Ab Work Outs: Rayovac LSD NiMH OP AA, 4-Count Package Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Talk about a confusion campaign! Currently, you can find not one, not two, but FOUR different series of low-self-discharge ('Pre-Charged') rechargeable cells from Rayovac:
- The original 'Rayovac Hybrid' (LD715),
- The 'Rayovac 4.0' (RF715-4C) with ambiguously titled 'Lithium Technology',
- The Rayovac 'Pre-Charged' LSD NiMH (LD715-4OP), and
- The newest 'Rayovac Platinum' LSD Series (PL715-4).

The 'OP' (Opening Product) series offered here is typically priced lower than others. But its rated capacity is very low at just 1400mAh. By the way, you'll not find this capacity number printed on the battery or on its package, not even from the official Rayovac consumer web site. I have to go to 'Rayovac Industrial dot com' to dig up this information.

I have tested four of those 'OP' AA cells, using my old La Crosse BC-900 charger/analyzer. The measured average capacity is slightly higher at around 1500mAh. But note that all other Rayovac LSD series are rated (and measured) at 2100mAh.

Bottom line:
You may pay slightly less for those 'OP' LSD cells, but the capacity you get is also 1/3 less. Worse yet, this capacity number is not marked on each cell. So if you ever mix it together with other LSD cells, it will drag down the capacity of the whole set. Avoid this product if possible.

[Update on Oct 18, 2010]
I can think of one application where the lower capacity of 'OP' cell is an advantage. You can pair this 1.25V NiMH cell with a 1.65V NiZn cell, to get almost exactly 3.0V out of two rechargeable cells. It is important to select two cells with the same charge capacity (1500mAh), to make sure they run down at the same rate. The down-side is that you need two different chargers to recharge your batteries.

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Product Description:
Rayovac Rechargeable batteries offer the best of both worlds: ready to use right out of the package like alkaline, but can be recharged and reused like rechargeable.