When do you retire old AA/AAA batteries?

[turnipfarmer]

I've got some old eneloops, which are around 10 years old and their capacity is around 1700mh however when do you guys officially retire an old battery?

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

I retire old Eneloops when I can't get the charger to charge them anymore. That is, it keeps giving me error codes, and won't charge them. Then I try charging them in a dumb timer charger, and when even that fails, then I dump it.

 

[Kestrel]

Many years ago I had one Eneloop AAA (750mAh) w/ very heavy extended usage; conveyed it to SilverFox, he said its capacity was down to only 150 mAh and did not respond to conditioning.

I do have an unopened 4ct pkg dating to 2006; they were only introduced in November 2005.
On their 20yr anniversary I'll mail them to someone here for analysis, lol.

History - Panasonic

Since 2005, eneloop batteries have changed the world one charge at a time. Follow the events that shaped our story in this historical timeline.

www.panasonic.com

 

[TPA]

Depends what they're being used for. As long as my chargers will still charge them, I still use them, with the crappier ones going in remote controls and other low-use items.

 

[turnipfarmer]

Cool, cheers guys. My chargers are still charging them but they've lost capacity over the years. Is there any other metrics of the battery that indicate battery health? Eg impedance etc?

 

[WC8KCY]

Assuming your cells are 2000 mAh eneloop and not 2500 mAh eneloop Pro, 1700 mAh is still 85% of rated capacity--perfectly healthy by most any metric.

I have Epson NiMH cells from 1999 that still test out at 80% of rated capacity. Your eneloops may still have years of useful life remaining.

 

[jtr1962]

When a smart charger rejects them, I charge them in a dumb charger. I find most "bad" batteries actually still have close to their rated capacity, but only at very low currents on the order of a few mA. This means they can still be used in low-drain stuff like wall clocks or LCD thermometers or remotes.

If a battery gets internal shorts, can't be charged much past 0V, then it's time to recycle it but not before.

 

[GaryF]

I've still got 10 of 12 of my original 2006 manufactured Eneloop AA, and 4 out of of 8 AAA.

2 of the AA failed, one had physical damage, the other developed rapid discharge. I killed 4 of the AAA in a 4 cell radio with parasitic drain that kept discharging them to zero for long periods of time.

My 2006 AA's are down to about 1350-1400mAh, still ok, Mostly they have been used in single or 2 cell devices, and charged before they got deeply discharged.

17 years is pretty amazing.

 

[letschat7]

I have an Apple Eneloop that doesn't work right. I keep it in the recycle bin.

 

[M@elstrom]

What we're supposed to retire batteries? 🤣

In all seriousness, I just pass them down to the next low powered device in need...

 

[cave dave]

I have a graphing calculator that uses 3xAAA. It's pretty low drain and new good Eneloops will last a year. If they get so bad that they only last 2 mo its time for them to go. I also use ones that won't charge in a smart charger in rarely used remotes, and they seem to last till I charge them at the spring and fall time changes.
I think things like calculators, remotes, wireless mice can be pretty rough on cells though because they can drain them down to nothing while still working OK.

 

[DaveTheDude]

Artificial "candles" that use AA or AAA cells are excellent candidates for older, less energetic cells. 🕯️

 

[ampdude]

AA and AAA rechargeable batteries typically don't leak, so I just use them until they give no power any more or the charger won't charge them like the original response to this thread mentioned. Until just recently I still had some Nicad's from the late 90's that still worked fine. NIMH batteries usually have a pretty short life span.. shorter than lithium ion batteries. I'm surprised you have some ten years old, none of mine have ever lasted over 4-5 years. I have some AW lithium ions that are over 12 years old and still going strong and still very consistent.

 

[Wrend]

They're rated down to 80% remaining capacity. At this point they tend to degrade exponentially, but yes, if they still work for you, then they still work. I still have all my Eneloops from 10+ years of buying them and haven't bothered testing their capacity very accurately as they still all hold a charge and work. However, I have taken some series sets apart when a cell stops performing as well as the others, so I have a few individual cells from those. They still work in single cell applications for me. They all still charge fine for me. I use them in rotation and have extra sets charged and ready to use. This is how I store them and generally I do not top them off again before use. It may be that one of these years I'll have several fail on me, but no sign of that yet. Cheers.