Eneloop Batteries and "Quick Chargers"??

[Mitch470]

I recently purchased some Sanyo Eneloop slow discharge batteries. I charged them from 60% charge on arrival up to 100% charge using and Ansmann Energy 8 Charger. It took about 2 hours and there was no overheating.

Does this charger qualify as a "Quick" charger and should not be used for Eneloop battery charging? Its PDF Manual says it is a "fast" charger. Is that the same as "Quick?"

If it is not recommended to use this kind of charger, have I already ruined the life of these batteries? How long do you think they will last now?

I notice there are some new chargers out where the user can specify the amperage of the charge in 200, 300, 500 and 700. If I purchased one of these new chargers, should I use it at only 200?

Thank you in advance for any advice.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Mitch,

The recommended charging rate for chargers that utilize negative delta voltage or temperature termination is in the range of 0.5C - 1.0C. The Eneloop cells are 2000 mAh, so you should charge at 1000 - 2000 mA. This means that it will take around 1 - 2 hours to charge an discharged cell.

You need to determine what your charger uses to terminate the charge.

Initially, you can get by charging at lower rates, but as the cell ages, the end of charge signal becomes weaker and you run the risk of overcharging the cell because of a missed end of charge termination.

Tom

 

[Mitch470]

Hello Mitch,

The recommended charging rate for chargers that utilize negative delta voltage or temperature termination is in the range of 0.5C - 1.0C. The Eneloop cells are 2000 mAh, so you should charge at 1000 - 2000 mA. This means that it will take around 1 - 2 hours to charge an discharged cell.

You need to determine what your charger uses to terminate the charge.

Initially, you can get by charging at lower rates, but as the cell ages, the end of charge signal becomes weaker and you run the risk of overcharging the cell because of a missed end of charge termination.

Tom

Tom,

I notice that on the underside of the Ansmann Energy 8 Charger it is noted that it uses 300 mA to charge AAA batteries and 700 mA to charge AA batteries. Thus, it appears that its 700 mA current would meet the requirement of the "slow" charge for the Eneloop batteries.

Is that assumption correct? How high would the current be to be defined as a "Quick" charge and not allowed for the Eneloop batteries?

I notice elsewhere on this forum the following was posted:

Thus, using the Ansmann Energy 8 Charger with 700 mA for AA and 300 mA for AAA batteries should be okay.

 

[flashgreenie]

I got a Sanyo four bay quick charger(that whats printed on the charger) that came with in the box with 4 AA eneloop.
Here is what is printed on the charger:

outputC 1.2V
565mA(x4)
(quick)1275mA(x2)
310mA(x2)

two of the AA bays are marked quick.