AmazonBasics AA batteries

[radunn]

I have four (4) AmazonBasics AA batteries. I go to charge them in my Maha-Powerex C9000 charger and every function the charger is set on produces "HIGH' for these batteries. Are they useless? Also what does the "1.2v min 2400mah" mean on batteries?

 

[ChrisGarrett]

'He's dead, Jim.'

High internal resistances.

It happens.

Chris

 

[bigburly912]

Are the batteries you are trying to charge the nimh batteries you are referring to or are they the regular Amazon basics alkaline? Been seen a lot over the years so don’t take offense. Alkalines don’t go in chargers. 2400 mah is how much run time the battery gives you. 1.2v is the voltage of a nimh battery so I’m hoping that’s what you were charging and not just what you are looking to buy.

 

[alpg88]

There are AB alkalines as well as nimh. lets give the guy a benefit of a doubt, he's been here for 10 years, safe to assume he knows not to charge alkalines, and the ones in question are nimh.
As for original question, looks like they are shot, amazon is no battery manufacturer, they put their labels on products of unknown origin, it s a lotto. But based on experience of 1000's of people on this forum and others, get eneloops, unless you get fake ones, you will have no issues with them.

 

[Dave_H]

I have four (4) AmazonBasics AA batteries. I go to charge them in my Maha-Powerex C9000 charger and every function the charger is set on produces "HIGH' for these batteries. Are they useless? Also what does the "1.2v min 2400mah" mean on batteries?

How long have these been in use, how many times charging?

Dave

 

[Dave_H]

How long have these been in use, how many times charging?

Dave

Reason I ask is older cells with higher internal resistance at some point do not like charging at high rate. I notice C9000 charger has
programmable charge rate; what rate are you using? If it's fairly high, you could try reducing it. I keep low-rate chargers (even "dumb" chargers) around for cells like these, they are still good but need special care.

Dave

 

[cave dave]

I have a Powerex and think its overly sensitive to high internal resistance, but it is probably a good indicator the cells aren't top performers anymore. The cells probably are not great for flashlights anymore, but if they are Low self discharge (LSD) cells and you use a different/dumber charger, and they will probably still work OK in low drain devices like remotes and wireless mice.

 

[turbodog]

If you have a charger that will cycle batteries, you could put them on it... being careful to adjust settings to the proper levels. Some of the better chargers w/ return resistance levels back to normal, assuming there's not other damage.

If not... pitch them.

 

[ChrisGarrett]

I have a Powerex and think its overly sensitive to high internal resistance, but it is probably a good indicator the cells aren't top performers anymore. The cells probably are not great for flashlights anymore, but if they are Low self discharge (LSD) cells and you use a different/dumber charger, and they will probably still work OK in low drain devices like remotes and wireless mice.

The PE C9000 Wizard One is supposed to reject NiMH batteries when their 'voltage' hits 2.00v. I've managed to tweak that to about 2.06-2.10v, by removing and reinserting the batteries, after they're rejected and this process lowers the I.R. enough to get them to charge, but it's only a temporary fix.

When they're done, they're done and ready for the recycle bin.

Use a dumb charger if you want to eventually kill them completely.

Chris

 

[cave dave]

It looks like half my stash of circa 2006 Eneloop AAA (8 of 16) are high impedance now. The AA's are doing better. The Pros AAA that are even newer have almost all gone high impedance.

I decided to do a test last year and used some Eneloop AAA that were rejected by the powerex and charged in a Fenix charger instead. I put some in remote controls and some in other devices. I had a set of 2xAAA Eneloop pro in a meat thermometer/ kitchen timer and I had left myself a note as an experiment and they were last charged in Jul 2022. They are still doing just fine, but I recharged them yesterday anyway. I used to toss them if the powerex rejected them, but they are still good for this kind of use.

***edit: updated above... found four more White eneloop AAA from 2006, and they performed well on a refresh cycle **

 

[chillinn]

every function the charger is set on produces "HIGH' for these batteries.

Use a dumb charger if you want to eventually kill them completely.

It looks like over half my stash of circa 2006 Eneloop AAA (8 of 12) are high impedance now. The AA's are doing better. The Pros AAA that are even newer have almost all gone high impedance.

What ChrisGarrett said, pounding full cells with charge, also abusing Eneloop by running them below 0.95V to completely empty, and/or not allowing used cells to rest before and after charging, and/or dropping on hard surfaces, and/or allowing cells to get and stay hot without cooling, raises the internal resistance of the cells such that they no longer provide acceptable current and/or suffer reduced capacity. Avoid murdering Eneloops and really any chemistry cells by simply never overcharging or overdischarging, and allowing cells to rest an hour after use and before charging, and then again after charging and before use. These are best practices; follow them religiously and you'll see the maximum rated number of cycles from your cells and then some.

 

[ChrisGarrett]

High-Caps give us about 2-3 years and then they’re toast.

I’m about done with them and just stick with standard Eneloops, which can last a decade, or longer.

I just recycled some light/dark green Eneloop AAAs after a decade. Even dumb chargers hate them now.

Chris

 

[chillinn]

Eneloop (standard 2000mAh) and Eneloop Pro (2500mAh) will have the same capacity after 50 recharging cycles, but Eneloop will last through 2000 cycles if cared for, and Eneloop Pro are only rated for 500 cycles. And in my experience, the Pro versions are far more fragile; standard Eneloops will tolerate overdischarge far better with little to no effect if it happens a few times. Eneloop Pro are intended for very special circumstances, when that extra frankly negligible capacity of 500mAh could matter. The last 2500mAh cells I will ever buy were the IKEA LADDA 2450 at $6/quad before the price increase. I'm saving my Eneloop money for the next Special Edition of the standard version because I just think they're super neat, but that's me.

 

[aznsx]

Eneloop Pro are intended for very special circumstances, when that extra frankly negligible capacity of 500mAh could matter.

I use them in my camera flash unit, but care (almost) nothing about capacity. I use them because I believe they provide higher current output, at least 'pulsed' if not 'continuous', and believe it reduces my flash minimum cycle (recharge) time. I have no manufacturer-supplied data / graphs to show that, because they don't seem inclined to publish very complete specs on their products, but have gathered this from independent testing by others (including with flash units). It's not just about capacity. Power matters. And yes, mine have a relatively short lifespan, but they won't ruin my expensive flash either.

 

[NiOOH]

I use them in my camera flash unit, but care (almost) nothing about capacity. I use them because I believe they provide higher current output, at least 'pulsed' if not 'continuous', and believe it reduces my flash minimum cycle (recharge) time. I have no manufacturer-supplied data / graphs to show that, because they don't seem inclined to publish very complete specs on their products, but have gathered this from independent testing by others (including with flash units). It's not just about capacity. Power matters. And yes, mine have a relatively short lifespan, but they won't ruin my expensive flash either.

The IR (measured @1 kHz AC) of a healthy Eneloop is about 20 mOhm. Eneloop Pros have an IR of about 30 mOhm. So, standard Eneloops are more suitable for high drain devices, such as camera flash units. Ordinary Eneloops also have much better cycle life. Some years ago, I killed a couple of sets of Eneloop Pro in my flashes for something like 60-70 cycles. They don't like high discharge rates at all, actually. Today, I have only one set of Eneloop Pro cells, that I use in my kitchen radio that consumes 80-100 mA at normal listening levels. In this application they perform very well. The extra capacity is noticeable, and if charged properly, you can expect a decent cycle life, but nothing like an ordinary Eneloops.

 

[chillinn]

FWIW, I padded an order last week with Amazon Basics AA 2000mAh. Made in Malaysia.

 

[ampdude]

I have a couple 2300mAh Energizers that do the same thing, even on 200mA charge. After they die the next time I'm probably going to chuck them. I might to try a necromancy on the Maha charger, but we'll see.. Revive!

*edit* I just checked and they won't even discharge at 200mAh in the charger, but they still work in the light. I think once they fully die in the light it's curtains for these.

 

[Rickajho]

I have an early C9000 (ca 2010) that has always been a PITA returning that HIGH resistance error. Sometimes on batteries only charged a half dozen times in the maha itself. But put those same batteries in any other not-dumb charger and they are still good for years of service.

Seemed like a good - and expensive - idea at the time. But it's my least used charger since it has so many issues charging allegedly too high resistance batteries.