Eneloops from Thomas Distributing.. fresh?

[DHart]

I just placed an order for the BC900 charger and 8 AA Eneloops from TD and subsequently read on another forum that they might have old stock Eneloops at TD. Has anyone ordered Eneloops from TD recently and know the date codes on the wrapper? They do have a great deal going right now on Eneloops.

 

[Illum]

great deal as in 4/$10? that deals been going on since the time when I found thomasdistributing

Fresh I dunno...but they seem to work fine under the constant abuse of WA1185s

 

[DHart]

Illum... Good to know the 4/$10 is a regular thing.... seems like everywhere else is more $ or a LOT more $$$.

What date stamp on your most recent Eneloops from TD?

I just received a 4-pack of AA Eneloops from Battery Junction. The cells had 07 071C stamped on each one. July of 2007 mfg?

 

[Turbo Guy]

Two months ago I ordered a C-9000 and 16 Eneloops and the cells date codes were 0808. A month latter I ordered 16 cells and date codes 0707. Perhaps you only get fresh cells when you purchase a charger.

 

[DHart]

Two months ago I ordered a BC-9000 and 16 Eneloops and the cells date codes were 0808. A month latter I ordered 16 cells and date codes 0707. Perhaps you only get fresh cells when you purchase a charger.

TurboGuy... did you mean a LaCrosse BC900? Are you liking it?

Interesting deal with the date codes... one would think the 0707 production would have been loooong gone by now. :thinking:

 

[Turbo Guy]

Typo I meant C-9000 as in Maha C-9000. I have had a LaCross BC-900 for several years. It is an good charger but the Maha C-9000 is a much better one IMO.

 

[DualMonitors]

just a thought...

considering how many Thomas Distributing sells, how long they've been in business, how they are one of the leading sales companies for rechargeables, wouldn't it stand to reason that it's a good guess that, in all likelihood, things from Thomas will most likely be "fresh"?

just thinking out loud. i had a similar thought when i bought my BC-900 charger from them, but when it came, it was the latest firmware!! hooray!

 

[DHart]

considering how many Thomas Distributing sells, how long they've been in business, how they are one of the leading sales companies for rechargeables, wouldn't it stand to reason that it's a good guess that, in all likelihood, things from Thomas will most likely be "fresh"?

Yep... I was thinking the same thing... it seems reasonable that they would have poured through old stock long ago... UNLESS, they sell at considerably lower prices than competitors because they receive goods from other sources that might be, shall we say, "aging a bit" and are able to obtain such goods at a lower price than new stock from the manufacturer (or distributor). That is a possibility. But I'm not saying it's necessarily likely. A number of low price retailers do take stock from other retailers who have been unable to move their stock for whatever reason.

I'm glad your charger is great and you're happy... I expect I will be right behind, following in your footsteps!

 

[bltkmt]

All of my Eneloops (as well as my BC700 charger) have come from Thomas, and I have be supremely satisfied.

 

[Turbo Guy]

Thomas dist. is great . I have been a customer for years however as I posted above

Two months ago I ordered a C-9000 and 16 Eneloops and the cells date codes were 0808. A month latter I ordered 16 cells and date codes 0707.

One month later and cells I received were 13 months older. For whatever reason they do not clear out oldest stock first or they receive older stock to replace fresher stock.

I have ran into same thing with A123 cells from DeWalt power tool packs. Most of the 36 Volt packs have cells made in 2006 and the 28V packs have newer cells. At least Eneloops have a date code that you do not need a Capt. Midnite Secret Decoder Ring to decipher it...

 

[powernoodle]

My recent 8x AA Eneloop purchase from TD is stamped "08 11U1" as best I can tell. Whatever that means.

 

[DualMonitors]

where do you gents see the "date stamp"? I looked...

My recent 8x AA Eneloop purchase from TD is stamped "08 11U1" as best I can tell. Whatever that means.

i looked on BOTH the paper/plastic package for the 4xAA packages from Thomas, as well as the AA cells themselves. where do you guys see the date stamp?? :thinking:

Additionally, i don't honestly believe that there is such a rapid "half life" of these NiMH cells. what i mean is that there may be differences between an NiMH cell from 10 years ago or 15 years ago, possibly, but whether a cell is from 12 months ago versus 24 months ago, i think that they would most likely be indistinguishable, especially in real life, practical usage, where so many other exogenous factors come into play, i.e. way people charge and discharge, the various cycles the different recharges perform such charge/discharge cycles, usage and draw/drain during cell usage (high current draw vs low current but prolonged draw), etc.

these exogenous factors during actual usage will likely have a greater deleterious effect on the Eneloops rather than being on the shelf for either 12 mos or 24 months. Again, 10 years may be a different story.

just a guess. may i kindly ask what you guys think? it's a highly experienced bunch of gents here! thx.

 

[Turbo Guy]

08 11U1

Nov. (11 th. month) 2008.

Date is stamped along the seam.

NiMh cells ,even LSD ones start to die the day they are made. The difference between cells made 0707 and ones made 0808 is important to me as I paid the same for 13 months older cells.

 

[thomas_rep]

I can assure you that here at Thomas Distributing we sell only new batteries from highly reputable sources. We never purchase or sell old batteries or seconds. We have a very high turnover, and our batteries never sit here for long.
That being said, you need not worry about any battery or charger you purchase from us as we offer a 30 day no hassle guarantee, full customer service that we believe is unparalleled, and a full one year warranty on the Eneloops we sell. It is important to us that you be pleased with everything you buy from Thomas Distributing.

 

[powernoodle]

08 11U1

Nov. (11 th. month) 2008

Thanks. Makes sense.

 

[DualMonitors]

08 11U1

Nov. (11 th. month) 2008.

Date is stamped along the seam.

NiMh cells ,even LSD ones start to die the day they are made. The difference between cells made 0707 and ones made 0808 is important to me as I paid the same for 13 months older cells.

May i ask where one would find info regarding:

"...NiMh cells ,even LSD ones start to die the day they are made"?

I have not read that, and do know know what the "half life" of the NiMH cells are.

Thanks in advance.

BTW, mine says: 0 7 -07I0

does that mean these were made during July of 2007? Mmm...I'm not so sure. That would merely be a guess. There is no way to confirm what those numbers and letters really mean, right? i am not trying to doubt y'all, just to try to find out with some certainty. thx.

 

[Turbo Guy]

BTW, mine says: 0 7 -07I0

does that mean these were made during July of 2007?

Correct according to post by many who have checked and verified the data. Do a search on Eneloop dates or such. Read a few thousand post.

Half life, what half life. I do not care to purchased half dead cells for new prices. When a cell only delivers 80% of its; new capacity it is considered used up.

Go to BatteryUniversity and many other such sites and read about rechrgable batteries. I have 45 years experience with Nicads,20 years experience with NiMH, over 5 years experience with LiPolys,3 with LiFePO4s. I am still learning but would like to think that all the years of reading,using ,testing have not been a complte waste of my time.


http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-19.htm

Snip

How to store batteries (BU20)

Batteries are perishable products that start deteriorating right from the moment they leave the factory. There are simple preventive measures that battery users can apply to slow the aging process. This paper provides guidelines to reduce age-related capacity losses and how to prime new and stored batteries.

I have never see a Dist. store all cells under ideal contions and neither do the magarity of retailers. Not cells are in non climat controlled locations for weeks,months and even years at a time.

I recently purchased (not Eneloops) 16 AA LSD cells which I have cycles over 20 times and they still need more cycling. My guess is they were on sell to clear out very old inventory.

Nice of a rep. from Thomas Dist to drop in but their comments did not address the 0808 Eneloop and then 0707Eneloops one month later situation.

I guess I could have returned the 0707 ones and requested fresher ones . To late now as I have already cycled them and most have magic marker ink on them.

Post 15 Eneloops received 0811 so does that mean that any sold now are atleast that current?

 

[DM51]

I can assure you that here at Thomas Distributing we sell only new batteries from highly reputable sources. We never purchase or sell old batteries or seconds. We have a very high turnover, and our batteries never sit here for long.
That being said, you need not worry about any battery or charger you purchase from us as we offer a 30 day no hassle guarantee, full customer service that we believe is unparalleled, and a full one year warranty on the Eneloops we sell. It is important to us that you be pleased with everything you buy from Thomas Distributing.

Members may not have seen this response from Thomas Distributing a few posts above this one, as it was waiting in the moderation queue for a while.

It is only fair to allow this response to stand, as the company's reputation has been questioned by the OP. I think it is a reasonable statement, leaving no room for doubt about the company's stated policy. It is not up to me to defend them; nor is it usual CPF practice to allow non-contributing dealers to contribute in this way. The post has been allowed in the interest of fairness.

Thomas Distributing: you are advised that if you wish to contribute further posts here, these will need to be of a strictly non-commercial nature unless they have prior clearance from CPF staff. If you wish to become a CPF Authorised Dealer, it will be necessary for you to conform to CPF's advertising policies, and subscribe as indicated in CPF MarketPlace.

 

[DHart]

Thomas_Rep... excellent. Thank you for chiming in and clarifying. I'm looking forward to receiving my BC900 and 8-Eneloops! I see from an e-mail I just received that you've just sent them! Thanks.

 

[DualMonitors]

BTW, mine (Eneloops) say: 0 7 -07I0

does that mean these were made during July of 2007? Mmm...I'm not so sure. That would merely be a guess. There is no way to confirm what those numbers and letters really mean, right? i am not trying to doubt y'all, just to try to find out with some certainty. thx.

May I ask if someone, either from a dealer such as Thomas et al, might chime in to educate us on this?

i really have no idea what "0 7 -07I0" means. The numbers/letters are very faint and not easy to read at all. I can barely make those numbers/letters out, and i might even have misread the "I" if it were to be a "1", for example.

We are seemingly assuming that that does indeed mean July of 2007 as the manufacturing date. I'm just hoping that there's some sort of confirmation from a more official source, i.e. a dealer or regular seller of these cells, rather than the rest of us trying to ascertain and decipher what it may mean.

Mr. Moderator: are dealers/sellers allowed to opine and comment on this? I deem this to be educational in nature, rather than commercial. Thx in advance.