issue.

There is the issue. I'm sure CR123A's are a fine standard is your gear consists on only flashlights. But if you have flashlights, radios, navigation, cameras, etc then you need somehting that can work in all of them.

Sorry, I had enough of battery leakages to last me a lifetime. So standardizing on AA is out of the question for me. Currently, I am still struck with AA based GPS & walkie talkie.

I'm trying to standardize now, attempting to go all AA or AAA so that I can eventually use rechargeable eneloop batteries with a foldable solar setup.

I do have a large store of Kirkland AA and AAA batteries from Costco for emergencies until I can get to the point I mentioned above. I also have a couple packs of Energizer E2 Lithium batteries set aside for my flashlight.

Standardization is one of the reasons I changed out flashlights. My Old Pelican used CR123a's, which are generally harder to find and definitely more expensive than the AA's that my Fenix Uses.

Devices that I have that use AA's:
Fenix L2D CE
Eton Grundig FR200
Mini Maglite LED in the FAK
Energizer Energi-To-Go Cell Charger

Devices that I have that use AAAs:
Arc AAA Premium

Those are just my BOB, PSK and FAK devices. When I start listing 'puter mice, remote controls and all the other gadgets I have around my home and use every day, it just makes sense for me to buy rechargeable double and triple A's and to have alkalines and lithiums as backup.

Right now the MagLite LED 4D that I keep in my car is the only emergency light that I have that is out the small cell category... But I have that one for more reasons than the light it provides... LOL

I hear nobody carries a MagLite D cell for the light it (doesn't) put out.

CR123 are not to bad ($) when you know where to buy, and the coupon codes, etc. CandlePowerforums is a good guide to this stuff... really in depth review of the CR123, and where to buy CHEAP high-end ones too.

I have only ever had rayovac's leak but primarily use eneloops now. Being 'stuck' with AA based gps is why I don't bother with 123's, if I can swap as needed then its not standardized.

If stocking up for any long term emergency, whether simply a blackout or something more serious, cost can be a consideration if large stocks are required.
It should be noted that AAA cells cost about the same as AA but contain only about the half the energy. The reduced weight may make the cost penalty acceptable for long distance backpacking, but not perhaps for home use.
D cells contain about 8 times the energy of AA for only about twice the price.
I would therefore allways prefer D cell flashlights, lanterns, and other appliances for longer term use.
The humble D cell Maglite gives 12 hours good light on Alkaline cells, this may be greatly extended by fitting a lower powered incandescent bulb or an LED.
Remember that in an emergency popular batteries may be unobtainable, but the more obscure ones might still be available.
Therefore IMHO prudent preps should not only include qaulity flashlights to take your prefered battery, but also some cheap lights for every type of battery you can think of!
I have flashlights or lanterns to take
AAA, AA, C, D, CR123, PJ996, AD28, and others.

Remember also that in some climates, heat can kill, not just cold, anywhere warm a couple of battery fans would be a prudent prep. I believe that these can be purchased in the USA but here in the UK I made my own. Run time is about 24 hours on 6D cells.

I also made some D cell LED lights that run for 1,000 hours on 3 D cells, these are not that bright but enough for safe movememt.
A case of 50 D cells would provide basic essiential lighting for 10 years with these LED lights.

Hmnnn, I think obscure batteries that are hard to obtain in regular circumstances are not going to be any easier to obtain during an emergency. And one hopes that you've already stocked up on batteries in advance. (I certainly have!)

Now, if you modded a 6 D cell MagLite to take a 9V Cree, you'd have my attention. (And you could probably cook with that thing too, so it does double duty.) But a regular MagLite is a something of a joke compared to a modern 2xAA flashlight.

I do have a number of D's stocked up for radio usage but I found it fairly trying keeping every kind of battery around the house. Much easier when you can share them among devices.

P.S. For completeness sake, it should be noted you can buy 8,000 mAh rechargeable D cells, but you'll have to get a special recharger for them and they are expensive.

My thought is I don't want to be trying to stock up when somehting happens, I want as much stock as I can. Lets say I have room for 200 batteries, if I have to stock AA, AAA, 123, C, D then thats only a handful of each, but if I standardize on AA then I can stock 200 AA's.
Another thing is unregulated lights can utilize batteries which are too low to run in more complicated electronics. pop the "dead" battery from the radio and into the led light for a few more hours.

If still have a few C or D cell powered equipment and want to standardize on AA's, you can simply buy simple adapters, so AA's can fit in to C or D cell equipment.

I'm going to pick up a few of those adapters before next summer. I have a couple D powered items like the little air pump for the coleman mattress. That gets used once or twice a year and I always end up putting new D batteries in at the beginning of a year then pulling them out so they don't leak or the switch get bumped on. I could toss a set of rechargeables in and be done with it.

Sounds like a good idea, but as I'm sure you know, you'll only be getting 2100-27000mAh rather than 8000-12000mAh out of each "D" cell. But I'm guessing that should probably be enough for an air mattress motor.

In the last big blackout in Somerest, England, AAA, AA,C, and D cells were in short supply from retailers.
The local electrical trade supplier had ample stocks of AD28 batteries, of "door bell" batteries,electric fence batteries, and very expensive 3.7 volt LITHIUM D CELLS.

The local pub was lit by a variety of lights that I loaned them, mainly kerosene pressure lanterns, and small 6 volt incandescent bulbs worked off electric fence batteries.

As you point out it would have been prudent to stock up first, and I had done so, but others were less well prepared.

Thats ok, because the mattress motor doesn't need to run that long, its never run the batteries down, I usually misplace them by next year or stick them in something else.
I've noticed a lot of store bought rechargeable D batteries are the same capacity as AA also, to get the full capacity you have to order them from a reputable brand, i.e. no energizer, duracell, etc that are trying to hit a walmart price point.

I've ordered two (2) 2D-packs of Energizer rechargeables for my Maglite after reading some favorable reviews. Just as they're about to arrive, this thread pops up. Now I don't even know if i should open them or try to sell/trade off...

Super.

I stopped buying rechargeable batteries, I know the new Eneloop are supposed to be better, and it looks like they may be. But I’m going to give them at least another year then see how they hold up for holding a charge. I bought 4 packs of energizers (1 pack still sealed up) and the 3 packs I did open up were a very big disappointment.

I buy my alkaline AAs at Big Lots, they are made by Fuji Novel and they work as well as others. They are $1.49 for a 4-pack. And the “use by” date is always good. I’m looking at a pack right now and it is dated Jan 2014. So they are not old stock.

Energizer is known for bad rechargeable batteries, they are one of the ones pushing too high capacity and too fast charging so their batteries are very short lived.
I started buying eneloops early in 2006 so I have 2.5 years of testing on them now.

It's not simply that Energizer is pushing high capacity, as their batteries are only 2100 mAh, which is certainly on the low end of the spectrum, or their silly one hour speed chargers.

Their batteries are just plain crap and don't come close to meeting their advertised specs. See my comments above earlier in this thread. I let a La Crosse BC900 spend a week reconditioning a pair of Energizer AA NiHMs and they still couldn't even light up a Fenix L2D.

They are absolute junk.

Stop it stop it stop it

You're all on Duracell's payroll, aren't you?

The energizers I see in the stores are 2500-2700mAH so the layers are super thin, then all I see anymore are the 15 minute chargers. I see the same with duracell also, there was a recent duracell tv ad where they were used by nasa and can be charged in only 15 minutes. I use eneloops so mine are always charged so I don't have to wait even 15 minutes.

Around here, 123s are readily available in supermarkets as camera batteries; they are just stupidly expensive. In an emergency they could well still be available after more common sizes have sold out.

I have a terribly varied set of batteries, not standardised at all, but at least I can probably find a use for any batteries I come across.

firefly99,
I believe I have seen draft standards by DOT and the FAA that will limit Li metal batteries (such as the CR123) on passenger aircraft, due to two different incidents. My memory is not the best, but I thought they would allow batteries in the device, but no spares in your carry on or baggage. Although TSA will be asked to enforce any new travel restrictions, the restrictions will come from DOT and/or the FAA.

Since I fly a lot, I have switched to AA flashlights, etc. I also use Eneloops with great success. After market chargers are much easier on the cells, providing longer cycle life.

Spud