I’m going to load test first. I might also try to capture a 1A discharge on the maha c9000. After that they will be empty again and will need recharging for the storage test so that’s at least another cycle. I might do 1 more discharge after that to set the numbers for the LSD calculations.
And in the end I don’t really care if they will be 2050 or 2150. They exceed the manufacturers claim so that’s already good. I rather have underrated batteries than overrated 
Yeah, of course, I’m more than happy with them too!
I’m working on the load test now.
Test will include:
LADDA #1 (already tested)
LADDA #2 (topped of in a intellicharger i2)
Eneloop 2nd gen (topped of in a intellicharger i2) (already tested)
Eneloop 3th gen (topped of in a intellicharger i2)
GP recyko (topped of in a intellicharger i2)
Because I did/do not know for sure how full the eneloop and recyko would/will be I had/have to top them off again.
Because the LADDA #1 had to do it with the break in charge it had from a day ago I decided to test a second battery also topped off again.
They might behave different due to heating up and such, therefor it would not have been a fair comparison in my opinion if it was the only battery not charged again.
Measurements are being done by waiting untill the I2 says battery is full, then letting it cool down for 15 minutes, then start the load test. Maybe it’s not enough cooling time, but all batteries will be tested against the same conditions and same settings on the charger so results will be comparable I guess.
Measurements are taken from my multimeter that shows a 0.1-0.12V higher voltage than the accucel 6, and I do trust my multimeter measurements more than I trust the accucel reading. (Although it’s just a 8$ multimeter, I feel it’s more accurate and also has 3 digits behind the decimal point which gives better results).
Cutoff voltage is still set @ 0,9V at the accucel so termination might be a bit too soon, but they will all suffer from this.
Every minute a picture is taken of the multimeters screen. This means I have to look at around 120 pictures per battery, type out the voltage in excel and plot a graph.
I still have 3 batteries to go and have a birthday dinner and party later on, so final results will probably come in tomorrow.
Amazing.
Nothing is simple.
Looking forward to the results,
and Happy birthday party.
Yes, it’s a bit of work, never done any testing like this, but it’s worth it if we get some good data.
Thanks, it’s my dad’s birthday.
Congratulations! :party:
Curious, today is my dad’s birthday too. Maybe we are the same person…
There are other cheap low selfdischarge batteries, the latest 2300mAh Tronic Eco AA batteries (Lidl) are very good (4,99 euro for 4 batteries).
Capacity measured with the Maha charger: 2210mAh - 2276mAh - 2244mAh - 2257mAh (500mA discharge)
I am using Aldi Top Craft batteries for more than 4 years now, and they still have about the same capacity.
And again capacity is not everything…
For some people it is, good to have the info
Good to have the info, but without knowing the discharge voltage, not good for comparison. DC/DC converters will draw more current if the voltage sags.
yes, for comparison is useless, unless you make the same exact tests to both batteries in the comparison, but some people only need a battery capable of delivering 200mA with a good capacity (no voltage sag in this case for most batteries); in this case the cheaper, the better. Of course if you need the batt for a high drain device, you must be a bit picky with tha batt. of those i have eneloops, but for the keyboard, etc, i want the bigger capacity, with good lsd properties, and I don’t care about the voyage sag problems under high amperage
The results are in!
First the break-in numbers of the AAA’s
- 824
- 807
- 813
- 828
818mAh avg
And here the discharge graph.
I must say I’m surprised.
Link to full size picture
Ladda #1 started with an unloaded voltage of 1,379
Eneloop B4 started with an unloaded voltage of 1,441
Ladda #2 started with an unloaded voltage of 1,432
Eneloop C1 started with an unloaded voltage of 1,445
GP Recyko B3 started with an unloaded voltage of 1,422
(recyko and eneloop numbers are for reference to my own collection)
As the graph shows, the ladda batteries can keep up with a higher voltage than the eneloop!
The recyko and eneloop B4 has several cycles on them. The eneloop C1 is almost new, only had a break in and top off charge.
I don’t know how the ladda’s will perform after some extended use, but right now they seem to perform better than the eneloops. Did not expect that.
I hope it’s it good enough for everybody to see and interpreted the results. First time I do such a thing or even create a graph in excel.
Any question feel free to ask.
Pretty good results. I’m sure that for higher amperage draw eneloops are best, but for loads of 1A you demonstrated this ikea batteries are excellent batteries for the price
Would be nice to have graphs of serious amps, but as I said before, for people who is interested in powering devices with no excessive power, these seems excellent batteries (only the LSD has to be measured properly, but with that 6 month calculation of minimum 77% is good enough for most)
Edit: I forgot. Thank you very much for the graph!
Nice results, those cells are really good! Nice graph too :-)
Yeah, 1A is the max I can do.
Would love to see some HKJ tests on higher loads and also to see how his tests compare to mine with my cheap material 
Who knows, maybe he will do it in the future 
And for most common household appliences I think 1A is already a pretty decent load?
Indeed It’s pretty decent, it’s excellent, good alkalines have a hard time trying to give that current, so if it works with alkalines, it will rock with these for a few €
Yes, most Household appliences don’t need 1A.
I use cheap low selfdischarge batteries in camera flashes, when the flash capacitor recharges, it uses a current peak from the batteries, and that works much better with rechargeable batteries than with alkaline.
Most nimh batteries can handle much more current than alkaline batteries.
Most household appliences are designed to work with alkaline, in some of them the lower voltage of nimh can be a problem, but in those appliences you will also have to replace the alkaline batteries before they are completely used.
Thank’s for the work, Johnny.
I like the high voltages as I plan to use LADDA in my seven programmable heater valve controls which uses two AA’s in each.
The valves are Danfoss brand, and they advise against using rechargeables. Alkalines last for two years but sounds exhausted after a half year of use. They have to give a power surge to a motor two times a day (heat on and heat off).
I hope the advice against rechargeables just counts for the low voltage in NiCd batteries and think that LADDA (or Eneloop of course) is more suited to drive the motor current.
I smell meatballs in my future, $4.99/4 pack at the local Ikea, too cheap to resist with close to Eneloop performance, even if limited to lower demand devices.