Best way to charge eneloop pros?

Is it best to charge them whenever, or should I let them use up most of the charge and then charge them?

Follow the instructions on the packet of batteries would be my first thought failing that you could do a routine charge when you felt like it.From past experience I charge some on a routine top up but most when they run out.

You can charge them at anytime as the do not suffer memory issues like niCad for example, ( which ideally need to be run down then charged).

For AA loops I use a 1a rate, if need quick you can charge them higher in emergencies .

For ones not in immediate use leave or as I do, charge up, forget till use....simple as that .
Enjoy

Eneloop Pro/XX have a life of up to 500 cycles, but they have been shown to be as low as 300 cycles or less if you run them flat every time before recharging, So if you want to protect the cycle life swap the battery`s out before the battery level shows as low or the light starts to dim whenever possible.

I am not certain if this sensitivity to being fully discharged applies also to charging (fast charging due to heat) i don't know if this has been tested yet to see if this reduces the cycles also.

John.

TinderBox (UK) said:

Eneloop Pro/XX have a life of up to 500 cycles, but they have been shown to be as low as 300 cycles or less if you run them flat every time before recharging, So if you want to protect the cycle life swap the battery`s out before the battery level shows as low or the light starts to dim whenever possible.

I am not certain if this sensitivity to being fully discharged applies also to charging (fast charging due to heat) i don't know if this has been tested yet to see if this reduces the cycles also.

John.

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Well that is a right con then,says 500 cycles on the pack.Does the pack say do not run flat before charging ?

Follow the instructions on the packet of batteries would be my first thought failing that you could do a routine charge when you felt like it.From past experience I charge some on a routine top up but most when they run out.

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That's just it...there are no charging instructions on the package. The insinuation (advertising) on the packaging just makes it sound like you get 2100 or 500 cycles by just using the batteries as you would any alkaline battery. I for one, bought these batteries for simplicity and economy. I have no desire to buy a fancy changer or have to baby these batteries. I use them as I would any other battery, and charge them when needed in the cheap little chargers that come with a 4 pack of AA. It should be interesting to see how they hold up. I do understand the concept of not running them dead, but I will use my flashlights until I notice a dimming, or functional issue with the lights indicating a low battery, before charging.

Since I have extra Eneloops, I just charge them whenever.

With light use, I'll charge 3-4 days of use. After heavy use, I'll charge immediately. If at home, I'll charge with my Nitecore D4. If at work, I'll charge with the simple charger that comes with the Eneloop bundle from Costco.

I used to try to maximize the battery life by running till my Zebralight battery indicator flashes 2 times. Now I just swap more often and not care.

500 cycles are full cycles, in real uses unless every use is to flat! you will get probably 2 or 3 top offs to a cycle................so years of use which is a mega saving on alki cells anyway. Being concerned over 300,400,500 cycles for me is a none issue. Most IMR cells are a 300 cycle life and mine are doing fine many years on........

Just imo of course

Hello Light noob,

Use them, then charge them. The second time around you should see longer run time.

Tom

300 cycles at $12 a 4 pack is about 1 penny every time you recharge them. If you get 600 cycles then it costs you half a cent per recharge instead. Like Silverfox said... use them and recharge them as needed. I tend to top off batteries when I'm going to be away from my stock of batteries and chargers or just carry spares enough to get the job done. If you think of comparing the cost of them vs alkalines at 50 cents or more each or even lithiums at 2.50 or more each you can think of pocketing 49 cents or 2.49 per recharge so in other words the more you use them the more money you "save".

ven said:

500 cycles are full cycles, in real uses unless every use is to flat! you will get probably 2 or 3 top offs to a cycle................so years of use which is a mega saving on alki cells anyway. Being concerned over 300,400,500 cycles for me is a none issue. Most IMR cells are a 300 cycle life and mine are doing fine many years on........

Just imo of course

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300 cycles at $12 a 4 pack is about 1 penny every time you recharge them. If you get 600 cycles then it costs you half a cent per recharge instead. Like Silverfox said... use them and recharge them as needed. I tend to top off batteries when I'm going to be away from my stock of batteries and chargers or just carry spares enough to get the job done. If you think of comparing the cost of them vs alkalines at 50 cents or more each or even lithiums at 2.50 or more each you can think of pocketing 49 cents or 2.49 per recharge so in other words the more you use them the more money you "save".

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Both of these comments sound good and reasonable to me

Yes I am also happy with the replies.

Yeah, And try and buy Eneloops made in Japan not the ones made in China as they have better performance.

John.

TinderBox (UK) said:

Yeah, And try and buy Eneloops made in Japan not the ones made in China as they have better performance.

John.

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At present liking the Fujitsu brand in black but going to order the white to try as well.

Thanks for all the replies!

What kind of price are we looking at for a 4 or 8 pack of the Fuji?

Amazon UK have Enloop 8 pack for £11.99, people are saying they are Janpan 5th gen.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00JZBX8DQ/

John.

mcnair55 said:

At present liking the Fujitsu brand in black but going to order the white to try as well.

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Well, not quite. The rated 500 cycles are done according to an IEC norm which in fact only does partial discharges most of the time (by 60% of their rated capacity in average). I can't find the actual norm now, but an Indian standard which is identical to it, see here: https://law.resource.org/pub/in/bis/S05/is.16048.2.2013.pdf

Look at page 16, paragraph 7.1.5.2. for the cycle testing norm. This is what produces 500 cycles for Eneloop Pro or equivalent cells. And these are near optimum conditions, only the charge that is allowed to go into the battery (at 0.25 C) is over 40% more than the discharged capacity, so the batteries are at least slightly overcharged on each cycle.

Anyway, Eneloop Pro's have been tested to give only about 150 cycles under not so good circumstances, such as running them down completely on every charge, while regular Eneloops of the current generation still manage about 700 cycles under the same conditions if I remember right. Surely that's still usually a win compared to Alkaline batteries, but this difference is significant for me when deciding if to buy the white or the black cells. For instance, if you're looking at $10 for a 4-pack of white Eneloops and $12 for a 4-pack of blacks, a charge cycle of the whites would cost you about 1.4 cents, while a charge cycle of the blacks will cost you 8 cents. That's a difference of 6.6 cents per charge, and the question is now if it's worth it to you to pay that much more for having a bit higher capacity on each charge. For me that was the reason to prefer white, regular Eneloops over "Duraloops".

The Alkaline option mostly comes into play for devices which take a long time to use up a single charge (say, a year or more) so you can't say how many charges the rechargeables really will produce before they die of old age... and I generally expect the higher capacitiy ones to do worse in this respect as well, corresponding to their lower cycle life. If you pay $1 for a 4-pack of discount Alkalines, the rechargeables would have to do at least 10 or 12 cycles to match this... more if they actually yield less runtime in that device because of self-discharge and lower capacity (although the self-discharge of white Eneloops is now actually below that of Alkalines in average!). This means that if the device only needs a new battery once a year or less frequently, the rechargeables would have to live over 12 years in that device. While I think the reqular white Eneloops will probably make it, I'm not so sure about the black ones. If could also be that discount rechargeables for around $4 a 4-pack are the best option in such cases, but I'm not so sure about their longevity either.

As for myself, I still have nearly everything on rechargeables by now, using up only those disposable batteries which I get as a pack-in with devices I buy (but not always in the device they came with).

The post started off how to charge ? and ended up needing an Anorak to accommodate the various pockets needed to carry a torch,charger,batteries,calculator,slide rule notepad and pen to record the cycles.

Much easier just put them on charge and worry not.

Are you certain you are on the right forum?

John.

mcnair55 said:

The post started off how to charge ? and ended up needing an Anorak to accommodate the various pockets needed to carry a torch,charger,batteries,calculator,slide rule notepad and pen to record the cycles.

Much easier just put them on charge and worry not.

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TinderBox (UK) said:

Are you certain you are on the right forum?

John.

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Of course, I am John,complicating a hobby is pointless.I just enjoy my lights and all the different fuel cells I use.Common sense is all that is needed.