6V Battery Runtime

Which lasts longer in a feeder on a "single charge" - a 6V Energizer or a 6V Rechargeable?

Yes I know that using a solar charger would make it a moot comparison, but that's not the question here. Want to know if there's a difference in how long a one-time use 6V (like energizer) would run a feeder versus one full charge of a rechargeable 6V.

Need to know AH rating on 6v chargeable to answer, but the 3-361 cell used in the lantern battery is way obsolete.

Like cast need to make sure your comparing the same size battery or getting the biggest/strongest one you can.

I have always had best luck with Duracell batteries.

Good question on the AH rating. For this conversation we'll say it's a 4.5AH, which is widely available. Images below represent what I want to compare run time on. So if I had to put one in a feeder (without solar charger), which would last longest.

The lead acid battery. It is rated in AH. The alkaline is rated in MAH. I remember using those batteries in lanterns as a kid. They sucked bad.

change it to a 12 volt system and run one of the 12 volt 7.5 ah that is about the size of a brick and it will run all season.

I use the 6V 7 amp hour battery on right in place of the 4.5 amp on left.
By themselves, they last almost twice as long as the smaller one and about 3 times as long as standard 6V lantern battery.
With a 6V solar cell attached, they have enough storage to last thru the long periods of dark cloudy winter weather and keep on feeding when you need it during deer season.
They do fit in every feeder box I have tried them in and are 5-7/8" long.
You can pick them up off of ebay for about 13 bux delivered.

Thanks for all of the feedback - very helpful. You guys know WAY more about this than me so I do have a question:

If I take the mAh of an alkaline 6V, (energizer says 26,000 mAh), that should equate to 26 Ah, right? So wouldn't the 26 Ah alkaline last much longer than a 4.5 Ah or 7 Ah lead acid battery of same voltage? What am I not taking into account?

The alkaline is measured in Milliamps or 1/1000 of an amp.
Rechargables listed are in amps.

2600 MaH = 2.6 amps

My experience is the alkaline will last longer. Most last six months and the rechargeable without solar won't last more than thirty days.

Alkaline lasts much longer in reality

The specs I've found online show 26,000 mAh, which if true would = 26 Ah .

I think we need a double blind test to settle this.

I use the rechargeable and get a little over 2 months out of a battery feeding twice a day for a total of 15 seconds.

Get a cheap 6 volt solar panel and 4.5 amp 6 volt rechargeable battery and you will not have to worry about how long it will last. Just pay a little more up front to save a lot down the line.
Heck, buy two rechargeables and a battery charger so you can swap one out every month or two or when you refill the feeder.

That's what I have done for years. It works great for me.

same here ... I actually have probably 10-12 6v and 6-8 12v spare batteries. I have a cabinet in the garage with 4-5 chargers that I rotate the batteries thru to keep a bunch charged. I then have a small old army mess kit aluminum container that I keep in the back floor board of my truck with several hot 6v & 12v batteries, spare timers, spinner plates, funnels, C batteries and battery tester... plus a couple of old 6v solar panels (that the coons chewed the wires off leaving a nubbin of electrical leads out the back). most of my feeders have solar panels (at least those that the coons haven't chewed the wires off yet) but anytime I am at one of the ranches, I have back ups just in case I need to replace the batteries.

Brown Feed in Lampasas sells the batteries for cheap (like $8 & $12), so I usually buy one or two of each when I get corn there. Chargers are cheap too

You said you didn't want to here it but a simple solar charger is cheap.....

a 12 volt lawn mower battery from wally world..20 bucks..solar panel youre done for two to three years!

Yep. 2 of my feeders are deep in the woods with little sun.

I have 6 volt rechargeable 4.5AH batteries on feeders with cheap solar that have been going for 10 years. All they need is 1 hour of sun a day to keep them "trickle charged". I only throw twice a day in winter and 3 times a day in summer (at times). Set it and.............forget it!