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

I buy the cheap ones from the pound shop. I mainly get them to put in the kid's toys and its a postive advantage when they run out.

Gives me a break from the noise.

We don't really get much choice where I live. Until recently I was lucky if I found batteries for sale anywhere that worked in a digital camera (I had to make do with batteries that would be drained in less than 6 pics!). Now, I don't really care what brand the batteries are, I'm just grateful I can take a fair few pics with them!

For anything else I'm only interested in whether it's AA or AAA or whatever.

I am in constant need of batteries and yet have some kind of mental block when it comes to buying them. Even when they are waved in front of me at Point of Sale I blank them out.

Consequently I have raided every remote in the house to feed the musical polar bear - the only thing that sends DS to sleep.

So how can I be reminded to buy them when out?

Come on, Energizer marketeers and salespeople, put them in the department that I spend the most time in, not when I'm super-hassled at the till with screaming baby and trying to find my purse in an over-flowing nappy bag.

So I'll see you in the cheese aisle!

buy duracell or energiser (ultimate for preference), depending what is on offer. Tend to stock up at Christmas because there are so many offers then. We try to have rechargeables where possible and have a solar charger to recharge phones.

We leave the batteries in as we don't have many things that aren't used for long periods. We have wind up torches but one torch with batteries that ought to be removed.

Battery disaster - giving a toy train to someone else's child and forgetting to put batteries with it. It had been stored a while and the batteries "to try" ran out before it had got 2 feet.

I always buy a load of AA batteries when I go to Ikea. They are cheap and perfect for toys. I used to religiously use rechargable batteries, but I ended up forgetting what toys we put them in and then passed the toys on and the batteries are too expensive to replace!
There is one particular pound shop near me that sells packs of two Duracell and I do sometimes buy them, especially AAA size for my toothbrush. They're out of date, but cheap and work!

The only battery disaster I ever had (leaked battery goo over my beautiful Nikon camera, years ago) was with cheap batteries so I now avoid them whenever possible. I try to keep some decent ones in stock, but I wonder about the shelf life, so I would avoid bulk buying but that may be wrong. Are there guidelines somewhere? I wish that rechargeable batteries were better as I would use those if I could.

I buy Duracell as I know they last longer and readily available. Would buy other brands if I knew they were as reliable.

i always buy rechargeables for us and have cards of cheap batteries from the market that i can put i with xmas/birthday toys for others so that they can play straight away

Usually buy Duracell or Energiser.
Have a battery charger, but not nearly enough rechargables for the many, many appliances that need batteries.
I like to keep a good stash of spare batteries in a drawer so I'm never caught short.
Never remember to take them out when an appliance is not in use

We use Duracell - hate rechargeables for the kids toys, need charging too often.

Grown-up tech nearly all use lithium batteries.

AA batteries of most use to us, we go through loads.

Wish I'd seen this earlier but posting on here to remind myself to read it and see if others have ideas. Maybe I'll ask for rechargeable battery equipment for Christmas - can you get a charger which does different sizes, ie AA and AAA?

PMSL at chegirl!

We ahve recheargeable batteries too. I admit we only got it for our old digitial camera, which would only use rechargeable AAs. However, the batteries ahve got lsot over time and I think we now have 2.
I use the Energiser ones for things like the Wii.
Although should we be taking them out when not using them? it seems such a palalver to keep putting them back in again, but I ahve noticed they do seem to drian quickly in the Wii remotes even if its not being used

The draw will be made at 5pm today --- plenty of time to add any more questions or comments about batteries....any one have any christmas disasters (battery-wise) they'd love to share?

Well there was the time when my Dbs and I were children and Santa brought us all presents with the batteries kindly taped to the front of the box.
Except silly old goat had got the wrong kind, and this was in the 70s, when shops shut for a week 2 days!
So 3 very unhappy children on Christmas morning

Last year my brother had to go to expensive local spar local shop that was open on Xmas day because him and his gf had completley forgot to get any batteries at all (his stepson was almost 3 last year so lots of battery toys) he paid over £25 for a few packets and he got the last few packets and a bloke offered him more money for them as his family had done the same (best bit is my brothers is store manager for large electrical chain that has hundreds of packets of batteries for sale!!!)

I do try to use decent batteries - usually memorex are good value as I've lost a few toys over the years through cheap batteries leaking.
Recently took out some toys from the attic that my son had used and had to throw 3 things out as the batteries had leaked and the battery section was all rusted and breaking up! Having had that happen to me, I will defo be careful again.
in our house, the main battery eater other than kids toys is our digital camera - blooming nightmare...should never have bought it but I do use rechargeable ones for it. Recently found out that the charging units can go on fire if you leave them on so bit worried about that.
AA size is defo the main one we use in this house. Main frustration is defo not being able to dispose of easily. Would love to have a bag or some sort of container that you could put the batteries in and dispose in your Green bin.

Battery disaster?

DP and his bloody re-charged batteries. A few years ago we bought one of those RobotRaptors. Every Christmas i look thorugh all the new toys before Christmas Eve and make a list of what batteries we need - to avoid disappointment in the day. I asked DP to get the 9 batteries for the RobotRaptor - 'yeah, yeah, yeah....'.
Christmas morning - batteries go in, and the robotraptor lumbers around like a tortoise on skunk - barely moves forwards, REALLY disappointing. My suspicions were roused, on 27th Dec I went out and bought new batteries, and the Raptor perked up no end. DP had used old re-charged batteies, and DS's Christmas had got off to a very slow and disappointing start. .

i always just buy the cheapest/on offer batteries that are available. we get through soooo many in all the different toys. my pet hate is the battery compartments which need a screwdriver to get them off!! not only do i now need the correct batteries but also the correct screwdriver!! i'm really not that organised

i tend to leave batteries in things too (again too much hassle to remove them )

i have heard that batteries lose some of their life if they are sat in cupboards etc? so you should only buy as and when they are needed? is that true?

I hope not llynnn, we have batteries from alast year still in draw.
Would love to get rechargables but the initial outlay is too much so Ikea's own are ok for now especially at Xmas

I only use either Energiser or Duracell depending which are on promotion at the time Fab bargain in Tesco atm. 16 energiser for £5. I have stocked up for xmas after I realised almost everything we bought needs batteries

Have bought really cheap batteries in the past but they never seem to last and I end up spending more in the long run. Also tried rechargables but never seemed to remember to charge them which completely defeated the whole idea!

Would also like to know if it's true about batteries losing power if left sitting around for a long time after they've been bought??

YouKnowNothingoftheChurch ? You asked about the best rechargeable batteries to buy and if any of them hold their power for longer than others? It is always worth doing research based on your needs because there is a huge variety of battery chargers available and they all have different specifications.

You may find our rechargeables website helpful. It has a series of questions to help you determine the most suitable charger for you. The link is www.energizerrecharge.eu/en/range/chargers

With regards to power levels the number of milliamps on rechargeable batteries indicate their capacity. As a general rule, the highest capacity batteries (e.g. 2650 mAh) will last longer than lower capacity batteries in high drain devices, which is why it is important to consider what you are using them for. For example, if you are going to be using rechargeables in a digital camera I would recommend 2650 mAh batteries.

Elkiedee - You asked if you can get a charger that will charge different sized batteries? I can confirm there is! From our range I would recommend the Universal Charger. It charges all of the most popular battery sizes AA, AAA, C, D and 9V, which is perfect for busy family homes! It is also efficient, charging 4 AA 2450 mAh batteries in less than 4.5 hours and has an LCD indicator that shows when the batteries are fully charged, which is easy to read.

Best of luck in today?s draw!

I stock up batteries when I see 2 for 1 offers. Do have a battery recharger, but the expensive batteries some how all got lost and I am back to normal batteries.

I am slightly chaotic and don't ever seem to sort everything.

I only buy batteries when I absolutely need them ie: when an appliance/tv remote no longer works. I buy cheapo ones when out and about and usually just buy the ammount I need unless it's bogof or something.

I don't own many things that need batteries to be honest.

I do think that the branded batteries probably last longer (eg duracel and energiser) but would only buy them if they were on a really good offer as i'm skint!

I do leave batteries in appliances out of general laziness.