Batteries: Procell vs duracell plus

[dwright2104]

In using 'Procell' and 'Super GP' batteries a lot.

Iv found that the procell have had a much better consistency in time before there dead. (Ususally about 6 hours on a UR2)

and the super GP batteries most have lasted much longer (sometimes unto 8-9 hours) than procell's but then some have lasted less than half the time running dead in about 2 hours use on UR2 with 58 head.

 

So if u need reliability I'd recommend procell's

[adam2]

Another reason IMO to favour procell over duracell is that the retail branded duracells are widely sold retail at high prices, there is therfore a considerable market in manufacturing and selling fake products that are probably not even alkaline, let alone genuine.

 

The procell products not being widely sold retail are hopefully not worth faking.

[grays85]

I have used these batteries on a couple of occasions (Duracell Procell), Procell is made by Duracell. They are inherently sold to bigger businesses and government organisations, where they cannot buy without going through stores etc..

 

Regardless of the data sheet, I find they on average last about 25% of the length of a standard battery, as such, useless for usage but ideal as a source of income for the supplier ,as the need replacing very quickly..

 

I've no idea what the NHS or Norwich Union pay for them but I assume that because they're supplied to the NHS and a huge corporation they're sold for more than standard of the shelf batteries..

 

I'd love to sell a side by side test done with another brand or even the high street equivalent...http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/mad.gif

[sam.spoons]

I have used these batteries on a couple of occasions (Duracell Procell), Procell is made by Duracell. They are inherently sold to bigger businesses and government organisations, where they cannot buy without going through stores etc..

 

Regardless of the data sheet, I find they on average last about 25% of the length of a standard battery, as such, useless for usage but ideal as a source of income for the supplier ,as the need replacing very quickly..

 

I've no idea what the NHS or Norwich Union pay for them but I assume that because they're supplied to the NHS and a huge corporation they're sold for more than standard of the shelf batteries..

 

I'd love to sell a side by side test done with another brand or even the high street equivalent...http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/mad.gif

 

Duracell say Procell and Duracell Plus are identical apart from branding. That info is repeated all over the web. The difference is that Procells are sold in a bulk pack not the expensive retail bubble pack hence the cheaper prices. I can buy a hundred for £22.

[timsabre]

Regardless of the data sheet, I find they on average last about 25% of the length of a standard battery, as such, useless for usage but ideal as a source of income for the supplier ,as the need replacing very quickly..

 

I can only think you've had a duff batch because my experience is that there is no difference between procell and duracell. As Sam says they are just available in bulk and branded differently to help prevent pilfering of stock...

[sam.spoons]

It would be a bit worrying if there were duff Procells out there, I buy them more for consistency and reliability than max powerhttp://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif

[timsabre]

It would be a bit worrying if there were duff Procells out there, I buy them more for consistency and reliability than max powerhttp://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif

 

indeed, I have never come across any duff ones, but how else to explain the assertion that they only last 25% of the time of a standard battery?

[Bobbsy]

I recall ONCE (I'm guessing about ten years ago--maybe more)when Procell did have a bad batch and that was a main topic of conversation in every technically based forum and newsgroup (remember newsgroups?) I visited. The problem was quickly rectified.

 

I certainly can't agree with the thought that Procells or Duracells only last 25% the duration of "standard" batteries (whatever "standard" might be since I've always thought of Duracell (and maybe Eveready) as being pretty much the standards.

 

As an aside, back in the UK I went through a phase of using Tesco own brand batteries--I tried some once when a delivery didn't come and they were excellent. Then, all of a sudden, they must have changed their OEM manufacturer because they went to c**p and I went back to Procells.

[sam.spoons]

Tescos and all the other OEM brands will buy from whoever is cheapest that week/month/year and get them branded with their name.

[benwillcox]

I've often wondered why rechargables are not commonly used for radio mics and the like, presumably there is some reason why this is not the preferable choice? Anyone know if this is for technical reasons such as capacity/discharge rate of rechargables vs alkaline batteries, or simply for reliability i.e. knowing that you're starting with a brand new fresh battery vs a rechargeable that may or may not be charged to full capacity?

I've hired sets of radio mics that come with a set of lithium polymer rechargeables which have worked fine, although there has been the odd duff battery that won't charge (maybe answering my own question) I can see that it would probably save money in the long run not to mention the environmental impact of throwing away hundreds of partly used batteries.

 

On similar lines, rechargeables are marketed by their capacity as we see ever larger capacity AA batteries appearing, 2500mAh, 3000mAh and even 3500mAh, but it seems that standard alkalines never have this information on the packaging. Again would be interested to know why this is the case and how long a rechargeable vs an alkaline would last in a typical radio mic.

[timsabre]

I've often wondered why rechargables are not commonly used for radio mics and the like

 

The main problem is the voltage of a NiCd/NiMh rechargeable is only 1.2V per cell rather than 1.5V. The way the cell voltage changes during discharge is also different. This means that the battery monitoring software does not work properly so you do not get good indication of battery state.

 

However if you use an intelligent charger which can identify faulty/failing batteries and always recharge after every show, this should not matter and I know of several people who successfully use rechargeables.

[Shez]

They are used successfully on a number of Broadway & West end shows amongst others. In that scenario with a dedicated crew, regular predictable show times / running times and lengths of runs, it's quite manageable. For more ad hoc use, it's rather more difficult - you need an absolutely fool proof strategy for charging and keeping fresh / used batteries separate, particularly as the metering systems don't give useful data for non-alkaline batteries. The self-discharge rate is quite high so they need to be freshly charged before use. The initial expense is quite high and will only be recouped if they see a lot of use. Higher capacity rechargeables are also too big to fit in many battery compartments - the sizing isn't as standard as one might hope.

I've trialled them on a smaller scale - they do work but on a larger scale (musicals), the numbers just don't work for me.

 

Edit to add: There are a number of theatre-related case studies here.

[Bobbsy]

The 1.2 volt thing was, indeed, a problem. However, modern battery technology has improved this situation and, as has been said, quite a few shows have now gone the rechargeable route.

 

However, note the recommendation of a "smart" charger. On a big show, battery management can become a real issue and the manpower involved in the charging and record keeping can be an issue as well.

[dmxlights]

I have been using rechargeable batteries now for a good few months and have no problem some radio mic you can tell them that it rechargable that in them and then you can use there battery gauge to see what left. I never had any problems at all. I did spend a good bit of money for a good battery charger. I get a good 8 hours out of them in Sure 58 wireless mics and have also used them trantec 5.5 (I think ) wireless body packs and also no problems and these packs only take one AA battery and I get about 8 hours also

[adam2]

The nominal capacity of a reputable AA alkaline cell is about 2.5 AH.

 

This is not normally placed on the packaging as it could be misleading in practice. The actual achieved capacity is very dependant on the discharge rate and on whether the discharge be continuous or intermittent, temperature and the lowest acceptable voltage are also very relevant.

 

In the case of a rechargeable AA cell, the capacity varies from as little as 0.5 AH to about 3AH, the claimed capacity is usually rather optimistic, but not grossly so in the case of reputable brands. The actual achieved capacity is influenced by discharge rate, temperature etc, but to a lesser extent than with disposable cells.