Like you, I'm tired of ridiculous 9V alkaline battery prices and tossing the spent ones in the landfill since my local recycling centers can't seem to deal with them. I'm also tired of robbing the smoke alarms when in a pinch. So I decided to research rechargable 9V batts. Here's the scoop:
First of all, those $8 NON-rechargeable Lithiums you see at Wal-Mart, Target & everywhere else now certainly do last longer, unless of course the pedal(s) isn't unplugged or turned off correctly when not in use, in which case that new $8 battery will be just as dead tomorrow. So just screw non-rechargibles period!
Next, 9V NiCad's have been around forever, but they really suck since their actual voltage is around 8.5V-- meaning some effects pedals may not function as well. Their capacity & life per charge cycle is less than half the mAH (milliamp hour) spec of standard Alkaline batteries (approx 600)-- meaning ya gotta swap out & recharge more often than replacing an alkaline. And NiCads are notorious for memory issues, meaning they lose their already wimpy recharge capacity if not cycled thoroughly & meticulously. Who wants to run their devices down all the way just to maintain battery reliability? How stupid. Don't waste my time!
Then there are NiMH rechargeable batteries. Nickel Metal Hydrides are pretty good and also pretty easy to find. The only downside is their mAH capacity is only 180 to 240; about the same as NiCad's. Fortunately NiMH's don't have the memory issues. So NiMH is a good improvement, but now there is something even better.
If not for Lithium Polymer batteries I'd simply recommend NiMH, but LiP's are available in 500-520 mAH capacity and they also don't have memory issues. Recharge time is approx. 1 hour (way faster than NiCad & NiMH).
I just disovered LiP's when searching for Lithium Ion 9V batts which don't seem to exist.
This article about LiP's does provide some comparative data between LiP & LI which weighs in favor of LiP, also good news!
The only LiP 9V's I currently find are produced in Northern America (Canada) by iPower.
iPower 9V LiP's with their four slot rechargers are available from a few online sources you can Google. Here are a couple top search results I found:
www.thomas-distributing.com
www.markertek.com
Ideally, we'd all have pedalboards with AC and just say "Screw batteries altogether!", but that's not always the case and isn't always the most versatile approach. Plus, some pedals are noisier without the filtering aspects of a connected battery present even when the power supply is being used instead.
Think about what you spend on alkaline batteries. And if you also happen to be a smoker, consider how much alkaline battery $$ you burn each week of your tobacco shortened lifespan.
Lithium Polymer batteries are the way to go & will save you $$$ in the long run, as well as spare the environment!
As far as smoking goes, that's really your business, although if you've been pinching the smoke alarms for pedal batteries, that could become somebody else's problem and possibly your ass, especially if you smoke in bed.
I think I've covered everything. ;)))
First of all, those $8 NON-rechargeable Lithiums you see at Wal-Mart, Target & everywhere else now certainly do last longer, unless of course the pedal(s) isn't unplugged or turned off correctly when not in use, in which case that new $8 battery will be just as dead tomorrow. So just screw non-rechargibles period!
Next, 9V NiCad's have been around forever, but they really suck since their actual voltage is around 8.5V-- meaning some effects pedals may not function as well. Their capacity & life per charge cycle is less than half the mAH (milliamp hour) spec of standard Alkaline batteries (approx 600)-- meaning ya gotta swap out & recharge more often than replacing an alkaline. And NiCads are notorious for memory issues, meaning they lose their already wimpy recharge capacity if not cycled thoroughly & meticulously. Who wants to run their devices down all the way just to maintain battery reliability? How stupid. Don't waste my time!
Then there are NiMH rechargeable batteries. Nickel Metal Hydrides are pretty good and also pretty easy to find. The only downside is their mAH capacity is only 180 to 240; about the same as NiCad's. Fortunately NiMH's don't have the memory issues. So NiMH is a good improvement, but now there is something even better.
If not for Lithium Polymer batteries I'd simply recommend NiMH, but LiP's are available in 500-520 mAH capacity and they also don't have memory issues. Recharge time is approx. 1 hour (way faster than NiCad & NiMH).
I just disovered LiP's when searching for Lithium Ion 9V batts which don't seem to exist.
This article about LiP's does provide some comparative data between LiP & LI which weighs in favor of LiP, also good news!
The only LiP 9V's I currently find are produced in Northern America (Canada) by iPower.
iPower 9V LiP's with their four slot rechargers are available from a few online sources you can Google. Here are a couple top search results I found:
www.thomas-distributing.com
www.markertek.com
Ideally, we'd all have pedalboards with AC and just say "Screw batteries altogether!", but that's not always the case and isn't always the most versatile approach. Plus, some pedals are noisier without the filtering aspects of a connected battery present even when the power supply is being used instead.
Think about what you spend on alkaline batteries. And if you also happen to be a smoker, consider how much alkaline battery $$ you burn each week of your tobacco shortened lifespan.
Lithium Polymer batteries are the way to go & will save you $$$ in the long run, as well as spare the environment!
As far as smoking goes, that's really your business, although if you've been pinching the smoke alarms for pedal batteries, that could become somebody else's problem and possibly your ass, especially if you smoke in bed.
I think I've covered everything. ;)))
!
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