Best rechargable AA's enloop? energizer?

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ScaryFatKidGT

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I'm sure this has been asked before but most of the threads I saw were about 1856 what ever's and cr123's.

Lately I have heard and seen A LOT about eneloop's but there only 2000mah. What makes them so good? Energizer has made a lot of different AA regargables from 800mah to 2450mah and 2500mah AA's but claim there latest 2300mah are the best. Then theres eneloop XX's but there only rated for 500 recarges vs regular eneloops 1500 which isn't wort it IMO. Does anyone know how many charge cycles Energizers can take? Is the charge cycles what make eneloops so good?? And how many mah's is a regular Alkaline?

For use in my Xbox and Wii controllers and of course flashlights. I want long life similar to a alkaline, Energizer or Duracell or longer and lots of recharges.
 
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If you search around, I'm sure you'll find answers; they are quite common.
ScaryFatKidGT said:
only rated for 500 recarges vs regular eneloops 1500 which isn't wort it IMO.
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I'm curious as to why you think that.
If you recharge them once a week, they'll still last 5 years, and that's to 80% minimum capacity. At 80%+ capacity, they're still superior to brand new 2000mAh eneloops.
 
ScaryFatKidGT said:
[...]Lately I have heard and seen A LOT about eneloop's but there only 2000mah. What makes them so good? [...]
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 There are a few qualities that make Eneloop cells a better choice than many of the other brands of rechargeable NiMH AA and AAA cells. The two primary qualities, in my opinion, are low self discharge and low internal resistance.

Low self discharge insures that the cells aren't dead a week or two after being charged, while sitting in your TV remote, for example. Many aspects of rechargeable cells are a compromise; a cell that is low self discharge is typically not super high capacity and vise versa. Low internal resistance is highly desirable in a rechargeable cell. A cell with high internal resistance will drop to a lower voltage while discharging at a given rate, more so that a cell with low internal resistance. Also, high internal resistance means that more heat is generated in the cell for a given current level, charging or discharging.

 Basically, in my empirical experience, I find that Eneloop cells maintain a charge longer and handle a high current load better than other AA and AAA NiMH cells that I've used over the years.
 
hellokitty[hk] said:
If you search around, I'm sure you'll find answers; they are quite common.

I'm curious as to why you think that.
If you recharge them once a week, they'll still last 5 years, and that's to 80% minimum capacity. At 80%+ capacity, they're still superior to brand new 2000mAh eneloops.
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Yeah theres a Energizer vs. eneloop thread that someone bumped up after I posted this...

Whats 80% minimum capacity? I think that because its 20% more power to 66% less over all life.
 
ScaryFatKidGT said:
Yeah theres a Energizer vs. eneloop thread that someone bumped up after I posted this...

Whats 80% minimum capacity? I think that because its 20% more power to 66% less over all life.
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Well that's great, read that thread.

It means exactly what it sounds like; at least 80% capacity.
 
hellokitty[hk] said:
Well that's great, read that thread.

It means exactly what it sounds like; at least 80% capacity.
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So after 500 charge cycles they will only hold 80% of there capacity? That's what your saying, so then they would be like a regular enloop for a few more cycles. 80%'s pretty good. Is there any issue with them being 1.2v not 1.5?
 
You are asking a lot if you want alkaline or better performance in a rechargeable.

If you have energizers currently they are fine for your Wii and Xbox controllers - but they might not be the best battery for that job. If you use the controllers a lot and recharging every week or so then I'd probably consider the Maha Powerex at 2700 mAh. That is not a Low Self Discharge battery - so if you charge it and throw it in a drawer for 6 months it'll lose it's charge. It IS a quality AA battery made in Japan. Many professional photographers swear by them in their flashes.

Eneloops are also quality batteries that are made in Japan (not China like most every other rechargeable besides Maha or Eneloop). Eneloops are Low Self Discharge so if you charge them up and throw them in a drawer for 6 months they are still ready to go. The Eneloop XX has a bit more mAh and is also a quality battery.

If you want the best batteries then Eneloop and Maha are your 2 best choices IMHO. Energizers aren't even close. The mAh rating for many brands is also meaningless to me. Their batteries are inferior and their claims are unreliable. 1.2 V should be fine for most devices - especially the ones you list. As a general rule the more batteries required the greater the likelihood rechargeables are not a good option. A device that generally runs on 2 AA at 3.0 V might run OK with 2.4 V, but a device requiring 4 AA and 6.0 V might not work properly with 4.8 V of power.
 
ScaryFatKidGT said:
So after 500 charge cycles they will only hold 80% of there capacity? That's what your saying, so then they would be like a regular enloop for a few more cycles. 80%'s pretty good. Is there any issue with them being 1.2v not 1.5?
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I think there is a little more to consider. If you are depleteing the cells every day and charging them often then regular (non-LSD) cells may work well, as you figured in your post. But, if the cells only get intermittent use, such as in a TV remote, or Wii remote, you may find that LSD cells will provide better service due to the fact that they won't self discharge quickly. My nephew uses Eneloop cells in his Wii remotes. Before I replaced the non-LSD rechargeable cells he was using, he would often have to charge the cells before he could play, or soon after he started playing. Now that he is using Eneloop LSD cells, I round up all the cells about every month or two and charge them, whether they need it or not.
Groundhog said:
[...]If you want the best batteries then Eneloop and Maha are your 2 best choices IMHO. Energizers aren't even close. The mAh rating for many brands is also meaningless to me. Their batteries are inferior and their claims are unreliable. [...]
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I agree with this. While there are other brands that have good performance, I've always had the best results with Eneloop AA and AAA cells.
 
How many charge cycles will Maha Powerex at 2700 mAh last? My Xbox gets used almost every day and I don't like how the Microsoft packs and Energizers only last a little more than half as long as alkaline's. My Wii controllers get used heavily but on an in frequent basis but for some reason it seems like they self drain in those or something, every time a different remote is dead and the others are at like 3/4's. I think I'm going to pick up some XX's to try. Stuff like TV remotes don't bother me because they don't cost much money but with the Xbox I'm changing batteries twice a week.

My other reason looking in to these is people say they will never use alkalines in there good flashlights only eneloops or lithiums.
 
ScaryFatKidGT said:
My Xbox gets used almost every day and I don't like how the Microsoft packs and Energizers only last a little more than half as long as alkaline's. My Wii controllers get used heavily but on an in frequent basis but for some reason it seems like they self drain in those or something, every time a different remote is dead and the others are at like 3/4's.
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That's one of the reasons eneloops or almost any LSD battery are so good. You dont find them depleted when you need to use the device. One of the reasons energizers have bad reputation is the awful high self-discharge the 2500mAh ones develop after a few charges.

Another reason is eneloops are tough. You can charger/discharge them at higher currents and seems like new after months/years of use. Some cells claim X mAh, but after moderate use they can't hold their charge and the capacity can be reduced to half (yes, I have some of these). Eneloops maintain charge AND capacity way better.

My other reason looking in to these is people say they will never use alkalines in there good flashlights only eneloops or lithiums.
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2 reasons for that:

- Alkalines leak. You can ruin your expensive flashlight with a leak. Brand or price seems not to matter that much.
- Alkalines are weak. When you discharge them at hight currents, they have less capacity and maintain less voltage than any rechargeable. I read somewhere alkalines are rated at about 5000 mAh when discharged VERY slow (clocks). When you use them in high current devices they have about 1000-1500 mAh. Check some of the runtime graphs made by selfbuilt in his reviews and take a look at eneloop vs alkaline tests, specially in 1xAA flashlights.
 
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