Batteries Not Included: Nearspace Battle Royal Between Energizer, Duracell and Rayovac
Ever stand in line somewhere and notice a display of batteries and wonder which to buy? Have you ever put batteries in something only to have them die after a few hours?
I undertook an experiment that pitted three of the top companies against each other: Energizer, Duracell and Rayovac. But a little background as to why is needed. I have always wanted to be involved in space flight and noticed how cheap others were launching weather balloons with payload boxes. One day i was on the internet and came across the Global Space Balloon Challenge and decided to sign up. I wanted to send a camera up (specifically my GoPro Hero 3) and get some really great shots of the earth. That whole experiment is for another post but i knew from experience my gopro battery was not going to last the few hour flight up and back on High Definition.
Being the DIY engineer i am, i looked at the specs of the GoPro and fabricated a battery pack that would charge it while it was filming. I obtained the battery pack from a very cheep LED flashlight and it took AAA batteries. I cut up a spare usb charging cable and wired it into the battery pack. With 3 batteries at 1.5 volts each it would be very close to the 5v 1 amp charge requirement of the Go Pro.
I soldered two packs (6 AAA batteries total each test) in Parallel to give more mAh. Each test was continuously filmed in a low light situation with the GoPro Pro Tune setting off. I first conducted the tests with a baseline of the regular battery. Then i decided to purchase an array of different types of batteries to test to see which one would increase film time the best. I chose three companies and purchased there standard as well as advance type of batteries to also compare those to each other. The batteries tested were:
The Original Duracell Coppertop Battery
Duracells´ more advanced Quantum battery
The Original Energizer battery
Energizers´ most advanced: Energizer Ultimate Lithium
The results obtained from the standard tests of the GoPro Hero 3 Silver were:
At 73F (720p 60FPS PROTUNE OFF, low light): 1h 46m, 1h 50m, 1h 49m, 1h 49m, 1h 51m
I then proceeded to test each type of battery under the exact same conditions:
At 73F (720p 60FPS PROTUNE OFF, low light ENERGIZER LITHIUM ULTIMATE):3h 23m, 3h 40m, 4h 9m
At 73F (720p 60FPS PROTUNE OFF, low light ENERGIZER): 2h 38m , 2h 38m
At 73F (720p 60FPS PROTUNE OFF, low light Duracell Coppertop): 2h 55m, 2h 32m, 2h 35m
At 73F (720p 60FPS PROTUNE OFF, low light Duracell Quantum): 2h 24min, 2h 30m, 2h 27m
At 73F (720p 60FPS PROTUNE OFF, low light Rayovac):2h 20m, 2h 23m, 2h 27m
At 73F (720p 60FPS PROTUNE OFF, low light Rayovac Advanced):2h 56m, 2h 43m, 2h 53m
I tried to make the test as even as possible between companies but in the end it was the technologies invested in the batteries that mattered. The clear winner was the Energizer Ultimate Lithium battery, but to the contrary no other advanced battery was made using lithium ion technology. I ended up going with the Energizer Ultimate Lithium simply due to the fact it was rated at temperatures far below the others so it made it perfect for a nearspace flight. I also now recommend these batteries every time, but at $1.35USD a volt money need not be an option. I have included a SERIOUS breakdown below of all the batteries, please give it a look and you be the judge of which you will use in the future.
Voltage of New Battery/ Price of Pack/ # of Batteries in Pack/ Price per Battery
Energizer:1.62v $6.37 / 8 / $.80
Energizer Lithium Ultimate: 1.82v $9.83 / 4 / $2.46
Duracell Coppertop: 1.64v $6.37 / 8 / $.80
Duracell Quantum: 1.64v $6.37 / 6 / $.1.06
Rayovac: 1.64v $4.97 / 8 / $.62
Rayovac Advance:1.65v $4.97 / 6 / $.83
Average Running Time/ Price Per Volt/ % increase over Gopro Bat Life:
Energizer: 2h 38m $.49 / 45%
Energizer Lithium Ultimate: 3h 44m $1.35 / 105%
Duracell Coppertop: 2h 41m $.48 / 48%
Duracell Quantum: 2h 27m $.48 / 35%
Rayovac: 2h 23m $.38 / 31%
Rayovac Advance: 2h 51m $.50 / 57%
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am in no way affiliated with any battery company and used my own funds to conduct this test. I hope the information helps!