Ansmann maxE / maxE Plus LSD

(Repost, unfortunately my account and posts got lost in the abyss)

I picked up a 4-pack of Ansmann's maxE and maxE Plus LSD AA cells the other day on a whim. They're widely available here, but I've never tried them before. So far the results are disappointing to say the least.

The standard maxE AA cells are advertised as 2100 mAh (2000 mAh min) LSD cells. The maxE Plus cells are advertised as 2500 mAh (2400 mAh min). Ansmann doesn't make any claims as to a specific percentage of charge retention beyond "1 year stand-by without recharging". Both types are labelled as made in China.

Visually, the maxE cells bear a striking resemblance to the Sony CycleEnergy Gold cells I played with a few weeks ago (identical vent holes, ridge near the positive terminal, bump on the negative terminal).

The packs I picked up did not have a state stamp on either the cells or the packaging, so I can't rule out that it might be old stock.

Fresh out of the package, a 400 mA discharge on the C9000 revealed the following residual capacities for the 2100 mAh maxE cells:

1298 mAh
1254 mAh
1305 mAh
1282 mAh

These cells just finished their break-in cycle (capacity set to 2100 mAh), resulting in these reported capacities (same order as above):

1879 mAh
1877 mAh
1853 mAh
1943 mAh

With all cells below the advertised minimum capacity and only one within acceptable tolerances, these will likely be the last of their kind that I've bought.


500 mA discharge results for the "2500 mAh" maxE Plus cells:

124 mAh
143 mAh
6 mAh
9 mAh

I can't really call these "pre-charged" by any stretch of the imagination, but I ran them through break-in anyway to see what they're made of. The results were similarly disappointing:

2322 mAh
2248 mAh
2303 mAh
2347 mAh


I contacted Ansmann and was asked to send the cells in for testing and replacement, which I did. I'll post an update once I hear from them.

I have slightly better results for MaxE
Discharge new from pack 400 mA
1568
1439
1510
1510

Break-In 2100 mAh
2065
1933
2046
1951

Nevertheless I was really disappointed, when plot discharging curve
http://forum.ixbt.com/topic.cgi?id=20:27398:3652#3652
Lowest V in my collection

Honestly, I don't expect much from anything that isn't an Eneloop. Messing around with these "b-list" cells is more of a project. Considering that these cost me more than Eneloops, there isn't much of a chance of me buying them again.

That said, if a manufacturer promises a "minimum capacity", their cells better come within a reasonable margin of it.

The maxE Plus cells were a particular disappointment in that their LSD-capabilities seem to be non existent. I've (literally) had non-LSD cells that had more juice in them fresh out of the box than these.

I just received the replacements from Ansmann. Unfortunately they aren't retail packaged (or sealed at all), so a direct comparison may not be possible as I can't tell if these were treated any differently than factory-sealed cells of theirs. Or if these are, in fact, new cells at all.

I have to admit that I find three weeks an awfully long time to replace some batteries, though technically they could've just told me to take it up with the seller instead of dealing with them directly. They did send me two extra cells to cover my shipping.

That's the "customer service experience" bit out of the way. I'll post again when I have some results from these new cells.

400 mA discharge on the new 2100 mAh maxE cells:

1935 mAh
1914 mAh
1995 mAh
1952 mAh

To me, this suggests that they topped off the cells before shipping.

Sanyo XX's have around 1000mAh out of the box.
If the max Plus cells are LSD, I would be happy with 2300mAh.
Sanyo XX cells perform around 2400.

My new set of maxE Plus cells is still discharging, but it looks like those were topped off before shipping too. I might have to let them sit a while after charging to judge their LSD capabilities.

But considering that they weren't any cheaper than a set of XX cells, I doubt I'll buy them again, except when I need them in a hurry (they're widely available whereas Eneloops are much harder to find here).

500 mA discharge on the new 2500 mAh maxE Plus cells:

2182 mAh
2173 mAh
2185 mAh
2177 mAh

I'm suspicious about this dramatic improvement over the previous set of maxE Plus cells (first post). But again, these cells weren't factory sealed, so I have no way of knowing if they were charged or conditioned in any way before shipping.

The final two cells are discharging now.

I haven't decided yet if I'll run a break-in on any of these cells or just charge them up to possibly test their capacity retention somewhere down the road.

I have the max e+ 2500's as well. I haven't done any scientific tests on them as I can't be bothered to hook them up to my model charger.
But the impression I get is that they hold charge much better than regular nimh but not nearly as well as eneloops. I also had 1 cell (out of 8) go dead within a year. I'm thinking that increasing the capacity, reduces the LSD, number of charges, and general robustness of the cell. e.g. sanyo eneloop 2000 (v2) is advertised at 1500 charges whereas the XX 2500's are only 500.

Anyone know if the powerex imedion are any good?

Haven't tried Ansmann, but I have used and somewhat tested the Imedions, which don't seem too bad so far.
I hope they hold up better than the powerex-2700's (non-LSD), which would not hold a charge for a week, after about 6 months.

With a grain of salt, some discharge,break-in cycles and finally a charge retention on my Maha C9000;


I've also picked up (4) Sanyo XXX 2500's, and for an initial discharge straight from the pack, I got between 960-990 mah.

The 1st break-in cycle I was getting between 2385->2450 mah :thumbsup:

Thanks rej

I'd be interested to see how your Sanyo XX and imedions compare over time and how they compare to regular eneloops

My guess is that they charged the Max Plus cells they have sent to you.
Try a break-in and check if they perform better than the first ones you had.
I am testing 4 Sanyo XX batteries for LSD qualities. I'm still only about 2 months waiting.
I discharged the first one after 21 days and capacity was around 2160mAh.
Parallel I have 4 Sanyo 2700's and after 21 days that one still had 2270mAh left.
So after a month there is no benefit for choosing XX's over 2700's.

s0lar said:

My guess is that they charged the Max Plus cells they have sent to you.
Try a break-in and check if they perform better than the first ones you had.

Click to expand...

For what it's worth, the initial 400 mA discharge on the new set of 2100 mAh maxE cells was already better than the break-in results of the first set.

I also noticed that the new set of 2500 mAh maxE Plus cells has different wrappers than the first set. The old cells had a dull silver wrapper with a very pronounced ridge near the anode (giant picture here). The new cells have a shiny silver wrapper with only a hint of a ridge. Unfortunately, still no date stamp.

Yes....I'm going to try and keep tabs on both the PowerEx Imedions & the Sanyo XXX's over time, however....

My main reason for buying them (so I tell the wife ) is for 'her' new SC51 which shipped from C^%$#, Feb 13th and has yet to arrive!?

So my testing has been in 'flasholic withdrawal limbo' with my new AA's, since my cheap KD Ultrafire AA light, no longer works with AA's, only 14500's....

That's what i get for buying an $18 Stainless Steel flashlight; DELIVERED to Canada! (nice little light though considering, when working properly!)