@SnakeJG With you, here. I invested a few years ago in a LaCrosse charger, and a dozen Eneloop batteries. I’ve slowly added to that collection, and never had to really look back, in my own personal use. As long as you treat them well, the better rechargeables do an amazing job.
However, this looks to be a mediocre (pun intended) charger, at vest. And the batteries themselves aren’t worth the price of admission for either the lack of capacity, or the lack of a name to their actual tech - That may sound snobby, but I can buy my Eneloops with this money, if I’m patient.
While I feel marginally eco-irresponsible doing it, I am having a hard time passing on the offer of essentially FREE AAA and AA Duracell batteries when Office Depot has them on sale with the entire value back in rewards points, meaning they only cost me 10% for the sales tax…
Plus the sale generates sufficient purchase $$ spent to get $20 of credit for ink cartridge recycling, so it is a bit of a trade off… sort of like carbon credits.
@alacrity@hchavers
Nah, D cells have the same voltage: 1.5v, just more capacity.
You’d want either a different chemistry, or a series battery, that’s actually multiple cells stacked together, like a 9 volt or A23.
The ones I use are Japanese made 800mah AA and 2400mah AA. By comparison these are pretty terrible. If you have VIP for shipping and need a charger and some short term rechargables for the holidays it is a fair deal I suppose. When it comes to batteries I don’t cheap out.
When you go look at the amazon reviews for any rechargeable battery, look for NLee the Engineer; they are the last word in battery analysis. Many brands get 4-5 stars from NLee and these get 2.
These are probably better, ecologically speaking, than bulk packs of disposable batteries… But the low power rating and the low recharge cycles might cause some regret. I was pretty frustrated with the early, low-quality rechargeables I bought at first. Started buying Eneloops about 8 years ago and haven’t bought an alkaline battery since.
edit: I saw one of the amazon pics suggests Low Self-Discharge and removed my statement about that
@craigthom@Superllama7 It is not true LSD. It is circuitry good enough for marketing to say that they are. They only have to hold a charge until they’re sold. These are built to what are called “minimum viable product” specifications. Which is management code for “as cheap as you can possibly get away with without breaking the law getting caught”.
Nobody will call BS on cheap year-old stale batteries. Even a money back guarantee nobody will ever collect on is cheaper than the minor engineering and manufacturing costs of true LSD and over-voltage protection circuitry.
If that weren’t true, there would not be a distinction in the first place, because all batteries would be LSD by default. Just like nobody talks about which cars have seatbelts or not.
i would say MEH should let shipping be noted. I would never order anything from them again that was coming the same way the trackers did…which have still not arrived.
@fastharrydotcom Serves you right for actually buying something you need from Meh. These are supposed to be optional superfluous things you don’t need, after the regret from clicking “Buy” and before the regret from seeing your credit-card bill. In the case of those perhaps they arrive after both regrets. (I ordered some too, I think it was around the year 1976, and forgot about them, until I got a mail saying that they were hopefully maybe going to ship in a week or a month or something…)
@fastharrydotcom By the way, on trackers, I have been using Tile which I’m very happy with. You have to know with any of those systems there are limitations and can’t do everything you wish for.
I wouldn’t have ordered the Meh trackers except the price was so cheap I figured I’d have some other tech to play with and compare. I don’t expect the cheap ones to match the “better” tech. At this point, I don’t expect them to arrive!
So, the model number of this “deal” is essentially a fictional character invented by the late Harper Lee, and you don’t mention it at all in your writeup?
@hotrodder There was a cool Imogen Heap reference a few days ago. maybe they pick bad products (like todays??) but the “model numbers” are pretty good. That and the little button we click for no apparent reason except to get confirmation of our Mehness.
Specs
What’s in the Box?
1x Chargers
4x AAA Batteries
4x AA Batteries
Here’s a Fun Fact for You
Batteries are the socks of the electronics world. They’re not exactly the most glamorous gift, but they sure are useful.
Price Comparison
$14.99 (for Charger & 4 AAs:) at Amazon
$5.53 (for 4 AAAs:) at Amazon
Warranty
90 days
Estimated Delivery
Monday, July 13th - Friday, July 17th
I’ve killed that bird that’s being mocked. I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but things have changed as I’ve gotten older.
I already have a good quality charger and the batteries alone aren’t worth $13.
Going to have to pass on this one, which is a shame because I could use more rechargable batteries for my light finger gloves
@SnakeJG With you, here. I invested a few years ago in a LaCrosse charger, and a dozen Eneloop batteries. I’ve slowly added to that collection, and never had to really look back, in my own personal use. As long as you treat them well, the better rechargeables do an amazing job.
However, this looks to be a mediocre (pun intended) charger, at vest. And the batteries themselves aren’t worth the price of admission for either the lack of capacity, or the lack of a name to their actual tech - That may sound snobby, but I can buy my Eneloops with this money, if I’m patient.
While I feel marginally eco-irresponsible doing it, I am having a hard time passing on the offer of essentially FREE AAA and AA Duracell batteries when Office Depot has them on sale with the entire value back in rewards points, meaning they only cost me 10% for the sales tax…
Plus the sale generates sufficient purchase $$ spent to get $20 of credit for ink cartridge recycling, so it is a bit of a trade off… sort of like carbon credits.
@chienfou that sounds like a train i need to get on… a coal battery train!
@hisgrossness in my defense, I do take the dead ones to Battery Source for recycling when I am done.
@chienfou at which point they are shipped to china and dumped into the pacific?
@chienfou @hisgrossness
China stopped taking “recycle” material.
That’s largely why communities are now paying rather than earning money on recycling.
You guys sold them cheaper the last time…
again, I’d do the external use thing, but some asshole’d prove me wrong
@alacrity the tingling sensation is not that great with AAs anyway.
@alacrity @hchavers like a “Peter Tingle”?
@hchavers I’ve been told D cells are better.
@alacrity @hchavers
Nah, D cells have the same voltage: 1.5v, just more capacity.
You’d want either a different chemistry, or a series battery, that’s actually multiple cells stacked together, like a 9 volt or A23.
@hchavers @Narwalt 12v deep-cycle marine battery’d work, or you could do the macho thing and just get one that kick-starts
@alacrity @hchavers
That might be a little too large for internal use.
@hchavers @Narwalt I can think of a few people I work with that would be more than capable, and a few dozen more worthy of the attempt…
I tried recharging batteries once. My dog still growls at small green tubes and runs when they are picked up. It must have been the flying remote.
The ones I use are Japanese made 800mah AA and 2400mah AA. By comparison these are pretty terrible. If you have VIP for shipping and need a charger and some short term rechargables for the holidays it is a fair deal I suppose. When it comes to batteries I don’t cheap out.
When you go look at the amazon reviews for any rechargeable battery, look for NLee the Engineer; they are the last word in battery analysis. Many brands get 4-5 stars from NLee and these get 2.
These are probably better, ecologically speaking, than bulk packs of disposable batteries… But the low power rating and the low recharge cycles might cause some regret. I was pretty frustrated with the early, low-quality rechargeables I bought at first. Started buying Eneloops about 8 years ago and haven’t bought an alkaline battery since.
edit: I saw one of the amazon pics suggests Low Self-Discharge and removed my statement about that
@Superllama7 The description says “Batteries come charged and ready to use”, which is marketing speak for LSD.
@craigthom @Superllama7 It is not true LSD. It is circuitry good enough for marketing to say that they are. They only have to hold a charge until they’re sold. These are built to what are called “minimum viable product” specifications. Which is management code for “as cheap as you can possibly get away with without
breaking the lawgetting caught”.Nobody will call BS on cheap year-old stale batteries. Even a money back guarantee nobody will ever collect on is cheaper than the minor engineering and manufacturing costs of true LSD and over-voltage protection circuitry.
If that weren’t true, there would not be a distinction in the first place, because all batteries would be LSD by default. Just like nobody talks about which cars have seatbelts or not.
@Superllama7 yep, NLee on Amazon is The Godfather of rechargeable batteries.
i would say MEH should let shipping be noted. I would never order anything from them again that was coming the same way the trackers did…which have still not arrived.
@fastharrydotcom My trackers just arrived. Neat semi-useful toys.
@fastharrydotcom Serves you right for actually buying something you need from Meh. These are supposed to be optional superfluous things you don’t need, after the regret from clicking “Buy” and before the regret from seeing your credit-card bill. In the case of those perhaps they arrive after both regrets. (I ordered some too, I think it was around the year 1976, and forgot about them, until I got a mail saying that they were hopefully maybe going to ship in a week or a month or something…)
@fastharrydotcom By the way, on trackers, I have been using Tile which I’m very happy with. You have to know with any of those systems there are limitations and can’t do everything you wish for.
I wouldn’t have ordered the Meh trackers except the price was so cheap I figured I’d have some other tech to play with and compare. I don’t expect the cheap ones to match the “better” tech. At this point, I don’t expect them to arrive!
@fastharrydotcom
In fairness, the trackers shipping issue seems to be an outlier, time-wise.
(‘Still don’t have mine either tho.)
Back to the batteries: bad charger with good batteries, Mehbe?
good charger with bad batteries, Mehbe?
bad charger with bad batteries? Neh!
Re-volt-ing! Meh.
So, the model number of this “deal” is essentially a fictional character invented by the late Harper Lee, and you don’t mention it at all in your writeup?
Brilliant!
@hotrodder I didn’t even notice, didn’t look at the model number.
this reference!!
@hotrodder @tinamarie1974
I find it shocking that you didn’t notice.
@hotrodder @mike808 ME TOO, since it is my favorite piece of literature. I guess I need to start looking at model numbers again
/giphy I am a slacker
@hotrodder There was a cool Imogen Heap reference a few days ago. maybe they pick bad products (like todays??) but the “model numbers” are pretty good. That and the little button we click for no apparent reason except to get confirmation of our Mehness.
@hotrodder @tinamarie1974 didn’t you wonder WTF the first post in this topic mean when you read it?
(You DID read it right?)
@chienfou @hotrodder I did but it was late and I was too tired to check it out. I guess shame on me!
@hotrodder @tinamarie1974
/giphy 40 lashes
@hotrodder @tinamarie1974 not exactly the golden whip you are getting but whatever…
@chienfou @hotrodder
Maybe if I hadn’t just bought some relatively crap rechargeables on sale from Ikea a week ago. But even then.