Is it safe to switch between NiMH and alkaline batteries?

[Jane C]

I use my battery-powered laser level with rechargeable NiMH batteries. But when I need the device but haven’t the time to recharge, I opt to use alkaline batteries. I know that this is generally okay for most devices, but has anyone here had any bad experience in doing this?

 

[dave9]

No bad experiences. IMO, devices designed to take AA format are made with the assumption that people will potentially be putting 1.5V alkalines in them.

What I would do is buy some LSD (low self discharge) NiMH, at least one backup set, then they're ready when you need them and have a while to recharge the drained set of cells when convenient.

 

[Audioguru]

Name Brand Ni-MH batteries made in the last 5 years have Eneloop chemistry that holds a charge for one year.
Older or cheap Chinese batteries are too old to hold a charge.

Name Brand alkaline batteries hold a charge for 10 years.