Trail cam battery question

[Steuben Jerry]

Does anyone use these in their cameras? I’ve got 16 cams I’m currently running, and most are below 50% at my last card pull, so I need to stock up on AA’s. This seems like a very affordable option if they work well.

 

Edited December 17, 2021 by Steuben Jerry

[Moho81]

I don't use those but I do use the middle of the road (cheap) batteries from harbor freight and they hold up well to the cold weather.

[LET EM GROW]

I have amazon basics and they are pretty much junk. Dont last long. Might be decent for some things. but not cameras IMO 

[Nomad]

https://onezero.medium.com/unraveling-the-secret-supply-chain-behind-an-amazonbasics-battery-e7b9ead4d72e

[Versatile_Hunter]

Unfortunately, lithium Energizer batteries is the way to go. Not cheap. 

[Robhuntandfish]

Wow .16 cameras and a drone.... I gotta stop trespassing over there.  

People ask me what I need for Xmas I tell them AA batteries. Lol

[Steuben Jerry]

14 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

Wow .16 cameras and a drone.... I gotta stop trespassing over there.  

People ask me what I need for Xmas I tell them AA batteries. Lol

Haha, I may not shoot too many nice deer, but I get pretty pictures of them!

[Steuben Jerry]

28 minutes ago, Nomad said:

https://onezero.medium.com/unraveling-the-secret-supply-chain-behind-an-amazonbasics-battery-e7b9ead4d72e

That’s an interesting read!

[phade]

I use Tenergy AAs, Rayovac, or AC Delco.

Rayovacs are good, Tenergy and AC Delco will last almost as long, but the cost advantage is worth the trade. I don't suggest using alkaline except for specific situations in winter. They just don't perform as well. The available power in alkaline in colder temps just isn't where it needs to be for best performance.

I go through about 1-1.5K AAs per year.

[CharlieNY]

My son and I have been using Panasonic Eneloop AA rechargeable batteries for years in our trail cameras and we now run them in our Tactacam Reveal cellular cams with excellent results. They hold a charge for a long time and function well in cold weather. When they get low you just recharge them. Just buy 2 sets for each camera and swap them out when they get low. We buy them in bulk on Amazon and I highly recommend them.       valoroutdoors.com 

[sbuff]

I have been using Ray o vac, typically can get on sale at depot or lowes . They just opened an ollies near us and they have magnavox 36 packs for 9 bucks .

I usually change out once a year in spring then use the ones taken out in kids flashlights or tv remotes .

 

[Nomad]

13 minutes ago, phade said:

I use Tenergy AAs, Rayovac, or AC Delco.

Rayovacs are good, Tenergy and AC Delco will last almost as long, but the cost advantage is worth the trade. I don't suggest using alkaline except for specific situations in winter. They just don't perform as well. The available power in alkaline in colder temps just isn't where it needs to be for best performance.

I go through about 1-1.5K AAs per year.

Yikes !

There used to be a place here where all one use cameras ended up to,be broke down for recycling. Each Camera has a AA battery in it ,they put them in 4x4x4 foot boxes to be sent to a place that recycled the batteries

 .They had , no exaggeration rows and rows of these boxes stacked to the ceiling,to,many for the recycler .  We would show up on duty , with a box of donuts for the warehouse guys , and a few five gallon buckets which we filled with the batteries .

id use a tester on them , most were fully charged . I used to give zip lock bags of them to, friends and neighbors .

There was probably 100s of different brands, although there’s only a few makers , most are just reskinned .

[phade]

6 minutes ago, Nomad said:

Yikes !

There used to be a place here where all one use cameras ended up to,be broke down for recycling. Each Camera has a AA battery in it ,they put them in 4x4x4 foot boxes to be sent to a place that recycled the batteries

 .They had , no exaggeration rows and rows of these boxes stacked to the ceiling,to,many for the recycler .  We would show up on duty , with a box of donuts for the warehouse guys , and a few five gallon buckets which we filled with the batteries .

id use a tester on them , most were fully charged . I used to give zip lock bags of them to, friends and neighbors .

There was probably 100s of different brands, although there’s only a few makers , most are just reskinned .

My grandfather was an exec at Kodak back in the day. We had unlimited film (which cam in handy for the old 35MM game cams) and also a good supply of Kodak branded batteries. That probably jumpstarted my hobby because my costs were much less than others due to having access to free film, free processing, and batteries.

Those older Kodak batteries were awesome...newer ones. Run away.

They did recycle the one-use cams. The internals could be used many times over, and that was a very profitable revenue stream. I remember my grandpa telling me they could use them 3-4x So much so, they didn't care about the batteries as you saw.

[Versatile_Hunter]

18 minutes ago, sbuff said:

I have been using Ray o vac, typically can get on sale at depot or lowes . They just opened an ollies near us and they have magnavox 36 packs for 9 bucks .

I usually change out once a year in spring then use the ones taken out in kids flashlights or tv remotes .

 

I didn’t know Ollie’s Noodles sold batteries. It does make sense though…

[PraiseDiana]

I never buy batteries from Amazon anymore - there is too much fake junk. I get the Duracell copper tops from a brick and mortar store - they have worked well for me lasting over a year in my cheapo Wildgame Innovations cams.

[rob-c]

I’ve watched tons of this guys tests, he’s pretty good at testing things with real world results .