Top positive review
4.0 out of 5 starsNot as good as alkalines but are rechargeable.
December 20, 2018
I am a big fan of Duracell copper top alkalines more than any other battery. Except when it comes to price. And that's the main reason I have mostly switched out to rechargables. I have started doing several projects that all need 2-4 AAAs and/or AAs. It averages about 20 batteries of each type in use at a time. I just can't afford to replace all those batteries frequently.
While these Amazon Basic AAAs do not last as long in the equipment, they are far more economical. So they must be replaced in my devices more often than good alkalines. That's about every 3 weeks instead of the 5 weeks I'd get with alkalines. But alkalines had to be discarded after they were used. I tried a number of different made for alkaline chargers but almost always resulted in some of the Duracell alkalines leaking and actually exploding. I frequently have to charge batteries unattended while I'm away from home. Last thing I need is to burn the house down.
So a few months ago I began using these AB and and also EBL brand rechargables. It took some getting used to the shorter replacement cycles. I generally was used to running the alkalines all the way down and replacing each devices batteries on an as needed basis. Now every 3 weeks or so, I now just pull all of the rechargables out in groups of 8 and recharge them in one or two days. Then don't have to worry if batteries are almost dead or not.
There are other disadvantages to using rechargables like these over alkalines. They not only don't last as long for a charge, but they have a higher failure rate. Some will die and just won't charge anymore after as few as 10 recharges. But others, even if the same brand and lot, will recharge 50 or more times in their life. You just don't know how long their lifespan is. But even those that don't have a long lifespan still make the buying of batteries far easier on the wallet. Some will end their lives by one day just not charging and others will gradually get worse and worse at retaining a charge.
You will find it far easier to buy double the amount of rechargables you need up front. This will allow you to be charging a set while the device still has good batteries installed. And as mentioned you will occasionally need to purchase more again as some of the originals end their life cycle. But again, still far cheaper than constantly throwing out and buying alkalines.
Since this review is for AAAs, I should say that most people will use these for small devices like remotes or calculators. AAAs do not have enough capacity or longevity to drive large devices or those with motors. Although listed at 1.5VDC they will provide as little as 1.2VDC as their charge diminishes. If you ever see a device that has instructions warning you not to use rechargable batteries this is usually why. A remote that must have 3VDC from two batteries might not like the rechargables 2.4VDC battery pair. It depends on the device you are using.
Summary:
As long as you have a good reliable charger (I recommend ones that plug into the wall, not the USB ones), and you aren't trying to power motors or large devices, these AAA rechargable batteries work great. Just be aware of rechargables drawbacks as mentioned above
