More & more batteries are being used in our everyday lives. Most of this use is totally unnecessary, for example in smoke alarms - they should run primarily off mains electricity, with a built in capacitor / rechargable battery backup. Why have so many electronic toys for children? There are some amazing wooden ones around, without all of the toxic plastics & batteries in most of the electronic ones.
Why is it that there are 5 types of 'D' size rechargeable batteries available to industry & only 2, very inefficient ones available on the high street? If this is not a conspiracy by the battery companies to fuel consumerism, then what is?
What we do is on a not-for-profit basis. We totally believe that the future of batteries is rechargable over disposable. And there are massive problems with Nickel Cadmium. Isabel Hilton wrote in 'Made in China', an essay featured in Granta magazine, that:
"There are some sights in China that I shall always remember: the young women from a battery factory, poisoned by Cadmium, who pushed forward their thin haired, yellow faced little children for me to look at ( they had passed on the contamination, unwittingly, to the next generation )." ( Issue 89 of Granta ISBN 090314175-2 )
We have done a lot of research on what types of batteries are available (especially for torches, CB's, cycle lights, smoke alarms & mobile phones) and have found that, if people must use batteries, then rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) have the best environmental record of all small batteries on the market. They :
NiMH are also excellent for using in solar powered battery chargers. Ni-Cads suffer from a memory effect - when charging, you have to ensure that they are totally flat first, otherwise they 'remember' how much charge they used to have and die much quicker. Some solar chargers magnify this effect, because the sun disappears now & again and this can cause lots of 'memory' problems. NiMH have a negligible memory effect - therefore you do not have to flatten them before re-charging, making charging quicker & more convenient. The batteries also live longer. They are branded BST, Vanson & Varta, and are available in the following types:
| Battery size | Capacity - mAh (milliamp hours) |
Price each (£) |
| AAA (MN2400, R03, LR03, HP16, Micro) | 900 | 1.49 |
| AAA Instant - ready to use from the pack and keeps charged for months | 850 | 1.99 |
| AA (MN1500, R6, LR6, HR6, RX6, Mignon) | 2,700 | 1.99 |
| AA Ultra high capacity ( rating is independently tested ) | 2,900 | 2.49 |
| AA Instant - ready to use from the pack and keeps charged for months | 2,100 | 2.49 | C (MN1400, R14, LR14, Baby C) | 5,000 | 4.99 |
| D (MN1300, R20, LR20, Mono D) | 10,000 | 5.99 |
| C or D (AA in BLACK battery converter, see photo below right) | 2,700 | 2.78 |
| D (2 AA's in an ORANGE battery converter, see photo below) | 5,400 | 4.99 |
| PP3 9 volts (MN1604, 0068, AR-9, AR9, 6F22, 6LR61) | 270 | 4.99 |
| CR2 Lithium battery (mains + car charger is only £14.99 extra) | 550 | 4.99 |
Click here to see our
Battery Chargers
Guarantee : All products are brand new and if a fault develops, we have a 'no quibble 12 month refund policy'.
Payment :
Make cheques / Postal Orders to "Chapeltown Green" ( put cheque guarantee card number & expiry date on the back, if available ).
We also accept cash ( well hidden ) in British Pounds, US Dollars and Euros.
International Buyers :
Always welcome; pay Online by Paypal / Moneybookers or send Euros, £, US dollars in cash. We recommend registered mail (optional). Alternatively we accept Sterling cheques, UK stamps & UK Postal Orders. We do NOT accept International Money Orders, International Cheques, Eurocheques or any other currencies. Euro rate 1GBP = 1.60 Euros. US Dollars rate 1GBP = $2.00.
We can supply Lithium Ion & NiMH rechargable batteries for digital cameras, mobile phones, DAB radios, cameras, camcorders, laptops, telephones & answer machines. We also stock the CR2 & CR123 rechargable batteries & charger. Please e-mail us full details of model & description and we will normally quote you an unbeatable price within 48 hours.
All these sizes are in stock; DAB radio batteries, rechargeable RCR123A, CR123, DL223a, DL-223A, CR123A, 123, CR-123A, DL-123A, DL123A, CR-17334, CR17334, CR-17345, CR17345, EL-123A, EL123A, K123L, K-123L, CR-123R, CR123R, VL123, VL-123, ansaphone batteries, Nikon Coolpix,4300, 4500, 5700, 8700, EN-EL1, ENEL1.
If you would like to buy off us, we are motivated by wanting to stop Ecocide; the current murder, oppression and destruction of a sustainable ecosystem for this world. We are not based on capitalist profit. I was living down at the Fairmile A30 road protest camp & decided to do something about the mountain of batteries that we were eating our way through, hence the research & this page. It was the Petzl Zoom head torch that we were using to dig tunnels and you can get an adaptor for it ( £4 ) so you can use 3 NiMH rechargeables instead of dodgy, 4½ volt, flat batteries. We are working to provide better, higher quality products at competitive prices. Any surplus income goes into providing funds to enhance the management and social enjoyment of local woodland.
Most 'high street' D size NiCads are actually C or AA size batteries in a padded-out case – a blatant con that was being investigated by Trading Standards, but they seem to have let it fall by the wayside...
If you want to make up your own C or D size batteries from AA's, then we sell plastic holders for 79 pence per battery, meaning you can make pretty good C / D size batteries for only £2.78 each!
Tip:- Make sure you keep batteries in sets (mark 'em with electrical tape, coloured sellotape, etc). A set of batteries is only as strong as its weakest cell. Therefore if you mix old batteries and new, or even different sets from other appliances, 1 bad battery will cause all the others to badly underperform!
Tip:- Always fully charge new batteries. New batteries come with some charge, but you MUST fully charge them before first use, otherwise you will damage their capacity for life. They need the full charge to start off their life healthy, otherwise they start off weak and struggle through life.
Battery Re-cycling and Radioactive Smoke Alarm Re-cycling!If there is no 'Freepost' address for the producers, why not send the batteries back to the retailers instead – most of them have 'Freepost' addresses. Also, send a copy of your letter to the Department of Trade & Industry, who are responsible for Recycling Policy in Britain.
Lead Industry's Recycling Greenwash. UK's 1st Alkaline & Zinc Carbon battery recycling plant! UK's 1st Lithium Ion battery recycling plant!
All radioactive smoke alarms must be labelled with a Radiation symbol, normally found on the back of the unit. If the unit has stopped working ( they only have a recommended working life of 10 years ) & you want to dispose of it safely, then why not use a Freepost address to send it back to one of the many retailers!
Sample smoke alarm re-cycling letter.
Please don’t misunderstand - smoke detectors are an excellent product & save 1000’s of lives. However, there are Heat Detectors ( excellent for use in kitchens ) & photo-optic Smoke detectors which are a perfect alternative to the Radioactive version. Several electrical contractors are refusing to fit the Radioactive alarms in commercial properties, because they are aware that under European Law, they will be responsible for the safe disposal of 1000’s of broken alarms after 10 years & this will be very expensive!
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since 24th February 2004.
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