Loogun

AA batteries for your Loogun - The good, the average, and the simply terrible

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As a quick introduction I should probably explain that there is a difference between a low-drain and high-drain battery, and a low/high-drain device.

It's also worth noting that your Loogun ships with batteries included so you won't need to worry about buying any for some time yet, but it'd be good to know what you need when you're ready to buy the next set.

Low and high-drain batteries

Low-drain batteries are specifically made to work best in devices that use a small amount of current/power, but that require it over a long period of time, such as a clock or remote control.

A high-drain battery has the capacity to discharge a larger amount of current/power during use, such as with the Loogun, or any device that uses a moderately powerful motor or pump, etc.

The Loogun 1 uses a motor to drive a peristaltic pump in order to produce a strong spray and this requires a decent amount of power. Top quality batteries will last for many months, whereas using a low-drain battery will give you both poor performance and poor battery life.

The Loogun 2 uses a completely different pressure pump system and a significantly more powerful and larger motor. For this reason, using good high-drain batteries are even more important, especially in terms of ensuring your batteries last a long time.

Which AA batteries are the best?

For the reasons explained above, not all batteries from good manufacturers are good enough for use in high-drain devices, and this includes most of the batteries produced by giants like Energizer and Duracell. Most batteries are designed for low-drain and won't give you enough power. Before you head off to find your batteries, please take a look through the list below. The batteries are ranked in order of best to worst when tested in high-drain devices.

If you're using anything from the not recommended list, they simply won't be powerful enough to provide good power or good life.

Rechargeable batteries are best for the environment

Note on rechargeable batteries: All versions of rechargeable batteries are sold in different strengths, yet their names are very similar (see not recommended list). The ones we recommend are very powerful, can be recharged over and over, and are much friendlier to the planet than alkaline batteries. Make sure you check the mAh of the batteries you're buying and that it is at least 2300 mAh.

Battery rankings for high-drain devices

Please note that we can't cover every battery make from every country as that is simply not possible, so there may well be great batteries that aren't listed.

The batteries that initially ship with your Loogun are from Osel, a top quality brand in China, but to my knowledge, are not widely available in the West.

The best rechargeable AA batteries:

  1. Panasonic Eneloop Pro - Black (2500 mAh)
  2. Duracell Recharge Ultra (2500 mAh)
  3. Energizer Recharge Extreme (2300 mAh)
  4. Amazon Basics High Capacity (2500mAh)

The best lithium batteries:

These are great batteries and will last longer than alkaline batteries but are quite a bit more expensive.

  1. Energizer Ultimate Lithium
  2. VARTA Professional Lithium

The best alkaline batteries:

These are very impressive high-drain alkaline batteries and will provide good power for a long time.

  1. VARTA High Energy Alkaline
  2. Energizer Industrial
  3. Energizer HIGHTECH
  4. GP Ultra

Decent alkaline batteries:

These are okay if you have them already, though I'd be more inclined to buy batteries from higher up this list if you haven't already got some to hand.

  1. Duracell Plus Power
  2. Ikea Alkalisk
  3. Asda Long Life Super Alkaline
  4. Morrisons Extra Long Life
  5. ReadyCell
  6. Toshiba Super Alkaline
  7. Tesco Extra Long Life
  8. WHSmith Extra Long Life
  9. Panasonic Pro Power
  10. Maplin Extra Long Life

Batteries that are not recommended:

These are simply no good. If you already have some, and you feel they work okay in your Loogun, then fair enough, but don't be surprised to find the performance is poor and they die quickly.

  1. Panasonic Eneloop White or Multi-coloured (1,900 mAh)
  2. Panasonic Eneloop Lite - Light Blue (950mAh)
  3. Energizer Recharge Power Plus (2000 mAh)
  4. Energizer Recharge Universal (1400 mAh)
  5. Duracell Recharge Plus (1300 mAh)
  6. Kodak Xtralife
  7. Sanyo Advanced Alkaline
  8. Duracell Simply
  9. Daewoo Super Alkaline
  10. Duracell PROCELL
  11. M&S Extra Long Life
  12. Energizer Ultra +
  13. Panasonic Alkaline Power
  14. Duracell Standard
  15. PowerCell Ultra
  16. Duracell Ultra Power
  17. Energizer Standard
  18. Sainsburys Extra Long Life
  19. Sony Alkaline
  20. Panasonic EVOLTA
  21. Tesco Value
  22. Panasonic Zinc
  23. VARTA Superlife
  24. Morrisons Savers
  25. Asda Smart Price
  26. JCB