Types of Batteries: Choosing the Right Battery for Your Needs

With so many different types of batteries and devices on the market today, choosing the right battery for your specific needs can seem like a difficult task. However, although it might seem challenging, it’s surely not insurmountable, especially with the help of this official Battery Depot guide! Keep reading.

And, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d be happy to answer them.

The Ultimate Types of Batteries List

Types of BatteriesHere’s a look at the various types of batteries that we have in stock. Our inventory is both large and diverse, so we hope that you refer to this list for a bit of help determining which is best for your needs.

Cordless Phone Batteries

Cordless phone batteries are invaluable in your home, office, or apartment. There’s an array of cordless phone batteries for your AT&T®, General Electric, Panasonic, and Radio Shack phones in our inventory.

Watch Batteries

Watch batteries (also known as button cell batteries) are disposable batteries that can be used for multiple different watches. We carry watch battery replacements for Bulova, Citizen, Seiko, Swatch, and other watches, too.

Alkaline Batteries

An alkaline battery is a dry cell battery with an alkaline electrolyte of potassium hydroxide that’s commonly used to power a variety of devices, including alarm clocks, flashlights, smoke detectors, digital cameras, children’s toys, remote controls, radios, etc.

Lithium Batteries

Lithium batteries have lithium as an anode and are rechargeable batteries. You can also use lithium batteries to power a variety of devices, such as PDAs, pacemakers, watches, smartphones, thermometers, remote car locks, laser pointers, and more.

Power Tool Batteries

Types of Batteries

You’ll find power tool batteries for equipment from Black & Decker, Skil, Ryobi, Panasonic, Metabo, Milwaukee, Makita, Hitachi, DeWalt, Bosch, Craftsman, and so on.

Cell Phone Batteries

Don’t replace your cell phone when you can replace your cell phone battery. Cell phone batteries range in composition from lead acid to lithium ion. It’s easy to find a replacement for your iPhone, BlackBerry, HTC, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, or T-Mobile cell phone online!

Two-Way Radio Batteries

Regardless of whether you utilize two-way radios from Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood, Motorola, Radio Shack, Uniden, or any other communications company, we’ve got it.

Camera Batteries

It doesn’t matter if you’re a traveler, a hobbyist, a student, or a professional. We have the camera batteries you need for the prices you want. It’s really quite easy.

Rechargeable Batteries

Rechargeable batteries are affordable and provide convenience when you need to power up. Rechargeable batteries are available for 9 Volt, AA, AAA, C, D, SC, and many others. They’re also available in many common chemical compositions, including lithium, lithium ion, nickel cadmium, and more.Why throw your spent batteries away when you could just recharge ‘em instead? We recommend choosing a rechargeable battery if you go through a lot of batteries.

Other Types of Batteries

We also carry batteries that are compatible with laptops, household appliances, phones, e-cigarettes, industrial systems, and several other different technologies.

Picking the Right Battery in a Few Simple Steps

Step 1: Determine the exact specifications that your device requires. Look for info like voltage, capacity, number of cells, shape/size, and anything else that’s pertinent. This is the primary step.

Step 2: Read about the various options that are available. We’d recommend checking out the categorical pages on our site. For example, if you’re looking for a lead acid battery, we’ve got ‘em.

Step 3: If you need more precise directions, you can speak with a professional. We can help!

Contact Us Today at BatteryDepot.com with Any Questions

Although we tried to be as exhaustive as possible, we fully understand that we couldn’t cover everything there is to know about choosing the right battery for your needs in a single article. If you still have questions, simply reach out to our Battery Depot team right now. We look forward to hearing from you!

Rechargeable Battery vs Disposable Battery

Practically applicable batteries have been around for hundreds of years, but the rechargeable battery vs disposable battery discussion is a more recent development. The battery market is much more complicated today than it was at the dawn of the 19th century. With so many different shapes, sizes, and chemical compositions available, consumers are facing a few tough choices.

And one of those difficult choices is deciding between a rechargeable battery and a disposable battery. That’s why our Battery Depot team wrote this rechargeable battery vs disposable battery comparison.

Benefits of Rechargeable Batteries

Rechargeable Battery vs Disposable BatteryCost-Effectiveness

This is perhaps the first and foremost benefit of going with a rechargeable battery. After all, money speaks to everyone. The cost of buying all those AA and AAA batteries (or any other type, for that matter) can really add up. If you can reuse the same one over and over, you’ll save money.

Environmental Friendliness

The metaphorical cost of ditching all those spent battery cartridges into the local landfill can really add up, too. So, with a rechargeable battery, you’ll not only save yourself money, but you could contribute to saving the planet, as well. That’s what people call a win-win situation!

Benefits of Disposable Batteries

Low-Drain Situations

Here’s a good example: Some disposable alkaline batteries can last up to twice as long as comparable non-alkaline rechargeable models. That means that disposable technology makes sense for low-drain devices: smoke detectors, alarm clocks, remote controls, garage-door clickers, etc.

No Charger Necessary

Another perk of the single-use battery is that you don’t have to buy a charger. Not only can you save a few bucks, but you don’t have to spend your valuable time looking for the right one, either. Disposable batteries are simple: Put them in, take them out, throw them out, and repeat.

Drawbacks of Rechargeable Batteries: The Charger Conundrum

Rechargeable Battery vs Disposable BatteryThere are also drawbacks to both options in the rechargeable battery vs disposable battery comparison. Yes, there are drawbacks to rechargeable batteries (also called secondary batteries), believe it or not. The main one we’d like to emphasize here is the issue of the charger. Without the correct charger, a rechargeable battery is absolutely worthless! You won’t encounter this issue with disposable batteries.

Drawbacks of Disposable Batteries: Stockpiles of Spares

Last, but certainly not least, we’ll go over one of the major drawbacks to disposable batteries (also called primary batteries). If you want to sleep soundly at night, knowing that you can run your device tomorrow, you must keep a healthy reserve of them on hand. This is costly, and takes up lots of space!

Learn More About The Rechargeable Battery vs Disposable Battery Debate

We’d love to talk about the differences between the rechargeable battery vs disposable battery. If you have any questions about the rechargeable battery vs disposable battery debate, contact us at Battery Depot; we’d love to answer any of your questions.

How Long Do Laptop Batteries Last?

If you own a laptop, you probably rely on it for some pretty important stuff and should be aware of how long do laptop batteries last. Whether you need it for school assignments, office work, creative projects, keeping in touch with friends and family, or just having fun and exploring the internet, we know it means a lot to you. It can’t just die randomly!

That’s why many laptop owners are constantly asking themselves, “How long do laptop batteries last?” “How can I make a laptop battery last longer?” And on and on.

Our Battery Depot team wrote this helpful article to answer all those questions, and more. Best of luck!

How Long Do Laptop Batteries Last: 3 Important Things to Know

How Long Do Laptop Batteries LastThe first thing you need to realize about how long laptop batteries last is that the lifespan of a laptop’s battery depends on a wide variety of factors: the chemical composition of the battery, the age of the battery, its capacity (mAh), what types of programs you’re running on the laptop, and much more. It can range from one to six hours.

1. Many laptop batteries begin to fail within a year or two. 

Over time, your battery’s lifespan will decrease; in other words, its capacity will diminish. The typical laptop battery has about 400 charge cycles (i.e., recharges) in it before it starts to experience significant capacity losses. What a bummer!

2. However, you can maximize the life of your current battery. 

Here’s the good news. By following a few simple best practices, you can extend your battery’s projected lifetime. Contact us for more info.

3. We carry hundreds of laptop batteries at BatteryDepot.com! 

When it comes time to purchase a replacement battery for your laptop, you don’t have to choose one that’s produced by the same company that made your laptop. In fact, we have plenty of great third-party options in our inventory.

Laptop Battery Replacements

Here at BatteryDepot.com, we carry tons of different types of laptop battery replacements. In fact, we have over 600 different products in our massive laptop battery inventory. Here’s a convenient overview of what you can find online…

  • Laptop manufacturer: Acer, Apple, ASUS, Canon, Compaq, Dell, Fujitsu, Gateway, HP (Hewlett-Packard), IBM, Lenovo, Panasonic, Samsung, Siemens, Sony, Texas Instruments, Toshiba, etc.
  • Battery manufacturer: Sanyo/FDK, Dantona, Denaq, Panasonic, Sanyo, Tadiran, and UltraLast®.
  • Chemical composition: lithium (Li), lithium-ion (Li-Ion), lithium manganese dioxide (CR), lithium thionyl chloride (ER/TL/LS), or nickel-metal hydride (NiMH)—it’s completely up to you!

With that in mind, you know where to go if your laptop’s battery starts to run out of juice. When you shop with us, you can find high-quality products for affordable prices. Best of all, our laptop batteries last for as long as they claim. They won’t start to die before it’s time, so you can count on them to work.

Reach Out to Us at BatteryDepot.com with Any Remaining Questions!

We’d love to tell you more about our extensive inventory of replacement laptop batteries. If you have any more questions about “how long do laptop batteries last” get in touch with us today: You can email us, find us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Best Rechargeable AA Battery

The AA battery is one of the most popular batteries in the entire world, and there are many types, making it difficult to determine the best rechargeable AA battery. Pronounced double A, this Best Rechargeable AA Batterystandard-size single-cell cylindrical dry battery is commonly found in a wide variety of portable electronic devices, from simple flashlights and children’s toys to complex digital cameras and PDAs.

Due to its immense popularity, many consumers started to demand rechargeable AA technology. In other words, they wanted low-cost, environmentally friendly alternatives to the single-use, disposal AA batteries that they’ve come to expect. So, that’s what scientists created: rechargeable AA batteries.

Best Rechargeable AA Batteries Compared

These days, there are so many rechargeable AA battery types out there, including nickel-cadmium batteries (NiCd) and nickel-metal hydride batteries (NiMH). That’s why our team at Battery Depot created these comprehensive rechargeable AA battery reviews to help you determine the best rechargeable AA battery for your needs. Contact us with any further questions!

Dantona Rechargeable NiCd AA Battery

First, here’s an overview of some of the key specifications for one of our typical Dantona rechargeable NiCd AA batteries. In this case, it’s Item # SS-0315. Take a look…

  • Voltage: 1.2 V
  • Capacity: 1000 mAh
  • Quantity per package: 1

This Dantona reusable AA battery is an awesome option because it’s extremely affordable. At some battery distributors, you’ll have to pay an arm and a leg just for the products and services that you already deserve. That won’t happen at Battery Depot. Check out the prices on our website right now.

Panasonic Rechargeable NiMH AA Battery

Best Rechargeable AA BatteryNext, let’s take a closer look at the Panasonic rechargeable NiMH AA battery, which is one of the best products in our whole inventory: Item # SS-0965. Here you go…

  • Voltage: 1.2 V
  • Capacity: 2100 mAh
  • Quantity per package: 1

This Panasonic reusable AA battery is incredible because it’s completely fresh—it’s never been out of the box before! Lots of companies will actually try to sell you pre-owned and pre-used stuff, but it’s junk! Not at BatteryDepot.com. We only carry the freshest, highest quality products, especially our rechargeable AA batteries.

UltraLast® Green Rechargeable NiMH AA Battery

Finally, we’ll examine Item # SS-0255, which is a big pack of UltraLast® Green rechargeable NiMH AA batteries. This is a great example of our larger selection of UltraLast® rechargeable AA models.

  • Voltage: 1.2 V
  • Capacity: 2100 mAh
  • Quantity per package: 8

These UltraLast® Green reusable batteries are the way to go because they’re totally reliable and dependable. On certain websites, you’ll find so-called “rechargeable batteries” that don’t hold their charge as promised, or don’t even work in the first place. Not here! You’ll get what you pay for.

Choose The Best Rechargeable AA Battery Today

To put it plainly, our representatives would love to talk to you about finding the best rechargeable AA battery for your device. It doesn’t matter if you’re interested in Dantona, Panasonic, UltraLast®, or some other manufacturer.

We’re passionate about bringing you the best rechargeable AA batteries, and the best batteries, period.

If you’d like to learn more about any of the best rechargeable AA batteries mentioned above, or if you’d like to learn more about anything else that we have, simply reach out to us at Battery Depot right away!

Is My Lawn Mower Battery Dead?

Is My Lawn Mower Battery DeadWe’ve all been there before, and we know what it’s like to ponder “Is my lawn mower battery dead?”. Perhaps winter is coming to a close, and it’s time to mow your lawn again; perhaps you’ve been busy, and you just haven’t had time to take the thing out of the garage and get ‘er done; or, perhaps you’re borrowing your neighbor’s decades-old mower.

Regardless of the beginning, the ending is always the same. You go to start the engine, but all you hear is a dismal click; of course, one of your first thoughts is, “My lawn mower battery is dead.”

Yet, you’re not quite sure. After all, it could be the engine itself, it could be another part of the electrical system, or it could be some unknown factor. This raises the question, “Is my lawn mower battery dead?” Our team at Battery Depot wrote this article to help you determine that.

What You’ll Need to Troubleshoot Lawn Mower Battery 

Here’s a quick overview of a few simple tools you’ll need to figure out if your lawn mower battery is dead:

  • Battery charger for a 12-volt battery
  • Multimeter
  • Distilled water
  • Flathead screwdriver
  • Wrench

How to Check if Your Lawn Mower Battery Is Dead Steps:

Finally, we’ve arrived at what you’ve been waiting for. Here are six quick steps that you can follow to answer that crucial question: “Is my lawn mower battery really dead?”

  1. If the engine doesn’t crank, cranks too slowly, or makes a clicking sound, it might be completely dead.
  2. Remove the key and locate the battery. Make sure that the cables are tightly fastened to the battery (use the wrench).
  3. If your battery is of the wet-cell variety, make sure that the water level is up to the appropriate mark (refill with distilled water, if necessary).
  4. Test the battery’s voltage with the multimeter. If it’s over 12.7 DC volts, it’s probably fine; if it’s under 11.5 volts, it’s probably dead. Abide by the manufacturer’s directions for this step!
  5. Connect your battery to the proper charger. Let it charge for the correct amount of time.
  6. If the battery doesn’t charge up within eight hours, and you’ve completed all the other steps outlined above, then your battery is probably dead. Go out and buy a replacement, ASAP!

Dos & Don’ts of Lawn Mower Batteries

Here are a few tips and warnings: what to do and what not to do, as plainly as possible.Is My Lawn Mower Battery Dead

Tips: While storing your lawn mower battery, you should keep it at a full charge. Otherwise, if you store it without a charge for a long period, it’ll undergo sulfation, which could render it completely useless.

Warnings: Never refill the battery with tap water, as the minerals can damage it. You should also always follow the instructions that are outlined in the manufacturer’s handbook, down to the letter.

Lawn Mower Battery Replacements Online

If you have determined that your lawn mower battery is dead through the troubleshooting steps above, you will need to find an affordable lawn mower battery replacement. Luckily, BatteryDepot.com offers a huge selection of lawn mower batteries online. Browse our selection of lawn mower batteries and get your battery shipped fast, so you can get back to taking care of your lawn.

If you have any additional questions about lawn mower batteries, we’re the experts. Contact us today!

Goodenough’s New Battery Technology Could Improve Our Daily Lives

His name is Dr. John Goodenough. He’s a tenured professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering. He’s 94 years old, and he’s a superstar in the field of electrical engineering and battery technology.

His accomplishments are both numerous and far-reaching. He was a significant player in the identification and development of the lithium-ion rechargeable battery. He was also on the team that did the research that led to the creation of random-access memory (RAM), a crucial form of computer data storage.

battery technologyBut, he’s really done it this time. It looks like Dr. Goodenough has surpassed even his own lofty standard. He’s come up with a rechargeable battery that has up to three times as much energy density as a lithium-ion battery. Furthermore, this battery would charge faster, stay cooler, and cost less than its lithium-ion counterpart.

Our team at Battery Depot wrote this article to tell you how Goodenough’s new battery technology could improve our lives. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

What’s So Special About This Battery Technology?

There are two major chemical differences between Goodenough’s new battery technology and his old lithium-ion technology that account for their disparate energy densities.

First, the new tech utilizes a solid glass electrolyte, rather than a standard liquid electrolyte. Second, the new tech utilizes sodium ions, rather than the standard lithium ions.

Glass electrolyte: What are the advantages of a solid glass electrolyte? The electrolyte is the substance in a battery that produces an electrically conducting solution. Without the electrolyte, there’d be no ion flow, and therefore, no electricity. However, when a liquid electrolyte battery is charged too quickly, it can create metal whiskers or dendrites that short-circuit the whole reaction. This phenomenon doesn’t occur in Goodenough’s glass electrolyte battery. A glass electrolyte can also conduct at extreme temperatures (such as 0° Fahrenheit), whereas a liquid electrolyte can’t.

battery technologySodium ions: Another benefit of the glass electrolyte breakthrough is that it’s allowed scientists to use sodium ions instead of lithium ions. What’s the big deal about sodium ions? Well, sodium is a lot cheaper than lithium. Since the outrageously high prices of electric vehicle batteries is a big factor that’s preventing many drivers from making the transition…well, you get the picture.

How Could This Battery Technology Improve Our Lives?

To paint the clearest picture of how Goodenough’s new battery technology could significantly improve our quality of life, we’ll just quote the man himself:

“Cost, safety, energy density, rates of charge and discharge, and cycle life are critical for battery-driven cars to become more widely adopted. We believe our discovery solves many of the problems that are inherent in today’s batteries.”

Contact Us at BatteryDepot.com for More Information

Well, there you have it, folks; straight from the horse’s mouth! Nevertheless, we still understand that battery chemistry can be a tricky subject.

If you’d like some more information, our Battery Depot experts can help. Just contact us today to initiate a stimulating conversation.

How Do Batteries Work?

These days, batteries are practically everywhere. In fact, we’ve allowed our society to become totally dependent upon them. They’re so ubiquitous that most people take them for granted. Think about it: Do you really know how a battery works, or do you just count on it without a second thought? Our Battery Depot team wrote this article to address that pesky question of “How do batteries work?”

Before we dive into the specifics, we’ll give you a few hints. Contrary to some popular beliefs:

  • It’s not magic.
  • It’s not a government conspiracy.
  • There’s no pink bunny armed with a bass drum and a pair of retro shades.

How Do Batteries Work: Defining Battery Terms

How Do Batteries WorkThe most important step of any technical explanation of how do batteries work is actually establishing what the terms in question mean. Otherwise, when we say electrolyte, you might think that we’re talking about a red Gatorade; and when we say cathode, you might think that we’re talking about next year’s hottest baby name.

Anode: Negatively charged electrode (metallic conductor) that loses electrons to the cathode.

Cathode: Positively charged electrode (metallic conductor) that accepts electrons from the anode.

Electrolyte: Ionic solution that reacts with the two aforementioned electrodes to give them +/- charges.

Separator: Prevents electrons from flowing inside the battery (short-circuiting); instead, this forces them to flow through the wire (thus creating electricity and powering the attached device).

Electricity: The flow of electrons through a conductive path, such as a wire.

How Do Batteries Work: Chemical Reaction

How Do Batteries WorkAnd now for the moment we’ve all been waiting for: How do batteries work. 

The two electrodes are situated at opposite ends of a battery. They’re both immersed in an electrolyte fluid. For example, in a typical alkaline battery, the one electrode is comprised of zinc, while the other is comprised of manganese dioxide, and the electrolyte is potassium hydroxide.

This sparks a chemical reaction between the ions of the electrolytes and the metals of each respective electrode: One becomes the negatively charged anode (i.e., it has an excess buildup of electrons), while the other becomes the positively charged cathode (i.e., it has a proportional deficiency of electrons).

This means that there’s now an electrical difference between the anode and the cathode. In other words, the electrons that have built up in the anode want to move toward the electron-starved cathode.

However, there’s a separator to ensure that they don’t make this journey within the battery. By attaching a device to the battery (remember that you attach it at both the negative and the positive terminal), you’re creating a circuit, or, a path through which the electrons can travel from the anode to the cathode.

While they’re on their way, your device basically siphons off a bunch of them as a power source. And there you have it. Voila!

Reach Out to Our Team at BatteryDepot.com for More Information

Phew! That was a lot of info about how batteries work in a short amount of time. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us today.