'Pass or Fail' could be generalized as more of a simple
'Good or Bad'. You grab a flashlight to look for something in a darkened closet and it would either Pass, and be Good-enough to provide light to rummage around for three minutes to find something, or it would 'Fail' because the batteries were too weak and the amount of light was Bad and unusable.
But when it comes to wanting to get the most of our money, we should maybe look at what is the better way to 'grade' a battery we go out shopping for. We want to have it work well in a metal detector and provide ample power to give us a longer 'Run-Time' for a good days service, and that might end up providing a longer use-time. Just like having a better quality battery in our flashlights so that they might hold up longer in case they are need in an emergency and would have to handle a longer drain on the batteries.
One problem we might also face is not all batteries we see tested here are something that is going to be available to all of us. Some will be associated with a 'house-brand' or just might not be marketed in a lower population region. Also, we ought be aware of some options to maybe pick two of the better brands tested, and visit a retailer or two who also has other brands offered, and maybe a special on some of them. Knowing the better brands, not the lower-performing or the 'average' performing, but the better-performing brands that would allow us to check the 'Use By' date on the package and also consider the cost-per-battery based on the sale price and the package quantity.
So, looking at the results we have been seeing so far, with many more tests to go, I suggested this to him as a 'scoring 'or 'grading' method. I know that I don't like to spend my $$$ on just so-so stuff and I'll look for the Better stuff. Maybe not always the Best of something because that can sometimes be had only at a higher retail price, but even some of the Better performing batteries will do. Assign a Grade to all batteries that fall in a Run-Time range, especially since we are using 4 each on the battery test and not just basing it on a single battery per brand. . Here's what I suggested:
[size=large]A ..[/size] A
Best battery tested to be Any Battery that provides a
Run-Time of 9 Hr. or greater.
[size=large]B ..[/size] A
Better or
'above average' battery tested that provided a
Run-Time of 8 Hr. to less-than 9 Hr.
[size=large]C ..[/size] An
Average battery tested that provided a
Run-Time of 7 Hr. to less-than 8 Hr.
[size=large]D ..[/size] A
Poor 'performing battery tested that provided a
Run-Time of 6 Hr. to 7 Hr.
[size=large]F ..[/size] A
Failure battery tested that provided a
Run-Time of Less-than 6 Hr.
For the few that seemed to be going above and beyond ... and shockingly that's the Ray-O-Vac that have both gone over 10 Hrs. with one an additional 30 Minutes and the other an extra 24 Minutes. I know that after looking at the Run-Time chart MarkCZ posted just a few hours ago, I'd shop for an
'A' grade or
'B' grade battery before anything else and consider the cost. And if it runs over 10 Hr., I'd just consider that as
'Honors' in achievement.
So, what do you, the followers and readers, think of assigning the different batteries tested a Grade to make it easy to classify the
Better and
Best batteries from the rest of them? I know that while I usually don't hesitate to spend a decent amount on quality batteries, I also have a lot of AA devices around and on Outings I take extra batteries for those who might need them. For example, I'm interested in how the JobSmart batteries test and hope the at least make a
'C' grade as
'Average' performance because those cost me $5.00 for a 48 pack, so at only 10½¢ per battery, I could justify the price I paid.
Let us know what you think about breaking all these batteries down by 'Grade' as that might help a lot of folks sort through them and see what they feel would make their shopping list. Also, as Mark asked, if you have any new and current dated batteries to donate for testing, let it be known. I'm head out tomorrow to try and shop for some so that I can get them mailed off to Mark before the Post Office closes tomorrow.
Monte
(I guess, maybe???)