What kind do you stockpile? I want to build up my supply in a safe place...especially after I found that my wife had put my lithium AAs in our digital camera <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I found a good deal on some Rayovacs the other day. Which lead me to wonder what other people store...alkaline? lithium only?

The advantage of lithium of course is shelf life...disadvantage being cost.

What do you do?

We use Lithium in our digicam, the cost isn't that bas if you buy them from somepleace like Sams club and the weight savings and long life even compared to NiMH makes it worth it.
I store some of each, some Lithium in the BOB's and a bunch of Alkalines (I get those 30 packs for $10 from HomeDepot too). I try to rotate those, when I buy a new pack I open it and swap the battereis from the BOB with those in the pack so the newest are always stored,
I've also tried to standardize as much as possible on AA's. I still have a little bit of gear that uses AAA's like a small radio and ARC AAA and minimag AAA's but am trying to stick with AA's for new purchases.
I'm going back down the rechargeable road now too. I have used NiMH in the past but the self discharge was terrible. Tried the renewal rechargeable alkailines and they worked well but long term sotrage they tended to leak if not topped off so I still had to maintain them like NiMH and it was hard to find a good charger. I still have a bunch of those now that my last charger has died. Added a radio which has a battery pack designed for AA NiCads. At the moment I'm testing it with NiMH's by pulling them out and charging but thats kind of a pain so I can't decide weather to buy NiCad's or try to convert it to run from a 9.6V NiMH pack charger by pulling out the NiCad charging circuitry from the packs. If I do that then I could standardize on just one type of rechargable.

new NiMh's like the Sanyo Enerloop will solve you problems with storing NiMh batteries. They have a very low discharge rate compaired to NiMh or even Alkalines.

Thats one of the reasons I've went back to them. Also standardizing on size/types makes it easier to recharge at regular intervals and not having special chargers anymore so they are easier to maintain. Thats where I can't decide weather or not to buy nicads or just try to convert to nimh only.

I have tried the rechargable thing and didn't like it. Most of my stuff uses AA's, a couple use AAA's, and I have two cell C-123's flashlights all over the place. I get my AA and AAA needs filled at Costco, Duracell AAA's and Kirkland AA's. I had a bunch of Sanyo C-123's, but after the recent posts about foreign made batteries exploding I found a pretty good source for Duracell 123's and bought a bunch. I didn't toss the Sanyos, just put them in a ziploc bag and stuck them in my vehicle as dire emergency spares. I have a very un-fancy rotation plan for swapping new batteries for older, but I usually go through them so fast that isn't much of a problem...

OBG:

The Sanyos I have are made in Japan and are good quality AFAIK. I wouldn't sweat it. You want to watch out for the no-names, made in China, etc.

Personally, I prefer Streamlight 123A cells, then Surefire for my high drain applications. I would be fine using Titanium or Batterystation brands for lower drain applications.

-john

I stock a bit of everything, but the core is lithium AA and lithium 123A cells. I also keep some lithium AAA and lithium 9V cells. I buy all online and in bulk to save cost.

On top of that layer, I keep alkaline cells. I limit this to a couple of bricks per size and pay attention to the expiration date. I keep mostly AA and AAA alkalines, but also some D cells and C cells, even though I don't really have much use for them.

I also keep a smallish rotation of high capacity NiMh AA and AAA batteries. I've found that less is more with these. You get too many and you won't be able to keep them charged. Another key here is to get a smart, independant channel charger.

Sanyo 2700 mAh Industrial Grade AA NiMH
Maha MH-C401FS 4x Independant channel AA/AAA smart charger

I've really pushed my gear towards 123A and AA. I should say I've pushed it towards 123A, but you can't avoid AA.

The key IMO is to get multi-output LED lights. Combine these two features and you will get a LOT more milage from your battery stockpile.

The WORST are the incandescet 2D flashlights. D cells are particularly problematic as their discharge curve is pitiful. Combine this with an incandescent bulb, and you get a light that gets dim and yellow quick. In the end, it weights a lot, takes up a lot of space, and you get lousy runtime. Worst of all worlds.

So if I *know* I'm going to use my light for a long time, I'll put some of the NiMH cells in it. If the light is getting stored, lithiums go in it. If I'm going to lend it to someone, I'll probably put alkalines in it. If you have an application where you go through batteries a lot, but rechargables don't make sense for one reason or another: alkalines.

Another good option if you can pull it off is a light that takes rechargable lithium ion batteries. My EDC is a HDS EDC Ultimate 85 with a 2x123A battery pack, and outfitted with a lithium ion 17670 battery (same size as 2x123A). I carry some 123A spares.

I have a couple of the lithium ion batteries that I rotate so when I want to swap, I always have a fresh cell to drop in. The beauty of this light is that it was designed to take these lithium ion rechargable (lower voltage than 2x123a).

The downside is there are not that many lights that are designed to take these cells.

Since I got my U85 and lithium-ion cells, my usage of 123A cells has dropped almost to zero. :-)

-john

Note the NiMh rechargables, like the lithium cells are good for high drain applications like digital cameras. Much better than alkaline.

The lithiums have a slightly high starting voltage. This is normally not a problem in most applications, but beware of applications using several in series since the small difference adds up. So, if you have a 4AA or greater application, make sure the mfg says lithiums are OK.

The NiMh are lower voltage than alkalines, but the voltage doesn't sage as much as alkalines. So, your alkalines might be brighter initially, but soon they will drop off and the NiMh cells will keep going strong.

Also beware not to over discharge your rechargable cells. This will kill them, or lower their lifespan.

I've also pushed most of my lights in the CR-123 direction. I have an HDS U60 with tritium locators in an aftermarket SS bezel. I love that light, it sips the batteries and will drain them down to 0. Can't tell any difference between the Surefire and BatteryStation batteries, so that's what I stock.

I also keep a couple of the 36 packs of AA's. Those mostly get used for toys around here, but I have a couple of lights that use them, lights that I wouldn't mind giving to someone else in an emergency situation.

Don't really have anything else that I just have to keep spare batteries for, so it's lithium CR-123's and alkaline AA's.

BTW, I just saw on the GloToob website that they'll have a version in CR-123 out in Feb. Now I'll just have to get one.

I have a rich and varied battery collection.

AAs: I have a lot of lowish capacity NiMH AA which are virtually useless to me and which I ought to dispose of. I have a couple of eneloops AAs which live in the GPS and which I love, and I plan to get more of these because you can stockpile them charged. I have some high capacity NiMHs which are useful for holidays and the like. I have about 20 alkaline AAs which I expect to more or less consume before they expire, in odd electrical devices about the house. I have about 4 lithium AAs which I take as backup eg when skiing, but which I try to avoid actually using. Other than my GPS I don't have a lot of critical gear which uses them.

AAAs: I have these in alkaline, about 4 lithium and some NiMH. These don't get consumed much day to day; they are mostly for emergencies. I have small radios which use them, and head torches (in the Zikpa range).

123s: I have about 10 of these in lithium, mainly to feed my two Surefire torches in emergencies. I have some rechargeable ones that I don't dare use.

18650: just one of these li-Ions, to power my SF U2 when I take it for walks.

Cr2:I have 2 Li-Ion and one lithium, to power my Orb Raw. This is the torch I use most often.

2032: I have a bunch of these spare to go in various coin-cell lights. Mostly they came out of cheap or free fauxtons.

LR6 9v: I have 2 of these spare; I only use them in fire alarms.

Custom: I have a spare battery for my camera and another for my phone, both of which are weird custom Li-Ions.