Break-in Eneloops on MH-C9000 after 6 months?

[WDG]

I'm planning using the Eneloops in some applications where they'll be sitting for six months or more between charges.

Maha recommends repeating a break-in forming cycle beyond three months since the last charge. Does this recommendation hold true for the Eneloops? I'm assuming it would be a good idea, but maybe there are reasons to not do this?

I've seen mention (by SilverFox?) that these seem to be formed from the factory, and don't seem to really benefit from an initial forming cycle, but I'm not finding (so far) any recommendation for later on.

 

[Gazoo]

I'm planning using the Eneloops in some applications where they'll be sitting for six months or more between charges.

Maha recommends repeating a break-in forming cycle beyond three months since the last charge. Does this recommendation hold true for the Eneloops? I'm assuming it would be a good idea, but maybe there are reasons to not do this?

I've seen mention (by SilverFox?) that these seem to be formed from the factory, and don't seem to really benefit from an initial forming cycle, but I'm not finding (so far) any recommendation for later on.

I am no expert, but since eneloops hold their capacity longer, I don't plan on breaking in mine at all unless they show signs of losing capacity. I use the same charger. The only thing I do before using the batteries for the first time is a refresh analyze cycle.

 

[Eugene]

I've seen silverfox (and others) recommend a maintenance cycle after every 20 or so uses which will take me a couple years to hit in some things I have. The MAHA documentation was written with traditional NiMH in mind which will have the faster self discharge (and therefore more top off charges) which is why they recommend the full cycle more often.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello WDG,

Welcome to CPF.

Eneloop cells are different. It it still to early to know what works best with them. When you start to see the capacity drop off in normal use, it may be time to do a standard 16 hour charge.

Tom

 

[WDG]

Welcome to CPF.

Eneloop cells are different. It it still to early to know what works best with them. When you start to see the capacity drop off in normal use, it may be time to do a standard 16 hour charge.

Thank you for the welcome, Tom. I've been wading through the wealth of information here for a couple of weeks, and finally decided to register. I've found your testing and insight, as well as those of others, plus safety cautions I might never have thought about, to be extremely valuable!

My use of NiMH had declined over the past couple years, probably due to the age of the cells I had and their inability to hold a charge for very long, even when new. Now that I'm understanding the Eneloop cells, I'm really very excited about the possible applications for them that I would have never considered for NiMH before. I want to ensure I treat them well for the longest useful life, though I certainly understand that there are still quite a number of unknowns with them.

I look forward to learning much more about batteries, chargers and lights!