SilverFox
Silver Moderator
Last Revision Date, 3/11/2008
I will add graphs as I finish the testing. If you have some NiMh cells that you would like to see the test results of, contact me for my shipping address so I can borrow a couple of cells for testing.
The graphs will pretty much speak for themselves, so let's get started...
Brock asked me to put up a comparison at a 1.0 amp discharge rate. I thought of doing this type of graph for all the discharge rates, but decided to do individual graphs to show the performance range of the different cells. This will serve as a general comparison between cells. For a more detailed look, check the individual graphs.
This graph was getting extremely cluttered, so I have replaced it with a table. The cells are sorted by Watt Hours.
JT loaned me a couple of Quest Platinum AA cells that are rated at 2300 mAh. Thanks JT.
Sigbjoern loaned me some Kodak AA 1700 mAh cells and here is how they perform.
A big thanks to Sigbjoern, he also loaned me some of the CBP AA 1650 mAh cells. These are high current cells. Here is what they look like.
To get the maximum performance from the CBA 1650 cells, you need to run them hot. Here is the 15.0 amp test showing the performance difference between hot cells and room temperature cells. CAUTION: Running lights on these hot cells may result in insta-flashing the lamp.
Here are the results on the Energizer AA 2300 mAh cells.
Here is the graph of the Energizer AA 2300 mAh cells that Brody sent me. I am not sure why there is such a difference between his cells and mine, but his are more in line with what I expected from these cells.
I am not sure who makes these cells, but they have a green sleeve and are rated 1400 mAh. They were part of a promotion when I got my charger and I believe they are very inexpensive. I took the results of an average cell, but be advised that each cell (of the 4 I have) tested differently and the range from highest to lowest was about 30%. I have learned to lower my expectations of free cells...
Here is the data from some Radio Shack 1500 mAh cells I have been using.
Here are the results for the Titanium 2400 tests. These are one of my favorite batteries. They hold voltage very well and are capable of some misuse as well. I have been using these cells in my Battery Charger Shoot Out and have been very impressed with them. I have also been impressed that they are very consistent from cell to cell. They may not be the best in a 10 amp application, but they do very well for a consumer grade cell. I got my cells from www.amondotech.com and I will be getting more of these cells.
Brody pointed out in a post below that other people testing batteries have found the Titanium 2400 cells to be very good as well. Wayne, if you happen to read this, thanks for an excellent AA cell and I hope you don't feel the need to change it.
Here are the graphs of the Titanium 2400
I am also very impressed with the Titanium 2000 cells. They have the same ability to keep a higher voltage during discharge, but just have a bit less capacity. It almost seems to me that the cells are put through a sorting process and the high capacity cells are the 2400's and if they don't meet the higher capacity, they go into the 2000 bin. These cells are also very consistent from cell to cell and perform very well.
Sanyo has always been a strong performer. Here is the data from the Sanyo 2300 mAh cells. They are strong performers. Thanks Brody for providing these cells for testing.
Here is the results from the Duracell 2300 cells. Thanks Brody again.
Brody also sent me some Energizer 2500's. Thanks Brody. These are interesting in that the harder you hit them, the better they perform. Very impressive at 5.0 amps.
4/13/05 Brody also sent me some Sony AA 2300 cells. Here is how they check out.
Brody also sent me some La Crosse AA 2000 cells. I also have these cells as do most people that purchased the La Crosse charger. There is some inconsistency between cells, but it is not too bad. Considering they were free, they are not too bad. Here is the graph.
Brody also sent me some Sanyo HR Industrial AA 2500 cells. These are the ones in dark green shrink wrap. What can I say - these are excellent cells. Sanyo is known for their quality and it shows. Here is the data.
Brody also sent me some Sunpack AA 2300 mAh cells to check out. 2300 mAh is a GROSS overstatement. I am not sure what Sunpack is trying to do here, but their cells don't even come close to 2300 mAh. Here are the graphs.
Brody also lent me some JetCell AA 2400's. These came from www.RipVan100.com the same people that have the excellent charger the Lightning Pack 4000N. The only issue I have with this charger is that it charges pairs of cells rather than individual cells. These cells performed very well. Here are the graphs.
Litho123 loaned me some Ray O Vac AA 1800's. Thanks Greg. They actually look pretty decent. Here is the data.
Litho123 also loaned me some Ray O Vac IC3 2000's. These cells are designed to work with the Ray O Vac IC3 15 minute charger, but can be charged by other chargers as well. My Energizer 15 minute charger did not like them. At the end of charge, the IC3 cells interrupt the circuit and the Energizer 15 minute charger would start the charge cycle again. Several rounds of this and you end up with a IC3 cell getting hot and an Energizer 15 minute charger with a blinking red light indicating something is wrong. At any rate, the cells did well. Here is the data.
Litho 123 also sent me some Energizer AA 2100's. These are the cells that come with the Energizer 15 minute charger.
Here are the GP AA 1800's that Litho 123 sent me. I am not sure how these cells fit into use categories, but I have noticed that GP has some high performance (high current) cells that work best "hot off the charger." I tested these cells using my normal cool down because I believe this is representative of how we would use these cells in our lights. They do hold voltage very well at 5.0 amps.
Sigbjoern is having me check out some cells for him. One of these is the AccuPower AA 2600's. They did very well.
Sigbjoern's AccuPower C 6000 mAh cells.
Sigbjoern's AccuPower D 11500 mAh cells.
Sigbjoern's 4/5A cells from MaxAmps rated at 1800 mAh. These are geared to high current draw applications and do quite well.
Sigbjoern also has me going on some 2/3 A cells. These are GP 1100 mAh cells and I am very impressed with their performance. The are sensitive to heat. You will notice the similarities in the 15 and 20 amp curves. The 20 amp test was done with cells hot off the charger. When the cells cool down, they fall on their face at 20 amps. At any rate, these are some real performers.
Here is the data on the MaxAmps 2/3 A 1150 cells. Thanks Sigbjoern.
Here is the data on the KAN 2/3 A 1050 cells. Once again thanks Sigbjoern.
I was having fun playing with (testing) these cells. The test at 5.0 amps was done with "warm" cells (about 90 F) to see what effect a little temperature has. As you can see, it helps a lot.
You have to love a cell that gives it rated capacity at 3C. Sigbjoern had me look at some KAN 2/3 AA 650 mAh cells. These are great performers. Here is the graph.
Here is some data from Supreme Power AA 1800 cells. Thanks to whoever sent me these cells. I forgot who it was… It was Sigbjoern - Thanks.
Lasercrazy loaned me some Powerex AA 2300 mAh cells to check out. These cells check out for perhaps 1800 mAh cells, but are nowhere close to 2300 mAh cells. I wonder if they were mislabeled.
Lasercrazy also loaned me some Ansmann AA 2300 mAh cells. They look pretty good.
Rick88 sent me some X1 cells to check out. I am not sure who makes these cell, but they did pretty well. Thanks, and sorry it took so long to get them back to you.
I finally got some Titanium 2600 mAh cells. They are looking pretty good…
If I asked you to run down to the local store and pick up some Vapextech NiMh batteries, would you look at me and wonder what I was talking about? If you live “across the pond” you may be familiar with this brand, but I am not sure it is available in the US. Ian Lewis of www.component-shop.co.uk sent me some of these cells to test. I am very impressed with how they perform. They are advertised to be good to 7.5 amps. They are performing well at 5 amps, but fall on their face at 10 amps, so I can believe they could hold up at 7.5 amps. At any rate, at 5 amps they are doing quite well. If you happen to see these cells, don’t be afraid to purchase them. They held up quite well.
Here is the test data.
AmondoTech is offering some Titanium AAA 1000 mAh cells. These did pretty well for themselves. There are not many AAA cells that can hold up to a 3.0 amp discharge rate and maintain descent voltage. Here are the graphs.
William at www.MahaEnergy.com sent me some Powerex AA 2500 mAh cells to check out. Thank you William. I had tested some Powerex cells earlier, and they did not perform very well. I decided to really put these cells through their paces to see how well they perform.
In addition to the test runs, I used these cells in my PT Yukon Extreme and my Mag85 for several cycles. I have come to the conclusion that these are very good cells. They perform very well at high loads as well as at lower loads, and they seem to be holding up over the 40+ cycles I have put them through.
I don’t know what happened to the earlier cells that I tested, but these 2500’s are very good performers.
I ran a test at a 7.5 amp draw because I was told that these cells were designed to hold over 1.0 volts at 3C. As you can see, they hold up to their specifications.
Here are the graphs. At 10 amps they kind of fall on their face, but they did not heat up and that’s a lot better than most consumer cells do.
UnderDog sent me some Sanyo Eneloop cells to check, along with the Sanyo NC-MDR02 charger. This is a 2 cell charger and I have not had a chance to fully check it out, but it is on the list.
Thanks Mark.
The advantage of the Eneloop cells is that they have a reduced self discharge rate. Sanyo advertises that they have 85% of their original capacity after 1 year of room temperature storage. Keep in mind that the self discharge rate goes up at elevated temperatures.
Here is the graph.
Did you notice that at 10 amps the voltage is still holding above 1.0 volts?
The self discharge test revealed that in 31 days there is 93% of the original capacity remaining. I do not know if this self discharge rate remains linear, but in discussing the new battery chemistry with Wayne at AmondoTech, he mentioned that he is under the impression that the self discharge rate slows down the longer the cell is stored. It does not completely stop, but it is slowed down to almost nothing.
If we assume that what I measured in 31 days is linear (worst case), that means that at the end of a year you would end up with about 44% of the original capacity remaining.
Considering that with a normal NiMh cell you would end up with 0% capacity left, this is still quite an accomplishment.
I tested a Sanyo 2500 mAh cell that has been stored at room temperature for 30 days. It ended up with about 82% of its initial capacity. It looks like the Eneloop cells do perform better...
Andy (MorePower) sent me some RayOVac Hybrid cells to check out. These are also low self discharge rate cells, and they did a very good job.
Here is the graph.
I have them at retaining around 86% of their initial capacity after 30 days. Not quite as good as the Eneloop cells, but much better than normal NiMh cells. Very impressive.
Thanks Andy.
LEDcandle sent me some Supreme Power 2300 mAh cells to check out. These are flat top cells similar to the CBP 1650 cells. These did quite well, but I am sure their performance could be improved if they were tested hot.
Here is the graph of the test results.
Shaocaholica sent me some AccuPower 2900 mAh cells to check out. Thanks.
These cells are strong performers and do have more capacity. They fell on their face at 10 amps and the test only lasted about a half a minute. I did not include the 10 amp test data.
Here is the graph.
Sanyo also has a high capacity cell listed at 2700 mAh with a minimum of 2500 mAh. These cells are also strong performers and did survive a 10 amp test, although the voltage dropped a lot during that test. The BC-900 (1000 mA charge 500 mA discharge) in test mode is showing around 2800 mAh when you discharge immediately after charging.
I had two batches of 4 cells to check out. Thanks Shaocaholica and Action. All 8 cells seemed to be reasonably well matched.
Here is the graph.
A slight digression, if I may... I know this is about various NiMh cells and how they perform, however, Ifoxbox sent me some 4/5A Sanyo KR-1100AEL NiCd cells to check out. You have to love NiCd cells for their ability to hold up under load. These are very strong cells. They finally started to drop off during the tests at 20 amps. That's a little over 18C. Impressive.
Thanks Jake. Now if they had 2500 mAh AA sized cells with this kind of performance...
Here is the graph.
Macdude22 sent me some Digital Concepts AA 2500 mAh cells to check out. These cells also have Rechargeable written on them. The seem OK for lower current draw applications, but do not handle high currents very well at all.
Here is the graph.
Well, what do you think of the new Titanium Power Max high current 1800 mAh cells...
Very impressive. Cold, they almost perform better than the CBP1650 cells hot. I have not looked at them "hot off the charger," but in "normal" use, they hold up very well.
You will notice that they fell on their face AT 20 AMPS, but were doing quite well at 15 amps. They are only rated at 18 amps, so I will cut them some slack. Also, note that they are at their rated capacity at a 1 amp draw.
I believe there are going to be some USL packs made from these cells because of their strong performance.
Here is the graph.
Macdude22 also sent me some Tenergy cells to test. I received 2 of the 2600 mAh and 2 of the 2300 mAh cells. Everyone knows that Tenergy is very optimistic with their labeling, so it should come as no surprise that they came in at less than their rated capacity.
The problem I had with these cells is that each cell tested differently. They are not consistent from cell to cell. I have done a couple of deep discharges followed by forming charges without improvement. I finally ran a Break In cycle on the Maha C9000.
Here are the results from the Break In:
Cell #1 labeled 2600 mAh, actual capacity is 2319 mAh
Cell #2 labeled 2600 mAh, actual capacity is 1960 mAh
Cell #3 labeled 2300 mAh, actual capacity is 1909 mAh
Cell #4 labeled 2300 mAh, actual capacity is 2035 mAh
I will not be posting graphs for these cell. The results are all over the place and not consistent from cell to cell. I have no idea of what is going on with these cells. Perhaps Macdude22 and give us some history on them.
Others have also observed the inflated capacity ratings, but have had good consistency from cell to cell. I will reserve any further comment until I have had a chance to check out some other Tenergy cells.
GCBStokes sent me some Titanium 2700 mAh cells to check out. The Titanium cells have been very strong performers. They are labeled a little optimistically, but then have been proven to have excellent cycle life.
These are not the cells to use for loads over 5 amps, but at lower loads they do very well.
Here is the data.
I had some Duracell 2400 mAh cells that I ran some test on.
Here is the data.
Codeman sent me some Duracell 2650 mAh cells to check out.
Here is the data.
Thanks Ray.
Here is some data from the Eneloop AAA 800 mAh cells. They seem to work well at lower current draws, but fall on their face at about 4 amps. That is impressive from an AAA cell.
MorePower also sent me some RayOVac Hybrid AAA 800 mAh cells to check out. These are also low self discharge rate cells. Like the Eneloop cells, they fell on their face at 4 amps, but that’s pretty good from an AAA cell.
Here is the data.
Thanks again Andy.
Cannesahs sent me some GP ReCyko AA cells to check out. The capacity was not labeled, so I guessed at 2050 mAh. EDIT: In fine print on the cell it states that these are 2100 mAh cells with a minimum of 2050 mAh. ENDEDIT These seem to be very strong cells. They fell under 1.0 volts under a 10 amp load, but still gave a decent performance.
It will be interesting to see how well they keep their charge over time. These are supposed to be low self discharge rate cells.
Here is the graph.
Thanks Jyrki. Self discharge rate testing is in progress...
Tom
I will add graphs as I finish the testing. If you have some NiMh cells that you would like to see the test results of, contact me for my shipping address so I can borrow a couple of cells for testing.
The graphs will pretty much speak for themselves, so let's get started...
Brock asked me to put up a comparison at a 1.0 amp discharge rate. I thought of doing this type of graph for all the discharge rates, but decided to do individual graphs to show the performance range of the different cells. This will serve as a general comparison between cells. For a more detailed look, check the individual graphs.
This graph was getting extremely cluttered, so I have replaced it with a table. The cells are sorted by Watt Hours.
JT loaned me a couple of Quest Platinum AA cells that are rated at 2300 mAh. Thanks JT.
Sigbjoern loaned me some Kodak AA 1700 mAh cells and here is how they perform.
A big thanks to Sigbjoern, he also loaned me some of the CBP AA 1650 mAh cells. These are high current cells. Here is what they look like.
To get the maximum performance from the CBA 1650 cells, you need to run them hot. Here is the 15.0 amp test showing the performance difference between hot cells and room temperature cells. CAUTION: Running lights on these hot cells may result in insta-flashing the lamp.
Here are the results on the Energizer AA 2300 mAh cells.
Here is the graph of the Energizer AA 2300 mAh cells that Brody sent me. I am not sure why there is such a difference between his cells and mine, but his are more in line with what I expected from these cells.
I am not sure who makes these cells, but they have a green sleeve and are rated 1400 mAh. They were part of a promotion when I got my charger and I believe they are very inexpensive. I took the results of an average cell, but be advised that each cell (of the 4 I have) tested differently and the range from highest to lowest was about 30%. I have learned to lower my expectations of free cells...
Here is the data from some Radio Shack 1500 mAh cells I have been using.
Here are the results for the Titanium 2400 tests. These are one of my favorite batteries. They hold voltage very well and are capable of some misuse as well. I have been using these cells in my Battery Charger Shoot Out and have been very impressed with them. I have also been impressed that they are very consistent from cell to cell. They may not be the best in a 10 amp application, but they do very well for a consumer grade cell. I got my cells from www.amondotech.com and I will be getting more of these cells.
Brody pointed out in a post below that other people testing batteries have found the Titanium 2400 cells to be very good as well. Wayne, if you happen to read this, thanks for an excellent AA cell and I hope you don't feel the need to change it.
Here are the graphs of the Titanium 2400
I am also very impressed with the Titanium 2000 cells. They have the same ability to keep a higher voltage during discharge, but just have a bit less capacity. It almost seems to me that the cells are put through a sorting process and the high capacity cells are the 2400's and if they don't meet the higher capacity, they go into the 2000 bin. These cells are also very consistent from cell to cell and perform very well.
Sanyo has always been a strong performer. Here is the data from the Sanyo 2300 mAh cells. They are strong performers. Thanks Brody for providing these cells for testing.
Here is the results from the Duracell 2300 cells. Thanks Brody again.
Brody also sent me some Energizer 2500's. Thanks Brody. These are interesting in that the harder you hit them, the better they perform. Very impressive at 5.0 amps.
4/13/05 Brody also sent me some Sony AA 2300 cells. Here is how they check out.
Brody also sent me some La Crosse AA 2000 cells. I also have these cells as do most people that purchased the La Crosse charger. There is some inconsistency between cells, but it is not too bad. Considering they were free, they are not too bad. Here is the graph.
Brody also sent me some Sanyo HR Industrial AA 2500 cells. These are the ones in dark green shrink wrap. What can I say - these are excellent cells. Sanyo is known for their quality and it shows. Here is the data.
Brody also sent me some Sunpack AA 2300 mAh cells to check out. 2300 mAh is a GROSS overstatement. I am not sure what Sunpack is trying to do here, but their cells don't even come close to 2300 mAh. Here are the graphs.
Brody also lent me some JetCell AA 2400's. These came from www.RipVan100.com the same people that have the excellent charger the Lightning Pack 4000N. The only issue I have with this charger is that it charges pairs of cells rather than individual cells. These cells performed very well. Here are the graphs.
Litho123 loaned me some Ray O Vac AA 1800's. Thanks Greg. They actually look pretty decent. Here is the data.
Litho123 also loaned me some Ray O Vac IC3 2000's. These cells are designed to work with the Ray O Vac IC3 15 minute charger, but can be charged by other chargers as well. My Energizer 15 minute charger did not like them. At the end of charge, the IC3 cells interrupt the circuit and the Energizer 15 minute charger would start the charge cycle again. Several rounds of this and you end up with a IC3 cell getting hot and an Energizer 15 minute charger with a blinking red light indicating something is wrong. At any rate, the cells did well. Here is the data.
Litho 123 also sent me some Energizer AA 2100's. These are the cells that come with the Energizer 15 minute charger.
Here are the GP AA 1800's that Litho 123 sent me. I am not sure how these cells fit into use categories, but I have noticed that GP has some high performance (high current) cells that work best "hot off the charger." I tested these cells using my normal cool down because I believe this is representative of how we would use these cells in our lights. They do hold voltage very well at 5.0 amps.
Sigbjoern is having me check out some cells for him. One of these is the AccuPower AA 2600's. They did very well.
Sigbjoern's AccuPower C 6000 mAh cells.
Sigbjoern's AccuPower D 11500 mAh cells.
Sigbjoern's 4/5A cells from MaxAmps rated at 1800 mAh. These are geared to high current draw applications and do quite well.
Sigbjoern also has me going on some 2/3 A cells. These are GP 1100 mAh cells and I am very impressed with their performance. The are sensitive to heat. You will notice the similarities in the 15 and 20 amp curves. The 20 amp test was done with cells hot off the charger. When the cells cool down, they fall on their face at 20 amps. At any rate, these are some real performers.
Here is the data on the MaxAmps 2/3 A 1150 cells. Thanks Sigbjoern.
Here is the data on the KAN 2/3 A 1050 cells. Once again thanks Sigbjoern.
I was having fun playing with (testing) these cells. The test at 5.0 amps was done with "warm" cells (about 90 F) to see what effect a little temperature has. As you can see, it helps a lot.
You have to love a cell that gives it rated capacity at 3C. Sigbjoern had me look at some KAN 2/3 AA 650 mAh cells. These are great performers. Here is the graph.
Here is some data from Supreme Power AA 1800 cells. Thanks to whoever sent me these cells. I forgot who it was… It was Sigbjoern - Thanks.
Lasercrazy loaned me some Powerex AA 2300 mAh cells to check out. These cells check out for perhaps 1800 mAh cells, but are nowhere close to 2300 mAh cells. I wonder if they were mislabeled.
Lasercrazy also loaned me some Ansmann AA 2300 mAh cells. They look pretty good.
Rick88 sent me some X1 cells to check out. I am not sure who makes these cell, but they did pretty well. Thanks, and sorry it took so long to get them back to you.
I finally got some Titanium 2600 mAh cells. They are looking pretty good…
If I asked you to run down to the local store and pick up some Vapextech NiMh batteries, would you look at me and wonder what I was talking about? If you live “across the pond” you may be familiar with this brand, but I am not sure it is available in the US. Ian Lewis of www.component-shop.co.uk sent me some of these cells to test. I am very impressed with how they perform. They are advertised to be good to 7.5 amps. They are performing well at 5 amps, but fall on their face at 10 amps, so I can believe they could hold up at 7.5 amps. At any rate, at 5 amps they are doing quite well. If you happen to see these cells, don’t be afraid to purchase them. They held up quite well.
Here is the test data.
AmondoTech is offering some Titanium AAA 1000 mAh cells. These did pretty well for themselves. There are not many AAA cells that can hold up to a 3.0 amp discharge rate and maintain descent voltage. Here are the graphs.
William at www.MahaEnergy.com sent me some Powerex AA 2500 mAh cells to check out. Thank you William. I had tested some Powerex cells earlier, and they did not perform very well. I decided to really put these cells through their paces to see how well they perform.
In addition to the test runs, I used these cells in my PT Yukon Extreme and my Mag85 for several cycles. I have come to the conclusion that these are very good cells. They perform very well at high loads as well as at lower loads, and they seem to be holding up over the 40+ cycles I have put them through.
I don’t know what happened to the earlier cells that I tested, but these 2500’s are very good performers.
I ran a test at a 7.5 amp draw because I was told that these cells were designed to hold over 1.0 volts at 3C. As you can see, they hold up to their specifications.
Here are the graphs. At 10 amps they kind of fall on their face, but they did not heat up and that’s a lot better than most consumer cells do.
UnderDog sent me some Sanyo Eneloop cells to check, along with the Sanyo NC-MDR02 charger. This is a 2 cell charger and I have not had a chance to fully check it out, but it is on the list.
Thanks Mark.
The advantage of the Eneloop cells is that they have a reduced self discharge rate. Sanyo advertises that they have 85% of their original capacity after 1 year of room temperature storage. Keep in mind that the self discharge rate goes up at elevated temperatures.
Here is the graph.
Did you notice that at 10 amps the voltage is still holding above 1.0 volts?
The self discharge test revealed that in 31 days there is 93% of the original capacity remaining. I do not know if this self discharge rate remains linear, but in discussing the new battery chemistry with Wayne at AmondoTech, he mentioned that he is under the impression that the self discharge rate slows down the longer the cell is stored. It does not completely stop, but it is slowed down to almost nothing.
If we assume that what I measured in 31 days is linear (worst case), that means that at the end of a year you would end up with about 44% of the original capacity remaining.
Considering that with a normal NiMh cell you would end up with 0% capacity left, this is still quite an accomplishment.
I tested a Sanyo 2500 mAh cell that has been stored at room temperature for 30 days. It ended up with about 82% of its initial capacity. It looks like the Eneloop cells do perform better...
Andy (MorePower) sent me some RayOVac Hybrid cells to check out. These are also low self discharge rate cells, and they did a very good job.
Here is the graph.
I have them at retaining around 86% of their initial capacity after 30 days. Not quite as good as the Eneloop cells, but much better than normal NiMh cells. Very impressive.
Thanks Andy.
LEDcandle sent me some Supreme Power 2300 mAh cells to check out. These are flat top cells similar to the CBP 1650 cells. These did quite well, but I am sure their performance could be improved if they were tested hot.
Here is the graph of the test results.
Shaocaholica sent me some AccuPower 2900 mAh cells to check out. Thanks.
These cells are strong performers and do have more capacity. They fell on their face at 10 amps and the test only lasted about a half a minute. I did not include the 10 amp test data.
Here is the graph.
Sanyo also has a high capacity cell listed at 2700 mAh with a minimum of 2500 mAh. These cells are also strong performers and did survive a 10 amp test, although the voltage dropped a lot during that test. The BC-900 (1000 mA charge 500 mA discharge) in test mode is showing around 2800 mAh when you discharge immediately after charging.
I had two batches of 4 cells to check out. Thanks Shaocaholica and Action. All 8 cells seemed to be reasonably well matched.
Here is the graph.
A slight digression, if I may... I know this is about various NiMh cells and how they perform, however, Ifoxbox sent me some 4/5A Sanyo KR-1100AEL NiCd cells to check out. You have to love NiCd cells for their ability to hold up under load. These are very strong cells. They finally started to drop off during the tests at 20 amps. That's a little over 18C. Impressive.
Thanks Jake. Now if they had 2500 mAh AA sized cells with this kind of performance...
Here is the graph.
Macdude22 sent me some Digital Concepts AA 2500 mAh cells to check out. These cells also have Rechargeable written on them. The seem OK for lower current draw applications, but do not handle high currents very well at all.
Here is the graph.
Well, what do you think of the new Titanium Power Max high current 1800 mAh cells...
Very impressive. Cold, they almost perform better than the CBP1650 cells hot. I have not looked at them "hot off the charger," but in "normal" use, they hold up very well.
You will notice that they fell on their face AT 20 AMPS, but were doing quite well at 15 amps. They are only rated at 18 amps, so I will cut them some slack. Also, note that they are at their rated capacity at a 1 amp draw.
I believe there are going to be some USL packs made from these cells because of their strong performance.
Here is the graph.
Macdude22 also sent me some Tenergy cells to test. I received 2 of the 2600 mAh and 2 of the 2300 mAh cells. Everyone knows that Tenergy is very optimistic with their labeling, so it should come as no surprise that they came in at less than their rated capacity.
The problem I had with these cells is that each cell tested differently. They are not consistent from cell to cell. I have done a couple of deep discharges followed by forming charges without improvement. I finally ran a Break In cycle on the Maha C9000.
Here are the results from the Break In:
Cell #1 labeled 2600 mAh, actual capacity is 2319 mAh
Cell #2 labeled 2600 mAh, actual capacity is 1960 mAh
Cell #3 labeled 2300 mAh, actual capacity is 1909 mAh
Cell #4 labeled 2300 mAh, actual capacity is 2035 mAh
I will not be posting graphs for these cell. The results are all over the place and not consistent from cell to cell. I have no idea of what is going on with these cells. Perhaps Macdude22 and give us some history on them.
Others have also observed the inflated capacity ratings, but have had good consistency from cell to cell. I will reserve any further comment until I have had a chance to check out some other Tenergy cells.
GCBStokes sent me some Titanium 2700 mAh cells to check out. The Titanium cells have been very strong performers. They are labeled a little optimistically, but then have been proven to have excellent cycle life.
These are not the cells to use for loads over 5 amps, but at lower loads they do very well.
Here is the data.
I had some Duracell 2400 mAh cells that I ran some test on.
Here is the data.
Codeman sent me some Duracell 2650 mAh cells to check out.
Here is the data.
Thanks Ray.
Here is some data from the Eneloop AAA 800 mAh cells. They seem to work well at lower current draws, but fall on their face at about 4 amps. That is impressive from an AAA cell.
MorePower also sent me some RayOVac Hybrid AAA 800 mAh cells to check out. These are also low self discharge rate cells. Like the Eneloop cells, they fell on their face at 4 amps, but that’s pretty good from an AAA cell.
Here is the data.
Thanks again Andy.
Cannesahs sent me some GP ReCyko AA cells to check out. The capacity was not labeled, so I guessed at 2050 mAh. EDIT: In fine print on the cell it states that these are 2100 mAh cells with a minimum of 2050 mAh. ENDEDIT These seem to be very strong cells. They fell under 1.0 volts under a 10 amp load, but still gave a decent performance.
It will be interesting to see how well they keep their charge over time. These are supposed to be low self discharge rate cells.
Here is the graph.
Thanks Jyrki. Self discharge rate testing is in progress...
Tom
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