The Best AA Battery // Cold Tested

[@yarr_bro]

Wow. Never knew I’d ever need or find such a thorough review of different branded AA batteries but here I am. Absolutely amazing review. Exactly what I needed

[@caromailloux4224]

Haha we're adults now

[@masonspies6057]

Yeah I got my energizer max batteries, and in my meta quest 3s the controllers came with these "heybright" branded batteries in them, and I wanted to see what the better battery was cause they have lasted a great amount of time, but I can't find anything on the heybright batteries. But I think I'm gonna get some energizer lithium batteries for them, that or some good rechargeables.

[@KingMacintosh2]

5:07 nice honorable mention. It doesn't matter how good durabombs seem if they have a 50/50 chance of destroying your shit.

[@765outdoors]

Yes! I stopped using them because of that itself.

[@MISTERPRESIDENTELECT]

How dare you! President's choice batteries should be saluted. They stay honest longer than most politicians... 40 seconds..

[@chicken4681]

🤣🤣🤣

[@graphicsman10]

Great test! In th leakage, I will never use Duracell again. It has wrecked clocks & electronics. While they did send a check for the cost of the damaged items, they mentioned not to leave batteries installed. Just thinking, how would a clock keep time when you need to remove it. In the final part of the clip you did show leakage but which of the two brands that didn't leak were they?

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Thank you. I didn’t and can’t test leakage. It’s really dependent on draw, temperature and humidity. Your the 3rd person to say Duracell is the worst but I would need a controlled room to properly test leakage due to their being so many variables. They meant remove a battery when not in use which can’t possibly apply to a clock but I would say Duracell is cheating out on their battery components. A battery not in use wouldn’t matter if it’s in the package or a electronic with 0 draw so that’s a poor excuse.

[@rdpfc2155]

That's funny. Energizer batteries used to be my "go to" battery, but after loosing some rather expensive electronics to prematurely leaky batteries, I quite using them. I switched to Duracells and have had better luck and improved runtime. Note: I have tried some of the Energizer Lithium batteries and they performed fine but are too expensive for me.

[@ToolsThatBuild]

@@rdpfc2155 yeah failure and leakage have so many different variables depending on where your located. I agree the lithiums are pretty pricey, I mostly use them in anything that needs batteries outside in -40 C otherwise indoors I can’t justify the price.

[@KingMacintosh2]

​@@rdpfc2155 No, I think you're confused. There is no major evidence of Energizer batteries leaking more than usual. There is endless evidence and antidotes of Duracell failures.

[@mikek2969]

I ran my own test using handheld portable fans using 2AA batteries. Staple's NXT brand lasted 8hr 16min, followed by Energizer Max at 7h 17min, and then Amazon Basics at 7h12min. Duracell was 4th at 6hr53min, Energizer Lithium shockingly in 5th place at 6h38min, Great Value at 6hr25min, NOMA at 5hr19min and Panasonic at 4hr34min. I didn't have home depot brand or PC batteries.

[@ToolsThatBuild]

That’s awesome

[@RandomStuffWithBill]

I'd be curious to see kirkland in the mix...

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Kirkland changes suppliers quite often, same as Amazon basics. Sometimes your getting an energizer sometimes a Duracell etc. the test wouldn’t be accurate if it was viewed later in the year because it could be a different battery in the same Kirkland wrapper

[@VOLTRONDEFENDER4440]

Omg can you do a update video on Duracell power boost?

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Thanks For the suggestion I’ll see what I can do

[@bentlyist]

Great test, thanks. I really like the cost of running each battery included!

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Thank you, hope it helps.

[@GrabLifeByDaPoosy]

​@@ToolsThatBuild What tool are you using in the video?

[@ToolsThatBuild]

@@GrabLifeByDaPoosy it’s a battery charger with discharge function. For these purposes it’s only discharging the batteries to 0 because obviously they are not rechargeable.

[@ToolsThatBuild]

@@GrabLifeByDaPoosy I have not. I got mine from Amazon.

[@GrabLifeByDaPoosy]

@@ToolsThatBuild Thank you for the quick response and good luck with your channel.

[@kimsengchhory1354]

You should do a comparison with Kirkland Signature batteries.

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Good idea thanks for the input

[@hadi27O]

great, but it'll be better if you include panasonic evolta, i wonder is it will actually surpass energizer max because there's not much battery test comparison out there including these battery.

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Hey thank for the feedback. Those batteries aren’t available in my country.

[@johnnybarbar7435]

AC/Delco are 31 cents each for AA and 25 cents for AAA. They are nice 10 yr shelf life alkalines for the price and I have never had one leak in storage like the Rayovacs do occasionally.

[@juandavidrebolledo3140]

Nice EBL Battery charger, would you share the exact model, I can´t find, niether in the EBL web page. TIA

[@ToolsThatBuild]

EBL TC-X Pro available on Amazon

[@GeorgeHuMIT]

@@ToolsThatBuild Unfortunately it's unavailable on Amazon and seems like they don't sell it anymore. It is still on the EBL website. But the only place that I could find it was on Alibaba for $106! Too expensive.

[@cptmike90]

Also a good test would be Kirkland costco and the harbor freight thunderbolt edge

[@caoimhin7122]

What model of tester is that? Where can I find one? Also, could you repeat this test with other chemistries like NiMH, etc.?

[@BronzeLincolns81]

would like to know this as well. went to EBL's website and this particular model isn't there.

[@ToolsThatBuild]

It’s EBL TC-X Pro available on Amazon

[@pwhv]

amazing test man

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Thank you I appreciate that

[@troywruck]

I live in Saskatchewan, a very cold climate, and have only been using the Energizer Ultimate Lithium's for smart locks which I have on my house and several rentals that I manage. While there is no question they outlast all other alkaline batteries that I've tried, which is important because nobody has a key on them when the batteries fail, but the price has become ridiculously expensive since the beginning of Covid. In essence, this was not a fair test because there was only one lithium and it had to be no surprise that it would have outlasted all the alkalines in both environment. I'd love to see a test of some off brand lithium batteries in comparison to the Energizer's.

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Hey this test was done in Alberta actually. The battery prices were done at the time of the video (2 years ago) as I purchased them all myself locally. There isn’t many off brand lithium batteries, so there isn’t much to test. If you google lithium aa batteries Canada very few come up besides energizer and the ones that do a lot are re packaged energizers. The test is as fair as possible and as relevant to the majority of people world wide it could be.

[@troywruck]

I shouldn’t have said the test wasn’t fair. It’s a great video with a valuable outcome and if nothing else I know to keep using the Energizer Ultimate’s. I have contemplated trying some of the unknown brands I can get on Amazon but they’re only about 25% cheaper and I’m not confident they’ll last a winter. It’s a wonder Duracell hasn’t come out with a competitive lithium!

[@charlschuck6]

Wonder how AA lithium recharable batteries compare to this kind of test I mean here we saw energizer wish Duracell and some other brands had lithium rechargeable chemistry . So impressed by the results I noticed the energizer regular sucks but this new lithium non reuseable is long lasting and I did tested the voltage there’s minor cons to that for some applications but overall great battery .

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Ya for high energy demands it’s the best. Slow draw sometimes requires different battery options. The eneloop batteries are the best rechargeable as far as runtime and reliability are concerned.

[@christopherleubner6633]

If it is something spendy where leaking can be costly, spend the extra cash and use those energizer lithium batteries, also recommend these for mission critical stuff.❤

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Agreed

[@ChosenOne9387]

I need some for my night vision binocular

[@AUCTIONCAT2011]

Can you do some kirkland batteries?

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Kirkland changes who makes their batteries under contract too often to test. By the time I film edit and publish I can’t stand behind the results

[@hapskie]

What type charger are you using? I liek it has a screen and can do discharge capacity tests.

[@hapskie]

Found it! It's the 'EBL TC-X Pro Touch LCD Universal Battery Charger For NiMH/NiCd/Li-ion/LiFePO4 Rechargeable Batteries'

[@ToolsThatBuild]

@@hapskie you got it

[@noimagination99]

@@hapskie Thank You! I went to the EBL website and saw nothing like it.

[@hapskie]

@@noimagination99 I wasn't able to get it either, but found another one similar which you might want to check out: ISDT C4 EVO. It's around 60 bucks

[@Rich10000]

I've had a lot of amazon ones leak which is why i like duracell. You dont want a battery leaking an an expensive piece of equipment

[@NCF8710]

Duracells leak too! ALL alkaline batteries leak. I'll never use alkaline batteries in any device worth more than the batteries themselves. They are disposable batteries for disposable devices. The only battery shown here that won't leak is the Energizer Ultimate Lithium.

[@JohnOlsen-mq6fj]

You should do a test with only Heavy Duty batteries

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Good idea I’ll look into it

[@markjou9799]

I still prefer my Eneloop rechargeable batteries that I have had for 10+ years now.

[@5jjt]

I swore off rechargeable batteries after my flashlight left me stranded in the middle of the woods. They're too temperamental.

[@TG-wb2kl]

Varta is strong

[@TheRandom-h7g]

I say use them but keep a pair of non rechargeable energizer lithiums in your pack as they can standby for a long time

[@fra93ilgrande]

Duracell Optimum the best not lithium battery! 💪🏻🐰🔋🔝

[@RoutinePlumbingLLC]

rayovac is also a big player. why wasnt it included?

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Energizer owns and produces rayovac as of 2019. I didn’t want to test too many and make the video any longer so I tried not to double up on sub brands.

[@RoutinePlumbingLLC]

@@ToolsThatBuild so would you say that they are equal? TBD?

[@ToolsThatBuild]

@@RoutinePlumbingLLC depends which line of Energizer we’re comparing to but in theory they should be the same. For now the safe answer is TBD. I’ll be sure to add them to my next video.

[@kismat_rana]

bought godox tt350 ttl flashlight and recommend was RoHS battery in their catalogue but hard to find RoHS battery in amazon !! Can anyone clear / recommend me RoHS battery ?

[@ToolsThatBuild]

You can buy batteries for that flash at camera stores. Or just Google godox batteries. There’s lots of places selling them

[@botrax]

Energizer Lithium

[@nicmo6913]

can you do test with the top 3 compare to thunderbolt edge?

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Thunderbolts similar to the ones I talked about in the beginning are a slow discharge rate. Great for things like clocks and remote controls but not so much for anything with a higher draw demand.

[@nicmo6913]

Thanks

[@UrbyTuesday]

@@ToolsThatBuild So, what would be the best all around to put into my various TV remotes? Roku, Spectrum Cable, Samsung TV, Yamaha Stereo Receiver. Assuming these are all slow discharge - I want to find the ones that must be changed the least and run for the longest!

[@coreyhaynes2975]

Our nearest dollar tree has alkaline plus sunbeam brand batteries and dollar general has Eveready gold alkaline.

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Yes, the sunbeams are a slow drain as I mentioned in the video and the everyday gold is the same as energizer plain alkaline batteries also mentioned in the video

[@coreyhaynes2975]

@@ToolsThatBuild maybe I got you confused with another video because I thought you said that dollar store batteries were not alkaline.

[@ToolsThatBuild]

@@coreyhaynes2975 no problem, In this video anyway I said they weren’t tested for the reasons above in slow use devices the sunbeam may be good but in these tests they would be a fair test. And I didn’t want to test a bunch of different off brand energizers.

[@2oswalds]

Everready and raovac perform very different from energizer in project farms’s. tests.

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Same factory line different wrapper, PJF test was pre 2019 before they merged companies, it’s not really a relevant video anymore.

[@Felix_Tan]

Why not try Energizer Max Plus?

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Wasn’t available at the time locally. I tried to pick the largest variety of batteries I could get at the time.

[@RogerThat1637]

Do you know how Up & Up compare to these?

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Short answer is No. We don’t have Target in Canada. Up and Up is made by one of the big companies in a different wrapper similar to Amazon or Home Depot. but how they actually stack up I can not say.

[@RogerThat1637]

@@ToolsThatBuild thanks for the response.

[@AshHairDiva]

Thank you for this

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Hope it helps

[@edwardmonsariste4050]

Dismissing the Thunderbolt Edge is a disservice. It is not the cheap Harbor Freight low discharge battery. It has outperformed Energizer and Duracell in many tests from other KZbin channels. Maybe reconsider doing another test that includes the Thunderbolt Edge. You might be surprised at its performance.

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Hey, it depends on the device your using it in. It is a low discharge battery and it is sold at Harbour freight. If your using it in a clock or a remote control then yes any low discharge will outlast. It wasn’t tested because on a discharge meter it will die quickly because of the way it drains them. And it also wasn’t tested because it’s only sold in USA and not everyone is from USA myself included so I have no access to purchase them. I have seen the tests with them being used and I don’t see the need to repeat them. They wouldn’t rank well in these type of tests.

[@edwardmonsariste4050]

@@ToolsThatBuild thanks for your reply. Again, you are not correct that it is a low discharge battery. Harbour Freight sells a battery that is called Thunderbolt Magnum that is a low charge battery. This is not that battery. Thunderbolt Epic is a battery that competes with Energizer and Duracell on every level. Harbour Freight should really drop the Thunderbolt Magnum line. It is a bottom feeder battery. I understand that you cannot purchase the Thunderbolt Epic battery where you live. That would be a more understandable statement than just dismissing the Thunderbolt Epic outright.

[@ToolsThatBuild]

@@edwardmonsariste4050 ahh I see well then I honestly can’t comment on how it would perform. TBH I can’t even find much information on those batteries. It always brings up the magnum ones and not the epic. Sorry about the confusion and hopefully you can find some decent American people who can or have tested them!

[@thestreamreader]

I came to this video because the Thunderbolt Heavy Duty in yellow that sit in my mice leak. I don't think I can trust HF batteries now because they have destroyed my expensive mice. So its hard to take the risk. Is there a good way to test batteries for leak issues? I would love to do this before loosing out on my expensive stuff.

[@kygent508]

Who has best shelf life?

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Unfortunately that completely depends on storage temperature, exposure to uv light and humidity. The best will be different for everyone’s situation/where they live.

[@AS-ih2dk]

Was simply looking for which battery ran the longest in a sspread sheet or on-screen, compared to the others. My home has never frozen, and the cents-per-minute seems moot with the small variance in cost. This video is named "Best AA Battery" but I couldn't find a plain "here's the best run time"

[@ToolsThatBuild]

It’s in there 2:35 to be exact. That’s just the results for longest lasting battery at normal room temperature. Should be exactly what your asking for. It’s right before the cost break down per cents.

[@dariousgraham6438]

😂 I’m to drunk for this

[@JameeluAleeyuAleeyu]

How much price one pieces how much 200 faces

[@chuckbam3588]

You don't know my coast so just the performance is all that matters. What if #5 was on sale ?

[@ToolsThatBuild]

At 2:34 in the video it has the ranking of each batteries strictly runtime at room temperature. It’s before the cost break down. The runtime for each battery doesn’t change on cost so even on sale you can see what your getting runtime wise and decide if the sale is worth it to you or not. The runtime ranking and cost per runtime rankings are different.

[@glyn2370]

Duracell optimum are rubbish. I've got those in my remotes in the bedroom. They've run down already, I only put them in beginning of January.

[@ToolsThatBuild]

For the cost per battery I would agree

[@shavonnamccullough7380]

I think the best was the Duracell

[@Iwillrarelymakevideos]

btw i thought you meant the longest lasting one. not the money. sorry dude.

[@ToolsThatBuild]

All good!

[@Dark_side9999]

should have tested thunderbolt edge

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Thunderbolts similar to the ones I talked about in the beginning are a slow discharge rate. Great for things with long slow draws like clocks and remote controls but not so much for anything with a higher draw demand. Not really comparable for these tests.

[@shots-shots-shotseverybody2707]

Throw in the *fly by night" battery and the "riprap" brands

[@toribowman5116]

I would prefer using my rayovac rechargeable batteries then my alkaline batteries

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Thanks for the feedback good to know

[@ChosenOne9387]

I like Duracell quantum they lasted longer than Energizer Max in my night vision binoculars

[@ToolsThatBuild]

Yeah that’s what the test results indicated in the video. They are quite pricey though.

[@computerjantje]

thank you. I am desperately seeking a replacement for the now stopped Ikea Alkaline which was by far the best battery for its price. As a professional in live sound I have to have reliable alkaline batteries and Ikea was the top of the top. The always overrated (years of marketing payed of) and hugely overpriced Duracell deserves to go out of business as soon as possible. No I cannot switch to rechargeable. It would mean I have to recharge each battery before a stage day and rechargeable s don't like it if you keep charging them if they are not empty. They are simply unreliable. You think they will hire me again if the artist his mic started dropping out in the middle of a concert? 100% reliability is the key. I hate Ikea for stopping their battery :)

[@ToolsThatBuild]

No doubt the IKEA batteries were really good, I think they only sell rechargeable for environmental reasons now. Hopefully this helps you get a battery to keep those artists going!

[@computerjantje]

@@ToolsThatBuild Thank you for your reply :)

[@dcspangler8025]

Costco Kirkland.

[@peterdolkens669]

Where's the AAA review :( Best AA review on youtube, but the AAA reviews are painful1

[@ToolsThatBuild]

I’ll look into it, maybe that will be my next video thanks

[@stickman-1]

In my experience, the Duracell's leak the most. I have had unopened pkgs way w/in the "best by" date and they still have leaking cells. Also your test seems to go down to .85V. In my experience once a battery gets down to about 1.2V it's mostly useless for anything that has a motor. LEDs and Clocks will go down to under 1V and still work, but 1.2 is mostly my lower limit.

[@xrbperformance4290]

2:45 why is the lithium at 2.5 cents per minute in number 2? you pay less per minute on every other battery.. This test is terrible

[@ToolsThatBuild]

It’s not 2.5 cents per minute that’s cost per battery. The lithium costs $2.50 each per battery, if you break that down by the runtime it was the second cheapest battery to runtime. You don’t pay less per minute you pay more aside from the HD battery. Sorry you didn’t understand the video I’ll try to explain it in more detail next time, people usually don’t want the video longer so I try to sum it up quickly.

[@xrbperformance4290]

@@ToolsThatBuild Oh I see, its just that he headline literally says "cents per minute" but you are showing cost per battery 🙃. If you are ranking them you must have done the math, why not just display that? Im sorry man, I dont see the logic.

[@ToolsThatBuild]

@@xrbperformance4290 yes that’s how the ranking is decided. It also in big letters says “cost per battery based on a 4 count package.” But feel free to make a better video yourself and tag me in it.

[@_EightySix]

This is confusing.

[@ToolsThatBuild]

How so? What part did you find confusing?

[@JasonFord-l3p]

It was a little confusing in the second test when you said the lithium battary is at 90% at 3 hours, but then said the duracell optimum ran the longest at 2 hours etc, at which point I rewinded, and after watching it a second time at the conclusion i found out the lithium ran the longest. At least that's what I found confusing. But i got it eventually

[@ToolsThatBuild]

@@JasonFord-l3p ah ya I see what your saying, I believe I was referring to the longest alkaline battery. But in the results I have the lithium in first.

[@tarstarkusz]

0:40 This test is WORTHLESS. 500ma is WAY too large for AA alkaline batteries. The amount of energy you can get out of a battery is dependent on the load. The higher the load, the less energy you can get from the battery. Above a certain point (probably above 500ma), you can kill a battery in seconds and cut the life by a large amount and will no longer be able to put out high amounts of current without sagging below 1v.

[@ToolsThatBuild]

I disagree 500ma is a high for AA very few things have that large of a draw, however the discharge rate will be the same amount for each brand at 100ma just a longer timeline. Each battery performed as well as it would or very close to as it would at lower ma.

[@lostshadow7161]

@@ToolsThatBuild my light runs alkaline at 1.77A at 4.2v and 2A at 4.5v

[@ToolsThatBuild]

@@lostshadow7161 good to know, not many devices test below 100ma but I appreciate your feedback

[@lostshadow7161]

@@ToolsThatBuild I am on about device I have led light that drains at 2000ma and it runs alkaline battery down so fast it takes 2 hours so it's basically making me buy alkaline battery

[@Questionthis1]

If price is no object, Duracell is far and away the performance winner. Price for performance, you didn’t test Kirkland.

[@ToolsThatBuild]

If price is no option lithium is the play but price should always be a factor. I didn’t test Kirkland because similar to Amazon it’s a shelled battery made by a larger company under contract and it changes often. By the time I test and publish the Kirkland video there is a good chance a different company could be making them and the results wouldn’t be accurate. Maybe next time I’ll throw in a Kirkland

[@baayers2]

Costco is in bed with Duracell. The Kirkland batteries are a re-packaged standard Duracell. They’ve had the exclusive deal for decades, so I don’t think it will change anytime soon. that being said for the price, the Kirkland batteries are definitely the way to go.

[@fefesock8316]

Those lithium batteries are way too expensive, Duracell it is

[@paulna5526]

bs

[@ToolsThatBuild]

What is bs about any part of this?