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16 AA Batteries for $4.99 Save $6 at Dick Smith

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16 AA Batteries for $4.99 Save $6 at Dick Smith
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theguyrules on 25/02/2010 - 11:50 dse.com.au (341 clicks)
Last edited 25/02/2010 - 11:57

Hey guys!
Just letting you know Dick Smith has their 16-pack of AA batteries for less than half price at $4.99! Save $6!

These are their Dick Smith branded batteries, but I can honestly say that they are GREAT quality, not like you'd expect from other cheap branded batteries.
I bought 2 packs at $9.98 so now I have 32 batteries that I can use for my Xbox 360 controller or anything else I need them for.

It's always handy to have batteries lying around in a draw somewhere, and you can have some good quality suckers for when the kids toys run out of juice. Even remote control cars, but they chew through batteries like there's no tomorrow.

A great price for great batteries!

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  • boonanza on 25/02/2010 - 11:53
    +1

    Sounds like a great deal. When you have kids it's always handy to have spare batteries.

  • jashjash on 25/02/2010 - 11:55
    +1

    Alkaline batts are great for low drain devices like xbox controllers.

    But they wouldn't be useful if your kids had remote control cars or something.

  • battler on 25/02/2010 - 12:16
    +3

    30x Varta Alkalines are always $8.98 at Bunnings.

    • ash2000 on 25/02/2010 - 12:25
      +4

      Yeah the Varta's are great at 30 cents a cell….this deal is also excellent at 31 cents a cell!

      It always amazes me that people are still willing to pay ~$1.60 to $2.00 per cell for a four pack of Duracell or Energizer….madness.

      • Cluster on 25/02/2010 - 13:28
        +3

        Many people have been taught by advertising that nothing lasts longer than Duracell, Duracell is the best, 'you get what you pay for', etc.

        Few people stop and think that a Duracell needs to last 4 to 6 times longer than one of these cheap cells to be worth purchasing.

        DSE batteries are good quality.

        • zo1dberg on 25/02/2010 - 13:33
          +1

          "Duracell needs to last 4 to 6 times longer"

          Not necessarily. If a Duracell/Energizer battery lasts twice as long as a Varta (which they do - Varta's don't last as nearly as long), then for many people it's worth it. The convenience of not having to change cells makes it worth it for many.

          • ash2000 on 25/02/2010 - 14:17

            @zo1dberg: That's not my experience with Duracell V's Varta (or other less branded cells), I notice imperceptible difference in service life.

            The last time Choice Magazine thoroughly tested alkaline batteries they found Durcall and energizer were top 10, but were not the top 1 or 2…..in fact, by memory the longest lasting cell was one sold through "Tandy" stores. This was some 7-8 years ago….which was about the last time I bought Duracell!

            • theguyrules on 25/02/2010 - 15:00
              +1

              @ash2000: And most likely the 'Tandy' ones were the same or similar to these DSE ones, as Tandy and DSE are the same company.

          • eug on 25/02/2010 - 18:49
            +1

            @zo1dberg: A few years back I was looking at some battery replacements for our Shure radio mics. We had always used Duracell Procells which are industry-standard alkalines. They were cheaper than standard coppertop duracells from a store, but have to be purchased in boxes of 40. At the time, Ikea's batteries were $3.95 for 10 (they still are) and were made by Varta, from what I read.

            So I decided to do a basic test. I put together a device that logged battery voltage about once a minute, hooked it up in parallel to the shure radio mic, played a recording of someone talking on a loop, and left it running till it fully drained.

            The Ikea batts ran for 620 minutes while the Duracells ran for 645 minutes - a negligible difference of around 3%. Nowhere worth the 300% price difference. I should test the new cheap Vartas one day.

          • inherentchoice on 25/02/2010 - 19:59

            @zo1dberg: Just be careful that Duracell's I think are all alkaline whereas Varta have some in Alkaline and some in Super Heavy Duty which isn't as good. I could be wrong but I had the impression that all Alkaline batteries whether home brand or otherwise are more or less the same.

            • eug on 26/02/2010 - 00:22

              @inherentchoice: yeah, just make sure they actually say "Alkaline" on them. For some reason, the Varta alkalines have "LONGLIFE EXTRA" boldly printed on them, which makes them look like carbon-zinc batts. "Alkaline" is printed at the bottom in far smaller text.

  • jonii on 25/02/2010 - 13:35
    -3

    this seems slightly cheaper.
    http://www.catchoftheday.com.au/smallfish_info.php?products_…

    • Sharp on 25/02/2010 - 13:42
      +1

      I bought two packs of these. these are not alkaline. I suspect they will leak. Time will tell.

    • Crownie on 25/02/2010 - 14:04

      They are the cheaper Zinc Chloride "low" discharge type.

      Zinc Chloride technology is cheap and cheerful. While it stores electricity for a long time, it can only cope with low power applications, such as a basic radio. Anything more demanding will consume the battery VERY quickly. This is the cheapest version of the AA battery.

      AVOID. AVOID. AVOID.

      GO with the DSE or Bunnings Varta ones.

      • inherentchoice on 25/02/2010 - 20:04
        -1

        Erm, correct me if I'm wrong but these are clearly labelled as Alkaline - and by definition Zinc Chloride batteries aren't Alkaline? Google indicates Zinc Chloride are usually labelled as "heavy duty".

  • [Deactivated] on 25/02/2010 - 13:46

    Rechargeable battery last for years. You can even get solar chargers that cost nothing to recharge.

    The latest rechargeables come pre-charged and hold their charge for 12 months! I bought lots in HK around AUD7 for 4.

    • ltwo on 25/02/2010 - 16:05
      +1

      sanyo eneloop rechargeable batteries are good. low drain, come pre-charged etc

      • [Deactivated] on 25/02/2010 - 17:56

        Sanyo are about $10 for 4 AAs. How much here? They are small and easy to transport, so shouldn't be much more here.

        • theguyrules on 25/02/2010 - 18:07

          ~$22 I beleive

          • ltwo on 25/02/2010 - 19:45

            @theguyrules: you can get them on ebay for $16

            • [Deactivated] on 25/02/2010 - 19:49

              @ltwo: Hmmmmm. 100% mark-up. Nice!

              I should start importing them. LOL!

  • stalker878 on 25/02/2010 - 16:30

    Is there a pick up option?

  • gumbs on 25/02/2010 - 20:27
    +5

    The only thing I use AA batteries for is in xbox controllers. I previously went the rechargeable option and bought a charger and 12 rechargeables, 4xpowercell, 4xenergizer, 4x some cheap brand. On average I was getting around 10-15 hours of playtime on them, but eventually the 4x cheap brands stopped working and the 4xenergizer exploded in the charger. I've since bought a pack of Chevron branded alkaline. I'm getting about 30-40 hours on them before they die (actually more as the game I'm currently playing only log the time between saves so every time I load that time is lost) and they cost me $10 for 50. Rechargeables aren't worth the pain.

    • [Deactivated] on 25/02/2010 - 23:22

      Depends on what batteries you use. Can get, say, 2800mAh that last quite a long time. Have a spare set. Charge them as soon as you swap tham and you're always ready.

      Not only is it cheaper in the long term, but used batteries are nasty when it comes to the environment….

    • fatty on 25/02/2010 - 23:27

      Exploded hey? Sure you didn't put NiMH batteries in a NiCd or visa versa.

    • eug on 26/02/2010 - 00:51
      +3

      Rechargables are great for some uses, not so on others.

      The charger you use can also impact the longevity and capacity of your cells. El'cheapo chargers that rely on a timer to stop charging can damage your cells, so too can rapid chargers. Proper chargers detect a special characteristic of nimh cells to figure out when it has fully charged… look for "negative delta V" or "-∆V" on the package. Maha make excellent chargers.

      Duracell coppertop AAs are rated at 2850mAh under ideal conditions, e.g. low current drain at normal temperatures. They get caned by NiMH cells at higher currents due to nimh's lower internal resistance… but nimh cells have a lower terminal voltage. This conveniently makes it a bit more complicated.

      e.g. with a camera flash, NiMH gives you faster cycle time compared to alkalines, but alkalines can give more flashes per set. However, with a tv remote control, alkalines will outlast NiMH as alkaline's self-discharge rate is far, far slower than NiMH.

      Back when optical mice were still new, cordless optical mice would benefit from rechargeables as they have high current drain, but cordless keyboards from the same time can work for ages on alkalines - they weren't worth putting rechargables into.

      so… for something with medium to high current drain and is frequent used (r/c cars, cordless tools, optical mice, camera flashes, high-powered flashlights, portable speakers etc), NiMH would be more economical. The new low self-discharge ones make them even more convenient for medium-high current devices that aren't used frequently.

      For devices with low to medium current drain like xbox remotes, small flashlights, and infrequently-used high/medium drain devices, alkalines may be more convenient, but low-self-discharge NiMHs are more economical and environment-friendly.

      (low self-discharge nimhs are like the sanyo eneloops, varta ready2go, sony cycleenergy, maha imedion)

      crap, sorry for the long post, it just kept growing… to cut a long story short, if you're not sure, post a question somewhere and i'm sure someone will help. :)

      edit: i've used 100-200 NiMH AAs over the past 4 years and none have exploded!

      • gumbs on 26/02/2010 - 12:14
        +1

        Yeh this is the first set, I've ever had do it as well. I'm assuming it was the charger (cheapo powercell job which came with the batteries)but I just couldn't justify forking out another $30 on 4xAAs and a charger. Not when I could get 150 alkalines for the same price. I also have a bad habbit of losing rechargables so the 30c a cell alkalines have their definite benefits.

        Rechargables have their uses but for a large percentage of people they aren't going to be cost effective, and unless your really meticulous and use alot of batteries under high draw.

        • [Deactivated] on 26/02/2010 - 14:26
          -1

          Rechargeables are expensive here but not so in places like Hong Kong.

          Somebody is making a lovely mark-up!

  • uetecu on 25/02/2010 - 22:15

    I'm waiting for OW to sell their 48 Pack Varta Alkaline for $11 again!!

    These are fantastic batteries..

  • robs12 on 25/02/2010 - 22:43
    -1

    Heathens the lot of you. Exactly what is wrong with rechargables… ;-)

    • Cluster on 26/02/2010 - 11:58
      +1

      Rechargables run at 1.2v while alkaline/NiOx/Lithium/etc run at 1.5v. I have some devices such as a Casio CTK-3000 keyboard that refuse to run on 1.2v cells. 1.2v cells also yield a slightly dimmer light in torches and make DC motors run slower in toys. 1.2v cells also have a high rate of self discharge (less of a problem now, but it still persists). I use cheap alkalines where needed, and NiMH cells everywhere else.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/02/2010 - 14:29

    Yes, all my rechargeables (GP, Duracell and Camelion Low Drain) are 1.2v.

    You learn something new every day!

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