Energizer "D" Battery Exposed

Just found this and i think it is an absolute outrage as to the tricks these big companies are up to.


Have you ever bought batteries, used them for a few hours to listen to some music and then you suddenly realise you need to buy some more batteries to keep listening?

Gets expensive, right?

Well, the along comes the revolutionary rechargeable batteries.

Hooray i hear you cry, but not from one man who has made a very interesting discovery.

Mike Adams' investigation into one particular brand of battery is Energizer.

He could not fathom how a D sized battery only gave the power of a AA battery.

Until he ripped an Energizer D cell apart...

I could tell you, or post the photo, but I'm not going to spoil the surprise for you..
Here's an opening snippet from his report with a link.

Rechargeable batteries are great for the environment. Using them to power your electronics helps conserve valuable metals used in making batteries while preventing the throwing away of alkaline batteries after a single use. Rechargeable NiMH batteries can be reused 1,000 times, effectively replacing 1,000 alkaline batteries and providing portable power at a fraction of the cost of buying 1,000 new batteries.

Energizer "D" Battery Exposed

Personally I'm not surprised with this kind of scam going on. It's not as though we are not aware of any other types of scam, but how long has this been going on?
How much has Energizer ripped the public off?
To me, the design future of batteries is like getting a cure for the common cold. It's like they know how to make longer lasting power sources, but just wont make it in case it upsets there profit.

I hope you all find this interesting as I'm sure there are a lot of us out there with kids who just got some battery operated item for christmas.

I am not surprised, many companies use methods like this to make more money and keep bringing people back. Looks like it is something we will have to live with it

I wonder what the older D cells are like inside? or another brand like a duracell? Im not about to start opening batteries up, but it would be interesting to see, maybe that guy will do some more?


I like to hope that with the internet people can become educated about things like this, and it will be much harder for companies to do things like this

It's not at all surprising. In the early days of NiCd rechargeable batteries I purchased a couple of D size NiCds (Eveready of course) and thought they felt too light for the size and the capacity was low at 1200mAh. When I open one up I discovered it was simply a C size NiCd fastened into a D size case

I still stand by their product quality but the marketing tactics are reprehensible.

I am always a little bit skeptical of someone trying to make a buck under the pretenses of an article like this (on the last page of the article)

Want to buy an honest "D" battery? Check out Powerex. These are the best rechargeable batteries I could find. Click here to learn more. I liked them so much that I bought several hundred of them and decided to offer them through my company, BetterLifeGoods.com

There has been a lot of advancement in battery capacity in the last couple of years and most of that has been in the non D-cell categories (AA, AAA) for use with high-drain, smaller electronic equipment. I'd bet the market for D cells is going down as a result and perhaps Engergizer doesn't think its worth the investment to produce the higher-end D cells.

I think this is just a case of a lower-end, legacy product being offered by Energizer (at about half the price of the higher-end Powerex D-cells). If you just need a cheap rechargeable battery for your flashlight, then the lower priced, lower capacity model might work just fine

Modern version of the Leclanché cell. This heavy-duty zinc-carbon primary battery is a dry cell with an immobilized electrolyte.

The zinc-carbon battery or dry cell is the technological foundation of today's growing battery industry

The 9-volt alkaline battery is a common form of dry cell used in portable radios.

I hope that lot helps you see the difference there.
And for a lot more of a deeper study, then perhaps this will help.
Battery (electricity)

I'll try to have a look around to see if i can find any comparisons between rechargables and disposables regarding discharging times etc.

reply to post by Zarniwoop


Yes, I did see his attempt at drumming up business for himself.
I wasn't too happy with that myself and I did think of the reaction it might cause on ATS also, but his argument on how it's a possible conspiracy was very well presented and, IMO, I think he is right.

deceiving consumers by packaging what is effectively an "AA" battery in a "D" size and shape, then marking up the price 400%, hoodwinking consumers into paying four times as much money for a battery that has extremely poor performance (by design). I believe that the Energizer company is engaged in deceptive marketing practices and that it is intentionally doing so in order to protect its disposable alkaline battery business.

www.newstarget.com...

reply to post by Extralien


Although Energizer doesn't explicitly come out and say "this battery has the equivalent capacity of a AA", I think comparing the capacity of the D cell to the AA is apples to oranges. They are for different applications. Is there an expectation that a bigger battery should have more capacity (probably).

This is merely business, marketing, and brand awarenes. Most people will buy the lower-quality Energizer over the Powerex because they know/trust the brand. You could find hundreds of examples of the same thing out there in the marketplace.

Caveat Emptor

EDIT: spelling

[edit on 8-1-2008 by Zarniwoop]

I see your point, but then so does Mr. Adams.

He does make the comparison between an AA and Energizers D having 2500 mAh, so why market a D when it's really actually only an AA?

I've just had an idea and will quickly do a hunt to see what I come up with..

He does point out that most people and appliances need a specific sized battery.
This does not reflect the power of the battery, merely the size. So, again, selling a D at D prices but only getting an AA is a bit naughty IMO.

Why not buy AA rechargeable batteries and just put in them a third-party D-size step-up shell? It would be about 400% cheaper!

The blatant marketing at the end put me off, as well.

Following up on my idea, it's a shame Mr. Adams did not really list any other batteries he used for comparison.
i've found some rather interesting info regarding brands and power capacities of like sized batteries.

Energizer;
Energizer DNH2 ENERGIZER Rechargeable D Cell NiMH Batteries (D cell 2500mAh)

Energizer NH15BP-4 ENERGIZER RECHARGEABLE AA-4PK (AA cell 1700mAh)

Then I also found a very interesting oddity... More AA NiHm but with less power of 1200mAh and more expensive than the above 1700 four pack;
Energizer NH15BP-2 ENERGIZER RECHARGEABLE AA-2PK

Energizer Rechargeable AA 2500mAh Batteries

If you can see the difference between them (apart from power) and how they come to these prices, then you ggot better eyes than i have.

moving on...

Duracell;

Duracell Rechargeable AA NiMH Batteries, MIGNON/HR6/DC1500 (these are 2650 mAh. Quite a big immediate difference from Energizer and these are the AA's)

I am at present unable to find any Duracell D rechargables for comparison.

But further searching has led to more curiosities.
listed here are some Rechargeable Batteries by Powerex that shows a D size battery with the same mAh as a AAA
But another brand is also listed with some impressive numbers and prices for both brands in comparison to duracell and energizer.

There was one other D size battery i found with a whopping 9000mAh here
You'll have to scroll down to just below half way down the page to find it in this rather impressive list.

So, it seems as much as Mr. Adams attempt at regarding the power of the D energizer is in need of further study due to similar comparisons being made with other brands, it still leaves the fact that the energizer D is literally an AA with a large plastic coat on. Especially if you compare the same to a normal nicad battery.

This leave us with a question of how many other companies practice the same thing with their D sized batteries when you only need to buy some of these battery holders.

What an interesting mess this is.

I find that rechargeable batteries never give me the service I was supposed to get from them. However, I bought a digital camera last February and with it came "cheap" batteries the clerk insisted I needed to replace immediately because they were weak and wouldn't last. It was a fumifilm camera with fujifilm batteries. These are not rechargeable, but yet I have taken hundreds upon hundreds of photos with these batteries and they show no sign of weakening even now.

Nice, I dig those battery holders, could come in handy in a pinch.

Reading this thread reminded me of a couple things I saw a while ago at this site called instructables.com (a great site for DIYers) A lot of batteries are simply smaller, lower wattage batteries stuffed into a certain package.

Please note I do not advocate randomly ripping apart batteries as many types DO contain acid that can cause you some serious pain or loss of eyesight. I'm posting these since they are tested and relevant to this thread.

In this video it is shown that you can buy two energizer A23 12v batteries for $1.88 (I bought one for $2) and take off the outer plastic to expose 8 - Button cell 1.5v batteries which he prices at $5.00 each (I found these for $4). In either case that's a heck of a markup. I tried this myself the last time I needed some Button cells for a few of my kids electronic books (luckily for me they were the exact same type i needed inside the 12v) and I was pleased to find I could replace all of the batteries for $2 rather than $32. Totally worth it.

Then in this video by the same guy, he shows you that in a pinch you can take apart a 9v battery which will net you 6 - 1.5v AAAA batteries which are just a bit smaller than a AAA. With a little fold of the conductive material from the top of the 9v you can fit these in any AAA device. They will of course burn out a little faster than a regular AAA but hey, in a pinch it's good to know.

After ripping apart that initial 12v, I found myself wondering how the heck they get away with charging so much for a single... Seems like those A23's should be priced waaaay higher than they are...

Eh, that's capitalism I guess.

This D battery is 9000Mah
www.all-battery.com...

The Energizer D is 2500Mah
www.newstarget.com...

This NiMH AA actually has more power than the Energizer at 2700Mah
www.greenbatteries.com...

It's actually funny to find this under conspiracy, but it is true, and it is going on literally everywhere, like funny shaped bottles, to appear bigger for example..

As the author said, they are not actually lying, since it does say 2500mAh.

This number would sting me in the eye immediatelly, but it is true, that many people wouldn't even know what it means, so they would just buy it, and Energizer saves money, by only having to produce one type of battery, for two types they are selling.

And bad ones at that.

Oh, and by the way, they most likelly don't even produce these batteries themselves, but just put their name on a chinese or japanese OEM. And the stated capacity isn't always exact.

Being a mad electronic scientist I once did extensive tests on a wide variety of alkaline AA cells (not the later released 're-chargeable' alkalines btw) mainly aimed at reducing the build-up of internal resistance which is what actually makes the cells go 'flat'. IE the voltage plummets with only a small load although the open circuit terminal voltage looks reasonably good.

The only cells I had any success with were the Eveready labelled ones so I'm convinced their products don't appear with any labels other than Eveready (here at least). Look for the 'cat with 9 lives' logo in non-english speaking countries.

All other brands I tested had markedly different characteristics, enough to make me confident I could identify the Eveready cell without seeing the labels

Oh - actually opening the cells is definitely a bad idea in the case of alkalines as they have a very strong potassium hydroxide electrolyte which makes short work of skin or anything else organic.

reply to post by Extralien


Great post no more Enerigizer for me thanks for the good find.

reply to post by Extralien


Here's the question you need to ask though- If you can recharge the battery 1000 times, how long can you use if for compared to a standard D battery? Comparing it to a better rechargeable battery isn't really the point. Obviously from a consumer stand point, you want the best product you can get for your money, but I don't think this is as big of a conspiracy as you're trying to make it out to be.

reply to post by BlueRaja
If you're talking about Ah/$ total over the life of the battery then the rechargeables come out in front. Where they lose out in comparison to alkalines of equivalent physical size is how long they last on a single charge. NiMH is closing the gap though but they have their own problems, like a high self-discharge rate but a few manufacturers claim to have solved that problem, Sanyo 'Eneloop' cells for example (not cheap though)

Well this explains ALOT! Starred

I remember when rechargable batteries FIRST came out. It was a huge thing, but quickly everyone I know realized they didn't have the power that a normal battery had even when you first used them.

I can't remember the name brand of the rechargables we bought(I was about 10 years old so my parents bought them). But I'm positive this is the reason why the bigger batteries like the D and C, but even the double AA's weren't good. My father never read about the Mah #, or tore one open.

We just ended up throwing them and the expensive charger away after about 4 months.

I've never bought rechargable since, AND THAT is probably the goal of this whole energizer D rechargable. To make people think -oh- rechargable batteries just can't hold a good charge, I'll buy disposable from now on, without really looking into the battery itself, or trying a different brand. Hey it worked on me and my entire family some 20 years ago.

I believe this author hit the nail on the head with every point he made.

Thanks alot for posting this.