Why are Energizer “D” batteries so weak? To find out the answer, I decided to take one apart and see what was inside. As this picture reveals, inside the “D” battery is a much smaller battery! The Energizer “D” battery is actually just a cheap plastic shell surrounding a much smaller, low-capacity battery similar in size and capacity to an “AA” battery (2500 mAh).
This explains why the Energizer “D” rechargeable battery has such low power capacity to begin with. The company doesn’t even try to make it a high-capacity “D” battery, it seems. They’re filling part of the inside of the battery body with nothing more than cheap plastic and useless air. And how much does Energizer charge for this “D” battery? More than $12 each!
It’s true: These inferior “D” batteries cost around $25 for a pack of two. These are known as “Energizer E2 Rechargeable Batteries, Size D,” rated at 2500 mAh each. (mAh is a measure of how much power is contained in the battery. It’s sort of like the fuel tank in your car. The bigger the number, the more power the battery delivers.)
By comparison, an Energizer AA battery rated at the exact same capacity — 2500 mAh — costs about THREE dollars!
Found by ECA.
I don’t really see any “cover-up” here by Energizer. The battery packaging says it’s 2500mAh, so who cares what is inside the battery or battery casing, as long as it works as advertised. And to those that didn’t read the whole article, these are rechargeable batteries and not the single-use type.
Hold on do you mean to tell me that Energizer is selling a 2500 mah battery that is labled 2500 mah and actually has a 2500 mah battery inside? Am I missing something or does this story smell like horseshit?
Who cares what’s inside or how big it is, if it’s a 1.5 volt 2500 mah battery on the lable and that is what you get then end of story. If you want to buy a different brand that is soooooooooooo much more powerful at 2700 mah (8% more) then good on ya.
I bought a bag or doritos that was labled 14 ounces, but inside it was half empty. Yeah there was 14 ounces of doritos inside, and that’s clearly what I was paying for, but they could have fit at least 20 ounces inside the bag. I saw that the store brand had the same exact size bag but weighed 15.5 and was cheaper. I got the doritos though cause I like the taste.
Inexactly recalled from Gilligan’s Island:
Mr. Howell: That’s what’s wrong with this country. You’ve got to give the customer a quality product. You have to make sure it is built to last and to last and to last!
Mrs. Howell: But Thurston, these batteries were made by The Thurston Howell Battery Company!
Mr. Howell: Well, you can’t expect them to last forever, you know!
Hey. It’s rechargeable. It is what it is. Quit whining.
How many AA could fit in a D battery? Three?
Sounds like a good money-making product for somebody – a D-sized shell that hold three AAs wired in parallel. You could probably manufacture it for $0.25 and retail it for $5.
Boo effing hoo. Batteris that output the power of a D battery can be made even samller nowadays. Hell, you can even put a 2500 ma Lithium rechargeable with a plastic for to fit it into any D battery device.
You can do this with both C & D batteries.
Rather than tech saavy, the people in naturalnews seem either preschool babies or old tech phobics.
#2 I wouldn’t be surprised if that the next biggest “scam”
Ho boy – if we dissect dvorak.org, what do we find inside? Chris Pirillo?
# 26 pedro,
“Batteris that output the power of a D battery can be made even samller nowadays”
What do you have against building better D batteries??
I guess, you like changing them out often, how odd!!
# 23 OvenMaster,
Excellent post, says it all.
Great find or excellent memory!!!
Could be called thermal insulation. Am I the only one who’s AA and AAA battery’s get very hot when charging? Almost enough to burn me.
The original zinc-carbon interior of the D cell needed all that room.
But nickel-metal hydride most likely does not.
I’m some wag for Energize can explain this away. But they really ought to label this cells as being upsized to fit the appliance’s cavity or holder. This isn’t even a new idea. When NiCads first came out Radio (the Shack) Shack, had D cell rechargables that were a shell with an AA cell inside. And at one time, you could buy a nestable shell set, to upsize any smaller battery, to fit a larger holder. So it wouldn’t rattle around in place.
But I agree, selling these things as genuine D cells, without disclosing that they are adapted internally from short C cells, is a shady business practice. Hiding behind the more obscure “charge duration” rating, as their truth in labeling.
Apparently “cell” size is meaningless now. Whereas at one time it was chosen by appliance makers to ensure a longer running capacity for things that would drain smaller cells in no time. But those were the standard expectations of primary cells. Not the rechargeables. I suspect there’s a legal out for them.
This posting’s case probably isn’t a product “counterfeit”. It’s more like those plastic 40 watt light bulbs, that actually have a smaller bulb (or LED) inside that works off of AA batteries. Even some of the new CFC lights, come with larger bulb-like shells, for appearance sake. Or for wire loop lamp shades to grip onto.
BTW, CD and DVD discs have a maximum capacity that’s rarely used up. The prerecorded retail discs, are not guaranteed to be filled to 100%. And I think most people understand that, from having had LPs and cassette tapes. But the “battery trade” has been a much murkier business. I’ve never bought rechargeable cells above AA size. And even these, I’ve found unreliable or practical for anything but flashlights or old portable radios. They run down too fast in digital media players. And are the wrong voltage (.25v lower) for most electronic devices to use them. So don’t. Especially in Tv remotes. Stick to primary Alkaline cells.
“D Cell” is just a “serving suggestion”.
I don’t know why rechargeable cells are 1.25v, instead of 1.5v, like primary use cells. But that’s the way they’ve always been made. Possibly the goop inside isn’t able to reach 1.5 volts. Or more likely, some 1970s legal arrangement allowed their makers to sell a slightly weaker voltage rating, as similar to D, C, AA, and AAA primary cells. Kind of like how most Ice Cream brands got away with labeling 56 oz. containers as “half gallon”.
Or like how potato chips bags are always the same size, and puffed full of air. Even though the makers have been sneaking the contents down a 1/4 ounce at a time. I can still remember when the common bag size was 7 or 8 ounces. And the jumbo size was 14. Now it’s typically 3 3/4 and 10, respectively. And their prices still crept up, just slower.
Ground coffee, toilet roll sheets, cereal boxes, canned tuna, etc. All sorts of products have been sneakily downsized, instead of more rapidly raising their price. Meanwhile the US currency has been loosing value, due to printing more of it to cover government spending and creative banking practices.
I recently took apart my rechargeable Norelco shaver, to fix a broken battery connection. And discovered that the newest model I have, only uses a single AA size battery. Whereas the last one I used, had two cells. And the one cell probably isn’t high duration. Which explains why it can’t run the shaver for more than two days. I plan to replace the cell with a longer charge one. The company makes its profits from the overpriced blade replacements. $31!! So they skimp on the shaver’s gut’s quality. WOW! One battery less. That saved them what, 50 cents?
All these rechareable batteries act basically the same. No matter how they redesigned them. The newer makes (E2 or NiMH) may charge up a bit faster. Or not discharge so quickly, not even being used. But the rest of their curves pretty much match NiCds. What would be great, especially for this era of digital electronics, is if they had a built-in voltage regulator, in place of the missing battery goop. So those D cells ran at exactly 1.5v, until the very last minute when they shut down cold.
Problem is, most gear that’s super touchy about the voltage level, only use AA and AAA cells. Pretty tough to get a regulator chip inside their cases. And devices like phones, that are designed to use a rechargeable battery pack, already have the regulator. So these weak rechargeable D cells are pretty much a fool’s choice.
#29: Thanks!
I did that one from memory… It never occurred to me to Google it!
Rechargeable cells only put out 1.2 volts because that’s what the chemistry allows. Believe me, if they could make a 1.5v rechargeable cell, they would.
This is a deceptive practice — not everyone has the time or patience to closely examine the mAH ratings of every battery they buy, especially if there are some impatient kids standing by screaming, wanting their toys to work again.
The _real_ D-size cells are rated at over _11000_ mAH, by the way, more than four times the capacity of the fakes. If you’re grabbing some batteries for your flashlight (torch) or lantern for your weekend caving trip, you want to be SURE you get the right ones!
“This is Flight Control to Major Tom, your signal is getting weak!”
There is no explanation necessary. You will continue to buy our products after your protests.
If not, buy the superior Duracell products and recycle.
#27
“Ho boy – if we dissect dvorak.org, what do we find inside? Chris Pirillo?”
Maybe Chris Pirillo on downers or, more likely, half-caff lattes (with a surly twist) from Peet’s.
That guy is Leo Laporte charged on “caffeine”. Hell, they BOTH appear on camera 24/7 and both have small dogs that occasionally enter the office. Wicket and Ozzy are THE SAME DOG.
#27 LO really L.
#28 No. Instead of bitching and acting surprise on the obvious, I just bought the things I linked to. They work way better & all I have to do is… I know is something you might not know… recharge.
Mpg, Divx, XviD and the practice that different codecs are put into different containers. Like the batteries, you have to have the right players even though the “thing” inside is the same.
Last week someone “really needed” a “C” battery to run some diagnostic equipment. The local stores were out. I took an AAA battery and wrapped it in masking tape until it would fit in the battery holder. Same thing.
This guy is paying a lot for batteries. $3 for a AA battery? Is he living on a Caribbean island with huge tariffs?