Who makes long shelf life batteries?

[REDdawn6]

I was wondering if anyone knew who makes quality long shelf life batteries ie: aaa , aa, d ? Tks in advance, RD6

[Kid Stanislaus]

I'm wonder'n if they'll keep longer in the fridge.

[Falconis]

Ehhh, I keep buying either a pack of lithiums or a "value pack" at either costco or fry's everytime i go to one of those stores it seems like.

[zeke2517]

Same for me. . .I get AA, AAA and D's everytime i go to costco. .. im not worried about expiration dates becuase i make up for it in quantity

[Str8shutr]

Dont know about the standard A, AA,C and D batteries. BUT...Surefire guarantees their 123A batt's to hold a full charge past 10 years. I just put two of them into my E2D that were five years old...Bright as hell!

[blackbox]

Lithium Primary (=non-rechargeable) technology has come very far in the last decade. Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA and AAA batteries are rated to last 10-15years, but that is actually very conservative. The current generation of these should actually last closer to 50 years, but the marketing folks feel if they printed that on the box, people would think they were making it up.

I'd get those, and some AA-D adapters if you have electronics which need a D cell.

[Seeker]

I buy DD Duracell batteries for my flashlights. They usually have a 7 year expiration date stamped on them. 7 years is a fair amount of time. Approximately 7 years from the time I buy them.

[gorblimey]

I'm wonder'n if they'll keep longer in the fridge.

Yes. Self-discharge rate is a function of temperature.

Sanyo Eneloop is a fine choice insofar as LSD (low self-discharge) NiMH go. I've standardized as much as I can on AA (and AAA)* and, in addition to a typical household charger, have a couple soft film solar chargers to keep things going on the road. They work very well.

This is one of the things I liked about the Wouxun HTs -- they have optional AA packs.

* -- this implies choosing less powerful AA flashlights (rather than CR123 powered), less compact red dots, etc. However, the ubiquity of AA and the convenience of easy of solar recharging is worth the compromise, IMHO.

[REDdawn6]

thanks for all the good answeres , I didnt realize lithium had come so far nor did i think of portable recharging...

[MudCamper]

Refrigerating batteries does not make them last longer. For crappy old tech rechargeables like Nicad or NiMH it will make them last a little longer, but you'll also have to warm them up before you can use them. Plus you add moisture which is really bad for them. For alkaline or lithium batteries it offers no benefit with all the downsides.

[problemchild]

This is the conventional wisdom, but wait: we haven't heard from the professionals. This next is from Ray-O-Vac,:

Storage

Batteries depend on internal chemical reactions to produce power. Chemical reactions are accelerated by high temperatures and retarded by low temperatures. Therefore, to minimize power loss during storage, batteries should ideally be stored at a maximum temperature of 77 F (25 C). Refrigerated storage is neither necessary nor recommended.

What gives? Does Ray-O-Vac not want us to refrigerate batteries because they figure warm batteries will run out sooner and we'll buy more? Not necessarily. A common misconception is that batteries are generating electricity even when they're not being used. That's not the case. Until somebody throws the switch, a battery only has electrical potential. If no juice is flowing, no chemicals are reacting, and there's no point in refrigerating the battery. Quite the contrary--since refrigeration slows a reaction, the electricity won't be there when you want it. That's why car batteries don't work well in subzero temperatures.

Now, it's true all batteries lose some charge over time in storage. (Some lose a lot--rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries, for example, are notorious for discharging when not in use.) Refrigeration presumably will retard this process. But the thinking seems to be that the slow loss of charge is a small price to pay for the advantage of having the electricity available when you want it, rather than having to wait for the battery to warm up. So unless your wife was planning to store those batteries for a loooong time, she's probably best off just keeping them in a drawer.

[gorblimey]

Discharge vs temperature:

http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/Batteries/self-compare.htm

Someone's experiment:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?146664-Battery-Storage-Refrigerator-Freezer-Room-Temp

And then from:

http://www.stefanv.com/electronics/sanyo_eneloop.html

A Response from SANYO

About a month after first posting this review, I received a very nice e-mail from Mr. Taetow, Vice President General Affairs at SANYO Component Europe GmbH, expressing appreciation for my independent review and addressing a few points, which I've summarized below:

1. The Eneloop batteries are sold charged, but not necessarily 100% fully charged. In Europe we charge them about 75%. I am not sure to which degree they are charged before being sold in Canada. Thus it is rather vague to estimate the discharge rate by calculating backwards to the production date. Also, the storage conditions (transport, warehouse, shop, etc.) are unknown (see point 3 below).
2. Several long term tests have shown that the self-discharge rate decreases over time. This means that Eneloop batteries discharge relatively fast at the beginning and relatively slower the longer you store them. To get real (long-term) test results, you have to store them and wait. An estimation of long-term discharge rate by extrapolating short term storage results is not correct and leads to rather poor results. This may explain the differences you have seen.

Every 10C doubling the apparent storage time (i.e. net discharge), eh? Sounds oddly familiar...

http://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/basicrates/temperature.html

I can appreciate that some manufacturers worry more about moisture issues than optimum charge retention. I keep 'em in the fridge (well above freezing, of course) and pretty well sealed. No visible ill effects so far, after years of applying this method.

[problemchild]

All rechargeable batteries. The post I made was discussing normal batteries. The OP is discussing "Normal" batteries.

Discharge vs temperature:

http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/Batteries/self-compare.htm

Someone's experiment:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?146664-Battery-Storage-Refrigerator-Freezer-Room-Temp

And then from:

http://www.stefanv.com/electronics/sanyo_eneloop.html

Every 10C doubling the apparent storage time (i.e. net discharge), eh? Sounds oddly familiar...

http://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/basicrates/temperature.html

I can appreciate that some manufacturers worry more about moisture issues than optimum charge retention. I keep 'em in the fridge (well above freezing, of course) and pretty well sealed. No visible ill effects so far, after years of applying this method.

[Eat Dirt]

Don't want to thread-Jack

Just need a little help
Wasn't there a thread about small solar batt chargers somewhere ?
I got a couple of the harbor frieght solar batt chargers / each holds 2 AA rechargers .. It works O K ,But now I want something Better !!!!!!!!!