SANYO Announces C- and D-sized ‘eneloop’ Batteries

[lowatts]

I'm glad they finally are getting these out. Should be great quality, judging by the AA Eneloops, and they have good protection built-in for accidental/careless handling. I would've thought they could squeeze a little more capacity into them though. I just hope they will sell at reasonable prices.

 

[Mr Happy]

The only issue I see with the charger is that it appears the charge rates for all cells except the AAAs seem to go against the 0.33C minimum charge rate rule for charging NiMh cells.

In the description of the charger, Sanyo say that it uses a special peak voltage detection method and that this prevents overcharging. So it may be different from −ΔV and there would be less chance of missed termination or overcharging when using the lower rates.

 

[Chodes]

Capacity is a little dissapointing. Curious as to current capabilities. Eneloop AAs are good for 5-6A, wonder how the Cs and Ds will do. That's what will really determine how useful they are. (and if the low discharge performance is as good as the AAs)

 

[Bones]

...
I would've thought they could squeeze a little more capacity into them though.
...

I'm sure they could have.

But I also think it bodes well for us that they resisted that temptation.

To my way of thinking, this fact alone significantly increases the odds that the Eneloop C and D cells will perform as well and last as long as their smaller siblings.

The AA and AAA cells have been on the market for close to three years now, and reports of failures and/or sub standard performance remain virtually non-existent.

I will gladly trade this record for a little, or even a lot of initial of capacity in the C and D cells as well.

Of course, there could be major down side. If you buy sufficient Eneloops initially, any desire to purchase more will probably have to remain largely unsatisfied because, unlike their Energizer counterparts, they really should keep going and going...

 

[Sub_Umbra]

This is great news. At least Sanyo's moving away from the dreadful AA spacer snake oil they have been pushing for the last year or so. They have taken their heads out of a very, very dark place indeed and in the long run it will mean more great products for us from many sources -- just like their AAs and AAAs already have.

 

[mdocod]

when I said "this is going to get complicated" I didn't mean to imply that I didn't know what a PTC is or does, what I meant was, it used to be that current limiting devices, in the flashlight industry, were pretty much limited to loose li-ion cells. Now we have a circumstance where a PTC in a NIMH cell may be an issue for certain builds- we don't know how sensitive it is- will it sever the circuit during initial in-rush current on a cold high current bulb? No way to know at this point I guess, but the point is, as soon as we start talking about PTCs for NIMH AND Li-ion, there will certainly be increased levels of confusion abound.

Eric

 

[CM]

...will it sever the circuit during initial in-rush current on a cold high current bulb? No way to know at this point I guess, but the point is, as soon as we start talking about PTCs for NIMH AND Li-ion, there will certainly be increased levels of confusion abound.

Eric

PTC's that I know (resettable fuse applications) tend to act more like "slow blow" since they work on temperature. They also add resistance so they are less than ideal for high current devices. But they may also use PTC's with different properties for cell protection :shrug:

 

[jerry i h]

OK, here is a challenge.
I have many 5AH D-cell NiCd's that have the following properties:
1) cost only $5 each
2) they are recharged in a cheap-o, $20 charger
3) I can run 'em flat into the ground
4) they cranked out 7+ amps powering a 4 x P7 torch
5) they are 'reasonably' low LSD
How are theoretical Eneloop D cells any better?
I have AAA Eneloops, but I prefer to use NiCd AAA's for the reasons above.
Anyone?

 

[metlarules]

I agree with Jerry I H. I'm going to stick with my nicads at least until they up the mah of the eneloop d cell.And then only if the price is reasonable.
Bang for the buck I don't see any battery company beating the 7000mah for $5 price point anytime soon.

 

[lctorana]

I agree, price will be the eventual decider.

I disagee about AA, though, as Eneloops have fully double the capacity of my best AA NiCads, so the extra price of Eneloop (or in my case Sony CycleEnergy) over NiCad is very easily justified.

And while I'm on the subject of AA cells, I note that LSD AAs are NO DEARER than conventional NiMH AAs in Australian supermarkets & variety stores, so I have room to hope the C & D cells may be reasonably competitively priced.

 

[lctorana]

.

 

[metlarules]

I also use eneloop aa's. For d cell I have 8 7ah nicads and 8 10ah tenergy mimh.I am going to take a wait and see approach on the eneloop d cells. If they are inexpensive compared to their capacity I might try a few.

 

[lctorana]

.

 

[Phaserburn]

Maybe Sanyo is keeping the capacity lower than max to keep consumer cost down? I can't see these being hugely popular if they cost $20 for a 2/pack.

Looking forward to them. Release date? They will find homes in many of my flashlights and lanterns.

 

[Black Rose]

They are saying a September 12 release date in Japan.

When the AA & AAA Eneloops were released in Japan, how long did it take before they were available to the rest of the world?

 

[tslrc]

 

[Bones]

They are saying a September 12 release date in Japan.

When the AA & AAA Eneloops were released in Japan, how long did it take before they were available to the rest of the world?

A few months for Europe, a solid year or more for North America.

I doubt that will be the case with these cells though. The respective Eneloop divisions outside of Asia, which didn't really exist when the smaller cells were introduced, will surely make all kinds of noise if they're deprived of immediate stocks.

We also know from the persistence of cells manufactured in mid 2006 that Sanyo can produce vast quantities of Eneloops in relatively brief periods of time with no compromise in quality.

 

[Illum]

I wish they would come out with some higher mah aa's....this is some good news though.

at the cost of LSD? not a chance:nana:

I rather see reduced capacity than hyped capacity for any rechargeable cells, saves us from having to test for duds and more accurate in estimating runtimes.

 

[Bones]

I've consoled myself when buying NiCD cells that they would be recycled, so my usage was close to environmentally neutral.

The attached report from the United States Geological Survey makes it abundantly clear that rationale simply isn't valid.

They have determined that regardless of all the publicity, the vast majority of NiCD cells still don't get recycled.

It's therefore apparent that as long as there is a demand, NiCD cells will continue to be manufactured and continue to release very significant amounts of toxins into our environment.

There is also the fact that the majority are now made in China, which makes it likely that the workers involved in their production are being exposed to their toxicity as well.

These new Eneloop cells should make the transition to NiMH chemistry in the C and D sizes relatively painless, which has me thinking there's no longer any excuse whatsoever to refrain from doing my part to stifle the demand for NiCD cells...



Click on the image to download the full report from usgs.gov. It's a .pdf document.

 

[Sub_Umbra]

I have no guilt about my use of NiCDs at all. All of mine get recycled. I'm not responsible for how others dispose of their's...or whether they eat Big Macs or any number other things that they do.

NiMH cells in general haven't been around very long when compared to NiCD's +100 year history of cell and charger development. LSD NiMH cells are far younger yet. Even a cursory look around will reveal a surprising number of tasks that NiCDs are the most appropriate for and some things that may only be done with NiCDs. This is why they are still being sold. These are facts of life.

As time goes by NiMH and LSD cells will get better and cheaper and take over more of the load from NiCDs. With any luck at all LSD cells will replace more and more NiCD cells in the consumer market but it's going to take time. It's not something I'm going to wring my hands over.