I've had bad experiences trying to recharge alkaline batteries. I bought an expensive charger specifically designed to do this. Main problem was leakage, a couple of weeks after recharging, when the batteries were hidden away back in whatever unfortunately device I'd put them in. Also, the advertisement did not mention that to obtain the 10x life extension, you couldn't recharge from flat, but you had to keep topping up after each use. Even then, with good quality batteries, they leaked.

I made a charger for alkaline batteries using a Raspberry Pi. One hour on at low current, one hour off. Takes a day to recharge them but they don't charge back to 100%. I only recharge them a few times and then toss them. Works great and reduces the expense of buying new batteries every time the remote stops working. Never had an issue with them leaking, but I only recharge them a max of 3-5 times before tossing them. There are methods to safely charge them if you toss them after a max of 5 recharges -- really does help lower your battery expenses for remotes, toys, etc. You don't get 100% back but you do get something like 75-80% but it falls quickly so after five charges, it isn't worth it.

@wheely132 No, it's not. Especially if you don't know what you're doing. Alkalines can be recharged once or twice (but nowhere near to full capacity), after that it's not worth talking about. Every charge will make them more prone to leakage, so put em in things you don't mind beeing destroyed (like an alarm clock ;) ). If you're tired of buying batteries, there's something called RECHARGEABLE batteries. Go for them. They ARE worth their money and without the dangers.

I created my own "charger" with a timer circuit using an Arduino. This allows me to "pulse" charge (I set up my own on/off cycles in code). For a power supply I use an adjustable power supply (one that lets you modify current and voltage) this way you can set a tiny trickle charge. Just using the Arduino to turn power on and off through a MOSFET is such a simple thing and you can monitor the cell voltage through an ADC pin and display it using a cheap OLED display.

I remember a Canadian engineering professor had invented a device that can safely charge alkaline batteries in the 90's. It was sold in stores for a few months and I heard the battery companies bought the patent for millions and sacked the product. The patent should have run out by now and if you can find it, someone can start selling it again.

Thank you I was wondering what the best intervals would be for this.

recharging my alkalines for years in normal chargers, blew some up as a kid. Found a charger for alkalines in BART SMIT, a toy store.....(very long ago), good stuff

Video starts off showing a burn mark on the man's workbench. Doesn't instill a lot a confidence in me.

Thank you sooooo much! I will try this. I am on a small income, hate throwing things away as well. I appreciate your video!

Nice viddy. Good advice on keeping the alkalines in the charger for only an hour.

awesome little system for the fam man !

I was just thinking of recharging my depleted alkaline batts as well and buying them and throwing away is just so wasteful and expensive. So thank you for your video and will attempt to do the same. Thanks for the video and nice name for your youtube channel. Cheers - From Thailand

i recharged a generic homelife alkaline batteries AA with success used 2 hr intervals im planning on getting a extension cord, a Paragon 8045-00 or 8045-20 refrigeration time clock so i can get 1 to 2 hr charge intervals as i have to wire the clock when the clock trips into defrost will energize the plug end of the cord connected to the battery charger as you can charge them 60, 90 minutes. as you can get the paragon 8045-00 clocks on ebay an 8145-00 will work but has a defrost termination solenoid thats not used. when i get the clock ill set it up for 4 defrost/charge intervals per day and 60 minutes. it should work.

Saw the bench pad I said "bet he builds drones or planes" looked in your playlist boom...

does all alkaline rechargeable cause i have a alkaline but its japanese the color of it is gold and theres a little sign fujitsu

yes....this helped greatly. ..thanks man

Fan cooling?

all these comments about exploding batteries in your face. even tho that is a very small chance you could prevent any injury by not having your face next to the charger while its on!! i mean seriously people the risk has to be lower than operating a kitchen stove right!??!

What is the total charge time and what power rating is the charger that you're using?

I actually did this a long time ago with button batteries for a small toy I had. I'd charge then till they got warm then let them cool and do it again.

i have a charger i bought almost new from a good will it had the box and all but it charges alkaline as well as ni-cd and ni-mh but it seems to work alright i think its called rezap

Hello I'm buylding one too can you tell me your sources and the votage that flows trough the batteries ? the current ? PWM ? Please Please Please And what method do you use to check if the batterie is Chaged ? How to mesure the Wh ?

So what if I charge them for an hour then put them in the freezer

Cool! Thanks!

It's not just about current ampage is it ? I thought the secret to re-charging Alkalines was the pulsed frequency of the current as applied to the battery, or am i just whistling dixie ? Nice Vid !

Low voltage mixed with pulsing is safe! Though it will take time

You said some batteries take less time than other but didn't specify. It would help if you mentioned the length of time different types take on the average to fully charge.

What about larger cells? My Enercell (Radio Shack) charger will charge the alkaline AAA, AA and 9V but won't bring the D's back to life (I don't know about C's because I don't have any).

What is the total charge time for the alkaline batteries? AA and AAA

Thank you! Can you show a before and after multimeter test on the alkaline batteries, to prove that their charge came back?

Actually you can shorten the recharge cycle by taking the battery after one hour charging, put it in a "ziplock" bag and into the freezer for 15 minutes, then for another one hour recharge (5 hours for "AA") (2.5 hours "AAA")

Thanks

@Fearlessthinker Thanks!

have you ever tried to recharge a 9 volt battery ?

I have no idea why or if anyone else did here in the comments - but i BURST INTO LAUGHTER when you SIGHED at the start of the video because you know how ridiculous the scam of a battery industry is and the only thing closely following is the printer cartridge epidemic hahahahahaha

I used to have a charger for these types of batteries (back in the 1990's), and after poor results I eventually had to get rid of it. Recharged "non-rechargeables" proved to be unreliable - The new charge usually didn't last very long, some leaked, and others wouldn't recharge at all. For the best results, buy "rechargeables" instead - No leaks, time between charges is more consistent, and no worries about whether the battery is too deeply discharged.

Nicd and nimh only charge to 1.2 v. Current is important but voltage is too.. alk goes to 1.5+ v

thanks

i didn't think it was possible to do that thanks.

I tried 8 cells. One did pop.

What about lithium batteries?

I went to settings on this video and increased the speed to 1 1/2 times faster. Now it's watchable.

I charged some 9V and AAA and as far as i've tried, pulse charging is the only one that works, else it kind of saturates and stops absorbing charge. My home made CC charger does 33% 3s cycles. And slow seems to be the norm, if i give them too much, like 100mArms they'll leak even if they dont get hot, or leak after a few days after charging.

Also, I put the whole charger and batteries in a tin cookie box just in case they leak or burst into flames while I'm not there to oversee.

Use a weaker transformer?

It shouldn't take 5 hours for such a battery to cool.

I tried forcing 1000 milliamps through the akaline battery but I heard a hissing sound so I stopped it.

Ya i have a charger that claims that it can recharge alkaline batteries and it does. I checked to see the current but dont remember how much it was but any ways i tested the capacity of a bunch of batteries and tested after the recharge i think i was getting back like 60% to 80% each time to I was not seeing them being real useful after like 5 charges

Yes, nimh are 1.2 volts. All types of rechargeables have good and bad qualities. Here are some for nimh. nimh good: steady longer plateau - abrupt drop off many recharges can be charged very fast safely. (about 30 min) nimh bad: doesn't have the "punch" like a new alkaline or fully charged nicad may not fit in device properly (slightly larger dimensions) loses .3 volts per week while not in use if all voltage is lost battery appears non rechargeable - it must be hit with high current to fix.

I USE A BUDDY L CHARGER 🔌 TO CHARGE ALKALINE BATTERIES 🔋 AND RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES 🔋 IT WILL TELL YOU WHEN IT IS READY OR NOT A GOOD BATTERIES OR PUT IN BACKWARDS BUT IT WILL NOT DO 9VOLT BATTERIES 🔋

some batteries get weaker and will not take that some battery charger current like alkline batteries which are very dangerous

Might sound silly, but could you put the charging unit in a refrigerator?

Would a thermal sensor work? Have it shut off if it gets to a certain temperature and then start it back up when it cools down again below a certain temp?

I little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and people following you are going to end up with leaking batteries. A correct alkaline charger will charge for a while, and then give a small discharge. During discharge, any gasses produced will be re-absorbed. I think the ratio is about 10 charge units to 1 discharge, so the net effect charges your battery. If you use a NiCAD or NiMH recharger, that re-absorption won't occur, and leakage is likely.

Tried what idea?

Recharging traditional alkaline batteries is a waste of time unless you enjoy it as a hobby and can do it safely. The charging current must be set too low for it to be effective and since the capacity is much larger than similar nicad and nimh batteries the wait is way too long. Obviously this guy loves tinkering and has a lot of batteries. The timer will prevent an overheating type of disaster but that amount current for one hour will cause it to crystalize and die too fast for the effort.

That’s a soldering iron burn isn’t it?

Hello, how safe is this method? I found many comments on internet these kind of batteries can cause fire when you try to recharge. Should I be afraid?

the trick is to only recharge batteries that have about at least 50 percent power in them, they seem to work just fine in a nice charger, the dead battery will not work or will start getting hot and that's how they leak and could (unlikely) explode!

so ideally, one could build a charger that senses the temperature of the batteries and when it goes too high it turns off and waits till they cool down a lot then turns back on. what v?

Well, this is all a bit iffy, doubtful, debatable, questionable, problematic and dubious, I suppose ;-) A different approach would be to use ALL the load, that the batteries contain by using a simple step up converter as I show it in my Video 30. It sucks them out. Batteries considered as empty just have to low a voltage to let devices work properly though they still contain half of their total charging.

Cant you just use a dimmer switch to lower the volts?

At the end with the electricity you have consuming to recharge them and ect... it's worth the trouble???

i do something like this with a sm. solar panel

Ok, I have to try this. Firstly because I have a shed load of these 'non' rechargeables hanging around. And secondly, I have just purchased "Electronics for Dummies"! So I qualify twice. X¬D

I just used one of them battery chargers you get for $10 at Walmart it does come with rechargeable batteries. I charged a Panasonic battery and it didn't heat up or leek the engerzier batteries don't charge very good

I tried this with an old NiCad charger I had and two almost dead batteries. I plugged it into as timer set for 30 minutes every 6 hours. One battery still leaked and one was 'recharged'. With practically no investment I believe this will save money on batteries for the long term.

and quadruple A. as in (AAAA) batterys. 5mm * 3.5mm.

you say don't let them get hot but what about cooling them down while charging? have you tried some kind of cooling method?

For people who need the full 1.5 volts per cell... there *are* Rechargeable Alkalines out there. You can find them periodically on Woot. I got some there and they work fine.

They WILL start to leak after a couple of charges.

I would suggest a cup of coffee!

that intro sigh.

So... Add up the cost of chargers, timers and higher electric bills (from all the charging) and you could buy a room FULL of AA's & AAA's.

2018

I put 4 duracells on for maybe 30-45 minutes a day and they leaked and partially exploded. :( They are well designed to not be rechargeable...

I have a question: What is the cost of the electricity needed to recharge the batteries, and does the savings outweigh the cost of buying the batteries? In other words, how much are you really saving? Remember, your time and cost to do all this is part of the overall equation too... just curious.

Just use the RayOVac Rechargable Alkaline Charger WITH a piece of aluminum foil and an alkaline battery... Works AWESOME.

You *can* just throw them on a regular charger. But you shouldn't because they might explode.

Can you test them with a multimeter and see what voltage you are charging them to? I bought a cheap charger and it is only raising them to 1.3 which isn't very useful.

what about improving the seal?

I have a USB Li-ion battery power will that work for AA batteries and aaa batteries I use it for my vape mod batteries

Why bother when you can buy like a pack of 48 AA alkaline batteries from costco for like $13?

*INHALE INTENSIFIES*

WARNING. My akaline charger works fine, but charge em too many times and they leak, the damage this causes it`s just not worth it. nearly ruined my Maglite and my Black & and Decker screwdriver, Kodak.Panasonic and Sony are all good from the pound shops. also i have my doubts on some Duracell and Energiser batteries from ebay.

theres a battery charger that you can recharge throw away battery's like 100 cycles i saw it on diy network about 50 bucks but it works great

YO DA MAN!

Because of you my house burned down 😭😭😭

so, just put them in a battery charger... Like a rechargeable battery...

I have to say I tried your idea and ended up with exploding batteries. I used Duracell which are the best batteries you can buy in UK.

I put my charger with alkaline's in the fridge and charge.

just had one explade on me! i wasnt even trying to recharge it! all i did was put about 5 rechargables in the same radio controller with one (near dead) alkaline. scared the piss outa me!

WELL THAT'S TIME I'LL NEVER GET BACK ! WHEN YOU COME UP WITH SOMETHING BETTER THEN POST IT !

some battery chargers are junk lets get it straight

Ok people ignore this video my advice will cost you some money but 1 buy a top of the line smart charger and 2 go buy your selves Panasonic eneloop rechargeable batteries I still have some from over 8 plus years that the kids did not loose still going strong to this day I just ordered a few hundred dollars worth of Panasonic AA and AAA batteries as well as 8 c and D expanders thst the AAs will now work in aa devices c devices and d devices all off of just the AAs I now have I was done with rechargeable batteries after using duracell and energizers brands they worked great at first but after a year maybe 2 both brands shit the bucket eneloops r the top notch kings of the rechargeable brands on the market they don’t have the highest mah like others but they will actually last for years and years I can’t say how long as I’ve only owned them and still using mine thst are almost 9 years old and still going as strong as the day I bought em

thats dangerous

I doubt it that he recharged those Alkalines. If you notice, the small charger has 2 lights blinking. When you connect a non rechargeable battery in a Nikel Cadmium or Metal Hydride battery, the charger senses a non recharger battery, and caused it to stop the charging cycle after several seconds. You will know when your batt charger start blinking its lights

Storing Alkaline battery after charging will result to a drainage in a short period of time.

find Arduino Battery Charger ABC on manciobox, search it on google

I fell asleep 😴 watching thisssssssss