Eneloop Glitter AA break in results?

So I'm running all of my Eneloops through a break-in on my Maha Powerex MH-C9000. So far I've cycled 12 unused cells. 6 of which I purchased on either Ebay or Amazon, I'm not sure which, and they came as a 10 pack with 5 light blue wrappers and 5 dark blues, also 2 plastic storage cases.

The other 6 came from an 8 pack of Eneloop 5th anniversary Glitter cells. I'm not sure if you've seen them, but they come in 8 different colors and are also numbered on the wrapper 1-8. The colors are a bit much for my taste, but different colors do make them easier to identify.

I've had some interesting results that I thought I'd share. It seems the Glitter cells have a slightly higher capacity. The difference? Just over 2%. Not exactly Earth shattering news here, still, my strongest NON-Glitter cell isn't as strong as my WEAKEST Glitter cell (so far), so I thought it was worth a mention. In terms of run-time, you'd be looking at about an extra 2 minutes on a light with a 90 minute run-time.

These may actually be a bad switch for you. If all of your cells are at or below the 2000 mAh mark (and you use a lot of cells), these won't really pair up well with any of your other cells. Also, now that I know these cells are obviously different, I have to wonder about longevity. The package claims 1500 recharge cycles, LSD, etc., just like normal Eneloop AA's.

I've compiled my results below, as well as 4 pictures. These pictures are of 4 cells on a charger. The first 2 are the blue wrapper Eneloop AA's, the second 2 are Glitter cells. I didn't think to snap shots of all of the cells. I didn't realize these were abnormally high numbers early on in my testing. Has anyone else noticed this difference on the Glitter cells or am I the only one? I've searched the web a bit and realized other people out there are claiming high numbers on Glitter cells. Thanks!



Blue Wrapper - Capacity
Blue Eneloop 1 - 2004 mAh
Blue Eneloop 2 - 1999 mAh
Blue Eneloop 3 - 1983 mAh
Blue Eneloop 4 - 1982 mAh
Blue Eneloop 5 - 1979 mAh
Blue Eneloop 6 - 1961 mAh
Cell Average = 1984.6 mAh







Glitter Wrapper - Capacity
Eneloop Glitter 6 - 2047 mAh
Eneloop Glitter 5 - 2032 mAh
Eneloop Glitter 4 - 2022 mAh
Eneloop Glitter 3 - 2011 mAh
Eneloop Glitter 2 - 2010 mAh
Eneloop Glitter 1 - 2010 mAh
Cell Average = = 2022 mAh

Any possible charger variations aside, your "Blue Wrapper" Eneloops match up closely with my averages.

The Glitter ones there look a bit higher than my usual. I don't have any of the glitter ones myself to compare with.

please be informed that the blue warpper was the older version of eneloop which has 1500 cycles, while the glitter eneloop has 1800 cycles also the charge retention period has increased significantly. They are different in chemical properties in fact

TranceAddict said:

please be informed that the blue warpper was the older version of eneloop which has 1500 cycles, while the glitter eneloop has 1800 cycles also the charge retention period has increased significantly. They are different in chemical properties in fact

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I was unaware of this. I did not notice it advertised on the package that way. The glitter package states 1500 cycles and 75% remaining at 3 years IIRC. And IIRC, that was what the other packages stated as well. I must be missing something here. :thinking:

I purchased 2 packs of Glitter eneloops, for the heck of it I tested just one 6 year old eneloop and one new glitter eneloop (first charge for the glitter) 1875mAh for the old cell and 1925 mAh for the new glitter cell, not too shabby from the 6 year old eneloop.

These have to be the best LSD cells on the market at the moment. :twothumbs

Norm

I have set of AAA eneloops from god knows when, they were bought at Circuit city on a clearance which goes to show you how old they are, the only thing I know is they are first gen and they still work perfectly.

My glitter eneloops were advertised as 1500 charges too, but I haven't tested enough to know if there is a difference from regular wrapper eneloops. Mine were dated 2011. I also don't own the maha charger, I just have the Lacrosse BC 700.

I seem to burn through AAA's more than AA's since they are smaller capacity and last less than AA. They are also more costly at retail than AA's thus making rechargable AAA cells very cost effective. For the prices I paid for my cells they pay for themselves in 2-3 charges easily when you consider the cost of AAA alkalines at retail.

Norm said:

1925 mAh for the new glitter cell
Norm

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I'm surprised. I ran a total of 34 cells. 6 glitter cells and 28 regular Eneloops. Only one of the regular cells had the capacity of the lowest glitter cell. I'm completely dumbfounded as to why my results were so abnormally high on these cells, especially now that you've shown a more normal number. Did you do a break in or just a charge/discharge? Could the use of a break in cycle on a new Eneloop explain an extra 100 mAh of capacity? I wouldn't think so, but I'm not experienced enough to know for sure. Thanks!!

I was digging through a toolbox I hadn't been in since winter. I found an unopened 4 pack of XX AA's!! I don't remember buying them at all. It must have been a present from God. It totally made my day. I don't think I'm gonna open them though. I think they're the perfect excuse to get my brother in law a step closer to this hobby. He needs a better headlamp and Christmas will be here before we know it..

fiberguy said:

I'm surprised. I ran a total of 34 cells. 6 glitter cells and 28 regular Eneloops. Only one of the regular cells had the capacity of the lowest glitter cell. I'm completely dumbfounded as to why my results were so abnormally high on these cells, especially now that you've shown a more normal number. Did you do a break in or just a charge/discharge? Could the use of a break in cycle on a new Eneloop explain an extra 100 mAh of capacity? I wouldn't think so, but I'm not experienced enough to know for sure. Thanks!!

Click to expand...

My charger doesn't do a break in charge, all I did was a discharge - charge - discharge and used the last discharge figure, which was performed after a days rest from the charge, obviously the old cell had many charges under it's belt but probably less than ten charges a year and none of my cells are in high drain devices.

I'm using this charger (Angleyes), mine is white, they were quite popular on CPF about 6 years ago.



Norm