Energizer rechargeable "D" batteries are a rip-off
A CONSUMER ACTIVIST took a closer look at Energizer brand rechargeable "D" size batteries and found that they provide only "AA" battery capacity, at four times the price.
Rechargeable nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries are great. They can be used over and over again up to 1,000 times, avoiding the need to buy, and then later throw away, a lot of nonrechargeable alkaline batteries.
Sure, they're expensive, but recharging them repeatedly makes their use more economical in the long run than buying many disposable batteries. If you fully discharge them each time before recharging, they can last practically indefinitely without degrading due to battery memory effects. But battery companies would rather sell lots of alkaline batteries, naturally, because they make a profit on each one of those sold.
So NewsTarget took a look at one of the most common sizes of rechargeable batteries sold by a leading US brand, the Energizer "D" cell used in most full-sized household flashlights, among other applications. What intrigued them was that the battery's stated capacity is only 2,500 mAh, the same capacity as given for the physically much smaller "AA" size batteries.
They took apart one of Energizer's "D" batteries and found that it contained a much smaller battery inside, comparable in size to an "AA" battery, surrounded by empty airspace and a plastic shell. The "D" cell actually turned out to be just an "AA" cell inside a larger casing.
Since Energizer's rechargeable "AA" battery costs only about $3, but its rechargeable "D" battery costs $12, or four times as much, they reckon you're getting ripped off every time you buy a rechargeable "D" battery from Energizer. It would seem they've got a point. µ
L'INQ
NewsTarget
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AA is 800 Ma, So it mIGHT BE ONE OF new 15 mIN recharge time batteries TECHmology gONE eVEN FURTHER OUT WITH high capacity Material.
15 Min Recharge exploits fact that 80+% of Total charge Happens right at Ends of Battery. Well say make entire cell shape end somehow & maybe you get 3 or 4 times end surface area to charge? Well, it could also be electrolyte that is pumped up for that extra potency of ends of battery. Differnt more reactive metals or epoxiloid materails holding charge longer, low drain battery.

Taking Concept further, take LADY FINGER & stick it in M80, use plutonium IN LADY FINGER with bunch o' liquid hydrogen & Bang.an'it that way of technology. 

NEXT: AUTOBATTERY SIZE OF HUMAN HAIR.

Signed:PHYSICIAN THOMAS STEWART VON DRASHEK M.D.

Whilst I agree the price difference is extreme, 
this type of design is nothing new and the story is rather sensational.

The above cells clearly quote a capacity of 2500mAh (typical for an AA) so why was the author surprised?

You can get D size Ni-MH up to at least 9000mAh, they are heavier and more expensive than other D cells.
And that explains why I find them so much lighter than the normal, expendable ones.
Looks like I've been had. Especially since the rechargeable ones last about all of three minutes when I turn the flashlight on, and the power mysteriously drains away in about a day (ie needs charging before every use).
Never been so miffed about a rechargeable battery yet.
This has been the case for a long time, and has to do with the economics of have different manufacturing lines for AAA, AA, C, D, etc. Since AA has the highest volume, that's what usually gets made. When you buy a $12 D battery, you're paying for a $3 AA and $9 for the plastic adapter shell into which the AA is being placed. Similarly, most 9v batteries consist of 6 AAAA cells inside the case of the 9v battery.

Panasonic makes this very clear when you buy their NiMH D batteries - the plastic shell and the AA cell are separate units, and the consumer has to explicitly insert the AA cell into the D shell, post-purchase.

There's no ripoff involved, IMHO.

-Siva

Just get the $3 AA and a $1 AA-to-D adapter shell.

The bunny has turned to life of crime...
Battery "memory" problems have been overrated. I have owned rechargeable devices since the first rechargeable transistor radio. "Memory" effect usually only occurs when the NiCd battery is subjected to the same duty/recharge cycle repeatedly. NiMH batteries have little, if any problem , but they do self discharge more readily.
I took a look at your source's pictures and I can't see why they think its a AA battery inside.

Looks like a low capacity C battery to me.

I bet they had a pile of old C Ni-MHd cells and thought how can we get rid of these?
:-)

NiMh batteries don't suffer memory effects, the author is confusing them with NiCAD.
Check out the comment near the end of Mike Adams' three-page article:

"Want to buy an honest "D" battery? Check out Powerex. These are the best rechargeable batteries I could find. [...] I liked them so much that I bought several hundred of them and decided to offer them through my company, [...].com."

(Domain snipped; I don't want to propagate the "sell".)

Interestingly, around half the featured articles in the sidebar of his web site end up promoting one or other of Mike Adams' product lines on their last page.

Unbiased? You decide.
I bought these to power a 3 cell flashlight thinking they'd be a better option than my Alykaline batteries. Big mistake. Batteries self discharge in less than a week and even when fully charged last about 1 hour (or less)
I sent the company an e-mail about this and all they would say was to send them in to see if they were defective. Useless air battery !!
Even the AA 2500mah batteries don't seem to fair well. I'm never buying Energizer rechargeables again.
Looking at Battery-Force.co.uk, Energizer and Uniross NiMH 'D' cells are of this design and are below £6/pair. Ansmann have the pukka 10000mAh version at £21.45.
So, let price be your guide, I guess.
IGNORANCE! 
COME ON! You guys should know better!

A regular Alkaline "D" battery Gives you around 900 mAH - 1700 mAH (capacity)

The battery in the above picture looks like a sub "C" cell.


The energizer "D" cells in this post are 2500mAH batteries. This is more/equal capacity of its alkaline counter part.

If the "D" cell package was fully used they could get over 10,000 mAH out of it. The battery would also cost around 7X as much and take 4X as long to charge. This would have people complaining!!!

A "AA" battery can only discharge at 2-3C 

A Sub "C" battery can discharge at 20-25 C. Comparable to the "D" cell.

There is a HUGE difference between these cells. They are nowhere close to being the same!

Energizer is giving you a lighter weight battery capable of anything its alkaline counterpart can accomplish.

This is the reason airsoft guns, RC aircraft/Helicopters, and high qulity flashlights use sub "C" cells.

Do some research before you go throwing claims around. Any person with no battery knowledge can think the above statement is true. 

The "D" cell showing its age.
The sub "C" type cells have passed it up. Energizer is giving you new technology in "D" cell sized battery.

I do not work for energizer. I buy wholesale rechargable batteries and build packs. I have been doing this for 15+ years.

In a related note, I recently noticed that they now sell NiMH that are designed to have a low self-discharge.
Now that's good news, that they are also starting to tackle that issue.
Of course it raises the price rifgt now but in my view that's worth it, batteries draining while not in use is so annoying.
Check out www.all-battery.com

D-cell, 10,000 mAh capacity for $7.95
When I was a kid, my dad took some wooden dowels with the same diameter of a C or D battery, and hollowed them out. We then put rechargeable AA batteries inside them.

They worked great in all of my toys, and were cheap. They also had the advantage that I could put any of our AA batteries in just about anything I had.
just checked local shop e-prices 4000 mAh D battery cost 4 euro here, well actually 8 for pack of 2
http://lifehacker.com/software/how-to/get-32-aa-batteries-from-a-single-6-volt-battery-301237.php
Yes, it's tacky to provide a link to his own store, but PowerEx (not the author's brand but another company entirely) does happen to make the best-quality rechargables. I keep a set of four in my digital camera (Canon A640) and they retain the charge for MONTHS.
Considering that the Energizer brand AA NiMH batteries contained about 800mAH each, the 2500mAH rating is about right. These 2500mAH AA batteries are relatively recent anyway, so it might just be a way to fit those things into a D form-factor, which would be hard to make fit with real AA batteries.
We spend .20 more for the larger casing and make 4 TIMES OUR MONEY BACK...nobody will notice..."trust me"..consumers aren't that smart


From the Energizer Holdings Business Practices and Standards of Conduct manual on their web site:

No one can justify an illegal or unethical act. Any excuse that any such action was "for the good of the
Company" will not be accepted. We want each of you to exercise sound judgment and always set an example of a
high standard of business ethics.

I view this as highly unethical - guess they need a refresher course....
The memory effect, even of NiCd, is something mostly made up. It was noticed in satellites that had a microprocessor that started and stopped charging the battery when it hit exact points of charge. Unless you were very obsessive compulsive about charging your batteries at a certain point and stopping them at a certain point, you would probably never see this.

Most problems people encountered with early rechargeable batteries was with overcharging them. Most early chargers didn't have the overload protection circuitry of modern chargers because it costs more and isn't strictly necessary. Also, out of all the rechargeable batteries, it's least harmful to the NiCd batteries, but it will significantly shorten the life of the battery.
Yeah, this isn't news. They have been selling AA-in-a-D batterys since as far back as the late 90's.

Just go to Radio Shack and buy their "D" rechargables, which have always been true "D" batteries (4500 mAh). Be prepared to pay a bit more, of course.