Very true but these devices seem to be worse than others. My IRIS motion and contact sensors are much better and don't remain on zero for months.
I was actually thinking I need a better battery tester. I have a cheap one that came with a wall mount battery holder I purchased. But wow this one is expensive. Worth it versus others out there?
I've been lucky with my Zigbee devices - most are battery and when I get notified, the battery is usually dead.
Really worth it. I've discussed it before on the forum, somewhere. 
Putting a proper pulsed load on the battery when measuring it is much more accurate than just measuring its voltage. These devices are what the pros use. I don't regret spending $100 for even a second. One of my most used and appreciated test instruments.
Here I go spending more money... 
Looking forward to trying it!
It comes in so slowly, but departs so quickly!
I could needlessly change every battery in every battery device I have many times before I recouped the cost of a $100 battery tester. 
What's the fun in that!
Very true!
I don't believe it. CR2 and CR123 batteries worth their salt add up pretty quickly. At least here in Canada, I don't know any sources that would come in cheaper.
Plus, you're destroying the environment by doing that. Stop it Jason! 
I buy CR123 and CR2 in bulk - cheapo no name brands. They've been working fine for 5+ years. Have had a few duds, but not many.
Anyway, each to their own! Not like I don't buy plenty of stuff that I couldn't justify on cost savings alone.
Oh, and I drop my batteries in the recycling bin at my local Best Buy. Assuming that they really get sent to a recycling center, and not straight to the trash, that's about as much as I'm willing to do there.
I've taken the advice of others and moved away from off brands. Buying mostly Panasonic now because their performance has been much better than others.
Last time I bought a pack of four CR2 batteries, the best price I could find for Panasonic was $18 CAD.
Of course, so do I. Lowe's takes them too. But I don't really know they are being recycled properly. I just hope they are. For sure, when it makes sense I convert my devices to mains powered adapters. When it doesn't, I try to reduce consumption as much as possible. If a device isn't good on any battery, I never buy that device again unless I feel the device is worth it and it makes sense to convert to adapter powered.
There's an old concept of embodied energy. Every device we make takes energy to make, energy to transport and energy to recycle or destroy. So every device has embodied energy beyond just what it consumes or delivers in its lifespan. This doesn't even take into consideration the environmental impact. The more we consume, the more demand for manufacturing consumes more energy and thus our environmental nightmare we've created keeps growing.
I'm as guilty as anyone for consuming. Good we're doing something about it. We (humans) aren't doing enough though.
Well, @JasonJoel
you made me "spruce up" an activity report that I haven't looked at in months.
You are 100% correct that if it doesn't report in, then it's not worth it's salt.
Guess what?
Time to check that!!! Thanks for the reminder!!!
Addendum:
I tend to agree with @SmartHomePrimer that it's not smart to rely on the battery reporting, and with @JasonJoel about the activity report.
A case in point: The above mentioned water sensor, that hasn't reported activity in 16 days:
I have one of the same sensor, and I’ve had the exact same problem. One of my early purchase mistakes. That single sensor cost me $60 CAD, but for $11 USD each, the Xiaomi use inexpensive CR2032 batteries that have lasted over two years. I check the Xiaomi regularly and for whatever reason, the leak sensors have never dropped ( I have them directly paired to HE and I use IKEA TRÅDFRI outlets for repeaters).
Do you have a link to the Xiaomi leak sensor you’re using?
Disclaimer:
These work for me. But, I have carefully built my Zigbee mesh with no unsupported repeaters, and no bulbs on the same Zigbee network.
More expensive than when I bought mine, but still not bad at $15.99
I would like to point out, (for those who may be reading this in the future), that I tried Xiaomi sensors on a number of occasions, with only the approved repeaters (Ikea Tradfri repeaters), and various drivers.
They still dropped off my mesh.
It's a classic case of:
Your mileage may vary...
Alkaline batteries are not recycled even if they're collected. Most municipalities say to throw them in the garbage as they are not hazardous. No need to make work for Best Buy or others.
Best Buy shouldn't have a battery recycling/disposal bin if they don't want people to put batteries in there.
Most I have seen have something indicating it's only for rechargeable batteries.
I'll look more closely at it next time I'm there... Maybe I've been dumping the wrong batteries in there all this time... (In which case I should stop doing that)
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