Overview: All Eneloop batteries 2005-2024

Got my order. That was pretty fast. Now to start testing.

Great.. Looking forward to some test results!

Does anyone know the expected lifespan of Eneloops when they’re only run through a few cycles per year? How are older cells holding up under these conditions?

Probably many many years.. I am pretty sure 10+ years....

From everything I have come across until now.

I’m getting great service from AA, AAA not so much. I think that form factor is less robust.

Yeah, we’re still figuring that one out. I have several Eneloops from the year they came out (2006), and they’re all still good. Maybe lost 5–10 of their capacity. They have somewhere between 100-200 cycles on them.

Out of over 300 Eneloops, I’ve only had 1 cell go bad on me for no reason. It’s from 2009. Still works, but has very high internal resistance and only 1300mAh capcity (at a low discharge rate). I’ve had 2 others go bad the same way, but that is from too many cycles (several hundred cycles).

Anyway, in general, you should easily expect 10 years out of your cells if you only cycle them 1 or 2 dozen times per year. I expect the real answer will be closer to 20 years, but I’ll have to wait another 7 years to see.

Once the cells go bad, they’re no good for high-drain applications (like flashlights), but they’re still fine for low-drain stuff, like remote controls.

That’s why i’m trying eneloop lites. Think lower capacity nimhs have all the advantages EXCEPT capacity.

Guys, I need your advice:

I’ve got 4 Sony LSD AAA batteries ( NH-AAA-B4GN 840mAh), that are rewrapped 1st and 2nd gen Eneloop PRO batteries according to eneloop101 website. Recently, these batteries stopped being charged by my Panasonic BQ-CC17 smart charger (charging leds keep flashing), which usually means the internal resistance of these batteries is too high. Unless I got counterfeit batteries, this shouldn’t have happened, because I purchased them in September 2016 and they have always been charged with the aforementioned smart charger.

I’m aware of the trick of doing an initial charge with a dumb charger and then completing the charge with a smart one so it will not reject the sick batteries. However, this trick has been not working with a Panasonic cordless phone charger, that can output 6.0V/400mA. I charge the batteries on the cordless phone charger and some hours later the batteries are supposedly charged, but only a few minutes after charging them with the BQ-CC17, the leds start flashing and charging stops.

My question is: is the trick not working just because I’m using a cordless phone charger, or even a dumb charger won’t be able to prevent the Panasonic charger from rejecting the batteries? I wonder whether the BQ-CC17 is a very picky charger or the Sony batteries are really sick even after less than three years of use and being properly cared. It would suck to buy a dumb charger and find out that the smart one will still reject the batteries.

The issue is that the internal resistance of the cells has crept up to a point that the BQ-CC17 detects that they are no longer good cells, so refuses to charge them. It does this for a couple of reasons:

1. High IR could indicate that you are trying to charge alkaline cells, so the charger rejects them.

2. The BQ-CC17 uses a 25% duty cycle for each slot. It actually charges AAA cells at 600mA (and AA at 1200mA), but does it 25% of the time, for an effective charge rate of 150mA (or 300mA for AA). 600mA is too fast a charge for cells with high internal resistance, so it rejects them.

Anyway, trying to charge your cells first with a dumb charger won’t help if you later want to finish with the BQ-CC17. Your only option is to use a dumb charger for the full charge, or try a different smart charger that can use a real charge less than 600mA.

IMO, I’d just use a dumb charger (everyone should have one for these purposes). It may be tough on the cells, but they’re not good cells anyway.

Finally, they may not be real Eneloops than Sony uses, or they may not be grade A cells. You’re right that it’s unusual for real Eneloop cells only 3 years gold to develop high internal resistance, unless they’ve been used for hundreds of full cycles.

Thanks for the comprehensive explanation, I’ll get a cheap dumb charger and see if the BQ-CC17 can finish the charging. I mostly used the AAA batteries on the cordless phone, I wonder if they were cycled for hundred of times.

The only time a dumb charger should be needed is if you discharge to zero volts and the smart charger rejects it. The dumb charger generally only needs a minute or 2 to put enough voltage into the cell to be ready for the smart charger. If it still won’t, you can ZAP it (a short quick jolt from a full battery matching polarity). If that doesn’t work, the cell is a dud.

The other time they are useful is if the internal resistance is so high the smart charger continually rejects or terminates the cell. You can then just use the dumb charger…but, that cell is pretty much on the way out and only suitable for ‘trash’ work.

There are LOTS of Panasonic chargers. Mine will start a zero volt cell OK, and generally charge OK, but I seldom use them with several better chargers available.

That could be it. If you use your phones a lot, it would be quite possible for the cells to get worn out after 3 years of use. Another possibility is the phone doesn’t stop the charge when the battery is full; it just continually trickle-charges, which would be tough on the battery.

BTW, the BQ-CC17 won’t finish the charge. They just detect the high internal resistance and refuse to charge them any more.

A dumb charger will just continually charge the cells for 10 hours (or something). It might over-charge them, which is hard on the cells, but they’re on their last legs anyway.

I’m pretty sure if you’ve been using them in a portable phone they are shot. That phone is very likely a dumb charger-it never stops charging at a low rate. Eneloops are not a good choice for that application. LSD cells don’t take well to trickle charging, as HJK has pointed out numerous times in his charger reviews. You want an ‘old school/standard’ NiMh or even NiCad for that.

Or….have you just been trying to charge them in a cordless phone, not use them in the phone?
If so, what kind of use do they get? There are some things that can be hard on any battery.

Ah, you never said they were in a portable phone.

What you want is either a NiCD cell or a lithium ion battery pack limited to 3,9V.

These kind of phones tend to kill cells.

Just to make it clear, I have never charged the batteries with them inside the cordless phone or even let the phone connected to the base while the Sony batteries were inside the phone, because I knew the phone charger was a dumb one.

As soon as I saw the phone had turned off, I placed the Sony batteries in the BQ-CC17 and then put them back in the phone once they were fully charged. It’s only after the Panasonic charger started rejecting them that I begun to use the cordless phone charger to charge the batteries.

Nice deal at Amazon:

Charger + 8AA and 4AAA for $36

https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-K-KJ55MC84CZ-eneloop-Advanced-Battery/dp/B01LWCW3WY

Panasonic added another battery charger to their curren lineup.... in Japan.

It's quite an interesting one I have to say. (charger + powerbank + flashlight in 1)

Instead of a normal power cord, you can charge batteries using a USB charger! (Cord included, not the USB charger)

Plus they added a flashlight as an attachment so you'll be able to have light during emergencies!

Panasonic BQ-CC87 L (light)

Hello.

I have 2 sets of Enloop rechargeable batteries (HR-3UTGA) but from different dates. I’ve been using them in my laptop wireless mouse and my camera’s flash. I also have a set of 4 AAA Enloop batteries (HR-4UTGB) that I use on my Casio calculator and a remote controller (IPTV box).

I have bought this Technoline BC700 charger to charge them. Is this charger appropriated? I bought it because of its features and because I found a few nice reviews about it.

Yes it ok , but it sometimes won’t terminate at 200ma ( like almost all chargers ) mine has only missed termination 3 times ,I use 500ma for AAA’s & 700ma for AA’s.
edit , but mine is made by lacrosse.
I would disregard most amazon reviews because there are alot of sellers on amazon that get the reviewers to pay for reviewed stuff & reimburses the reviewer if it’s a good review.

Correct Nev. That is what happened to mine as well. it wouldnt 'measure' the drop in Voltage, and therefore continue charging. Better charge at 700mA.

BTW, Eneloop101 received a new facelift today.. have a look

It feels a little 'fresher' now. Let me know what you think.