Academy Sports AA Batteries.

[Jcalder]

Daughter just started her first job in Starbucks kiosk at Kroger. Her first check for 14 hours was more than mine for 40 hours a week in 1986.

will that pay check of hers buy the same amount of goods yours did in 1986?

 

[BSK]

you need a 100 packs or 100 batteries?

I wouldn't lose much sleep over overpaying for 100 batteries.

100-120 batteries a year. The cheapest I can find them in bulk is $2.70/battery, which is $270 for 100 batteries.

 

[Tenntrapper]

LITHIUM....!! Do some of you put diesel in your lawnmower?

I do....it's all I burn in it!!

 

[East TN Bowhunter]

At Sam's, day in, day out . . . . . . at least past few months

$34.98 + $3.32 (09.50% TN Sales Tax) = $38.30
Divided by 18 = $2.13 per lithium AA battery

If you use your Sam's Black MC, take off additional 5%.
= $2.04 per lithium AA battery

I occasionally find a better deal than this one at Sam's,
but this has been pretty stable there.

There have been times I've slightly beat or matched Sam's
at both Academy Sports & at Buc-ee's Travel Center.
Plus, last summer, Office Depot had the best deal of all for a while.
(Thanks to Speedwell-Hunter for telling us about that!)

Not sure why, but Buc-ee's Travel Center is consistently cheaper
than Wal-mart for both alkaline & lithium AA batteries.
And if you've never stopped at one, worth your time just to use the bathroom there!

I get the Energizer max alkalines there at Bucee's 24pk for like $9.99.

 

[Speedwell-Hunter]

Home Depot has 40 for $20 I thinkView attachment 183412yView attachment 183411

I've done the same, I am mixing between AA lithium rechargeables and normal alkaline batteries for the summer and lowering my capture intervals from 15-20 min up to 60 min on the cameras. Cannot afford the batteries anymore haha.

I'll run the disposable lithium AA starting November when I don't want to get to the cameras every month.

 

[Speedwell-Hunter]

you need a 100 packs or 100 batteries?

I wouldn't lose much sleep over overpaying for 100 batteries.

We are members at Costco and Sams Club. Both have some different items I want. I at least break even and only step foot in Wal-mart a couple of times a year.

Daughter just started her first job in Starbucks kiosk at Kroger. Her first check for 14 hours was more than mine for 40 hours a week in 1986.

Comparisons like this are silly. "Her first check for 14 hours was more than mine for 40 hours a week in 1986". Pure silliness. Also, cost of a candybar in 1986 from a gas station? $2?

 

[BSK]

Daughter just started her first job in Starbucks kiosk at Kroger. Her first check for 14 hours was more than mine for 40 hours a week in 1986.

Things have certainly changed! When I started with the Federal Government in 1986, as a professional Geographer, I was making $14.2K a year and thinking I was rich! When I made my first promotion the next year, I was making $17.2K a year and living in one of the nicest apartment complexes in town (rent was $340/month).

 

[Andy S.]

I've done the same, I am mixing between AA lithium rechargeables and normal alkaline batteries for the summer and lowering my capture intervals from 15-20 min up to 60 min on the cameras.

Same here. I run a mix of rechargeable and alkaline batteries from April to September, then run a mix of rechargeable and lithium batteries from October to March, depending on type of camera (cell vs non-cell), and how difficult it is to access and change batteries. AA batteries in all of my cams.

 

[Speedwell-Hunter]

Same here. I run a mix of rechargeable and alkaline batteries from April to September, then run a mix of rechargeable and lithium batteries from October to March, depending on type of camera (cell vs non-cell), and how difficult it is to access and change batteries. AA batteries in all of my cams.

Andy, I believe you are the one that gave me this idea, and its working great so far, the alkaline batteries work fine unless you have trigger intervals set very low. Thanks for the idea, saving me some cash!

 

[TNTreeman]

I ordered some regular off brand alkaline batteries online for .22 cents apiece. Used them before and worked great. I use lithium starting in the fall and order some called bevigor or something like that. About $1.75 each. They also worked great.

 

[TheLBLman]

I run a mix of rechargeable and alkaline batteries from April to September, then run a mix of rechargeable and lithium batteries from October to March, depending on type of camera (cell vs non-cell), and how difficult it is to access and change batteries.

Similar here.
However, as my average cam keeps getting "newer" with longer battery life, I'm just continuing to run the left-over lithiums from winter until they die. Even my older Browning Pro Scout cell cams, most of which had lithiums last installed in October '22 and set to take tons of pics, are still functioning on those October batteries. Ditto for most of my Ridgetec cell cams.

This kind of battery longevity might seem no surprise to some, but considering the high pic count of my typical settings, it's amazing compared to only a few years ago.

With many the newer cams, including cell cams, it's looking like battery replacement may become once a year. Maybe once every 2 years with the non-cell cams. Seems not that long ago replacing batteries was a monthly event.

I know there may be some concern with running lithiums in the summer.
I just hate to replace them before they're used up, and not worth keeping when you don't know exactly how much life is left in them.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I know there may be some concern with running lithiums in the summer.
I just hate to replace them before they're used up, and not worth keeping when you don't know exactly how much life is left in them.

What's the concern about running lithiums in the summer?

With some of those batteries where I don't know much more about their life, I just save them for household appliances, AA flashlights, and games/toys for the kids.

 

[BSK]

In my trail-camera bag, I carry a voltage meter. Every so often I'll randomly pull a couple of lithium AAs from a camera and test their voltage. I don't remember who it was that gave the info a year or two ago, but they mentioned that once a lithium AA gets down to around 1.57 or 1.55 volts, the life of the battery is about to drop off a cliff. Because having a camera go dead is a disaster for my data collection, once I see a battery drop below about 1.60 volts, I replace all the batteries in the camera.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

In my trail-camera bag, I carry a voltage meter. Every so often I'll randomly pull a couple of lithium AAs from a camera and test their voltage. I don't remember who it was that gave the info a year or two ago, but they mentioned that once a lithium AA gets down to around 1.57 or 1.55 volts, the life of the battery is about to drop off a cliff. Because having a camera go dead is a disaster for my data collection, once I see a battery drop below about 1.60 volts, I replace all the batteries in the camera.

I remember that discussion. I rely on the camera telling be the battery life most of the time. But I have two battery meters and when I pull cameras after turkey season each year, I check each battery that I am unsure of for all 22 cameras. They go into ziplock bags labeled as "below 50%, 70-80%, 80-100%, etc…." I then spray battery terminal spray on all terminals. Come July-August, some cameras are deployed, and the remainder are deployed in October.

 

[Andy S.]

^^^ That was me. I have a cheap volt meter with me most of the time, at home and in the woods. Especially for lithium AA batteries.

 

[BSK]

They go into ziplock bags labeled as "below 50%, 70-80%, 80-100%, etc…."

The problem I've found with the internal battery meter on my cameras is they will say 95% one week and be completely dead the next week. Something about how lithium batteries work. They will show near full charge and then go to nothing in the blink of an eye.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

The problem I've found with the internal battery meter on my cameras is they will say 95% one week and be completely dead the next week. Something about how lithium batteries work. They will show near full charge and then go to nothing in the blink of an eye.

They surely do. Good thing about most of the new cams are that they have the battery type selector

 

[JCDEERMAN]

18-pack at Sam's is $34.98

I also recently bought some Energizer Lithiums at Buc-cee's for a good price, just don't remember price.

I just walked out of the Buccees in Crossville. $13.36 for an 8 pack. That's $1.67 a battery. I bought 5 packs. From those 40 and what I have leftover from last year, I should be good

 

[BSK]

I wish we had a Buc-ees close. Not just for the batteries but just to visit one!

 

[Andy S.]

I just walked out of the Buccees in Crossville. $13.36 for an 8 pack. That's $1.67 a battery. I bought 5 packs. From those 40 and what I have leftover from last year, I should be good

I was in there recently and saw the same prices. Good pricing for an 8 pack.