RedBrain

April 22, 2010 at 12:09pm

That case really does not look all that explosion proof.

timmyw

April 22, 2010 at 8:34am

This isn't some great innovation; as others have pointed out, there have been changers like this decades. Now with the emphasis on green technology you will probably have people snapping these up.

However, read it closely. You can change an akaline UP TO TEN times. Big Freakin' Deal.

Lets do a quick comparison: I can get a four pack of rechargable Ni-MH AA for $14 at my local battery store (only $20 with a charger). A 36 pack of akaline AA will set me back $13.50. So, with this fancy charger that would be like getting 360 batteries. Meanwhile those four rechargeables can be recharged perhaps 500 times each, so that four pack is like getting 2000 batteries.

So, ignoring the cost of the charger: $14/2000 uses vs. $13.50/360 uses. You are clearly much better off buying rechargables and using them, than sticking with akalines and buying an expensive charger. I suppose this charger is better than just throwing those akalines away, but using rechargables are 5X cheaper, and produces 50X less waste than using this charger.

Do what your Mother Earth would tell you do--Buy Rechargeable Batteries and use them. Happy Earth Day!

MrBlonde81

April 21, 2010 at 11:51pm

I had something called a Buddy L charger to recharge my Gameboy's Alkaline batteries when I was a kid.  Probably saved my family 10 times the cost of the machine.  My dad dug it out of an old box and now he is using it.

MarioJP

April 21, 2010 at 9:14pm

You can actually use the la crosse to charge alkaline cells. Just got to charge it at 200mA and definitely monitor it. I did not fully charge the cells however just enough to see if la crosse could charge alkalines. apparently it does lol.

Pentium 0

April 21, 2010 at 3:51pm

When i was little i used to do this all the time! It actually worked but many leaked. I wonder if i could try this with my Lacrosse BC-900...

HeartBurnKid

April 21, 2010 at 3:22pm

I could swear I saw some "alkaline battery chargers" being sold a few years ago... wonder what happened to those.

gmvolk

April 21, 2010 at 3:11pm

...That darn spam filter is getting annoying. Had something similar to this years ago.  It would recharge standard
AA,AAA,C and D batteries as well as NiCad.  I used it for years until
it finally died.  Worked very well, don't remember how much I paid for
it at the time, but I would guess it was under a 100.  There was
something similar from one of the major battery makers, but they
claimed it would only work with their batteries.  Never tried it and
don't know if it is still on the market or not.

Atomike

April 21, 2010 at 2:31pm

Meh - seems pricey.

$60 is too high. The up side: someone else will come out with something similar at $15 in a year.

watsi

April 21, 2010 at 2:12pm

I'll definately buy a few chargers.