Customer Reviews

Rayovac I-C3 15 Minute Rechargeable Batteries, AA , 4 batteries

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read about Rayovac's patent on the I-C3 technology before this product came to market and naturally I was skeptical. A few months after it came to market I decided to try it out.

For over 6 months I've been using these batteries in our toothbrushes, cameras, electric screwdriver, remote controls, two-way radios, CD players, anything that uses AA or AAA. The product exceeds my greatest expectations.

Disregard the high cost comments. This should be viewed as an investment. I can get the batteries locally for about $3.45 each. Figuring 25 cents for an alkaline battery you recover the cost after 14 recharges. 120 recharges and you've paid for the charger.

My family loves this thing. It completely changes your view of battery operated appliances. Not one of these batteries has gone bad. I have a pocket radio that I use constantly. One charge lasts over a week. The batteries do not die suddenly. When in doubt I can top off the battery in less than 15 minutes.

We are never out of batteries and we have an entirely new mindset now that it doesn't cost anything to discharge a battery. At the same time we aren't throwing batteries in the trash can.

It is our view that a battery that costs 25 cents plus shipping and handling per use is far more expensive than one that costs 15 minutes.

The Rayovac IC3 batteries are by far the best and longest lasting batteries I have ever used. In the past I have used Lithium and alkaline batteries in my digital camera. After 20 shots using the built-in flash the batteries would be dead but the Rayovac IC3 batteries just keep going. When they die, just charge for 15 minutes and they're ready to go.

These batteries are great. Watch out after recharging them though...they are hot as a pistol ! Let them cool down for about 5 or 10 minutes before touching them. Also, they measure "0" volts until they cool off...then they measure their normal voltage.

I bought a set of these batteries just for general use - a Game Boy here or a portable cd player there. They work great, especially in the Game Boy. After a couple of weeks of regular use, I decided to recharge the batteries in preparation for a lengthy trip, even though the Game Boy's power light hadn't yet switched from green to red (indicating approx. 10% charge remaining in the batteries). In regular portable devices, these batteries have faithfully supplied around 15 hours of life - what one would expect out of ordinary alkaline batteries.

My dad got a digital camera awhile back and I bought him a set of the Rayovacs with a charger so he could keep taking pictures. The batteries don't hold up as well in the camera, but like I said before, they're very comparable to standard alkalines, which would also lose charge quickly in a digital camera. Fortunately, he now has 3 pairs of AA's, so as long as he keeps them all freshly charged, he shouldn't have to worry about being stuck without power.

I ran a few tests with the Rayovac i-C3's, and here are some of my results:

2 AA's in Game Boy Advance: approx. 15+ hours

2 AA's in portable cd player: approx. 15+ hours

2 AA's in digital camera (pictures): 30 minutes (give or take - either way, it's still plenty of time to recharge a spare set)

2 AA's in digital camera (video): approx. 5 minutes

6 AA's in Sega Game Gear: approx. 5 hours (a power-hungry machine!)

Word of advice: if you use these batteries, remove them from any device you don't plan on using for awhile, as their power seems to be drained proportionally to the amount of energy the device consumes, even when it's off. For instance, my dad charged a pair of the i-C3's, put them in his camera (turned off), then put it away. Only 3 or 4 days later, the batteries had no charge. On the other hand, I hardly notice any loss in charge from the batteries in my Game Boy after a week.

These batteries are great when used with the compatible Rayovac 15-minute charger. I even timed it, and indeed, the batteries are fully charged in 15 minutes. Or if you are really in a hurry, I believe you can get about 50% charge in 5 minutes.

The batteries do get hot during recharge, but that is expected per the Rayovac user instructions. There is a fan in the unit that cools things off.

The Rayovac IC3 system has the trade-off of having to use the IC3 batteries/charger from Rayovac to get the 15-minute recharge, but I think it is a reasonable trade-off given the price and performance.

I have used them in an older power-hungry digital camera, among other things, and they have performed as expected.

Great batteries, super fast charging. The last set shipped by Amazon was rated at 2300 mA hours on the cells, the package says 2200, Amazon's listing 2000. Not too much capacity is being lost to the thermal switch it seams.

About two years ago I bought a Rayovac 15 Minute battery charger and several Rayovac 15 minute AA batteries. I was not sure it would live up to its claims, but I decided to give it a try. WOW! It was everything Rayovac claimed. True 15 minute charging with no memory to shorten battery life. The batteries hold a charge at least as long as others, too. I origionally bought this for my digital camera, but now have all AA and AAA batteries in remotes, toys, clocks, etc. converted to the new system. And the best part.....ALL of my origional batteries are in service and working as new. Not one failure. THIS IS THE BIGGERT CHANGE IN AA AND AAA BATTERIES SINCE THIER ONSET. They are not the least expensive initially, but in time saving and life become quite a bargain.

I wouldn't have tried these due to the price, but my wife got some for me, and I was very pleasantly surprised.

They are the best rechargeables I've ever used. They have worked exactly as advertized for over two years now and are still like new. I think they are well worth the cost, for use in electronic devices that go through a lot of batteries, like digital cameras--you will save money in the long run.

Not only do they charge in 15 minutes, but they have a couple of other advantages over two other brands of NI-MH rechargeables I tried:

(a) They can supply power at a significantly faster rate than the 2 other brands, so they are good for high-drain devices. Two examples: I had an early model Olympus digital camera that was a power hog. It worked OK with regular alkalines and with these Ray-o-Vac 15-minute rechargeables. But when using the the other 2 brands of rechargeables (fully charged), it shut down with the "low battery" warning after only a few shots--those brands apparently couldn't supply enough current. Similarly, I rigged up an adaptor to run my old Panasonic mini-DV camcorder with AA batteries--the other two brands, fully-charged, couldn't start the camcorder, but the Ray-o-Vac 15-minute ones worked great!

(b) Also, when not in use, they hold a charge longer than the other 2 brands.

Wal-Mart has apparently stopped carrying them (I suspect people weren't buying them due to the price), so I'm getting some here--I hope they continue to be available in the future!

These are awesome (albeit expensive) rechargeables that I decided to get b/c of their amazingly short charge time (15minutes). What more can you say about batteries except that they are exactly what they are advertised to be. Get them if you want recharageables that can be completely drained, recharged, and ready to go in your equipment again in an extremely short amount of time! 4 stars only b/c of the price...wish they'd be cheper.

I have been using these batteries for 6 years now and I love them, I wish I could give more stars. I am sad they discontinued them, I wish I bought more, I am desperately searching for more of them! They Work very well in many devices, charge very quickly for when you use them and still need them quickly, stay charged for long period for us lazy types that charge and forget about them for a week/month--They are still charged and ready to use! I paid about $16 for 4 AA and $35 for a 15min charger, similar price still at $18 for 4 AA. Should have bought more of them, never needed to until now, I need them in multiple devices at once. Great buy, will almost completely replace your need to buy batteries. Take it from me, I haven't bought any for 6 years!!