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 have always bought the cheepest available, HOWEVER, due to the children wanting (and me managing to find) the GO GO Hamsters for christmas, I think I will need to splash out on some really good quality, long lasting AAA batteries to avoid disapointment over the christmas holidays.

I use the cheap ones in remote controls and things that get used everyday, but to be honest, with kids toys the cheap ones dont last that long.

What annoys me the most is most kids toys say rechargable batteries are not suitable for the product, therefore having to spend out a fortune again after the initial outlay of the toy!

Totally agree with others that branded batteries generally last longer than shops own versions etc. Tend to buy loads when they are on offer, particularly when you can get one of those massive packs. Did they used to do battery packets with built in testers or am I imagining that? I use rechargeable batteries as much as possible but they annoy me how they lose their charge over time without being used.

Don't know if anyones mentioned it but my tip would be to keep a little screwdriver in with the batteries.

I use rechargeable batteries. I have normal ones as a backup & for things that don't need much powe, like remotes etc. In that case I buy whatever ison special offer & have never noticed a difference in performance.

I always run out at the wrong time and am not organised! I go to the corner shop and usually buy Duracell. I want a recharger and leave batteries in - I never got into the habit of taking them out. I have to confess I left the GameBoy without batteries because it ate them and invested in a GameCube then a DS so I could just plug them in. We are never out long enough to need a portable for longer than a DS charge lasts.

i agree cheap ones seem to be weak, we had peppa pig remote car, and it used batteries so quick. cheap batteries lasted day or two.
we always have batteries charged standby. keep batteries in different boxes, lined up not trhown in, as once we had some little batteries kept in little jar, sometime later they were all flat.

We use rechargeables whenever we can, but often forget to put the recharged away in a safe place, so it's potluck if one will work at any given time.

Learnt the lesson of not removing batteries when an appliance is not in use, when a leaking mess from a little used, but much loved 'toy' completely spoiled the moment! It's hard to keep the vibe going with battery acid all over your hands

I have tried pretty much all brands of batteries, but def the well known brands such as energizer and duracel re the best by far and last the longest, i tend to buy whatever is on offer.

I have tried rechargable but !) they don't seem to last so long and 2) i forget to charge them up

We usually get brand name batteries. We've got some rechargables but always seem to need them "urgently" and can never find the recharger (or wait patiently while they charge for several hours) so we have some single use ones as well. I think they last longer than rechargables but that could just be my imagination.

I'd like to know why the 9V square batteries always cost so much more than the round ones. You can usually get the round ones on offer but the square ones never seem to be.

I buy the brand name ones, in bulk, when they're on offer. There are usually decent offers on them. Always handy to have spare batteries about.

i only use rechargeable battries as my dc loves toys that flash and play music ,but if i buy a toy for some body else i put a pack of duracell in !!

I tend to buy Sainsbury's ones if they have them. Otherwise I buy Energizer or Duracell (I once asked for some Durex batteries when I was having a blond moment! )

We have some rechargeable ones which never seem to be charged when needed.

I do take batteries out of things when they are not going to be used for some time.

My spaniel thinks batteries are yummy because he is quite mad. Chewed AA batteries still appear to work. (probably not to be recommended though)

My DD1 has an obbession about this furreal pig. We have gone though countless cheap batteries in the weeks we have had it, and then this week brought a pack of rechangable ones, thinking that would solve the problem, BUT we forgot what would happen when the batteries ran out, and needing charging overnight! yep very silly idea, so then had to go and buy another pack of rechargables.

Better just hope I remember to make sure I charge them as I go, or Im going to be in trouble!

Been told recently by someone whose job it is to know, that cheap rechargeables just don't recharge after a few uses. Seems to be the case with some I have, which is incredibly annoying as well as not great environmentally.

I'd like to see battery recycle points in every supermarket - we have CD and battery points at work and they don't take up much space and take a while to fill up.

Also those battery packs that could tell you how much charge you have left in a battery - I have zillions of batteries around that might have enough charge for a remote but nothing else, or might be flat, but might have full charge.

And standardise the sizes properly - rechargeables are often up to 1mm shorter so for example when we tested my TENS machine, luckily before I went into labour, we found rechargeables didn't fit! I may try to be environmentally friendly but for giving birth it was 2 packs of Duracell!

I think there should be more awareness of how and where to recycle batteries. I see the odd point in the supermarket or library, but when I'm changing batteries it's not front-of-mind to save them for recycling rather than chucking them in the bin.

Not read whole thread so apologies for any repetition, but...

dh used to get batteries free from work; gutted when he no longer could!

I get Kodak ones from Poundland. They seem as good as Kodak ever are, not rejects or anything.

We use AA and AAA mainly, with a couple of things needing C.

We do have a recharger, that is a sore point in our house. Dh spent a small fortune on it, but the kids tend to leave toys switched on, and once the rechargable batteries drain completely they cant be recharged. So totally pointless unless you catch them in time.

Easy to recycle batteries; we can put them in the doorstep recylcing boxes.

We have a stash of battteries in a drawer, together with a set of tiny screwdrivers. We keep all used batteries, a habit continued from when our council collected them in witht the general recycling. And just today we posted a huge bag full of then at my son's high school as they have a recycling bin for them there.
We do take them out of Halloween/Christmas items that are only used seasonally.
Top tip for giving gifts that need batteries, selotape some to the box, so they are ready to use once opened.

I have a definite love/ hate relationship with Batteries.
I always have some in ready for emergencies. I buy whatever takes my fancy. Cheapo if in a discount store and 'good' if they are on special offer. I also have cards of those little batteries that are for watches,key fobs etc. I have even used some .

I was very ,very impressed that my little Kodak digital camera had a fantastic battery that is recharged through the USB on my laptop. One charge lasts for weeks. Now that should be more widespread.

buy duracell or energiser usually as others seem to fun out very quickly . we are trying a hama duo recharging gadget at the moment but keep forgetting that the abtteries are rechargebale and have binned a couple by mistake!AAAs in television etc seem to last forver .AAs in toys last about 5 mins!!

hi,

i am a battery loser

i tend to buy batteries and then forget where i have put the new ones and buy more...i then usually find the first lot and lose the second i think i need some sort of battery storage facility

i like to buy the mid range batteries (cheap ones are poo) for normal use and lithium batteries for my camera

i do leave batteries in things until they erode

just one question, how is it best to 'store' batteries in between use so they dont erode and pollute the drawers??

I hate buying batteries the same way I detest buying light bulbs. Depsite me conscientiously noting down the required battery types before supermarket shopping I still manage to have a drawer full of the Wrong Kind in the same way I have a drawer full of the Wrong Lightbulbs with the Wrong Fitting.

And they are expensive so I put off buying them as long as possible.

I have been known to go on crazed hunts round the house for double and triple As when my own little Duracell bunny has given up on me at a crucial moment.

Do the battery people want this kind of detail? Though I was game for carrying a digicam about my person for the Ford car opportunity I may not want to be filmed in the above scenario. However, for 500 spondoolies I could be persuaded.

It sounds like I have done really well in avoiding toys with batteries. I had to change some today and can't remember when I did it last.

I was delighted to have the chance to try out my new recharging thing ...

As its lego and playmobil all the way at Christmas my battery innocence can continue.
The rechargeable ones I have are energizer though.

Ha ha fruitshoot! I've asked for Durex batteries before now too!

They really shouldn't make the names so bloody similar should they?

I've yet to ask for Duracell condoms though...

We buy rechargeable batteries, but not enough for all the toys. One of the earlier sentences ds learnt was "batteries are in the charger?" We get the highest level/ most expensive ones for the camereas etc. but lowest level and cheapest for little especially baby toys.