Radio Shack 15-minute Rechargeable Batteries
Radio Shack has a new line of AA and AAA batteries (they seem to actually have been developed by Rayovac) that recharge in 15 minutes when you use their IC3 charger. The fastest rate of chargers I'd seen before this was an hour, and those were difficult to find. This acceleration makes a HUGE difference - the charge time has now passed the threshold where, in many cases, you can still have a fresh set of batteries before you leave the house even when you've forgotten to charge them beforehand. I've tested these out a bit, and they do indeed charge in slightly less than 15 minutes using their IC3 charger, and they seem to work as well as any other NiMH batteries (which is to say, very well in high-drain electronics). In a pinch the IC3 batteries can be charged in a "regular" NiMH charger, but then they take as long as regular NiMH batteries, and likewise, charging regular NiMH batteries in the IC3 charger doesn't speed them up.
-- Adam Fields
4-Pack AAA Radio Shack IC-3 15-minute Rechargeable Batteries
$6
Catalog #23-534
Radio Shack
Available for purchase in stores only
Editors' note, 9/25/07: RadioShack will be discontinuing this item, but we've seen a charger/battery line from Rayovac that looks promising. If you can report positively or negatively on Rayovac or any similar item, please let us know via the submit page or the comments below.
Favorite (15)
JT Foley
I've tied the ray o vacs and they are the best I've used so far. I actually had to buy extras on Amazon becuse I can't find any place locally that carries them anymore. I've tried the Energizer and Duracell 15 min versions and they are unreliable. They either don't hold as much of a charge or go bad super fast. The Ray o vacs work great, charge up reliably and last a long time.