|
Matronics Email Lists Web Forum Interface to the Matronics Email Lists
|
View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
nuckollsr(at)cox.net Guest
|
Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 7:29 am Post subject: My bubble has burst . . . |
|
|
Some of you may recall that I did some studies on
energy content of the various alkaline AA cells some
time back and found that of all the brands I could
lay my hands on at the time, energy content was about
the same irrespective of price or advertising hype.
I was in Advance Auto Parts last week and they had a 24-pak
of Endurance brand alkaline AA cells for $4.88 . . . about
20 cents per cell. The best price in town. I purchased a
pack and just for grins, decided to run some on Brutus the
Battery Killer.
Tests in the past had produced data like:
http://www.aeroelectric.com/Pictures/Curves/El-Cheeso_Battery_Test.jpg
Two cells tested from my recent purchase look like this:
http://www.aeroelectric.com/Pictures/Curves/Endurance_AA.pdf
The 20-cent cell is decidedly lower in energy content. However,
in terms of cents per milliampere hour, still a reasonable deal
since the other bargain products are pushing 37 cents per cell.
I'll watch this product and buy another package in 6 months
to a year for a retest. The cells I have may have been produced
when the chef was having a bad day in the kitchen.
Bob . . .
< What is so wonderful about scientific truth...is that >
< the authority which determines whether there can be >
< debate or not does not reside in some fraternity of >
< scientists; nor is it divine. The authority rests >
< with experiment. >
< --Lawrence M. Krauss >
| - The Matronics AeroElectric-List Email Forum - | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List |
|
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
ulflyer(at)verizon.net Guest
|
Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 10:41 am Post subject: My bubble has burst . . . |
|
|
Maybe you stumbled upon the reason there cheaper - inconsistent
output capacity - produced with lower tolerances, lower acceptance
levels (good bin v/s bad reject been), this all affects product cost
and shelf price.
jerb
At 09:26 AM 3/5/2006, you wrote:
Quote: |
<nuckollsr(at)cox.net>
Some of you may recall that I did some studies on
energy content of the various alkaline AA cells some
time back and found that of all the brands I could
lay my hands on at the time, energy content was about
the same irrespective of price or advertising hype.
I was in Advance Auto Parts last week and they had a 24-pak
of Endurance brand alkaline AA cells for $4.88 . . . about
20 cents per cell. The best price in town. I purchased a
pack and just for grins, decided to run some on Brutus the
Battery Killer.
Tests in the past had produced data like:
http://www.aeroelectric.com/Pictures/Curves/El-Cheeso_Battery_Test.jpg
Two cells tested from my recent purchase look like this:
http://www.aeroelectric.com/Pictures/Curves/Endurance_AA.pdf
The 20-cent cell is decidedly lower in energy content. However,
in terms of cents per milliampere hour, still a reasonable deal
since the other bargain products are pushing 37 cents per cell.
I'll watch this product and buy another package in 6 months
to a year for a retest. The cells I have may have been produced
when the chef was having a bad day in the kitchen.
Bob . . .
< What is so wonderful about scientific truth...is that >
< the authority which determines whether there can be >
< debate or not does not reside in some fraternity of >
< scientists; nor is it divine. The authority rests >
< with experiment. >
< --Lawrence M. Krauss >
|
| - The Matronics AeroElectric-List Email Forum - | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List |
|
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
kayce33(at)earthlink.net Guest
|
Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 11:10 am Post subject: My bubble has burst . . . |
|
|
A real Gem, and a bit of truth
| - The Matronics AeroElectric-List Email Forum - | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List |
|
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
nuckollsr(at)cox.net Guest
|
Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 1:15 pm Post subject: My bubble has burst . . . |
|
|
At 12:35 PM 3/5/2006 -0600, you wrote:
Quote: |
Maybe you stumbled upon the reason there cheaper - inconsistent
output capacity - produced with lower tolerances, lower acceptance
levels (good bin v/s bad reject been), this all affects product cost
and shelf price.
|
Sure . . . but within certain boundaries. A blister-pack of
6-32 screws on Walgreen's hardware rack won't be made of
recycled pot metal, they won't be 3-18 stainless either.
Within narrower confines, theres only so much you can do
to a bread recipe before the product is no longer attractive
to any customer. And what savings are to be realized by manipulating
materials? Many high quality products keep prices low by eliminating
no value added activities like TV advertising, too many handlers
in the distribution loop, etc. There's rarely much to be gained
by short-changing the materials or manufacturing processes.
Over the years, we're seeing fewer products that are graded like
the old Sears catalogs that offered good, better and best.
Semiconductor companies have largely abandoned the military
parts business where they simply screened industrial grade parts
for more stringent performance limits. The market was tiny
and the labor great. Now if we want "mil-spec" parts, we
buy a bunch and screen them ourselves. It's interesting that
of the parts we do screen, fallout is very low. Usually zero.
We could save a lot of money in certificated aircraft if we
abandoned our long standing lovefest with anything mil-spec'd.
That class of product is approaching extinction because ordinary
consumers are demanding equal or BETTER parts than the
military wanted . . . and suppliers are building them.
So the interesting question to explore was just how much might
one diddle with the recipe for an alkaline battery just to
have a lower priced niche in on the shelves? I first considered
the question in an article for Sport Aviation a few years ago:
http://aeroelectric.com/articles/AA_Bat_Test.pdf
In that study, I determined that over a wide range of prices,
there was little variation in the alkaline batteries to
be sampled at the time.
I've tested a number of other house brands for folks who
sent them to me and found similar results. This new kid
on the block seems to be the exception . . . although still
a better value than a CopperTop or BunnyBattery purchased
at retail.
Just a little pothole in the life of those interested in
such things . . . I happen to suffer that affliction.
Bob . . .
| - The Matronics AeroElectric-List Email Forum - | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List |
|
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You cannot attach files in this forum You can download files in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group
|