40 Pack AA + 10 AAA Alkaline Batteries

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Are these any good?

yes, one must keep one's batteries organized <grin>

All of today's alkalines (including "titanium", "e2", "lithium", etc. are about the same - from the cheapest to the most costly. They all deliver about 2500-2700 mAH, regardless of price.

I usually buy Costco's house brand - about the same price as these with tax.

As always, if you're using this many batteries, you should really look into rechargeables. Not only do they offer similar capacity over hundreds of charges, they have lower internal resistance which means you can actually USE more of that capacity in your device, with less being burned up as heat in the batteries.

The problem w/ rechargeables is that they're not ideal for ALL circumstances.

Rechargables discharge much more quickly than non-rechargeables during periods of inactivity. It only takes maybe 4 weeks before a typical rechargeable is discharged to point that it needs recharging. A non-rechargeable, however, will retain most of its charge for YEARS. So rechargeables are NOT good for devices you only intend to use occasionally (g, flashlight in the glove compartment). You'll either end up recharging the batteries all the time, or find it DEAD when you need it most.

Rechargeables work best for devices like mp3 players, something you will use immediately and often over the first few days and weeks of being charged.

You can't simply say rechargeables are better. It depends a lot on HOW you intend to use them.

8-pack sunbeam brand AAs for $1.00 at your local Dollar Tree store. Google your ZIP code and then "dollar tree".

#5
These NiMH rechargeables are "ultra low discharge", retaining 90% of their charge after 6 months:
http://greenbatteries.com/gbulsdaanimh.html

I plan on ordering some to see how well they really work. But if they even come close to that rating, it would basically nullify any advantage alkalines have for charge retention.

The Sanyo Eneloops claim 85% charge retention after 12 months! Impressive.
http://www.sanyo.co.jp/koho/hypertext4-eng/0511/1101-2e.html

The ultra low discharge batts are pricier for the initial outlay, but considering they can be charged ~1000 times, and they hold their charge comparably to alkalines, they're actually cheaper in the long run. Plus you don't fill up the landfill with toxic chemicals. People should know better than to toss batts in the garbage, but they still do because they're lazy farts.

Many RadioShack and Lowes stores have battery drop boxes for recycling.

#7 A couple of months ago, I checked numerous places online and found that although there are many stores like Lowe's that have a recycle battery bin, and they take both alkalines and rechargeables, the alkalines are somehow sorted out prior to recycling. From what I read, those alkalines are trashed after sorting. I'd love to see someone create a profitable business recycling alkaline batteries, though. The stats on trashed batteries are astounding.

The sites I visited indicated that the current technology was not sufficient to make it profitable, but countries like England require it and have a program to recycle them anyway. Might be a government run program.

I've never done anything with old batteries EXCEPT throw them in the trash.

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