Since Sanyo was bought by Panasonic, FDK’s Fujitsu became the primary brand and Eneloop just another re-brand.
I actually have a preference for Fujiloops over Japanese Eneloops, not so much that I think FDK makes them any better, but simply because they seem less likely to be counterfeit and I don’ have to worry about getting lower performing Chinese Eneloops should something change in Panasonic’s supply chain. Plus I can usually get Fujiloops at a lower price.
The only thing that surprises me a little about the tests in the video, is that the high capacity cells did better when it came to low self discharge and just as good if not better for low IR - which goes against a lot of chatter on the forums (usually with no real testing to back it up) that the high cap cells are not as good in these regards as the standard “eneloops”.
AFAIK, I think it’s just the Asian market that gets the Chinese Eneloops. Every Costco order I’ve made (including last month), have been Japanese Eneloops.
But that brings up a good question: what version of Eneloops is he testing? Chinese or Japanese? Generation?
Yes, that makes me suspicious of his testing. There’s no way that high-capacity cells have lower self-discharge than their lower-capacity counterparts. That’s the entire point of “regular vs pros”.
Even if that’s the case, those voltages are still low, unless the load is high. But I suppose it’s possible, although it would be kind of weird for him to list voltages after storage that way. Given the amount of time and effort he put into this testing, you’d think he could measure them with a DMM.
I’m not calling his video B.S., but there’s something about his testing that we’re not being told. His capacity numbers I can believe, but not some of the other stuff. I’d like to see his results reproduced by someone else. Specifically around self-discharge, and voltages (which is definitely wrong if they’re not under load).
IMO, they absolutely are worth it. New LSD type keep their charge pretty well, AND THEY DON’T LEAK!
I’ve had way too many electronics ruined by alka-leaks.
He clearly states which cells are Japanese in the vid and there are no “generations” in the way they are touted around the internet, according to Eneloop, there are only normal incremental improvements made over time.
There are some significant advantages in later generations:
1. Cold weather performance is improved (from –10 to –20). I verified Panasonic’s claim about that, when using 1st gen Eneloop in an outdoor weather station. In extreme cold, they wouldn’t work. I replaced with 2nd gen, and they work fine in extreme cold. So they did something to improve that.
2. Lower self-discharge.
3. More cycles (though, not as many as they claim, since they use partial cycles). Plenty of tests over on cpf to verify that.
Panasonic states that. It’s ridiculous to think that they would intentionally talk-down their own product. Other than this one dubious youtube claim that is counter to all other claims, can you link to some independent tests that shows Panasonic is lying? Why do you think Panasonic wants us to think their high-capacity cells are worse than they really are? Are they trying to get people to buy their lower-priced regular batteries, in hopes that they will make less profit?
I have quite a few IKEA Laddas. In Canada they’re half the price of Eneloops. A great value.
I still favor the Japanese Eneloops. I value longevity and I’ve heard so many reports of them remaining solid after 10 years of use or neglect. That’s real value.
I bought some Duracells about 5 years ago that were touted to be the same as Eneloop pro’s. They only lasted about a year before they had so much voltage sag that a discharge test at 1A only took 60 seconds
Of the 8 I bought none can be charged on 5 different smart chargers (too much internal resistance) so I have to charge them on a dumb one (still good for usage in remotes, etc).
The Amazon silvers and blacks sounded promising (I was skeptical of them without seeing test results), but when I searched just now I found that Amazon only has green AA cells. They must have discontinued the silver and black ones. And who knows if the greens are any good!
I’m glad he didn’t bother testing Tenergy Centuras. I have had awful luck with those. Threw out a third of the last batch I bought. Never again…
Yeah, I bought some Tenergy Centura 9 volt NiMH batteries. Pure crap. They lasted about a year. The Energizer 9 volt batteries I bought at the same time lasted much longer. But even the Energizers aren’t great. I doubt I’d buy 9v NiMH batteries again. Nobody seems to make good ones. They haven’t improved the tech since the first ones I bought about 20 years ago (they didn’t last long either).
They also have a manufacture date pressed into the wrapper.
My Sanyo XX 12-06-L1 purchased in South Korea average capacity 2400mAh
MY Eneloop Pro 15-06-L3 purchased in South Korea average capacity 2575mAh
MY Eneloop(white)19-03-L7 purchased in US average capacity 1900mAh
AFAIK there are no Eneloop Pro made in China
The BK-3MCCE code is the same in different regions, even though one is sourced from China, and the other is from Japan
When Eneloops with an E at the end of the code are purchased in Europe or Russia from authorized resellers, they will be sourced from Japan
****The regular capacity AA Eneloop is also produced in red,blue,green and brown wrapper and was sold in the Asian market at a price premium just for the color.
