Talk to us about batteries - for a chance to win £500 and free Energizer batteries!

[HelenMumsnet]

Hello.

Energizer wants to talk batteries with you!

Do you simply buy the cheapest, or are you a battery connoisseur? Are you a power planner or a power player? Do you leave batteries in when appliances are out of use for a long time? Or do you take them out (and then lose them)?

Please do post and tell us on this thread.

And also feel free to share your best battery tips - or your worst battery disasters - particularly if they're Christmas-related.

Energizer's expert Clare Burke will be monitoring this thread and then coming on to answer your questions, and provide lots of info to help you save money and ensure you have the right power source for all the gadgets in your home this Christmas.

Everyone who adds a question, tip or comment to this thread (or who shares a battery disaster) will be entered into a prize draw to win £500.

The draw will be made on 10 December and the winner's cheque will be mailed out, via special delivery, on 11 December, so it'll definitely arrive in time for Christmas.

And that's not all! The first 100 Mumsnetters who post a question, comment, battery tip or battery disaster on this thread will receive free Energizer batteries worth up to £15.99.

In order to claim your batteries, you need to complete your details, including a UK address here

Please include an indication of what type of batteries you would like or the type of product you need batteries for.

Your details will only be used to send out the batteries and will be destroyed after the mailout. You will not receive any additional marketing.

Many thanks - and good luck!
MNHQ

[deepdarkwood]

I do tend to buy branded batteries (usually Duracell, sorry ) - but realise I don't have any real understanding of the differences between 'good' batteries and cheapo ones (although I have noticed cheap ones lasting worse. What makes for a good battery life?

[TitsalinaBumsquash]

I like to buy batteries in bulk, when Woolworths closed down i brough 4 cases of batteries i think i got about 800 AAs for about £20.

I stock up periodically with brand names so im never without in a battery related emergency.
We take them out of appliences as DP is safety man and likes things done proper.

[choccyp1g]

I wish there was a way of testing batteries and rechargingthem without taking them out of the toy. Especially remote control toys, where you can never tell if it's the remote, or the toy that's gone flat. I try to buy all rechargeable batteries, but always recycle any non rechargeables.

[mollyroger]

I wish I knew more about rechargeable batteries. I wish battery recharging units were cheaper and more readily available. it is terrifying how many batteries we go through in a year as a family.
Having said that, i tend to use branded ones as they do seem to last longer.
I feel guilty every time I use a battery

[QueenOfFlamingEverything]

I would like to know what is being done to lessen the environmental impact of discarded batteries.

IMO battery manufacturers should do more than just say on the packet that they should be recycled not landfilled - many areas do not have battery recycling points - they should invest in making it possible to dispose of them safely.

[comewhinewithme]

I usually just grab a pile when I am in the poundshop so never really notice the name.
I do had to buy branded ones for the camera or it won't work but I usually get dumracell.

Last christmas was a nightmare as we got all the wrong batteries for the toys (I blame dp he blames my pg brain)we did not have happy children because when we found some batteries dp had lost his screwdrivers.

[Merle]

I try to stock up in rechargable batteries as much as I can. I don't like throw-away batteries- very wasteful and must take ages to decompose and then leak out pollutants. We have the charger out in the kitchen and my children (usually) put used batteries straight in to be charged, so they are ready for when they are needed again.

[BloodRedTulips]

i tend to buy lidl batteries for the vast majority of things but had to buy more powerful batteries for that stupid Elefun game as it simply didn't work with cheap batteries.

I leave batteries in until every last bit of life is sucked out of them, if a toy is dying i'll leave it til it's completely dead before replacing the batteries.

we leave batteries in things, even if they're not being used as it's just too much fiddling around to remove them.

I do find good batteries last slightly longer but i still think cheap bvatteries work out cheaper in the long run as branded batteries are 3/4 times the price but don't last 3/4 times as long, maybe twice as long but certainly no more.

[haggisaggis]

Do batteries have an expiry date? Is it OK to stock up? Why do I never have the right size in the house when I need them?
At teh moment I have a large tin of size D and no AAs or AAAs. My tip - keep a small screwdriver set beside your stock of batteries ready for Christmas morning.

[comewhinewithme]

Duracell .

[pookabelle]

I also stockpile AA batteries when I see them on offer usually going for the more expensive brands as they do seem to last much longer.

I have left batteries in appliances for ages and then come to change them and they have begun to erode. I never think of taking batteries out and storing them.

The item we have that gobbles up battery power is my ds's automated money box with card and pin number. It's great but loads of times he has wanted to either 'deposit' or 'withdraw' money, there has not been enough power to do so.

[juneybean]

I do love the energizer bunnies lol.

I generally buy a packet of as many as possible for as cheap as possible so usually Asda or Varta in Sainsburys.

I probably waste power because I don't turn things off or whatever or will knock the mouse when not in use and it "wakes" it up.

I also feel a bit seedy buying batteries I'm not sure why, even if I'm buying them for a genuine reason like my cordless mouse/keyboard I always think people will think I'm buying them for a vibrator.

Sorry to bring the tone down...

[bonkerz]

Do you simply buy the cheapest, or are you a battery connoisseur?
I have tried rechargable batteries but in a household with 3 children and lots of battery operated toys the expensive rechargable batteries go missing leaving us with useless chargers and an expensive bill if we want to buy new rechargables! So in answer to the question we tend to buy cheap cheap cheap for toys and more expensive ones for camcorder/camera etc

Do you leave batteries in when appliances are out of use for a long time? Or do you take them out (and then lose them)?
we leave them in! not such a good thing when toys start chiming and talking in the midddle of the night or when you get that MP3 player out of drawer after a few months to find the battery has leaked making the M3 player useless!

[nettie]

Why do some battery operated products say not to use rechargable batteries in them, is it for some technical reason or is it just a ploy to make us buy more non rechargable batteries?

[pinkem]

I try to always buy rechargeable however can never seem to find them when i need them, I think they dissapear into the Junk Draw!
I would like an 'attractive' charger that i wouldn't mind leaving out!

[bonkerz]

I also like to stock up on batteries at this time of year and generally have a bag of all sizes at hand! we either buy the cheapest or the best value!

[clayre]

I buy whatever is on special offer but if i need batteries for something quite powerful i will pay more for branded batteries.

I leave the batteries in until they work no more and leave batteries in when things arent being used, i often find things ruined by leaked batteries.

Have been looking into recharables recently ro see if that would work out cheaper as with 2 children and lots of toys we go through lots of batteries.

[posieparker]

I keep batteries when I change them if there are more than two, this way I can get away with using a couple of them in something else. A good marketing thing for any battery company would be loyalty tokens to earn a battery tester.... good for the planet too!

I buy branded ones that are on offer.

[MaryBS]

I buy either Duracell or Energizer depending on who has it on BOGOF, and stock up. I use rechargeable ones for games that get a lot of use, like handheld computer type games.

[BloodRedTulips]

would love to use more rechargable batteries but they're expensive and hard to get hold of and we'd need millions to have enough for all the toys and appliances and some spare.

we do recycle all batteries though, i constantly have a mug full in the kitchen waiting to go to the recycling centre.

[posieparker]

PS Duracell are always offering buy eight with eight free...

I think the pink and blue batteries at the counter of a well known hideous toy store is a brilliant idea!

[stanausauruswrecks]

Usually buy Duracell/Energiser.I had bought Energiser rechargable for the camera, but found they ran out of steam very quickly.
We leave the batteries in pretty much everything except DS's more irritating toys
Best battery tip - don't replace them in the really irritating wooden jigsaw puzzle that is activated everytime someone walks within 50 yards of it

[Gumbo]

I buy either the cheapest ones, or re-chargeable ones. There was something on TV a little while ago about which cheap batteries were best - and Wilkinsons came out top with theirs lasting loads longer than anyone elses - so I tend to buy from there.

Also, a good tip to 're-charge' old batteries is to put them on the windowsill in the sun - it definitely gives them a good boost! (Disclaimer - may not work in the UK in winter when there isn't any sun )

[MrsForgetful]

Do you simply buy the cheapest, or are you a battery connoisseur?

I am a self confessed 'batteryhollic'
You name it...I've tried it!

I buy the lithium (most expensive) for things like cameras and my boys tecno gadgets (such as playstation controllers )- as £for£ i'm sure it works out cheaper...plus i prefer the fact that my camera will take a decent number of pictures before I have to change the batteries.

I wait for shops to do the '4+4 free' or BOGOFs...and stock up ...it's quite common for me to come home with 6 or more packs of AA & AAA batteries when these offeres are around.
I rarely buy batteries when they are at 'normal' price.

I HIDE them at home- and I ISSUE them as needed by the family...otherwise, they mix dead ones with new ones and i end up with batter chaos!!!

I also buy the 'gold' type batteries for things like tv remotes,doorbells and smoke alarms- as they last well for the job- and don't leak- which is essential for smoke alarms .

I have a few recharger units lying around...but can never find the batteries to put in them! I know some have been thrown out in error!

I confess that i do not dispose of batteries in the 'eco friendly way'...i wish manufactures did the thing that print cartridges/mobile phones do...ie....when you buy the batteries...you can pick up an envelope to post off the dead batteries to be disposed of seperately.

you asked....Do you leave batteries in when appliances are out of use for a long time?

NO!!!! And have been known to use a screwdriver tip to scrape of the battery fluid that has leaked onto the contacts- causing a crusty substance!!!

When i give presents that need batteries, i lways include them with the gift.

there...now you can see how obsessive i am!!!

[eandh]

i tend to use recharagable batteries for well played toys (friggin baby annabell needs 4 aa batteries and they do not last long)

Otherwise for les splayed with toys its wilkinsons/supermarket own.

Last Christmas thought I was so good and got all the batteries we needed including the 6 'D' batteries the lovely quiet keyboard needed except when we got it all out Xmas day it was'C' batteries required and the local spar ahop sold them but £4.99 for 2 hence dd2 had a quiet keyboard until the 27th Dec!