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Panasonic Eneloop (4th generation)


RadoStefanov

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Just got the Panasonic Eneloop pro BK-3HCC/8

Even though they are 2450Mah they seam to work longer then new POWEREX 2700Mah on Zaxcom TRX900LA2.X

With the POWEREX the zaxcom battery indicator drops suddenly after 30 mins.

The Eneloops Pro have steady decrease and seam to work longer before battery blinking on the screen.

I can not afford to let them run out after blinking at the moment but will do as soon as I can.

 

 

 

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Rado, didn't I read somewhere that you use Imedion 2400 AAs in your TXs? How would you compare the two? I'm looking to buy 30-40 batts soon, and at their current pricing the Eneloop Pro AAs are about twice as much. 

Lately I am using the powerex 2700Mah. I need the extra run time for long drives.

I am compering the Panasonic emeloop pro to powerex 2700Mah

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same here,  i have hte eneloop pro's, 2500 mah,  they are really nice,  about 4 hours with the trx742 which is a AA monster. 

 

Never tested the trx 900 la2,  but I did near a full day without needing a change.  Anyone know  if it's ok to leave the eneloops in the unit for a few days, any danger of leaking.  Or if it's ok to leave them empty,  or better to top up after each use.

 

RTFM, i know, but I trust jw users more then the manual

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SM also notes lots of conflicting "facts" available on the Internet, including here.

 

Perhaps it would be helpful for SM to be aware that many of us have little trouble separating actual user experience from hype (or useless comments, for that matter) and, therefore, appreciate the discussion.

  

(Oh, no...!  Not another person speaking of him/herself in the third person.  JB thinks that's silly <g>. 

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Some AA chargers (like the excellent LaCross unit I got from advice here) will not charge if the voltage is too low.

I've seen this directly, AA batts in the kid's bedroom's reading lights left on after they fell asleep drained to empty - wouldn't charge.

 

The quick-and-easy work around is two pieces of (metal) cutlery - parallel up the empty one to a good one for 20 seconds or so to booststrap it to a voltage at which the charger will recognize it.

 

Better to charge them as soon as you're done using them.

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First pass on capacity for the four Eneloop Pro's is 2371 mAh, 2430 mAh, 2446 mAh and 2471 mAh. Pretty darned close to the rated 2450 mAh. Charged at 1000 mA's and discharged at 500 mA's. Or put another way, 3 hour charge time and 5 hour run time. Fairly heavy usage rate, as they will get with you all.

 

They were half discharged when I took them out of the package. I've noticed this before on Eneloops; they aren't as "precharged" as the marketing department would lead you to believe.

Best Regards,
Larry Fisher
Lectrosonics

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First pass on capacity for the four Eneloop Pro's is 2371 mAh, 2430 mAh, 2446 mAh and 2471 mAh. Pretty darned close to the rated 2450 mAh. Charged at 1000 mA's and discharged at 500 mA's. Or put another way, 3 hour charge time and 5 hour run time. Fairly heavy usage rate, as they will get with you all.

 

They were half discharged when I took them out of the package. I've noticed this before on Eneloops; they aren't as "precharged" as the marketing department would lead you to believe.

Best Regards,

Larry Fisher

Lectrosonics

Larry,

Did you break them in? or just charge?

Thanks

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Larry,

Did you break them in? or just charge?

Thanks

Hi Rado,

I discharged them out of the package and got about 1700 mAh. This is a little surprising considering they are supposed to be pre-charged and lose a small fraction of their charge per month. They could be several years old with that much drop but I don't think this version has been on the market that long. ???

 

Anyway, I then charged them as described above, several posts up, and then discharged them. So the 2400+ mAh numbers above are worst case numbers. I am running a second pass and they may even do a little better. Regular NiMh would improve after multiple cycles but these are different critters. I'll come back with more numbers.

Best Regards,

Larry Fisher

Lectrosonics

 

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Hi Rado,

I discharged them out of the package and got about 1700 mAh. This is a little surprising considering they are supposed to be pre-charged and lose a small fraction of their charge per month. They could be several years old with that much drop but I don't think this version has been on the market that long. ???

 

could be that they don't charge them fully before shipping?

a lot of rechargeable batteries have better life expectations if you keep them stored partially charged, and since they don't know how long they will be in warehouses/shelves before use it might be better to charge them only 70%.

 

pure guessing on my part, but seems more likely then that they have been charged fully and been in storage over 4 years.

chris

 

ps: on the old envelop you could find the manufacturing date through an imprint on the side. maybe that's still possible

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?364607-Overview-All-eneloop-batteries-2005-2014

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Hi Rado,

Thanks for the link; very useful. The date code for these is May 2014. So 4 or 5 months old max. So 6% or more self discharge per month. Eneloop advertises they are at full capacity from the git go. There is no reason to partly charge them because unlike other batteries, single cell NiMh batteries don't have problems being stored fully charged, partly charged or even dead. On the other hand, Li-Ion are shipped partly charged because full charging physically damages the carbon substrate. They store best, partly charged and cool. Full discharge will cause Li-Ions to fail. That's why most have protection circuits to prevent that. Never store them dead for months because even with protection circuits, they will continue to self discharge to zero charge. Lead acids die (grow large sulfate crystals) if they are left for long periods with no charge. NiMh batteries don't have either of those problems. 

 

Anyway, it is minor; I've just noticed on every pack of Eneloops I've opened for the last three years that they never come close to their stated "charge" fresh from the store. In use, they come closer to meeting their stated capacity than any other brands or type I've tested. It would be of no consequence to me except they state that they are ready to use immediately, as if they are a primary battery. I guess they are, just not at full capacity. I'm still discharging the Eneloops. They have several hours to go.

Best,
Larry F
Lectro

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Hi Rado,

That link is a pretty interesting forum, now that I've read past the date code posting. Another possibility for the lower than specified initial capacity is if the batteries had been stored by the seller at high temperatures in a warehouse, which is quite possible.

Best,
Larry F
Lectro

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First pass on capacity for the four Eneloop Pro's is 2371 mAh, 2430 mAh, 2446 mAh and 2471 mAh. Pretty darned close to the rated 2450 mAh. Charged at 1000 mA's and discharged at 500 mA's. Or put another way, 3 hour charge time and 5 hour run time. Fairly heavy usage rate, as they will get with you all.

 

They were half discharged when I took them out of the package. I've noticed this before on Eneloops; they aren't as "precharged" as the marketing department would lead you to believe.

Best Regards,

Larry Fisher

Lectrosonics

Second pass delivered 2396 mAh (vs 2371), 2447 (vs 2430), 2464 (vs 2446) and 2473 (vs 2471). That's a 1% difference or less from the first charge discharge cycle. My guess is that any further improvement will be minuscule. I'll charge them over the weekend at a lower rate and then discharge them at the same 500 mAh rate but I expect these are final numbers.

 

In sum, these Eneloops meet their specifications easily, unlike every other NiMh I've tested. YMMV.

Best Regards,

Larry Fisher

Lectrosonics

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I found my Eneloops to be weaker on my first shooting day when last charged 3-4 days before. From day 2 on when charged over night they performe better.

I know this should be nonsense since they claim to hold their power for weeks and month without significant loss but its always like this. And no they are not that old and when tested read more than the printed capacity. Strange ...

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Amazon sells "AmazonBasics" branded high capacity nimh AAs spec'd at 2400mah. Battery nerds review tested and believe these are 2500 mah XX Eneloops in an Amazon wrapper. At $19.49 for 8 including prime shipping I think they are the best bang for the buck now. The cells are labeled as "made in Japan".

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