March 11, 2026 Batteries

 Batteries

Batteries are such an integral part of my life.   In an attempt to have less impact on the garbage dumps we use rechargeable batteries.  My husband is somewhat opinionated on the type of batteries he wants us to use.  He was an electrical engineer major that quit 3 semesters short of a degree.  In addition he is an amateur radio operator.  He comes by his opinions honestly at least.  I do not care so long as the batteries last more than a day.  Which brings me to today's post.   

We had switched to rechargeable batteries before we moved to the Austin area.  I had not fully committed to rechargeable batteries until a bit over 13 years ago.  At this moment I can count about 40 42 AA batteries and 18 AAA batteries in candles.  I like the flickering of candles without burning a table top.  That is a story for another day.  Oh, there are also 9 or 10 tealights that use coin type batteries.  I can make a day of just changing and charging batteries.  A friend became so weary of changing batteries she gave all her fake candles away.  I will not do that.  

In addition, we have rechargeable lights for lighting inside our kitchen and bathroom cabinets.  Motion sensing lights to help navigate to the bathrooms at night.  The closets for both bathroom storages as well as the laundry closet had no lights.  Nor did  the coat closet or pantry. Motion sensing lights were added in all of those areas.   I can recall about 13 or 14 at the moment.  With most of the motion sensing light being in use for almost 3 years they are not holding their charge as well, either.  That makes for a lot of charging.  Ugh

Under Hubby's guidance/direction the types of rechargeable batteries have changed over the years.   Several of my batteries seem to be needing to be charged more frequently than I expect.   I did not date the batteries as they were purchased.  Amazon has a long record of purchases.  I had realized that the batteries were marked with approximate number of cycles that should be expected.  AI summarized those cycles by type:

• Lithium-ion (Li-ion): 500–1,500+ cycles (2-4 years).
• Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH): 300–1,000+ cycles (2-5 years).
• Nickel-Cadmium (NiCd): 1,000+ cycles (1.5-3 years).
• Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP): 2,500–9,000+ cycles (5-10 years). 

Yep, we have some of all of those.  Specific charging units for different types. I suspect some are over 10 years old.  Guess I need to start doing some culling of the batteries.  Remember to mark the purchase date of the new ones.  See if I can manage to have a single type of battery to simplify my life.  I'm old and will eventually forget all the correct chargers to use.

Thanks for stopping by.

Janice