[bookport] Re: the d e f command
- From: DanFlasar@xxxxxxx
- To: bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2005 20:28:34 EST
Angie is right - NIMH (Nickel Metal Hydride - not National Institute of
Mental Health) provides a longer usable charge over NiCads (Nickel Cadmium
batteries - a much older technology). I use NiMH exclusively and get a good
return
on my investment. Consider that a pack of 4 AA rechargeable NiMH batteries
will cost around $12, but you will be able to recharge them up to 50 times.
4 alkaline cells might cost you $2 at a cheapie place, but once they burn
out, they're done and you have to get rid of them somewhere. And
unfortunately, as I noted earlier, most recycling places don't accept them -
or any
battery, for that matter.
But do the math, You can buy 4 batteries and a one-hour charger for
$35. Let's be conservative and say you'll get 30 charges. At $2 for 4
alkalines, you'd have to spend $60 to get the same bang for your buck and you
will
have then sent 120 batteries to the landfill or the recycler. You can also
buy some more rechargeables to further increase your savings. I bought my
first charger 20 years ago - it took overnight for a full charge. I've bought
4
more chargers since then - a 4 hour, a 2 hour and 2 2 hour chargers - one
for US power and one for European power sources. I estimate I've saved more
than a thousand dollars this way.
But even rechargeables die eventually, and they are just as bad for the
environment as the alkalines and other bettery types (there are now platinum
and magnesium batteries available).
You will still have the same problem to get rid of the dead batteries,
but there will be a *lot* fewer of them.
This isn't the forum to discuss environmental matters. Suffice it to
say that saving your money is a good idea. It's always to conserve what you
have, save as much money as you can and do your best to keep our air and water
clean. After all, you - and your kids - have to beathe that air and drink
that water eventually. It's true that driving a car, riding a bus or flying
in
a plane all contribute to pollution. Walking doesn't, nor does bike-riding
but many cities are not setup for those activities or it's too far to walk
or ride to work, and if you're blind, that will eliminate bike commuting.
Eventually, as oil gets more expensive, we'll all learn how to do m ore
with less. Better get in practice.
Dan
Oh, and by the way, I want to note that as far as conserving energy, the
Bookport is exceptional! 60 hours of reading on 2 batteries?! What a deal!
I join Mother Earth in thanking APH for their energy miserliness. Way to go!
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