Hello Mike,
I think you are confused… We are talking about Eneloop cells and high voltages while charging. I am not sure how you jumped from that to the C9000… Let's try to stay on track.
I regularly charge my Mag85 battery, that has Eneloop cells in it, on my Schulze charger at 4 - 5 amps. The ending voltage climbs up to around 13.14 volts. This works out to around 1.46 volts per cell. When I charge at lower rates, the ending voltage is around 1.45 volts per cell.
The impedance of the cells in my pack are all under 0.030 ohms. The started out at 0.025 ohms, so I think they still qualify as lower impedance cells.
AAA cells have higher impedance than AA cells. This means that they will come off the charger at slightly higher voltages, but I think 1.6 volts is pushing it. The cell impedance goes up a little at the end of the charge, so we also have to factor that in as well.
Keep in mind that we are talking NiMh cells here. NiCd cells end up with voltages in the 1.6 – 1.8 volt range, or higher.
I see voltages in the 1.45 – 1.47 volt range when charging AAA cells, with the higher impedance cells registering higher voltages. I have also noticed that cells seem to register a higher voltage on the BC-900 and have seen AAA cells terminate at 1.53 volts on it.
Higher impedance cells are not necessarily bad. They have problems when used or charged at high current rates because of the heat generated due to the higher resistance, but function very well in moderate or low drain applications.
For what it is worth, and off topic, my 700 mAh LaCrosse AAA cells terminate at 1.47 volts on the LaCrosse when charging at 700 mA, and at 1.46 volts when charging on the C9000 at 1400 mA. The impedance of these cells is under 0.040 ohms.
To move back on topic again, people on CPF have reported a lot of differences in the performance of the cells they have, while charging and while in use. Some people end up with hot cells, others don't. Most of us are using the same equipment. Why is this so?
If I didn't know better, it almost sounds like you are suggesting that cell condition does not influence performance… The Eneloop cells are new, and it seems that almost everyone is having consistent results with them.
Tom