Rayovac Rechargeable Alkaline AAA question

Here's the deal. A friend gave me about 20 of these Rayovac Rechargeable Alkaline AAA cells. They are NOT NiMH. They are Alkaline. It says on the package that you can recharge them 25 times or more. It also says you can only recharge them with a Rayovac Renewal charger. I don't really want to buy another charger even though it says on the package not to use any other charger.

So... these cells test at 1.5V new. I should be able to use the same charger I use for my NiMH AAA cells, right? Or no?

I had never even heard of these cells until I was given them.

Try it. It's probably not worth buying another charger that will be useless after awhile. I think nimh chargers on;y charge to 1.2v That might be a problem.

NiMh chargers charge cells up to 1,4V+. I believe chargers donĀ“t accept these alkalines, my guess would be because of higher internal resistance.

They seem to be handy, alkaline AND rechargeable but because their short lifespan and fast degrading they end up being not so cost effective.

Don't use a NiMh charger - you might get a leaking battery that breaks the charger. For hints on charging RAM you might want to look here (in german): http://www2.ife.ee.ethz.ch/~rolfz/batak/alkali_regenerieren/index.html

What he basically says is you need to charge with 50mA-100mA up to 1.65V - 1.7V.

Also - they are not made for high current :-(