Mr Happy
Flashlight Enthusiast
I thought I'd start a new thread about these cells, as they are interesting. They came with the Panasonic DMW-LZACKIT Accessory Kit for Panasonic digital cameras along with the BQ-321 charger. This was intended for Panasonic cameras LZ2, LZ3 and LZ5 that took AA batteries in the days (2005/2006) before cameras all went lithium ion (Boo!!!). These days the kit is a clearance item, but the BQ-321 is still a nice charger (see other thread).
What's interesting about these cells? Well, firstly, my samples have a date code of 06-08 (August 2006), making them 4 1/2 years old, and here is how they performed out of the shrink wrap:
Initial voltages: 1.267 1.268 1.265 1.267 V
Intial charge: 1152 1097 1054 1075 mAh (discharged at 200 mA on the C9000)
Do you have the thought that Panasonic were selling low self-discharge cells in disguise before Sanyo laid claim to the idea? (These cells are not labelled as pre-charged and ready to use.)
Another interesting thing about these cells is they do not have the characteristic high voltage on full charge that Eneloops do. If you charge them on the C9000 they terminate on minus delta V and never reach 1.47 V. They do however terminate nicely and at the expected time. Here is the result of charging from empty at 1000 mA:
Time: 140 / 147 / 144 / 146 minutes
Charge supplied: 2114 / 2211 / 2177 / 2200 mAh
A preliminary discharge test after charging for approximately 2300 mAh at 200 mA gave:
Discharge: 1895 / 1875 / 1811 / 1794 mAh
This is a little low for the 2050 rating, but I think they might perk up a bit with a few more cycles. After all, they have been sleeping for nearly five years...
I will continue to play with them a bit and see if I can get the capacity nearer to 2000 mAh.
What's interesting about these cells? Well, firstly, my samples have a date code of 06-08 (August 2006), making them 4 1/2 years old, and here is how they performed out of the shrink wrap:
Initial voltages: 1.267 1.268 1.265 1.267 V
Intial charge: 1152 1097 1054 1075 mAh (discharged at 200 mA on the C9000)
Do you have the thought that Panasonic were selling low self-discharge cells in disguise before Sanyo laid claim to the idea? (These cells are not labelled as pre-charged and ready to use.)
Another interesting thing about these cells is they do not have the characteristic high voltage on full charge that Eneloops do. If you charge them on the C9000 they terminate on minus delta V and never reach 1.47 V. They do however terminate nicely and at the expected time. Here is the result of charging from empty at 1000 mA:
Time: 140 / 147 / 144 / 146 minutes
Charge supplied: 2114 / 2211 / 2177 / 2200 mAh
A preliminary discharge test after charging for approximately 2300 mAh at 200 mA gave:
Discharge: 1895 / 1875 / 1811 / 1794 mAh
This is a little low for the 2050 rating, but I think they might perk up a bit with a few more cycles. After all, they have been sleeping for nearly five years...
I will continue to play with them a bit and see if I can get the capacity nearer to 2000 mAh.