DOUBLE AA ALKALINE BATTERIES REALLY CHEAP...

[Keppy]

I saw in the FAMILY DOLLAR add today they have a... pack of family dollar brand of 36 alkaline batteries on sale for $5.00 ... That is only 14 cents a battery ... I have never used there batteries but for that price i will give them a try...

 

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[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Ive bought them for backups before, only difference really was they didn't last as long, but for that price..I would bite

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I've used them as well, seems to me I remember they last about 75% compared to name brands. At this price it's a great value, may have to get some myself.

 

[TommyB]

Check out Woot.com. They have BIG bundles of Duracells for cheap. Duracell Batteries - Electronics.Woot

 

[Anduril]

I've used them as well, seems to me I remember they last about 75% compared to name brands. At this price it's a great value, may have to get some myself.

Yes, even at 75% the capacity of a new brand-name battery, this is a bargain.
For those who are not electrical engineers, there are primarily two different types of consumer-grade cells (what I'll simply call batteries, like you would use in a flashlight).

There's the alkaline variety. More expensive, but also pack much more power per $ spent.
These are used in high current devices, such as cameras.
Longer shelf-life (much slower self-discharge).
Less prone to leaks, but may still leak - ESPECIALLY when the battery is nearly depleted! (Not so much due to age - Keep this in mind.)

Then there's the carbon-zinc or zinc-chloride variety. Very inexpensive, but considerably less powerful.
These are used for low current devices. Short shelf-life (self-discharges).
Significantly more prone to leaks - based on AGE and depletion status, and humidity, etc...

Almost any alkaline battery you get is going to far exceed the capacity of a carbon-zinc battery. (for the same size cell)
You can still get carbon-zinc batteries in the United States, but they are MUCH MORE popular in South America.

The "takeaway" is don't overpay for carbon-zinc, when you think you're getting alkaline. Read the labels.
Make sure the batteries you see on-sale at fantastic prices really are alkaline cells.
Otherwise, you are likely to be disappointed.

(Again, carbon-zinc varietes are not too common in the USA, but they are still out there.)

 

[TheHunterGT]

Wow. Great price. Cheaper than charging probably!!

If you were to charge 4X 2000mAh AA batteries every day for a year...it would cost roughly 50 cents a year.

I run 8X Li-Ion 9V's....600mAh each....so that is 4800mAh total....still only $1.20 a year if I was to charge then daily from 0 to 100%.

 

[TheHunterGT]

Sometimes I have too much time on my hands....lol

 

[JackalopeZL1]

Costco is pretty alright for being a local place..

 

[uglymailman]

 

[Anduril]

If you were to charge 4X 2000mAh AA batteries every day for a year...it would cost roughly 50 cents a year.

I run 8X Li-Ion 9V's....600mAh each....so that is 4800mAh total....still only $1.20 a year if I was to charge then daily from 0 to 100%.

As rechargeable battery chemistry goes, it really is pretty hard to beat Lithium Ion.
These offer low self-discharge and high capacity for power-hungry devices.

The only real downsides are high cost and environmental toxicity (not that any batteries are truly "environmentally friendly").
Well that, and the somewhat rare (but usually catastrophic) ugly tendency for some Li-Ion designs to overheat and catch fire.

Anyway - when used in suitable applications, rechargeable batteries usually break-even and start to pay for themselves after about five re-charge cycles.
When used in unsuitable applications (usually long-life, low-drain applications like smoke detectors and alarm clocks, etc..) you're wasting your money.
It takes too long to get a payback.

For metal detectors, Li-Ion and even NiMH are probably a worthwhile investment for those who are at least somewhat regularly active in the hobby.