Nickel Metal Hydride batteries - cheap source

[AmbulanceDriver]

So, I've been recently stocking up on a whole mess of Eneloop NiMH - with the kiddos, I've probably got at least 75 of each AA and AAA batteries scattered among their toys and in storage for swapping out.

These are the standard capacity NiMH Eneloops.  Great for toys, but my camera flash tends to chew through them pretty hard.   So the other day, I stumbled upon the Ikea LADDA batteries.  These are a 2450 mAh low self discharge cell, roughly equal in capacity to the Eneloop Pro's.  So people did some digging, and they're made in Japan.  Apparently, the only factory in Japan that makes a LSD NiMH cell is FDK, who also makes the Eneloop line.  People have done a *lot* of testing - capacity, discharge curves, etc - and short of sneaking into the factory and looking, it appears that the Ikea LADDA cells are a rewrapped Eneloop Pro.  The nice part is that while the Eneloop Pros run about $21 bucks for a 4 pack on Amazon, the Ikea branded cells run $7 for a 4 pack. 

So I snagged 3 packs last time at Ikea over the weekend.  Got them charged up, gonna slap them in the flash and see how they last.  But from what I've been reading, they should run pretty well.

[K Frame]

I've tried a bunch of different AA NiHM batteries.

The Sonys generally all crapped out within a year to 18 months.

The Everready and Tenergy are still going strong after 3+ years.

[zxcvbob]

I've had pretty good luck with the precharged NiMH AA and AAA's from Menards.  I don't remember the name; something like Northpark or Northtech.  They have white tops.  I've only used them in low-drain devices, so I don't know what the capacities are.

Was going to order some of those Ikea batteries, but they don't ship them and the local Ikea store is 100 miles away.

[K Frame]

I mentioned having good luck with Tenergy rechargeable batteries in this thread...

They're on sale at Woot right now.

https://www.woot.com/plus/tenergy-rechargeable-batteries?ref=w_cnt_wp_gtw_2

[Hawkmoon]

My current work site is a block away from an Ikea store. What department do they sell the batteries in?

[AmbulanceDriver]

My current work site is a block away from an Ikea store. What department do they sell the batteries in?

Lighting.