[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by whencut86

Could you please give me some suggestions for my needs based on your experiences?

Have a look at this piece from Havells.

Works well, lasts long, remains trouble free.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by carboy

So I was wondering if this is true & if it is, where should old style batteries be used - for e.g. TV or Dish Box remotes, AC remotes, wall clocks, wireless mouse, torches - which of these devices are ones which are better off with old style batteries, if at all?

I have pretty much shifted to rechargeable Eneloop batteries for all these. While I don't monitor the longevity of the charge, I have not seen any degradation in the performance of any of these devices. But recently, when I went to get a wall clock repaired, the technician specifically called out to only use regular Eveready batteries and not the powerful Duracell or rechargeables.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

... But recently, when I went to get a wall clock repaired, the technician specifically called out to only use regular Eveready batteries and not the powerful Duracell or rechargeables.

I had the same experience! But I have been buying mainly Duracell for everything for decades. Including clocks.

What do our electrical engineers have to say, please? All I know is that Duracell and Eveready/etc are both 1.5v, whereas the rechargables tend to be slightly less.

[deep_bang]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I had the same experience! But I have been buying mainly Duracell for everything for decades. Including clocks.

What do our electrical engineers have to say, please? All I know is that Duracell and Eveready/etc are both 1.5v, whereas the rechargables tend to be slightly less.

They should work fine. There is no logical explanation other than the fact that the alkaline batteries are expensive and perhaps not worth the extra cost. Alkaline batteries can provide higher current than dry cell batteries and hence applications such as cameras absolutely cannot run on dry cell batteries.

Btw my experience over the last few years: usually applications such as remotes use alkaline batteries in my house. Once they get exhausted, they usually still have enough juice in them to run the clock for a few more months. I have been doing this and have been able to get a 'second life' out of these batteries.

Having said that, most of our devices run on rechargable batteries and every time I need to throw a regular battery I always think of what landfill they will be part of. Without a proper recycling option, both dry cell and alkaline cells are not a good idea. I have never thrown rechargable batteries - even the older nicd ones.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by carboy

Thank you.What about a wireless mouse, a wall clock etc? Which is better for these?

Originally Posted by dragonfire

Tell me about it. I have been wondering why I have to change those Duracell batteries in the clock every 8-10 months while the old 10 rupee batteries used to go on for years.

In my experience, normal AA and AAA normal batteries last over 2 years for remotes, 3 years for wall clock. Alkaline last less. The only thing to be careful about is leakage, so check the batteries regularly.

For camera flash nothing beats alkaline batteries for fast recycle time, but rechargeable are more economic.

Wireless mouse works best with rechargeable batteries. In my case batteries - normal would last 2 weeks max, alkaline 4 weeks and rechargeable 4 weeks, but they are rechargeable after all.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Wireless mouse works best with rechargeable batteries. In my case batteries - normal would last 2 weeks max, alkaline 4 weeks and rechargeable 4 weeks, but they are rechargeable after all.

Hmm, even the crappy Amazon Basics alkaline lasted a month on my wireless mouse. Energizer up to 4-5 months & Duracell even more than that. And I use my laptop with mouse a minimum of 8 hours a day.

Is yours a very old mouse? Most modern mouse don't drain the battery so fast.

[meerkat]

Originally Posted by carboy

Long back, someone had told me that alkaline batteries are not suitable for all devices & some kinds of devices many be better off Zinc carbon batteries (our old Eveready batteries). For e.g. low power devices & low current drain devices may be best served with a Zinc carbon battery.

So I was wondering if this is true & if it is, where should old style batteries be used - for e.g. TV or Dish Box remotes, AC remotes, wall clocks, wireless mouse, torches - which of these devices are ones which are better off with old style batteries, if at all?

Originally Posted by carboy

What about a wireless mouse, a wall clock etc? Which is better for these?

I am not aware of a good reason why good alkalines won't be better suited for any of these devices. In fact, to me there is no good reason to buy Carbon-Zinc cells at all, apart from their lower cost, -- and even that shouldn't be a factor for members of this forum.

If we're concerned about the environment, we should realize that good alkalines would mean lesser number of cells tossed in the trash bin over a given period of time.

Alkalines have a higher energy density, and better-made ones have a shelf life of ~10 years. So, even at ~3x the cost of Carbon-Zincs, they should easily repay their cost over time, even for low-drain devices. They are just fine for clocks, remotes and so on.

Logitech even rate their wireless mice for upto 18 months and wireless keyboards for upto 36 months with alkalines which they recommend, and even supply a set of them out-of-the-box with their new devices.

Originally Posted by dragonfire

... I have been wondering why I have to change those Duracell batteries in the clock every 8-10 months while the old 10 rupee batteries used to go on for years.

I suspect it has more to do with the quality of the cells sold in the Indian market rather than being a shortcoming of the alkaline technology.

I used to get ~1 year out of Carbon-Zincs in my clocks years back (never seen them "go on for years" though). The current ones tend to last just 6 months or so! I suspect in order to hide price increase, the manufactures cut down on the capacity of the current cells. But of course, they are exempt from social concerns like the environment!

About Duracells, -- I've used excellent ones in the USA. However, pretty much every single one out of a bunch of Duracell Canada cells leaked on me much before their expiration dates! Since then I've never purchased the brand again, -- and I don't trust their Indian version to start with.

The Indian Eveready cells (even the Union-Carbide ones) of any kind have been known to me to be particulary prone to leakage. I'd purchased a set of their best alkalines (Ultima) for my BP monitor a couple of years back, and one out of four leaked after a year or so! The other 3 (partially exhausted ones) are still fine though, and one is running fine in a clock for > 6 months now. I'm not going back to Eveready ever again. I've replaced the Ultimas with a set of Panasonic eVolta cells (Japan) which are running fine so far.

Originally Posted by Jaguar

I have pretty much shifted to rechargeable Eneloop batteries for all these. While I don't monitor the longevity of the charge, I have not seen any degradation in the performance of any of these devices. But recently, when I went to get a wall clock repaired, the technician specifically called out to only use regular Eveready batteries and not the powerful Duracell or rechargeables.

Was the technician able to explain why?

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I had the same experience! But I have been buying mainly Duracell for everything for decades. Including clocks.

What do our electrical engineers have to say, please? All I know is that Duracell and Eveready/etc are both 1.5v, whereas the rechargables tend to be slightly less.

The discharge curves of the primary cells (alkalines or Carbon-Zincs) fall off gradually over their lifespan, and most devices can handle voltages down to 1.1 V or so. The rechargeables' (NiMH or NiCads) discharge curves stay pretty much flat around ~ 1.2 V over their usable life before falling off steeply (requiring a recharge). So the rechargeables should serve just fine for most use cases. I have a large bunch of NiMH (including Eneloops) and NiCads lying around, and keep using them in all kinds of devices that take them, including cameras, flashes, clocks, remotes, torches and so on without any problem.

The point to note is that for low-drain usages they are not cost-effective. -- At ~25x the cost of a Carbon-Zinc cells, it would probably take a decade to break even if used solely in low-drain devices. I just happen to have them around for other, more critical purposes. So...

And I need to toss very few cells to the trash bin (the rechargables do wear out too, after years of use).
.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by meerkat

Was the technician able to explain why?

Obviously, no. He was saying something like the mechanism cannot handle the high power . I was running late and didn't bother getting into details, but I doubt it would have brought out anything worthwhile.

[Mortis]

We have also shifted most battery operated devices to rechargeable since the past couple of years. For some reason Duracell's leak a lot including those still in the pack well before expiry

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

Obviously, no. He was saying something like the mechanism cannot handle the high power . I was running late and didn't bother getting into details, but I doubt it would have brought out anything worthwhile.

My man said that the Duracell batteries have higher voltage and the clock mechanism gets hot. I didn't argue but dismissed it mentally as rubbish. They are good at watch and clock repairs, though, so we still go there.

[Sebring]

Very true. Even energizer leaks. I use Japanese batteries. And they dont have this issue. Try SONY, Panasonic and Toshiba that are imported. In Bengaluru I've see it in few 'DUBAI SHOPS'

Originally Posted by Mortis

For some reason Duracell's leak a lot including those still in the pack well before expiry

[suzuki san]

Hi Guys,

I am looking at buying a new chimney for the kitchen as, for various reasons, fitting an exhaust fan is not feasible/possible.

I would like a chimney which would suck up the smoke and fumes/odours and deposit it out of the kitchen through a plastic conduit pipe. Powerful suction and quiet operation are paramount factors.

I am being offered a brand called "Sleek" and "Prestige" by the local brick and mortar shop but I have never heard of these brands wrt kitchen chimneys. I also cannot find them on Amazon at all.

I have a Faber now and it works well but service and parts are expensive. Sadly, I cannot get the canopy for this chimney as it is no longer in production else my problem would have been solved without too much expense.

Does anyone here have any experience with other brands and could you recommend them? I am looking for a powerful suction chimney but must not be too loud. The present one is really too loud and the maids can't even hear the doorbell when it is running.

Thanks in advance.
Cheers,
SS

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by Mortis

For some reason Duracell's leak a lot including those still in the pack well before expiry

Our neighborhood clock smith advised using cells with ISI mark. Was surprised to find Duracell does not have the ISI mark.

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

My man said that the Duracell batteries have higher voltage and the clock mechanism gets hot. I didn't argue but dismissed it mentally as rubbish. They are good at watch and clock repairs, though, so we still go there.

Surprised that we don't have clocks that run on solar cells. For the miniscule amount of power they consume, a solar cell with a small backup should be able to provide enough to run it for ever without the need for batteries. My watch does this.

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

My man said that the Duracell batteries have higher voltage and the clock mechanism gets hot. I didn't argue but dismissed it mentally as rubbish. They are good at watch and clock repairs, though, so we still go there.

He's right, my Seiko clock movement was repaired with the same comment at Richfield, Safina plaza. I don't use Duracell in any of my clocks now and none of them have given me trouble. We have a Seiko clock that lasted nearly 3 decades, of course for most of that time Duracell wasn't available.