Eneloop battery life?

[BlakeB]

I have 8 AA eneloops and 8 Amazon Basics AA (made in Japan, and look identical to eneloops minus the wrapper) no issues out of any of them at 2.5-3 years old.

I also have 8 aaa amazon basics (made in Japan, rewrapped eneloops supposedly) that are used in my headlamps and mag lite solitaire. The AAAs are charged about 2x per week and the AAs every couple of weeks. I bought all of the above batteries at about the same time. The AAs have been perfect, but several of the AAAs are starting to show high resistance and refuse to charge on my Panasonic BQ-CC17 charger.

I also have some chinese made Rayovac Platinum rechargeable AAAs that I figure have to be approaching 10 years old that are still going strong.

I have some Thunderbolt Magnum AAA batteries from harbor freight that are about a year old that are doing ok as well.

 

[dubber09]

IMHO, the best 'loops one can have are Ikea's LADDA in white jacket. They are made in Japan and according to some sources at same factory that makes Pannys and a slew of other branded batteries.
I use them exclusively and am a very happy camper.
If you want a good cheap charger - get Ikea's Kvarts (Panny) or a smart charger like MiBoxer C4.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted by dubber09
IMHO, the best 'loops one can have are Ikea's LADDA in white jacket. They are made in Japan and according to some sources at same factory that makes Pannys and a slew of other branded batteries.

Here in the US, the latest batches of Ikea LADDA cells are now made in China. It's unknown how they compare to the "made in Japan" ones from a quality/performance perspective.

 

[dubber09]

Good to know, time to stock up on Japanese LADDAs then, they've been excellent so far, I got about 3 dozen of AA and AAAs.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted by dubber09
Good to know, time to stock up on Japanese LADDAs then, they've been excellent so far, I got about 3 dozen of AA and AAAs.

Are those the high/low capacity or the standard? I'm kind of hesistant about the high capacity ones because I heard they tend to fail early. The low capacity ones are supposedly for use where they're charged often and where there's an advantage because they weigh less.

I'd certainly like to be able to see what I'm buying. I'm not sure about Ikea these days. I don't think they've reopened yet.

Amazon operates a few stores including one near me. I was hoping that maybe they would have their AmazonBasics rechargeable batteries in stock so I could have a look see as to where they were made. But the only AmazonBasics batteries they had were packs of alkalines.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted by y_p_w
Originally Posted by dubber09
Good to know, time to stock up on Japanese LADDAs then, they've been excellent so far, I got about 3 dozen of AA and AAAs.

Are those the high/low capacity or the standard? I'm kind of hesistant about the high capacity ones because I heard they tend to fail early. The low capacity ones are supposedly for use where they're charged often and where there's an advantage because they weigh less.

High capacity ones are rated for 500 cycles while the standard capacity ones are rated for 2000 cycles, roughly, so that is the trade-off.

Realistically though, say you recharge them once a week, so 500 cycles = 500 weeks = 9.5 years of life.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by y_p_w
Originally Posted by dubber09
Good to know, time to stock up on Japanese LADDAs then, they've been excellent so far, I got about 3 dozen of AA and AAAs.

Are those the high/low capacity or the standard? I'm kind of hesistant about the high capacity ones because I heard they tend to fail early. The low capacity ones are supposedly for use where they're charged often and where there's an advantage because they weigh less.

High capacity ones are rated for 500 cycles while the standard capacity ones are rated for 2000 cycles, roughly, so that is the trade-off.

Realistically though, say you recharge them once a week, so 500 cycles = 500 weeks = 9.5 years of life.


I think it's more than just the nominal ratings. The design needed to pack higher capacity into the same size is more prone to premature failure from just random failure or damage from being dropped. I'm pretty sure when they first came out, 2000 mAh was specifically chosen because it would be more reliable in the long run. I remember back then there typical 2500 mAh standard discharge batteries were rated for 500-750 cycles.

 

[Cujet]

I have my father's eneloops and they still work just fine. He died in 2008, so they are at least 12 years old.

I use them to power a light for artwork. They get charged about every 2 weeks.

 

[Quattro Pete]

As rechargeables get old, their internal resistance (IR) increases, which means they won't be good for high drain applications anymore, but they still should be just fine for low drain stuff.

Some more advanced chargers will show you the IR value, alas, many of them aren't very accurate at measuring cell's IR.

 

[Dave9]

Originally Posted by y_p_w
Originally Posted by dubber09
Good to know, time to stock up on Japanese LADDAs then, they've been excellent so far, I got about 3 dozen of AA and AAAs.

Are those the high/low capacity or the standard? I'm kind of hesistant about the high capacity ones because I heard they tend to fail early. The low capacity ones are supposedly for use where they're charged often and where there's an advantage because they weigh less.


The high capacity (Eneloop & Fujitsu Pro) don't seem to even last 500 cycles. After a few dozen using same charger i use for the regular Eneloop AA and AAA, their IR gets very high and limits current even around the 300mA range which I've observed from dimmer output (and current measurement) in flashlights. They also get rejected by a couple of chargers that have no problem with any other batteries including much older regular Eneloops.

I have some dozen year old regular Eneloops that work fine still but their capacity is down to maybe 60% of original. Granted part of that could be that because I have newer with more capacity remaining, I don't use the older ones as much so they don't get exercised. Often capacity will be regained a little if you discharge and recharge a couple times within a few days, compared to picking up one that sat mostly depleted and only give it a single charge cycle for use.

I've started using a lot of Tenergy Centura LSD AA because I got a great bulk price on them about 4 years ago, and am happy with their performance but they are a slightly larger diameter and don't fit in everything. Granted I haven't given any more than a few dozen cycles because with the # I have, I haven't needed to.

 

[kc8adu]

http://aacycler.com/battery/aa/panasonic-eneloop/

 

[y_p_w]

I was thinking about previous Eneloop discussions after I found two pairs (one pair in a device and one pair in a 4-AA battery case) in a jacket that I hadn't seen in years. I believe I bought them as a 4-pack. Judging by the old receipts in my pocket, I must have left them there for 9+ years. It still turned on a small LED light on the device, and the pair in the case still turned on an LED bike light. I put tape on one pair to tell them apart. They all have the same date code corresponding to 2007. These are the first generation from Sanyo with the model HR-3UTG and no A or B like the 2nd/3rd generation that had slightly better longevity and a crown symbol on the label.

It is rather impressive that after that long it still has quite a bit of charge left. But I'll just charge them and put them in the rotation with my other pairs. Previously I'd used pairs of Eneloop with Siemens cordless phone handsets that used AA rechargeables.

 

[vavavroom]

Funny you should ask. I know exactly how old all my Eneloops are because I write the delivery date on them with a Sharpie. My oldest two Eneloop White AAA batteries that I bought in 2008 finally kicked the bucket a week ago after almost 14 years. They no longer can be charged. They have certainly been used constantly and have been recharged many hundreds of times, more than the 500 times that can be expected. They failed suddenly and at the same time. This particular set was in my rearview camera module for the last 6 months. That's a rough life for rechargeables. I have Eneloop Black AA batteries that are just as old and they still work but I have not been using them as much.

At least 500 charge cycles, possibly twice that would be my expectation as far as service life goes.

 

[Mitch51]

Just bought some standard AA 2000 mAh Panasonic Eneloops for my Xbox controller, since it eats the alkalines in less than a week. I got the Eneloop brand because of the proven low self-discharge and number of recharge cycles, but how long are they actually rated to last in years? I can't really find any good data on this; maybe there isn't any. Will they last decades potentially, if they haven't hit the maximum number of charge cycles at that point? I know alkaline chemistry is different, and most of them have a rated life, usually 5-10 years after manufacture date, then they expire. I'm assuming since NiMH batteries are rechargeable, their life is limited by charge cycles (and potentially use), rather than time.

I have many of them, they last far more than that! Nobody lived enough to challenge it!
They deserve a top end charger, like a liitokala or nitecore, and they will outlast anything!

 

[y_p_w]

I have many of them, they last far more than that! Nobody lived enough to challenge it!
They deserve a top end charger, like a liitokala or nitecore, and they will outlast anything!

I took apart my Panasonic 4-battery charger that's been doing well for years a while back. I think it's rated at 300/150 mA output to each AA/AAA battery. But when I opened it up I found it had a charging chip from a Taiwanese company (forgot the name). It wasn't a big company like Analog Devices, ST, or NXP. While the label says only for use with Panasonic NiMH batteries, it came up as a circuit that was meant for generic NiCad and NiMH batteries. And of course there were older Panasonic rechargeable batteries (not sure who made them) before the merger with Sanyo and the sale of the battery division to FDK Fujitsu.

 

[Duffyjr]

I just lost a pair a couple months ago, they came with a Logitech remote I purchase in 2010 according to my Amazon history. I have another pair that came with a different Logitech remote I bought around the same time. Those four are the older HR-3UTG. I also have four of the newer ones from 2012. All of them have been charged on an old Powerex charger, it does charge four at a time but in pairs.

 

[y_p_w]

I just lost a pair a couple months ago, they came with a Logitech remote I purchase in 2010 according to my Amazon history. I have another pair that came with a different Logitech remote I bought around the same time. Those four are the older HR-3UTG. I also have four of the newer ones from 2012. All of them have been charged on an old Powerex charger, it does charge four at a time but in pairs.

I've got one of those. Was that the kind that charged in pairs, where each pair had a button to start a "conditioning" cycle where it would be completely drained and then charged? I also got a couple of the Powerex ones that individually charged, including a limited edition black one that only Thomas Distributing sold. I think they got that only because they were their biggest retailer. My first one came with one of those super heavy power adapters with a coil transformer. That eventually burned out. The next one must have a switching power adapter because it's so much lighter, but it was only rated for use at 110-120V. I have a bunch of 12V power adapters (mostly packaged with external hard drives) and I found a source on eBay that sold a pair of coax adapters to go down to that thin coax barrel that those chargers needed.

 

[Duffyjr]

I've got one of those. Was that the kind that charged in pairs, where each pair had a button to start a "conditioning" cycle where it would be completely drained and then charged? I also got a couple of the Powerex ones that individually charged, including a limited edition black one that only Thomas Distributing sold. I think they got that only because they were their biggest retailer. My first one came with one of those super heavy power adapters with a coil transformer. That eventually burned out. The next one must have a switching power adapter because it's so much lighter, but it was only rated for use at 110-120V. I have a bunch of 12V power adapters (mostly packaged with external hard drives) and I found a source on eBay that sold a pair of coax adapters to go down to that thin coax barrel that those chargers needed.

Yes, it's a Powerex MAHA C204f and they still sell them. I don't even remember where I purchased it, it's not in my Amazon history which goes back to 2006. I was charging the old style batteries with it long before the Eneloop came along. Believe it or not it still works like a champ. I think the secret to charging in pairs is to always keep them in the same pairs when charging.

Mine is similar to this one but not exactly, I have two of the buttons instead of one on the front.

Amazon.com: Powerex MH-C204F Ni-MH AA/AAA Battery Charger : Electronics

Buy Powerex MH-C204F Ni-MH AA/AAA Battery Charger: Battery Chargers - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

Like this one.

POWEREX MH-C204F AA / AAA NiMH & NiCD Intelligent Rapid Charger - Newegg.com

Buy POWEREX MH-C204F AA / AAA NiMH & NiCD Intelligent Rapid Charger with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

I also have a Nitecore D4 I purchased when I started charging the larger batteries for a flashlight which does charge each cell separately.

 

[y_p_w]

Yes, it's a Powerex MAHA C204f and they still sell them. I don't even remember where I purchased it, it's not in my Amazon history which goes back to 2006. I was charging the old style batteries with it long before the Eneloop came along. Believe it or not it still works like a champ. I think the secret to charging in pairs is to always keep them in the same pairs when charging.

Mine is similar to this one but not exactly, I have two of the buttons instead of one on the front.

Amazon.com: Powerex MH-C204F Ni-MH AA/AAA Battery Charger : Electronics

Buy Powerex MH-C204F Ni-MH AA/AAA Battery Charger: Battery Chargers - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

Like this one.

POWEREX MH-C204F AA / AAA NiMH & NiCD Intelligent Rapid Charger - Newegg.com

Buy POWEREX MH-C204F AA / AAA NiMH & NiCD Intelligent Rapid Charger with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

I also have a Nitecore D4 I purchased when I started charging the larger batteries for a flashlight which does charge each cell separately.

I don't like using the Maha one any more. The main thing is to get a charger that actually terminates a charge. The old style was to have a trickle charge once it was sensed as fully charged. I guess that might have been OK with older NiMH and NiCad batteries that had a fairly high self-discharge, but not really all that needed with low self-discharge.

Back then I used a ton of Sanyo batteries of varying capacities. I think they finally topped out at 2500 mAh but I had some that were only rated at 1600 mAh. But they sold them to anyone, including Maha, Energizer, Duracell, Maxell, Sony, etc. They were easy to spot because they had "HR" stamped on the negative terminal.

I had a Sony branded charger that charged individually at about 300 mA, but the thing that was maddening about it was that it only had a single indicator light. Unless batteries were charged one at a time, it was impossible to know which one was fully charged (of course it went off when all were charged) or which battery was bad (flashing).

 

[y_p_w]

I had a Sony branded charger that charged individually at about 300 mA, but the thing that was maddening about it was that it only had a single indicator light. Unless batteries were charged one at a time, it was impossible to know which one was fully charged (of course it went off when all were charged) or which battery was bad (flashing).

I found a review of it. While it charged them independently, the single indicator light is weird. I believe it was orange when charging and green when done.