LabPro needs 1.5 V batteries. Standard alkaline batteries will provide 1.5V. Cheaper “heavy duty” batteries will not provide 1.5V for very long, and are not recommended. Rechargeable alkalines will also provide the full 1.5 V, so they will work. However, rechargeable alkaline batteries are now rare, and they cannot be recharged very many times.

We recommend premium disposable alkaline AA batteries for LabPro.

Much more common among the rechargeable class are the Ni-Cad (nickel-cadmium) or Ni-MH (nickel metal hydride) batteries. Unfortunately these batteries provide only 1.2 V. No damage will result but the battery life is greatly reduced to the point where it may not be practical.

Since LabPro was not originally designed to use these batteries, we do not recommend the use of Ni-Cad or Ni-MH cells with LabPro.