Energizer rechargeable "D" batteries are a rip-off

[Alpine]

Really just "AA" cells inside


A CONSUMER ACTIVIST took a closer look at Energizer brand rechargeable "D" size batteries and found that they provide only "AA" battery capacity, at four times the price.

Rechargeable nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries are great. They can be used over and over again up to 1,000 times, avoiding the need to buy, and then later throw away, a lot of nonrechargeable alkaline batteries.

Sure, they're expensive, but recharging them repeatedly makes their use more economical in the long run than buying many disposable batteries. If you fully discharge them each time before recharging, they can last practically indefinitely without degrading due to battery memory effects.

But battery companies would rather sell lots of alkaline batteries, naturally, because they make a profit on each one of those sold.

So NewsTarget took a look at one of the most common sizes of rechargeable batteries sold by a leading US brand, the Energizer "D" cell used in most full-sized household flashlights, among other applications.

What intrigued them was that the battery's stated capacity is only 2,500 mAh, the same capacity as given for the physically much smaller "AA" size batteries.

They took apart one of Energizer's "D" batteries and found that it contained a much smaller battery inside, comparable in size to an "AA" battery, surrounded by empty airspace and a plastic shell. The "D" cell actually turned out to be just an "AA" cell inside a larger casing.

Since Energizer's rechargeable "AA" battery costs only about $3, but its rechargeable "D" battery costs $12, or four times as much, they reckon you're getting ripped off every time you buy a rechargeable "D" battery from Energizer. It would seem they've got a point.

The INQuirer