Test/review of Arcas AA 800mAh (Silver-red)

Arcas AA 800mAh (Silver-red)





Official specifications:

  • Voltage: 1.2V

  • Capacity: 800mAh

  • Weight: 18.8g

  • Size: 14.4 x 50.1mm



Maximum temperature raise at different discharge currents: 1A:+2,0°C, 2A:+5,0°C, 3A:+7,7°C, 5A:+11,6°C, 7A:+17,8°C, 10A:+2,9°C

This is a very low capacity AA NiMH cell.
The table above only contains data for the B cell.











This charts looks strange. The A cell starts at very low capacity and then suddenly is a 2000mAh cell. The low capacity is because the charging failed, my system stopped to early (Because the voltage did drop).
The B cell looks like a regular 800mAh cell, but it has problems delivering more than 3A.















Conclusion

I am not impressed with these cells, the manufacturer do not have control with the packing of the cells and performance is not very good.
It is also interesting that the brand do not have 2000mAh cells, only 800mAh and 2700mAh, where did the 2000mAh come from?



Notes and links

How is the test done and how to read the charts
Compare to other AA/AAA batteries: Alkaline/NiMH/Lithium

Thanks for the review HKJ!

I think they use similiar cells like 800-1200mah cells in the solar lights? IKEA has the 1000mah AA also.

In most cases the price difference doesn’t really justify the lesser capacity.

The idea with the low capacity is that the cell is supposed to be more robust, i.e. handle over charger, over discharge better. I cannot test that in my reviews.

Poor AA NiMH battery has an identity crisis thinking it’s a more powerful lithium ion battery with 800 mAh capacity…

HKJ, thanks for the review.
The 2 batteries also look different.
The 1st picture shows that there is a ….(insert word that I forgot) near the positive side of the battery. You can see a line, and the nipple is different as well. That is very strange to say the least.