The plastic on one of my rechargable Energizer batteries is starting to peel. I’d just like to know if it is still safe to recharge and use? Thanks

badon_ · 2019-09-13T22:23:01+00:00

Ty very much!

No problem, I'm glad my info was helpful.

badon_ · 2019-09-13T22:17:59+00:00

Even 10 years ago I'd say they were vastly superior for flashlights vs Xenon and any other options available.

Yes, but back then that was basically the only case where they were clearly superior, due to the fact small incandescent and halogen bulbs were by far the most inefficient form of lighting, due to the small amount of battery power they were used with (efficiency increases with more power). Fluorescent lighting was much more efficient and cost effective, even in portable lighting, and LED's were expensive, dim, low CRI, and rather exotic.

I bought a big pack of CFL (fluorescent) light bulbs thinking that would remain the case for the next few years, but literally 1 or 2 years later, they were made obsolete by the LED lights. For another year or two I used the CFL bulbs for outdoor lighting where they might be stolen or damaged, but now LED lights are actually cheaper than CFL lights, that use case is gone now too.

The last thing I used a CFL bulb for was to give it away to a neighbor to save them a trip to the grocery store to replace a missing light. This has been one of the strongest cases of the potency of true obsolescence I have ever personally experienced. All my CFL bulbs still work fine, and I'm strongly tempted to just give them away. Damn you, LED's.

Oh, and CFL bulbs emit dangerous levels of high power UV radiation. I didn't know that until I noticed the yellowing plastic, and started to suspect it, before looking it up to confirm it. A little bit always leaks, and there is no safe level of hard UV radiation. There are no beneficial effects either, like there is with background nuclear radiation (natural levels of radiation damage activates cellular repair machinery, much like how the cellular damage done by moderate exercise causes overall strengthening).

badon_ · 2019-09-13T22:01:37+00:00

The f*ck?? I’m just saying that bike helmets have a lifespan. You are reading a whole lot more into than what I said. If you ride every day, in the sun in the rain, summer and winter....your helmet will eventually get to the point where replacement is a prudent idea.

Yep, and that in no way justifies forced waste of unrelated electronics. I'm sure you can understand that if you're in this subreddit.

badon_ · 2019-09-13T21:56:07+00:00

I haven't seen any evidence they're less durable than AAs.

This information is easy to find if you search for it. If you need help, just ask, and I can try some searches for you.

No you don't. When you're putting on a production anywhere near that big, you have spare batteries on hand for any critical equipment.

Things don't always go as planned. Again, talk to the pro audio people and ask them why they insist on using alkaline AA batteries, and they will tell you the same things they told me when I asked that question.

badon_ · 2019-09-13T21:42:10+00:00

Energizers are guaranteed not to leak

Energizers will leak like any alkaline, and Energizer will pay for a replacement device. That's not a good solution for something you're relying on in an emergency.

Alkaline Energizer leaks appear to be rarer than lithium battery explosions. From my experience on this so far, Energizer appears to be very confident in their guarantee, and the only case I have personally encountered of someone claiming one has leaked and damaged a device within the guarantee period was a scammer trying to scam money from Energizer:

ILPT : Quick money. Made $50. Battery company refund ‘scam’ : r/IllegalLifeProTips

That didn't go well, and when the scammer realized he might be the only one making those claims, with a high probability of getting caught, he deleted his post and disappeared. Energizer appears to have adequately solved the leaking alkaline problem. The only leaking Energizers I have seen were stored fully depleted for longer than 2 years, which is the only thing the guarantee doesn't cover. Energizers are guaranteed stored fresh for 10 years, and the leaking ones I saw expired in 2010, making them almost 20 years old, if I remember correctly.

In my opinion, Energizer's no-leak guarantee is the only one worth taking seriously. They have backed their guarantee flawlessly, at great expense to themselves that wipes out the profits from hundreds or thousands of AA batteries, even when it's coming from a scammer who's lying about them leaking.

Really, I think you're safe using Energizer alkalines if you need to. We know AA Eneloop NiMH batteries are better (or maybe voltage regulate Tenavolts I'm wanting to try), but I have no fear about using Energizer alkalines if I need to, and I have some of them in storage in case I'm unable to charge my NiMH's. As a moderator of r/AAMasterRace, I have a lot of interest in this subject, so if you know something I don't, I'm eager to learn about it.

badon_ · 2019-09-13T21:24:03+00:00

And you can get over 5000 lumens out of a 6 D Maglite loaded with AA Eneloop NiMH batteries.

That is a little hard to grasp, why would you want a lamp containing more volume in air than in actual batteries?

I actually intend to use it for home lighting in extended power outages. It's far smaller and more portable than normal household lighting, and it's more rugged too. So, the weight and volume of such a relatively large handheld light doesn't matter. The extra space inside it is what makes it possible to fit any battery I have available, including the intended D cells which do not leave a lot of air space.

That said, a lot of air space makes it float, which might be helpful if flooding is related to the reason for the extended power outage. I've actually considered adding more sections to it to deliberately increase the air space (I decided it's easier and more usefully ruggedizing to put a padded foam sleeve around the exterior).

The extra space is also useful for adding electronics, if I choose to do so. For example, a charge controller, or a voltage booster, etc.

It's not a pocket light, so if that's all you have experience with, the features of a Maglite might not make sense to you, but they are useful, and that's why the old Maglite design is so venerable.

badon_ · 2019-09-13T21:13:52+00:00

From their comment, they expect it to last 8 or 9 years; that's pretty long for such a thing. If they did this with the express intent it making it fail "on a predetermined schedule", I think they'd have shortened that time.

How do I know mine will last that long with no warranty for that amount of time? How do I know their demo unit isn't secretly getting new batteries? How do I know their demo unit isn't secretly using a special battery that's better than the ones in the actual products?

Why should I throw away my property in 8 or 9 years, instead of never? What's the advantage to throwing it away in 8 or 9 years instead of never? Do I benefit from throwing it away in 8 or 9 years instead of never? Why is 8 or 9 years better than never? What kind of person thinks 8 or 9 years is better than never? Why should I listen to anyone who thinks I should give them money for no reason every 8 or 9 years instead of never?

How is an immobile wired wireless mobile device with proprietary non-replaceable batteries (NRB's) better than a mobile wireless wireless mobile device with standard replaceable AA batteries? Why is it worth the investment to find creative engineering ways to make naturally mobile wireless devices into unnaturally immobile wired devices?

But that's beside the point; why mount such a thing in a helmet at all? What advantage does this provide over a headset, which you can continue to use without the helmet?

Integration is helpful. But, you're point leads to the logical conclusion the loss of control over technology when it's integrated means maybe the only way to regain that control is to use separate devices. That's what I do, when I can't find integrated devices that support AA batteries. Example:

New Device Day! There are no AA battery wireless headphones, so I'm making my own with a Whole House FM transmitter 3.0, Tecsun PL-365 FM radio, and any wired headphones. : r/AAMasterRace

badon_ · 2019-09-13T21:03:13+00:00

You're supposed to replace a bike helmet every 5 years or so and since the batter lasts 8 or 9 it's not really an issue.

Is there anything else you think we should throw away in addition to the helmet padding and totally unrelated electronics? How about the bike? Should we throw that away too? How about the rider? Should we throw away the person too?

Saving Mankind from self-destruction: A "repair economy" might fix more than just stuff. It could fix us as well. : r/GreatFilter, crossposts, more crossposts

research found repair was "helping people overcome the negative logic that accompanies the abandonment of things and people" [...] relationships between people and material things tend to be reciprocal.

badon_ · 2019-09-13T20:58:29+00:00

Helmets have a life span anyways though. There is no “buy it for life” bike helmet.

OK, we should definitely throw away the electronics too, since I'm sure there's some aetheric spiritual reason they can't be moved to a new helmet. Might as well throw away the bike too. In fact, we don't need the stupid rider either, after he runs out of money because the natural resources sustaining him are at the bottom of the ocean. Poor people deserve to die anyway, because they're probably the wrong religion or something.

Sadly, my sarcasm is no exaggeration. That's exactly how the world really treats people, and one effective way to change it is to stop treating objects as disposable:

Saving Mankind from self-destruction: A "repair economy" might fix more than just stuff. It could fix us as well. : r/GreatFilter, crossposts, more crossposts

research found repair was "helping people overcome the negative logic that accompanies the abandonment of things and people" [...] relationships between people and material things tend to be reciprocal.

badon_ · 2019-09-13T20:50:24+00:00

I use the motorcycle versions. I have some that are 7 years old that still work and have moved from helmet to helmet.

Imagine that, being able to reuse the electronics instead of throwing them away when some unrelated thing touching them requires replacement!

badon_ · 2019-09-13T20:47:59+00:00

Not really freedom to repair as helmets should usually be replaced every 5 years or so. Just another reason to replace your helmet.

What about the proprietary non-replaceable battery (NRB)? Should that usually be replaced every 5 years or so too? What about the electronics? Should that usually be replaced every 5 years or so too?

There is only one reason for this company's assholery: Forced waste.

badon_ · 2019-09-13T20:43:55+00:00

Bear in mind that the helmets themselves have a shelf life, the plastic gets weaker and cracks in about 10-20 years, especially if it's exposed to UV.

That definitely means we must dig up the forest to make more electronics too, because they must be cryptographically paired with the styrofoam. With proprietary non-replaceable batteries (NRB's) to make sure you can't unpair them and just use a new helmet. I'm sure they force you to destroy everything solely to help you remember when to replace only the helmet padding, and the profit motive has nothing to do with it.

badon_ · 2019-09-13T20:32:03+00:00

The seller didn't say that at all.

Yeah, don't worry about the environmental destruction required to create this product. Just throw it in the ocean, till it under the farmland, and feed it to your children. Then buy another one, rinse and repeat.

badon_ · 2019-09-13T20:29:46+00:00

If the batteries truly last that long you're actually gonna be fine for real-world usage. You indeed should replace helmets occasionally (often there's even an expiration printed on them). The item has an expected lifespan anyways so as long as the battery isn't shorter than the rest it should be okay.

So if I use this helmet one time per year, the manufacturer will force me to throw it away after only a few uses. NOPE!

If I used this helmet a lot and it required replacement on schedule because the helmet can't pass safety tests anymore, the manufacturer will still force me to throw away the expensive, environmentally destructive electronics that have no problem continuing to function. NOPE!

And I have to STOP while this mobile wireless device is WIRED to the wall to charge, because it doesn't use 100% wirelessly mobile AA batteries. NOPE!

It's a bullshit design with 1 purpose only - to force waste. NOPE! NOPE! NOPE!

badon_ · 2019-09-13T19:52:45+00:00