4/8/2016 Battery Recommendations.

    If you are using one of our 9 volt kits, it can be quite expensive renewing your alkaline batteries. Here is where the rechargeable 9v battery comes into play.

EBL manufactures Litium-ion 9v batteries that have a rating of 600mAh, now this is as high a rating, if not more, than your alkalines, and can be recharged around 1200 times. Low self discharge allows them to still maintain 75% of capacity even after 3 years of not using them, and you don't have to worry about the dreaded memory effect.

EBL Model 6F22 is what you're looking for and also their charger.



9/2/2015 Battery Recommendations.

   Many of our kits use AA and AAA batteries, so researching into the most efficient,
high capacity batteries we could find, we came up with the Panasonic eneloop.

   The eneloop AA, rated for a minimum of 1900mAh, come pre-charged
and after 5 years of storage, retain 70% of there charge.
The AAA, rated for a minimum of 750mAh, still retain 70% after 10 years!
Both types of batteries can be recharged up to 2100 times. Now how much would
that cost you in alkaline batteries?

   There are also the eneloop Pro AA which have a capacity of 2450mAh,
but can only be recharged 500 times. They give you a little more run time,
but I don't think that little extra time is worth the amount of years
the normal eneloops will last.

Normal eneloop AAA batteries run around $9.00 a four pack.
Normal eneloop AA batteries run around $13.00 a four pack.
They get a little cheaper on ebay when you purchase in larger quantities.

   It's also advisable to purchase a Panasonic eneloop charger.
I paid around $9.00 for mine. It charges up to 4 batteries and individually charges them
to what they require. A half used battery will stop charging when full, while the drained
battery next to it will continue to charge until full. Pretty nifty:)

    I've used many different brands of rechargeables over the years and have
found energizer and duracell to be the worst. They just wont hold a charge
for very long, and get weaker the more you charge them.
Rayovac pre-charged batteries are good and have served me well, I still use
them for testiing kits.

    If you go through a lot of batteries like I do, it is well worth the money
for the eneloop. A package of alkalines will cost you what a pack of eneloops will,
but you will be able to reuse the eneloops for many years.
Keep extras on hand for those showings :)

   As a side note, our Cylon Raid will not run on any rechargeable battery
due to the lower voltage. All other kits using AA and AAA work great.