are the duracells ion core 2500 any good?

raggie33

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ive read the ion 2400 was sanyos but what about the ion 2500?
 

snakebite

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they are suspected to be eneloop xx.
i have a ton of the green/copper "ion core" in 2way packs i rebuilt.
they are holding up fine.
make sure they are made in japan.those come from fdk.
i have some fujitsu that i bought really cheap at the flea.
the seller said they just sit while energizers,duracells fly off the table.
they are the same fdk cells as the eneloops.
at $2/4 i bought em all.
 

chillinn

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There's more to know about this, raggie33.

The new 2500 Duracells are likely rewrapped Eneloop Pro (Eneloop XX).

But Eneloop Pro is not the same as Eneloop. They are made in the same Japanese FDK Corp. location to the same high specifications, however, as you may be aware, there is only a promise of 500 charge cycles with Pros as opposes to standard, which I think has been upped to 2500 reecharges.

In my experience, Eneloop standards (the last revision of Duracell Ion Core were likely these) are very resiliant, you can abuse them to no end without damaging the cell. The standard Eneloops are really amazing that way. And they have an amazing number of recharges.

The Eneloop Pros are a lot more fragile. They give a decent amount of extra capacity in the AA size, but they are easily damaged interally by dropping them, overdischarging them, or overcharging them. These kinds of things are par for the course when using rechargeable NiMH. If you baby your Eneloop Pros (or Duracell 2500s), and treat them carefully, rest them before and after charging, never drop, overdischarge or overcharge them, they may last 500 cycles. Don't expect 500 cycles if the cells see even a little abuse. Their capacity and current capabilities suffer unlike the standard Eneloops or older Duracells.

I learned this the hard way, and got maybe 50 recharges out of $40 worth of 8 Eneloop Pros before the internal resistence was so high, used in any light gave me half power, half brightness.

Now I only use standard Eneloops, or the Fujitsus (same thing), or if I can still find them, the previous revision of Duracells.
 

Woods Walker

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Mine say made in Japan and I highly suspect they're re bagged Eneloop pros. Been using them for some time and they work good.





EDIT.

But I do agree with the previous post about the standard Eneloops/Duraloops. Got some from back on 09 and they're still working. One is inside my mouse.
 
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Behemot

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When will you ppl finally accept Panasonic does not make anything but chinese crap in their relativelly new chinese fab, and the former fab is now (for man years since the acquisition of Sanyo) in possesion of FDK, member of the Fujitsu group? So if anything, it is rewrapped Fujitsu Reachargeable High Capacity, same way as Eneloop Pro is rewrapped Fujitsu Rehargeable High Capacity. BTW, standard white Fujitsu Reachargeable AAA bulks are on the way, should have them in few weeks. Price will hopefully be a bit lower than in retail (blister) package.
 
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ChrisGarrett

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When will you ppl finally accept Panasonic does not make anything but chinese crap in their relativelly new chinese fab, and the former fab is now (for man years since the acquisition of Sanyo) in possesion of FDK, member of the Fujitsu group? So if anything, it is rewrapped Fujitsu Reachargeable High Capacity, same way as Eneloop Pro is rewrapped Fujitsu Rehargeable High Capacity. BTW, standard white Fujitsu Reachargeable AAA bulks are on the way, should have them in few weeks. Price will hopefully be a bit lower than in retail (blister) package.

Most of us know the story behind Eneloops, but not everybody.

I've been using the Fujitsu AA standards and AA 2450s for a couple of years and so far, so good. They were a bit cheaper than Eneloops, but we're not talking about a lot of scratch.

Chris
 

Frijid

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The old AAA's were rated at like 750 or 800 mAh. At the start of February, I bought a 2 pack of Ion Core AAA's. I tested them both with a volt meter, and one was 1.310 and the other was 1.312. According to the date on the side of the battery, they were made in May of 2016, so they were just 9 months old on the shelf. I also noted that the new ones are rated at 850 mAh instead of the old ones being 750 or 800 (I can't remember which.) Being "Pre-charged and ready to go," I simply just put them in the device that they were going to be used in, and simply started using them. They've had about 10 normal recharges, and on the 11th one, I decided that I would run them through a refresh & analyze. On the discharge numbers, I got 895 on one, and 902 on the other. They are still rated at "up to 400x" on the recharge count. I just wonder if these new ones are Eneloop Pro's which state a minimum capacity of 900 and "up to 950 mAh" or if the 895 and 902 that I got are just the signs of a "healthy" brand new standard Eneloop? I can see the Ion Core's "up to 400x" recharge number being good for the AA's, since they've always been seen as the "XX" or "Pro" Eneloops, but I've always wondered why the AAA's have always had the "up to 400x" if they were just standard Eneloops? If the new ones that I got are indeed just re-badged AAA Pro's, then I can see, since regular Eneloop Pro's are rated at around the same number.
 
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Behemot

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Most of us know the story behind Eneloops, but not everybody.

I've been using the Fujitsu AA standards and AA 2450s for a couple of years and so far, so good. They were a bit cheaper than Eneloops, but we're not talking about a lot of scratch.

Chris
I sell bulk white AAs 10 CZK (or about 40 US cents) cheaper a piece so that's no sweat. But Fuji vs. Panny retail blister price difference is even higher than that per piece, so if you shop for a lot of them, it already makes an impact.
 

tripplec

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I have been using the Iron Core Duracell AA in my Quark light for over a year now. No issues and runtime is good. I haven't done any tests on them. They work and charge back as needed. I haven't recycled them that many times though only went dead once in use. I have a pair in an outside wireless thermometer transmitter for almost 2 years now and has handle the severe temp of very hot summers, 32C last year to winter of -20C approx and still going. Even thought they are lower voltage than the Alkalines normally used in them.

I would not hesitate getting them if you see a deal on for sure.
 

chillinn

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I just wonder if these new ones are Eneloop Pro's which state a minimum capacity of 900 and "up to 950 mAh" or if the 895 and 902 that I got are just the signs of a "healthy" brand new standard Eneloop? I can see the Ion Core's "up to 400x" recharge number being good for the AA's, since they've always been seen as the "XX" or "Pro" Eneloops, but I've always wondered why the AAA's have always had the "up to 400x" if they were just standard Eneloops?

The Duracell Ion Core 850mAh (if the package says "Made in Japan") have been shown to be Eneloop Pro through testing by NLee the Engineer of Amazon review fame. The previous gen 800mAh Duracells were standard Eneloops. CPF member HKJ has suggested, and I've extrapolated, that the advertised number of recharges is lower on the Duracells (and Eneloops of previous years) because there hasn't been enough time to test them. This is why true label standard Eneloops, though they haven't really changed much, keeps upping the number of recharges.

Fair warning, the 850mAh AAA Duracells (like AAA Eneloop Pros) are extremely fragile and do not tolerate either overdischarging or overcharging without damaging the cell, increasing internal resistence, and messing with the ability of the cells to put out expected voltage under load. Be nice to them.
 

Frijid

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Fair warning, the 850mAh AAA Duracells (like AAA Eneloop Pros) are extremely fragile and do not tolerate either overdischarging or overcharging without damaging the cell, increasing internal resistence, and messing with the ability of the cells to put out expected voltage under load. Be nice to them.

Thanks for confirming that they're PRO's, and yeah, they're made in Japan. Yeah, that frailness of high capacity batteries is the main reason I try to avoid them. I won't have to worry about over discharge with these cells because the device I use them in is a very low draw device (FM transmitter), and as far as over charging goes, well I think the C9000 has a good reputation for being safe, lol. I charge them at 400mA and the charger stops at 1.47 volts and I then let them go through the 2 hour top off charge. At about 1 hour and 30 minutes or so into the 2 hour top off charge, they get around 1.52 volts, but as I said that's on the top off charge which is a rate of 100ma. My 2nd gen "standard" eneloops also do this as well. Thanks again for the info!
 
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Need a Light?

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Huh. Good to know about the aaa 850 ion core. I have 3 in a mag xl50 and chose them over standard eneloop for runtime, but may switch back knowing that
 

SaraAB87

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These are really good batteries, I used them in my digital camera for a long time 2 xAA, I have 4 of the AA's and they work well, I bought them a few years ago, don't remember when.
 
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