Posted: 7/5/2014 7:25:30 AM EDT
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I was on Amazon looking to get a few more for the stash and I see there are a few different types of AA's. Is there a "best" in anyone's experience?
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Eneloops are good stuff and are the "best" of the rechargeables for now.
What I would like to try are the Amazon Branded slow discharge batteries similar to Eneloops. They are a bit cheaper. It appears that they are Byd branded underneath but seem to do pretty well. ETA: Also, if you really do use yours 500 times like you can, then over those 500 times, the difference you pay between good batteries and unknown/inferior batteries is going to be minuscule. |
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Not all "pre-charged" low self-discharge NiMH batteries are the same - Some of 'em are just plain inferior to Eneloops.
Unless you can find some detailed tests of the ones you're considering - or can confirm that they're actually rebranded Eneloops, it's probably best to stick to the real deal. |
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Not all "pre-charged" low self-discharge NiMH batteries are the same - Some of 'em are just plain inferior to Eneloops. Unless you can find some detailed tests of the ones you're considering - or can confirm that they're actually rebranded Eneloops, it's probably best to stick to the real deal. This. I was not a believer until I bought a bunch. Now it's all i will buy. |
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Candlepowerforums.com has alot of info/tests/charts on batteries/chargers etc.
Pre-charged Eneloops seem to be the highest rated. They come in different MhA ratings so watch out on Amazon orders. I think Eveready's were getting a good rating of performance per $ Certain Duracells are also made by Sanyo. Members report finding good deals on Eneloops at Costco from time to time. |
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Eneloops are one of my favorite technologies in recent years. Head to head in my non-scientific testing it isn't even close. I have actually tossed good rechargeables in favor of replacing them with Eneloops. As others have said, be careful because not all created equal. My Costco had low mAh batteries for a decent price but total value wasn't there for me. And the high capacities (XX I think) are not worth it to me, YMMV. |
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PowerEx MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger-Analyzer for 4 AA/AAA Batteries. Quoted:
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If I might ask, what do people here use to charge your Enloop batteries to get maximum performance? PowerEx MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger-Analyzer for 4 AA/AAA Batteries. I have been told this by a number of informed individuals, so I bought one. It is a great little charger, with tons of features. Consider spending a few extra bucks for the 12V/car adaptor, which allows use in your car, or on a spare 12Vbattery if need be. |
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My Eneloops were all running down really fast. I'd only been using the supplied charger that came in the Costco packs.
The first thing I did was refresh all of them once I bought the PowerEx. It took a long time but it restored the capacity and actually bumped it a bit above their rated capacity. I've been very happy with this charger. |
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PowerEx MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger-Analyzer for 4 AA/AAA Batteries. Quoted:
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If I might ask, what do people here use to charge your Enloop batteries to get maximum performance? PowerEx MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger-Analyzer for 4 AA/AAA Batteries. this for initial condition and chrage. after that i use a regular plug in charger and twice a year i test and recharge them on the c9000. i use a lot of aa so at any given time i have 2-3 sets charging. |
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Any one know how Goal Zero batteries compare to the eneloops? I have some of these that came with the little AA usb power pack. I was not impressed with them as compared to my eneloops. They seem more like regular AA NiMH as opposed to higher quality low discharge Eneloops. |
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Any one know how Goal Zero batteries compare to the eneloops? I read in several places that the ones with the visible white label lip (near the positive terminal) are relabeled Eneloops, and on my battery analyzer they "look" very similar to Eneloops that have had the same lifespan and usage. I would feel confident using them, at least the batches that I have. On a related note, I've had half of my Powerfilm AAs fail to hold a charge anymore after just a few uses. Even reconditioning didn't help. And I received no help from Powerfilm customer service when I asked for an exchange. Granted, I did not have my receipts anymore, but still I would hope they would stand behind their product after less than a year of use. |
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I read in several places that the ones with the visible white label lip (near the positive terminal) are relabeled Eneloops, and on my battery analyzer they "look" very similar to Eneloops that have had the same lifespan and usage. I would feel confident using them, at least the batches that I have. On a related note, I've had half of my Powerfilm AAs fail to hold a charge anymore after just a few uses. Even reconditioning didn't help. And I received no help from Powerfilm customer service when I asked for an exchange. Granted, I did not have my receipts anymore, but still I would hope they would stand behind their product after less than a year of use. Quoted:
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Any one know how Goal Zero batteries compare to the eneloops? I read in several places that the ones with the visible white label lip (near the positive terminal) are relabeled Eneloops, and on my battery analyzer they "look" very similar to Eneloops that have had the same lifespan and usage. I would feel confident using them, at least the batches that I have. On a related note, I've had half of my Powerfilm AAs fail to hold a charge anymore after just a few uses. Even reconditioning didn't help. And I received no help from Powerfilm customer service when I asked for an exchange. Granted, I did not have my receipts anymore, but still I would hope they would stand behind their product after less than a year of use. i have 2 sets of GZ AA and 2 sets of AAA. they perform VERY close to my eneloops. |
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My sources also gave Lacrosse chargers good marks. At that level, the differences are beyond my knowledge level, so I defer to a consensus of informed and unbiased experts whom I have come to trust. I don't think anyone would go wrong with buying either the Lacrosse or the various Maha chargers. |
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My sources also gave Lacrosse chargers good marks. At that level, the differences are beyond my knowledge level, so I defer to a consensus of informed and unbiased experts whom I have come to trust. I don't think anyone would go wrong with buying either the Lacrosse or the various Maha chargers. Quoted:
My sources also gave Lacrosse chargers good marks. At that level, the differences are beyond my knowledge level, so I defer to a consensus of informed and unbiased experts whom I have come to trust. I don't think anyone would go wrong with buying either the Lacrosse or the various Maha chargers. i actually have both. the maha is perfect for knowing what the status of the battery is. the lacrosse is just a well made solid no frills charger. |
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this for initial condition and chrage. after that i use a regular plug in charger and twice a year i test and recharge them on the c9000. i use a lot of aa so at any given time i have 2-3 sets charging. Quoted:
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If I might ask, what do people here use to charge your Enloop batteries to get maximum performance? PowerEx MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger-Analyzer for 4 AA/AAA Batteries. this for initial condition and chrage. after that i use a regular plug in charger and twice a year i test and recharge them on the c9000. i use a lot of aa so at any given time i have 2-3 sets charging. So, you use the Maha for initial conditioning, and then the chargers applicable to the batts in question for general use. Interesting. Does this work well for you?. Is initial conditioning so important? I'm a stooge on all this high-tech batt stuff, although I've been using rechargeable NiMhs for years, along with the simple charger I bought along with them. |
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So, you use the Maha for initial conditioning, and then the chargers applicable to the batts in question for general use. Interesting. Does this work well for you?. Is initial conditioning so important? I'm a stooge on all this high-tech batt stuff, although I've been using rechargeable NiMhs for years, along with the simple charger I bought along with them. I have the monstrous Maha unit, 8 bays with full display, as well as the smaller Lacrosse. I find myself mainly using the Maha at home, and Lacrosse only for travel. Both seem to work well for conditioning and charging. I had bought the Lacrosse first, then the Maha because it could do larger batteries and more at once. I think both are excellent. Either one is very easy to use after reading the manual. Most people with limited electronics knowledge could probably comprehend how to effectively use them after a short time. I am a lifelong amateur radio nerd so I had no problem with either one 
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So, you use the Maha for initial conditioning, and then the chargers applicable to the batts in question for general use. Interesting. Does this work well for you?. Is initial conditioning so important? I'm a stooge on all this high-tech batt stuff, although I've been using rechargeable NiMhs for years, along with the simple charger I bought along with them. Quoted:
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If I might ask, what do people here use to charge your Enloop batteries to get maximum performance? PowerEx MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger-Analyzer for 4 AA/AAA Batteries. this for initial condition and chrage. after that i use a regular plug in charger and twice a year i test and recharge them on the c9000. i use a lot of aa so at any given time i have 2-3 sets charging. So, you use the Maha for initial conditioning, and then the chargers applicable to the batts in question for general use. Interesting. Does this work well for you?. Is initial conditioning so important? I'm a stooge on all this high-tech batt stuff, although I've been using rechargeable NiMhs for years, along with the simple charger I bought along with them. i use the powerex for the initial conditioning and for an occasional refresh. mostly because that was highly recommended on all the forums and when i chose to switch to the eneloops they were significantly more money than other batts. i can't say for sure it was "needed" but by the second or third charge the meter did show the batts had increased their capacity about 5-10% over new. it has also brought a few cheaper batteries back to life after a couple of conditioning cycles. <that said all of those batteries eventually failed a few months later> i bought the lacrosse when i needed a second charger and it was very highly recommended as a well made stable unit. i also have 3 other cheap plugin/12v chargers i use in the car on the road and with my solar panels. to be honest i can't really tell a difference in charge quality between the lacrosse and the cheap chargers for general use. Supposedly the lacrosse is programmed to be a safer charge to extend the battery life vs a general charger. in all honesty i think running the low end chargers for general use and then refreshing and testing the cells 2-3 times a year would be just fine. IIRC the cheap chargers tend to not get them to 100% in many cases due to the voltages involved. the better quality chargers like the maha and lacrosse will. so far after 5 or so years i have yet to have an eneloop fail and i have yet to have one show any decrease in capacity. I have had a LOT of cheaper batteries fail the condition cycle after a year or so of use, but i am likely not the avg user. I have converted everything i have to the AA's. i even run them with converters in the bigger D and C cell devices. I found i seldom run those devices for a long period of time and it's easier to only have to manage one size of battery. i have about 20 AA enellops that are rotated through all the home devices regularly, and i have another 20 or so charged in reserve for SHTF. every 12 months i rotate the batches from general use to storage <no real reason for it other than it makes me feel better> i have found the Larger devices tend to get about 1/3-1/2 the run time vs using duracell D batteries but that is to be expected and it has yet to be an issue for my uses. |
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I have the monstrous Maha unit, 8 bays with full display, as well as the smaller Lacrosse. I find myself mainly using the Maha at home, and Lacrosse only for travel. Both seem to work well for conditioning and charging. I had bought the Lacrosse first, then the Maha because it could do larger batteries and more at once. I think both are excellent. Either one is very easy to use after reading the manual. Most people with limited electronics knowledge could probably comprehend how to effectively use them after a short time. I am a lifelong amateur radio nerd so I had no problem with either one Quoted:
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So, you use the Maha for initial conditioning, and then the chargers applicable to the batts in question for general use. Interesting. Does this work well for you?. Is initial conditioning so important? I'm a stooge on all this high-tech batt stuff, although I've been using rechargeable NiMhs for years, along with the simple charger I bought along with them. I have the monstrous Maha unit, 8 bays with full display, as well as the smaller Lacrosse. I find myself mainly using the Maha at home, and Lacrosse only for travel. Both seem to work well for conditioning and charging. I had bought the Lacrosse first, then the Maha because it could do larger batteries and more at once. I think both are excellent. Either one is very easy to use after reading the manual. Most people with limited electronics knowledge could probably comprehend how to effectively use them after a short time. I am a lifelong amateur radio nerd so I had no problem with either one i am an IT tech but had limited knowledge of battery systems. it took me about 10 min to get up to speed. very easy to use and very user friendly. |
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panasonic owns sanyo
http://www.cnet.com/news/panasonic-finally-buys-up-all-of-sanyo/ Panasonic finally buys up all of Sanyo Panasonic announced today that it will acquire the remaining 20 percent of Sanyo it doesn't own to make the company a wholly owned subsidiary. by Don Reisinger @donreisinger December 21, 2010 |
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panasonic owns sanyo http://www.cnet.com/news/panasonic-finally-buys-up-all-of-sanyo/ Panasonic finally buys up all of Sanyo Panasonic announced today that it will acquire the remaining 20 percent of Sanyo it doesn't own to make the company a wholly owned subsidiary. by Don Reisinger @donreisinger December 21, 2010 Nice, thanks! |
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panasonic owns sanyo http://www.cnet.com/news/panasonic-finally-buys-up-all-of-sanyo/ Panasonic finally buys up all of Sanyo Panasonic announced today that it will acquire the remaining 20 percent of Sanyo it doesn't own to make the company a wholly owned subsidiary. by Don Reisinger @donreisinger December 21, 2010 With that contract to supply Tesla with 2 billion 18650 cells over the next several years, Panasonic is going to need all the production capacity they can get... 
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