My report on the Eneloops

[RTTR]

I picked up the 4 pack of Eneloops including charger from Walmart last night for 19.87

I put the supplied charger aside and put the cells into a 4 cell holder. Hooked it up to my Multiplex LN-5014 digital multicharger that I use for my R/C racing hobby.

I set it to cycle (charge/discharge) the battery 2 times with a charge current of 0.5A and a discharge current of 1.0A.

The initial discharge resulted in a battery capacity of 1434mAh which means my Eneloops out of the package had about 72% capacity still left in them (according to their 2000mAh rated capacity) I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but surely these couldn't have been sitting on the Walmart rack for over a year.

After the final charge cycle the cells are reporting a capacity of 1922mAh.

 

[Bones]

The initial discharge resulted in a battery capacity of 1434mAh which means my Eneloops out of the package had about 72% capacity still left in them (according to their 2000mAh rated capacity) I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but surely these couldn't have been sitting on the Walmart rack for over a year.

This article may help to alleviate your concern with initial capacity:

http://www.stefanv.com/electronics...

 

[tarponbill]

I am curious, is the included Eneloop charger a single channel smart charger? Or is it just a timed low end version?

 

[Bones]

I am curious, is the included Eneloop charger a single channel smart charger? Or is it just a timed low end version?

I think it could arguably be the best in its class.

It definitely has independent channels along with an impressive set of controls.

Start Edit

Your link in post 4 does not specifically talk to the Eneloop charger. Does not show a charger with a 300mA charge rate.

Bullzeyebill is correct. I found this site while trying to decide whether to purchase the Eneloop charger, and I failed to take a hard look at it again once I got the charger until today.

For those who already have the Eneloop charger, I think you can take some comfort in the fact that every Sanyo charger I have been able to find credible data on has the good features.

Not to include them in the charger packaged with their flagship batteries would be sheer folly, at least to me, but my earlier assertion that Sanyo actually did so is now unsubstantiated.

For those who are trying to decide whether to purchase the Eneloop charger, I apologize for just muddying the waters.

The instruction manual, which contains the 300mAh charge rate and a bit more information on the charger, can be found here .

I have to go now, my crow is ready to eat...

End Edit

It's 300mAh charge rate seems both gentle and thorough, and it terminates the charge reliably.

I've read that it would be beneficial to have more LED's so the individual batteries could be removed as soon as they are charged, but I think it's preferable to have the slider remain over the cells until they are finished charging so as not to interfere with its temperature controls.

The temperature controls also seem to be very stringent. This is supported by one fact sheet I read that stated it will actually terminate the charge early if it's plugged in upside down.

 

[Burgess]

to Bones --


Thank you for the info on the Sanyo Eneloop charger.


That's good to know !


:thumbsup:

-

 

[tarponbill]

Bones, thank you, good information. I guess my next buy will be one of these kits.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Your link in post 4 does not specifically talk to the Eneloop charger. Does not show a charger with a 300mA charge rate.

Bill

 

[Handlobraesing]

I too got around 1460mAh @ 500mA discharge rate into MH-C9000 and all 4 cells were consistently around that amount.

The eneloops I got before they were released in the US had ~1950mAh out of the package.

 

[Bones]

Your link in post 4 does not specifically talk to the Eneloop charger. Does not show a charger with a 300mA charge rate.

You are correct Bill.

Thanks for letting me know.

I have edited my post accordingly after a bit of cussing and head banging.

 

[Burgess]

to Bones --


Thank you for your follow-up.


You are to be commended for your efforts to set the record straight.

:twothumbs


i understand yer' frustration. Been there, done that.




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[RTTR]

Well, my Nikon SB800 SpeedLight flash didn't come today (the reason I bought the Eneloops), so I gave the Eneloops another discharge/charge cycle, this time charging at 1 amp, they peaked at 2011mAH, getting better