On 8/28/2015 10:46 AM, Bill Pearce wrote:
Dr NiMH,
I checked my eneloops and they are labeled 1900 mAH, which make them substantially weaker than the 5-8 year old
Duracells I have that are well above 2500 mAH. Don't know what that means, but perhaps it's like automotive HP
ratings, that are often not fact based.
The big breakthrough with eneloops is not capacity, but holding a charge. Earlier NiMh designs, and many still being
made, are about capacity, but self discharge rapidly, half power in a few days, dead in a couple of weeks. For a photo
shoot with flash, where all the batteries are fully charged the night before, conventional NiMhs will give more shots.
For a household flashlight, as spares sitting on the shelf, etc. batteries that hold 80% of their charge after a year
are WAY better. The new, higher capacity eneloop model is somewhere in between.
The charger that came with the Eneloops is labeled to charge AA's at 300mA. The Duracell charger that is, like me,
much older charges at 360mA as the label indicates.
The original eneloop charger, NC-MQN04 is pretty poor. It only charges in pairs, not so useful for the many flashlights
and other gadgets that use one or three batteries. Charging unmatched pairs can screw them up. Doesn't actually sense
state of charge at all. It looks like this.
<http://battery-charger-review.toptenreviews.com/sanyo-4-position-charger-set-review.html> If you have one, throw it
away and get a newer one.
The next one I got, NC-MQN05, has four separate channels, so can charge singles, threes, etc. Only one light, which
doesn't go off 'til all batteries are charged. Not sure how smart the charge state sensing is. I used this one a lot
with no obvious problems.
The latest, BQ-CC17 is labeled 'Advanced' and is reportedly quite smart. Individual charge lights for all four
positions, so one could charge a pair from one use and a single from another at the same time and see when each is done,
for example. This is the day-to-day charger always plugged in at my house. Available from Amazon and in kits with
batteries at Costco.
There are adjustable chargers? Guess it's time for me to come out from under my rock and get with the times.
I also have a LaCrosse very smart charger, BC-700, which has detailed display of what it's doing, can recondition, etc.
I don't know all it can do. I used it a lot before the new Panny/eneloop came out. Overkill for my simple use.
Where do I find these rechargeable battery equivalent of unicorns?
The Costco kits are a good deal, but the wrong mix of sizes for me, with more AAs than AAAs. I've bought mostly from
Amazon, both eneloops and the Amazon branded ones. As far as I can tell, the Amazons are the same as eneloops.
Local Power Moose
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