Someone asked me in email about the circumstances under which Id use the more expensive lithium batts as opposed to the less expensive ‘regular’ batts.
The biggest gripe I have against non-lithium batts is their propensity to leak and absolutely destroy whatever device they were in (lookin’ at you, Duracell!). For something like my pocket flashlight it isn’t that big a deal..go on Amazon, spend $25, get another flashlight. But there is some fairly expensive stuff…GPS, trail cams, radios, night vision, thermal vision, weaponlights, optics,etc…that take AA batteries and the last thing I want is to have that expensive gear rendered useless and needing replacement. The financial hit isn’t insignificant.
But, more importantly, if a piece of gear is critical then it is absolutely worth the extra expense to use the lithium batteries. For example, all the spare AA batts in my Bag O’ Tricks are lithium. Why? Because if I’m in a situation where I need to reload my electronic device from the spare batteries I carry in my Bag, then the situation is such that the last thing I need is to a) discover that the batteries that have been in my bag for the last year are dead, and b) have my device, whatever it is, get taken out of service because the batteries puked in it.
Any piece of critical gear needs every advantage it can get in terms of reliability, performance, resilience, and longevity. If I’m out hunting and I break a leg, have to call in search and rescue, and they ask for my location, the last thing I want is a) my phone charger being dead, b) my GPS being dead, c) my emergency locator being dead, and d) me being dead.
Crom forbid I ever have to point a rifle at anything thats got language skills, but if it comes to that I sure don’t want that little red dot or MOA circle to not be there when I bring the rifle up. (Backup iron sights? Of course!) And I also don’t want to replace a $600 Eotech because CostCo Duracells ossified the internals of the battery compartment.
Lithium batts aren’t infallible, I’ve read of occasions where they’ve crapped the bed too. But I’d say I’ve read about that happening once for every hundred stories I’ve read about Duracells and other batteries puking their guts out.
TL,DR: if its a piece of gear that is critical to your survival, painful to replace, or both…feed it the batteries that are least likely to crap out on you in a pinch.Upfront costs will be a little higher but, IMHO, worth it.
I just mounted a Vortex red dot. In the box, the company included an Energizer lithium AA battery. They think highly enough of their product (and customers) to go that extra step. Just a point of interest that reinforces your policy, Zero.
Sad what happened to Duracell. When they changed their packaging I started seeing leakage even on plain old alkaline cells. Figured it might be a fluke, but next batch had same issues. For decades I depended on that brand – now I use Amazon’s cheap alkalines for day-to-day, and Eveready lithium for expensive/important stuff. They seem to stay fully charged in storage, which is good since my night vision is not a daily use item. Frustrating when a perfectly good product takes a dive – but it is what it is.
I literally have pulled packages of COstCo Duracells out of storage and they puked their guts right there in the sealed 40-battery package.
my experience has been so bad with Duracells that (a) their customer service/battery killed my (device) personnel almost know me, and (b) I have taken to q 6 month battery and charge assessment, and simply chucking Duracells, that I might have overlooked on my last go around. Rather toss ’em than replace stuff.
I would also recommend not storing NVDs with a battery. When not in use remove the battery. This will prevent a dead battery because you forgot to power it down.
Good advice. I always keep mine out of mine for that reason, and just in case they shit themselves.
Had a Lithium battery die in one of my Bofang radios. Nothing is gaurenteed.
If you could spell, we might believe you.
Keyboard warrior…
Ubaz…have you stopped playing with your sister?
Whats your opinion on the use of rechargable lithiums?
No experience with them, but Im open to trying them.
I bought a Streamlight TLR 7 for my duty weapon and opted for the rechargeable Lithium option. The Streamlight battery actually has a USB-C charging port of the side of the battery. So far it has worked very well. The only drawback is you have to remove the battery to charge it.
Lithiums also do better than alkalines in the cold
I was gonna list how I deal with the vomiting alkalines and related battery storage issues, but the more I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that the value of this website is that it helps you think through what you’re doing vs. what other’s think. To paraphrase the Loving Spoonful’s Nashville Cats, “And any one of them can do Twice as better than I will”. Thanks!
Duracells used to be the best choice for Alkaline Batteries, but about 3 Years ago, I started seeing them Fail, quickly, either Dying soon after being put into use, or Leaking – something that they always were reliable about. End of them (for me) came when I was Servicing a friend’s small plane (I’m a Turbine Mech, but help a few people with bugsmashers) and one of the Annual Inspection Items is replacing the Batteries in the ELT (Crash Beacon) Radio. The particular Unit is powered by 8, D-Cells, and the Manufacturer’s Certification Standards REQUIRE the use of Duracells. Opened it up, and half the Batteries had Rotted and Outgassed, Destroying the whole thing. The owner had to replace it, and this Time, bought a (more expensive) one, that uses Lithium Batteries in a Pack that’s supplied by the Unit’s Manufacturer. I turned in a M&D Report (Component Failure) to the FAA, and after a while, did a followup E-Mail. They responded that there had been a Lot of similar Reports, and I expect that a Directive will be Issued to Ban ‘Duracells’ in Aviation Safety Applications, right down to Flashlights.
Like when you go grab the ar with the leupold 2×8 with a lighted reticle . And the battery is dead .
And the battery sleeve won’t open .
And when it does it’s ruined .
And you can’t buy them .
And the hold line at leupold is 40 deep.
The cheap battery just cost the usefulness of a 1000 dollar scope and I can’t get the replacement part . (Well I think I can If I ready leupold maybe )
Battery life is what pushed me to a prism reticle rather than depending on only a battery for scope. For just in case.
I have a solar powered red dot on one of my ARs – the Vortex SPARC.
So far (~3 years), no problems…
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SBZQM3B/?coliid=I1F84A1MCSN30Z&colid=VJJYZ0A2A32G&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1
I also have an Olight light on my nightstand Glock. Charge it once a month, seems to work when I test it.
CZ,
I don’t recall seeing this happen before but someone posted a link to this post in the Prepper sub reddit. Hopefully me posting this doesn’t start some type of weird internet spiral.