eneloop safety for the record

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airwolf41

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I'm want to buy a SC5w, this will be my first zebralight and and I will buy the eneloop pro along with it, which will be my first rechargeable batteries. I have exhausted every search I can find on the safety of these lights. I keep seeing the debate about watertight flashlights. Some threads give me confidence, others make me feel that I'm not well versed in the technical aspects of rechargeable batteries and should stay away.

If i'm correct it appears it helps if the light if only one cell. Is that significant for eliminating potential problems? Is the key to just not deplete the battery power until the light is dead and keep an eye on charging the batteries. Do I need a multimeter to use these batteries safely? (I know nothing about mulitmeters, what to buy, etc. but I wil research that if prompted by responses)

I truly appreciate any insight as I have become very excited to learn about eneloops and zebralight, and was hoping to be able to own both. Right now I only have cr123 primary lights.
 
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xxo

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As long as you don't swallow them or short circuit them, Eneloops are pretty safe.....unlike lithium ions, there is no need for a multimeter with NiMH's. Eneloops do need a smart charger that charges each cell individually or their life will be shortened. Over discharging is not dangerous but will again shorten their service life.....just recharge them whenever you want on your smart charger and don't try to suck every last lumen out of them when they are going dead and you're good.
 
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StandardBattery

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Nothing to worry about with eneloop NiMH cells. Get a good charger. I would probably not buy the Eneloop Pro cells as your first rechargeables. Just stick with the standard white ones (well they can be other colors, but not black). You'll get more life from them, and I don't think you'll see much of a difference in the operation of the light using the Pros so save some money. Get a 4 pack and charge a couple so you always have a new one charged and you are all set. You could get this 4 cell package and charger and be good to go (Panasonic K-KJ17MCA4BA Advanced Individual Cell Battery Charger Pack with 4AA eneloop 2100 Cycle Rechargeable Batteries). The charger is good enough for beginner and even useful to have once you have expensive smart chargers, in the package you are paying about $5 for it.
 
RollerBoySE

RollerBoySE

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BQ-CC55 is a simple timer based charger, which means that it very likely either will under- or over-charge the cells. It the cells are fully depleted before charge it probably gets it about right, but newer perfect. Using timer based chargers only leads to wearing out the cells prematurely, so avoid it if you can.
 
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StandardBattery

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airwolf41 said:
I actually just bought a pack of eneloops from the Costco that are packaged with a bq-cc55 charger, I know nothing about it and can't find much info
Click to expand...
No worries the BQ-CC55 is also a smart charger it should work very well, has a better interface, and faster charge capability. Barring any design defects in the charger you should be all set. You are good to go.
 
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Evadinnn

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I don't really find BQ-CC55 nice, apart from the nice multi-colour interface. It just simply charges too fast for my liking (1.5 hours)!

I'm very glad I got a BQ-CC16 bundle (although it uses high current >2A pulse charge) before the price shifted, despite
the batteries being bundled are Chinese ones.
 
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StandardBattery

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TinderBox (UK) said:
The BQ-CC55 maybe not so good, anybody read Russian.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP4sQgH3Mvg

John.
Click to expand...
Nice. I think the charger does not like cheap cells. :) I'll do more testing on it shortly, and I'm sure it won't be too long before HKJ does his review. It is the type of charger I would only use with nice newer good quality envelop batteries. Kind of looks to me like he put an alkaline cell in there to test its auto detection.
 
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Smegheaaad

Smegheaaad

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It might also be worth noting that your CR123 primaries are much more volatile than the nickel rechargeables. I'd be far more worried about the quality and source of those cells than your eneloops.
 
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airwolf41

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Evadinnn said:
I don't really find BQ-CC55 nice, apart from the nice multi-colour interface. It just simply charges too fast for my liking (1.5 hours)!

I appreciate all the responses but must say I'm a little confused at this point should I keep the bqcc55, is it not safe? I guess there's an issue if the charger is too quick?
Click to expand...
 
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StandardBattery

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airwolf41 said:
Evadinnn said:
I don't really find BQ-CC55 nice, apart from the nice multi-colour interface. It just simply charges too fast for my liking (1.5 hours)!

I appreciate all the responses but must say I'm a little confused at this point should I keep the bqcc55, is it not safe? I guess there's an issue if the charger is too quick?
Click to expand...
Stop being paranoid. Eneloops are safe batteries, if the charger kills you you'll be the first and will have made a nice contribution to world safety as surely the event will cause panasonic to release a new charger. Panasonic does not make a charger that charges their batteries too fast. If it is it's defective. Read the manual. Use the batteries. Check on them the first couple of times you recharge them. Try it and come back and tell us how well it worked.
Click to expand...
 
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Evadinnn

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It is way below the 2A rate (1.6A continuous), so it should be still safe. But I guess it will shorten the cell's life by just a margin.

To be frank, the BQ-CC16 charges at higher amps, but pulses (I guess to cool down the battery for a very very short while?).
I guess Panasonic thought they should be on the safe side by raising the charge rate but pulsing so the end-charge (NDv) detection
will be quicker.
 
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Benediction

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Ok...so the BQ-CC55 is a very smart charger. Panasonic uses 1.4A for 2 AA and 0.7A for 4 x AA - The termination is even better than the other techniques out there and does not overcharge the battery. Since it does not overcharge the battery it has a 2 hour post charge low (not trickle) top off, but you can pull the battery after regular termination.

I found a PDF from a trade show for Panasonic...here are all our products.
On page #7 it describes the charge termination process for the BQ-CC55. A patent pending technique named "Peak Sensing Technology", it watches the increasing curve during final charging, and terminates when the slope of the curve first goes sharply upward and then begins to taper off. -dv/dt would terminate on the far side of the top of that curve.

You can zoom in on the graphic for the charging.

Google translate says the Russian phrase = "Battery nkgts 0.5 (he is about 20 years) 1" - so that battery was 20 years old, and it is "implied" the bq killed it (otherwise why post the video), but we don't know that for certain :poof:. And no I can't find a useful word for nkgts .

And now, as Eneloop instructs us to do...lets all Loop the Groove :crackup: :popcorn:
 
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