I was pretty disappointed with both the content of the article and the fact that it was just a plug for Powerex. If the idea is that battery companies purposefully create lower grade rechargeable batteries in order to maintain sales of alkaline batteries one would need to do more to prove it rather than simply showing one particular D battery.
In case the author doesn't get it, a bigger battery doesn't necessarily mean more capacity. One of the reasons to use plastic filling in the D battery is to make it fit inside of devices that require a battery of that size. And the reason they're a lot more expensive is that D size batteries are not nearly as used as AA and since they are being produced and sold in smaller quantities the company needs a higher profit margin.
there is no logic in what you are saying.
It is quite simple. People buy D batteries because they are bigger. Electronics that use D batteries is because they have higher capacity and run longer. The reason they are expensive is because you get more, bigger and longer lasting battery. Not just because they are not nearly popular as AA.
The author might be throwing a plug for Powerex, but he has a good point. Even if he owns Powerex, its unethical for Energizer to put a smaller battery inside a big one and sell it at a higher cost. Energizer could sell the batter for cheaper if they just want to put a lower capacity battery inside a D sell.
A little poking around seems to show that throwaway alkaline Energizer D batteries have a capacity of either (18000 mAh)[http://battstore.stores.yahoo.net/e94dba.html] or (20500 maH)[http://www.hardwareandtools.com/invt/1399856]. Either way, that's a lot more than the 2500mAh that the rechargeable D battery has. What other reason would Energizer have for making rechargeable batteries with significantly less capacity than the same size throwaway battery?
I agree it was a poor choice for the article to compare rechargeable D size batteries to throwaway AA size though. That's not really helpful.
This should really be titled, "How to pull off an effective viral marketing campaign." From the third page of the article:
"Want to buy an honest "D" battery? Check out Powerex. These are the best rechargeable batteries I could find. Click here to learn more. I liked them so much that I bought several hundred of them and decided to offer them through my company, BetterLifeGoods.com."
> Using them to power your electronics helps conserve valuable metals used in making batteries
Rant time: Except there's no shortage of metals used in batteries. And if there was a shortage the scarcity would cause the price to increase which would cause a search for more of the metal and/or substitutes. Hence the reason we've run out of no resources to date. Ironically using a resource actually makes more of it available. Think how much gasoline was available before anyone had a use for it.
He may just be astroturfing for Powerex. But the visual of the D battery cracked open is still pretty ridiculous. Besides, I think it could feasibly make sense for Energizer to pull this trick. First off, you don't know how good a battery is until you buy it; some consumers may never find out for sure if they were ripped off. So it's an experience/credence good. As such people may depend on the brand and price to find out if it's a smart buy.
Some products have planned obsolescence. They can be more disposable than advertised. But if the consumer is loyal to the brand, he may keep buying the product.
I know it's common to recase rechargable C batteries as D batteries but I haven't seen it done with an AA. The lesson here is buy your batteries from a cheap online store and not from anywhere retail.
In case the author doesn't get it, a bigger battery doesn't necessarily mean more capacity. One of the reasons to use plastic filling in the D battery is to make it fit inside of devices that require a battery of that size. And the reason they're a lot more expensive is that D size batteries are not nearly as used as AA and since they are being produced and sold in smaller quantities the company needs a higher profit margin.