Rechargeable Batteries

AbsoluteZero

I've gone through 2 pairs of AA's today on my Wii Remote alone. Granted they were random pairs I found around the apartment, and weren't like full or anything... the point is they are dead and I am out of batteries, which is preventing me from playing Zelda god dammit.

I haven't owned any rechargeables for a long time, so I would like a recommendation.

The last set I owned were cheapos and exploded while charging over night, spraying me with battery acid while I was sleeping. I'd like to not have that kinda shit happen again.

I don't really care about how long they take to recharge, just how long the charge lasts.

So, what do you say, Gee ampersand Tee?

BTP

Aren't you glad I think of these things ahead of time? :P

As shown somewhere in that thread, there's the Energizer NiMH 2500 mAh batteries. Comes with 4 AA and the charger. I just got them yesterday, so I haven't had a real good chance to try them out. I charged them all last night, and when I went to use them, one pair didn't work (no charge according to Wii Home menu) but the other pair has been fine. I'll try out the other pair tomorrow to make sure there's nothing wrong with them.

Bartholamue

I used a pair of Duracell Rechargabel Accu NiMH's and they seem good to use. I've had them for 8 or so months and they still work.

mspencer

Two recommendations, although only one of them really makes sense.

To save money, you will want NiMH (nickel-metal-hydride) rechargables. Get many sets, probably 8 batteries, and pick up a charger that can handle 4 AA's at a time.

NiMH batteries are great for most devices -- they kick ass in high-drain digital cameras -- but they don't work so well for the Wii remote. On mine I got maybe 20 minutes of play where the battery indicator showed full, and then after maybe 3 to 4 hours of play the game paused itself and I needed to change batteries. (I never had gameplay problems: the Wii remote never behaved poorly or controled poorly. The game stopped me from playing and demanded new batteries before things ever got to that point.)

So you will want to keep a charger handy. Keep four batteries in the charger, two "on deck", and two in the remote. When you need to swap, leave the two in the charger and swap for the batteries laying out. When you need a second swap, swap that set of four (previous and current Wii batteries) for the set of four in the charger.

The Wii remote seems to demand a higher cell voltage than many other devices do, so on the plus side, the Wii remote is only using maybe 40% of the useful charge in the battery each time. That means you're putting the batteries through very shallow charge/discharge cycles, so these batteries will last for many more charge cycles than normal. Don't worry about 'memory effect' -- that won't happen to you.

Just know that rechargable batteries do wear out as you use them, and they wear out as time passes. Deep charge cycles (like a digital camera or a flashlight would use) take more life from the battery than shallow charge cycles (like the Wii remote would use) do. After a couple years you will need to throw out these batteries and buy new ones. On the plus side, these batteries are very cheap.

The second recommendation: if you don't want to mess around with rechargables, and you don't mind throwing a bit of money away: use Energizer E2 batteries. Those are a very poor fit for this device -- those batteries are only really called for in high drain devices like digital cameras, "tactical" flashlights, etc. -- but the higher total energy content and higher nominal voltage means the batteries will last longer. Plus Energizer E2's are lighter than normal, so maybe the Wii remote will be easier to use.

HadjiQuest

I got some Rayovac 2500mAh NiMH batteries, and they're doing the job for my digicam, but I haven't tried them in my wiimote yet. I left them charging way longer than I should've the other day, and I was surprised to find that the charger turned itself off.

BTP

mspencer wrote:

Two recommendations, although only one of them really makes sense.

To save money, you will want NiMH (nickel-metal-hydride) rechargables. Get many sets, probably 8 batteries, and pick up a charger that can handle 4 AA's at a time.

NiMH batteries are great for most devices -- they kick ass in high-drain digital cameras -- but they don't work so well for the Wii remote. On mine I got maybe 20 minutes of play where the battery indicator showed full, and then after maybe 3 to 4 hours of play the game paused itself and I needed to change batteries. (I never had gameplay problems: the Wii remote never behaved poorly or controled poorly. The game stopped me from playing and demanded new batteries before things ever got to that point.)

AbsoluteZero

Hmph... I wonder why those batteries perform poorly in the Wii Remote? Would NiCad batteries do better?

mspencer

NiMH rechargable batteries have a lower "nominal voltage" than alkaline primary cells. Energizer E2 primary cells have a higher nominal voltage than normal alkaline cells.

Nominal voltage is the standard voltage created by the battery when it's not loaded at all. (Technically I think that's called 'float voltage' instead.) A normal alkaline primary cell starts life at 1.5 volts. When you add a severe load (like a digital camera recharging its flash) that voltage sags way down to something like 1.1 or 1.0 volts -- even though it's a new battery with almost all of its energy.

After the battery ages a while, the no-load voltage gets lower. So now maybe unloaded that battery measures 1.0 volts, and when the camera starts charging its flash the battery sags down to 0.6 volts. That's not enough voltage to operate the rest of the camera circuitry, so the camera fails to operate.

In the same example -- a camera with a flash -- suppose we use a NiMH battery. NiMH rechargables have a nominal voltage of 1.2 to begin with, but they sag much less under heavy load. So this fully-charged battery might dip down to just 1.1 volts -- a slight change. As the battery gets close to being dead, maybe the unloaded voltage is 1.0 volts, sagging down to 0.8 volts when loaded.

The problem this causes here is that the Wii remote apparently has been designed to show "low battery" messages when the batteries have reached a certain low voltage, and the low voltage they chose seems to be too conservative. The battery still has most of its useful life left, so you could put these "Wii-remote-dead" batteries in a digital camera and still take many dozens of flash pictures. But because the NiMH starts out at a disadvantage -- it starts at 1.2 V instead of 1.5 V -- it has a much shorter trip to reach that "Wii-remote-thinks-I'm-dead" voltage.

NiCd batteries also have a nominal voltage of 1.2 V, and have a similar discharge curve, so they would behave similarly -- but I don't think you can buy 2000 mAh and 2500 mAh NiCd batteries. I think the maximum commercially-available capacity is less.

Varega

Well, I have NiMH batteries for both the Wii and the Xbox 360 wireless remotes, and let me tell you, I love them. i have 2 remotes for each system, and on my 360, i get something around 35+ hours on it. The Wii, it's hard to tell, since I can't remember when I last charged the batteries. If I had to take a guess, i'd say something around 25 hours. Now, I most certainly second the motion of getting 8 batteries if you have 2 remotes, because nothing is more frustrating then not having a charged pack when you need it.

This is what I'm using right now, and I do love it. It's around a 4-6 hour charge per set, and it's really nice. Pick one up, it's definately worth it.

PatboyX

i got the maha 401fs (i think) recharger on suggestions from friends.

i use the batteries it came with from newegg and the energizer 2500 rechargeables we use at work for the cameras.

my wii batteries died pretty much within a week. i was sad...i think zelda uses an intense amount of battery. i was fine with wii sports but as soon as i played zelda for more than an hour it was over. it does make a lot of noise and vibrates quite a bit.

anyway, the aforementioned charger comes from a few friends who have used it for literally years with no problems and nothing but praise.

AbsoluteZero

Varega wrote:

Well, I have NiMH batteries for both the Wii and the Xbox 360 wireless remotes, and let me tell you, I love them. i have 2 remotes for each system, and on my 360, i get something around 35+ hours on it. The Wii, it's hard to tell, since I can't remember when I last charged the batteries. If I had to take a guess, i'd say something around 25 hours. Now, I most certainly second the motion of getting 8 batteries if you have 2 remotes, because nothing is more frustrating then not having a charged pack when you need it.
This is what I'm using right now, and I do love it. It's around a 4-6 hour charge per set, and it's really nice. Pick one up, it's definately worth it.

That is exactly what I was looking at getting. I might head out to Walmart tomorrow to pick some up... if the windchill ever gets above -30 degrees, anyhow.

I only have one remote so I think I will just start with four batteries...

Any other recommendations, peoples?

BTP

AbsoluteZero wrote:

Varega wrote:

Well, I have NiMH batteries for both the Wii and the Xbox 360 wireless remotes, and let me tell you, I love them. i have 2 remotes for each system, and on my 360, i get something around 35+ hours on it. The Wii, it's hard to tell, since I can't remember when I last charged the batteries. If I had to take a guess, i'd say something around 25 hours. Now, I most certainly second the motion of getting 8 batteries if you have 2 remotes, because nothing is more frustrating then not having a charged pack when you need it.
This is what I'm using right now, and I do love it. It's around a 4-6 hour charge per set, and it's really nice. Pick one up, it's definately worth it.

That is exactly what I was looking at getting. I might head out to Walmart tomorrow to pick some up... if the windchill ever gets above -30 degrees, anyhow.

I only have one remote so I think I will just start with four batteries...

Any other recommendations, peoples?

Yeah, that's the set I picked up. I just hope they don't drain TOO fast from what I'm seeing here.

ZackSchilling

I'm using exclusively NiMH batteries in my Wii remotes. As long as the speaker volume is down to 2 bars or so (which it is if you're sane), you will not get the system claiming they are drained long before their time is up. They also start on 3 bars rather than 4 (I assume because of the 1.2V per cell output as opposed to the standard 1.5V) but last as long as traditional AAs (20-40 hours depending on how much pointer functionality is used). I'm using 1500mAh and 2000mAh cells from Quest and some off-brand (UNI-ROSS or something) respectively.

Synthetic Orange

The vibrate function on the remotes are also a big culprit. The Wii would flash up warning messages when I'm down to two bars on my nimh rechargables and the vibrate goes off.

mspencer

AbsoluteZero wrote:

Varega wrote:

Well, I have NiMH batteries for both the Wii and the Xbox 360 wireless remotes, and let me tell you, I love them. i have 2 remotes for each system, and on my 360, i get something around 35+ hours on it. The Wii, it's hard to tell, since I can't remember when I last charged the batteries. If I had to take a guess, i'd say something around 25 hours. Now, I most certainly second the motion of getting 8 batteries if you have 2 remotes, because nothing is more frustrating then not having a charged pack when you need it.
This is what I'm using right now, and I do love it. It's around a 4-6 hour charge per set, and it's really nice. Pick one up, it's definately worth it.

That is exactly what I was looking at getting. I might head out to Walmart tomorrow to pick some up... if the windchill ever gets above -30 degrees, anyhow.

I only have one remote so I think I will just start with four batteries...

Any other recommendations, peoples?

That's the charger I use -- also recommended.
I was about to post "How TF are you getting 25 hours per charge from your Wii remote?" but someone else had a good point about Zelda being more demanding. I'll go with that.

Heir

BTP wrote:

Aren't you glad I think of these things ahead of time? :P

As shown somewhere in that thread, there's the Energizer NiMH 2500 mAh batteries. Comes with 4 AA and the charger. I just got them yesterday, so I haven't had a real good chance to try them out. I charged them all last night, and when I went to use them, one pair didn't work (no charge according to Wii Home menu) but the other pair has been fine. I'll try out the other pair tomorrow to make sure there's nothing wrong with them.

Those are exactly what I use. They last me a good 5-7 days.

Honestly, I'm surprised that the Wiimote didn't already have a built in battery pack and you just slapped the thing on a charger/docking station after playing. Hell, could have made it so that it plugs right onto the Wii and charges from there.

Woodroez

I don't have much to add to this thread, but I will say that I enjoy the ease of use with the Play and Charge kit for the 360 (even though it's kinda bs that the wireless didn't come with it), and that Nyko is making something that is essentially the same thing, but for the Wii...I think.

AbsoluteZero

Woodroez wrote:

I don't have much to add to this thread, but I will say that I enjoy the ease of use with the Play and Charge kit for the 360 (even though it's kinda bs that the wireless didn't come with it), and that Nyko is making something that is essentially the same thing, but for the Wii...I think.

I would not be surprised in the least.

In fact there are grooves and a clipping mechanism along the sides of the Wii Remote. It could slide right into a docking station pretty easily.

Cronus

Woodroez wrote:

I don't have much to add to this thread, but I will say that I enjoy the ease of use with the Play and Charge kit for the 360 (even though it's kinda bs that the wireless didn't come with it), and that Nyko is making something that is essentially the same thing, but for the Wii...I think.

I saw the video which first showed it off and it looks really cool. Two charge kits and the stand for $30. I am going to get one, or at least a competitors one when I stop using my roommate Wii when I move out.

Here is a link google [url]found.http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/10/nykos-ps3-and-wii-charging-stations/[/url]

LavaKnight

I believe I have the same set of four and the recharger that BTP has.

They last a good long while. Longer than I care to keep track of, and that's all that really matters. I just keep my spare set charged and sitting in my second remote ready to swap when the first set needs to be recharged.

So yeah, the Energizer NiMH 2500 mAh batteries seem to be performing fantastically.

And really, unless you need all of your remotes with rechargables at the same time, you don't need eight. That's just silly.

ZackSchilling

AbsoluteZero wrote:

Woodroez wrote:

I don't have much to add to this thread, but I will say that I enjoy the ease of use with the Play and Charge kit for the 360 (even though it's kinda bs that the wireless didn't come with it), and that Nyko is making something that is essentially the same thing, but for the Wii...I think.

I would not be surprised in the least.

In fact there are grooves and a clipping mechanism along the sides of the Wii Remote. It could slide right into a docking station pretty easily.

Nah, that's a 3.3v line in the little base connecter, which means it probably runs through some voltage changing circuit, which means it would not be a good idea to charge through it (you couldn't). Replacement battery covers with slits in them are a much better idea.

BushidoGamer

I would recommend eneloop batteries by Sanyo but now it's twice as expensive than they were before. They're NiMH batteries, but are designed to have a significantly slower discharge rate than normal NiMH batteries along with the same high capacity.

Typical stats 1.2v and 2000 mAh nomimal:
http://www.sanyo.co.jp/koho/hypertext4-eng/0511/1101-2e.html

I got a 4 point AA+AAA charger along with 4 already charged AAs for 17.99+free shipping from hhgregg.com (they unfortunately don't have it listed anymore, don't have a search engine and they've had run ins with the Better Business Bureau for conning people into buying warranties on large appliances).

I used froogle to find it. If ya wanna wait, you might find a good deal or try using Google Checkout's $10 signup coupon.

My personal experience with them so far: Since I've had a Wii, I've played it straight in January and only needed 3 charges for it.

I spent 3417 minutes [1] playing [2] last month from 1/06/07 [3] to 1/31/07. 3417/60=56.95 hours
56.95/3=18.98 5/9 hours in between charges
Keep in mind that they already came charged for both pairs first use, so the lifespan isn't portrayed accurately here. It should have more hours. So... all of that number crunching was bullshit . It's a new product too so these batteries could be bunk for all I know.

[1]Got this number from the Wii message board; multiplying the number of hours by 60 and then adding the minutes.

[2]Rumble and volume at default.

[3]The day after the new batteries arrived. I still have the receipt and my old Rayovacs died the night before.

hambone

I use Energizer nimh in my wireless mouse, they normally work for 3-4 weeks of fairly heavy computer usage before needing a 15 minute recharge. Though they'll die pretty easily if you leave them in the charger too long.

Still, it's been better than buying non-rechargables, by far.

I have no idea if they'd perform similarly in a Wiimote.

taliosfalcon

I'm also using Duracell ACCU's, 2100 mAh , and i have to say i'm not happy with them at all, they're new, i have 8 of them, and none of them will last for more than 5 hours or so of playing a Wiimote+Nunchuk game..and i never have the remote sound on.

Spectre45

Varega wrote:

Well, I have NiMH batteries for both the Wii and the Xbox 360 wireless remotes, and let me tell you, I love them. i have 2 remotes for each system, and on my 360, i get something around 35+ hours on it. The Wii, it's hard to tell, since I can't remember when I last charged the batteries. If I had to take a guess, i'd say something around 25 hours. Now, I most certainly second the motion of getting 8 batteries if you have 2 remotes, because nothing is more frustrating then not having a charged pack when you need it.

This is what I'm using right now, and I do love it. It's around a 4-6 hour charge per set, and it's really nice. Pick one up, it's definately worth it.

If you have a Sam's Club near you, you can get that charger with 8 AA and 4 AAA for about $25.

AbsoluteZero

ZackSchilling wrote:

AbsoluteZero wrote:

Woodroez wrote:

I don't have much to add to this thread, but I will say that I enjoy the ease of use with the Play and Charge kit for the 360 (even though it's kinda bs that the wireless didn't come with it), and that Nyko is making something that is essentially the same thing, but for the Wii...I think.

I would not be surprised in the least.

In fact there are grooves and a clipping mechanism along the sides of the Wii Remote. It could slide right into a docking station pretty easily.

Nah, that's a 3.3v line in the little base connecter, which means it probably runs through some voltage changing circuit, which means it would not be a good idea to charge through it (you couldn't). Replacement battery covers with slits in them are a much better idea.

Which is exactly what I was talking about.

LogicalHarm

I'm using the Duracell 15minute charger and I have to say its pretty useful when the batteries die and you only have to wait a few minutes, but than again I'm guessing you wouldn't have this problem if you bought multiple sets. If you want to pick it up go to target because it's $30 and i have seen it marked up for like $20-$30 more elsewhere.