Ikea Ladda 900’s are only a buck more at $6.99, made in Japan, and supposedly the same the Eneloop Pro’s
Just picked up a set to play with.
I think what this proves again is that buying from large retail chains is safer than buying from an unknown source on the internet. No telling where the stuff comes from or what it is. Large retail stores have an interest in being reasonably sure what they are selling isn’t absolute junk.
I know some people think that everything Harbor Freight sell IS junk, but actually some of it is pretty good.
And then again, some of it is pretty bad. It would so far appear that these cells are pretty good.
Once again, I’ll ask what flydiver asked. Is that the measured discharge capacity, or is it the charge capacity. With NiMH cells charge capacity can be 20% higher.
There is no mention of LSD, so these might lose ~0.5% of the stored energy per day, if they perform like some high capacity non LSD Panasonic AA cells I tested. That means that they are unsuitable for devices that you want to forget about and use occasionally. You’d be better off getting LSD cells. They would last longer. And those Panasonic cells I tested wore out quickly when subjected to regular high current discharges. After one year they were down to 1400mAh from the claimed 2800 mAh (or whatever the exact value was). So they may well be unsuitable for high drain devices too.
Ikea do a lot of good stuff, big purchasing power means good value. Even Chinese LSD cells can be very good, albeit not as good as Fujitsu made cells (they don’t last so long).
I was looking for LSD in the description too. Power over storage time is important in most of my applications so I’ve been buying mostly Eneloops. Amazon.com
Probably other brands with same or greater “maintaining charge” claim but the Eneloops have had the power whenever I’ve needed it even after sitting a year or more. Would be nice to get the same performance for less money though.
They’re marked as “Ready to use” which implies LSD. Capacities of the various Ladda types map to the equivalent Eneloop Pros and Eneloop Lites made by FDK (in Japan). Read HKJ’s reviews of these cells for more info.
Thanks, I’ll see what HKJ has on them.
The Ikea batteries look good too. It’s just a lot further away (about $10.00 in gas to go there). Haven’t been there in years. I can walk to HarborFreight. Might make a trip to Ikea one day and pick up some of the Ladda batteries up too. But right now, I don’t need any LSD AAA batteries for my purposes.
Does “Ready To Use” guarantee they are LSD ?
My use for these HarborFreight batteries is constant low drain so I don’t really need them to hold their charge an extended time. The alkalines I was using lasted 3 weeks max then needed to be changed. At least I can recharge these HarborFreight AAA’s every two to three weeks.
If the Ikea batteries are LSD then sure, those would be better for flashlights or devices that would sit extended periods of time between uses.
At least that’s what it seems I have learned from reading this forum.
I guess there’s more to buying batteries than just buying “top of the line”.
It suggests so, although I do not know what consumer law is like in your neck of the woods. Can you imagine standard non LSD cells being useable after a year on a shop’s shelves?
I saw HJK’s review of these batteries and I think he confirmed they are LSD
They look like excellent batteries at a good price.
In which case an excellent buy. :+1:
I noticed that the LADA batteries state that you can charge them….“up to 500 times”.
Now the HarborFreight AAA batteries says “can be used up to 1000 times”
500 more cycles is significant. Is there anything to that ?
Should it be assumed that HarborFreight is fudging the truth and Ikea is not?
LADDA Rechargeable battery IKEA
Rechargeable battery
$6.99
Key features
- You can use these batteries for all types of products. Batteries with a high energy capacity (high mAh number) are particularly useful for products with a high energy consumption, such as MP3 players, cameras, toys, flashlights and game controllers.
- The battery is ready to use.
>>>>> You can recharge these batteries approx. 500 times. <<<<<
Voltage: 1.2V.
Battery capacity: 900 mAh.
Life: approx. 5 years.
500 chargers vs. 1000. People seem to get caught up in that spec.
If you used them hard enough you had to charge them every week, you’d get 2 years out of them. Pretty much no one does that. If you did you wouldn’t need LSD type anyway.
Mostly they die of old age, neglect, and various forms of abuse. In that case a quality LSD like Eneloop is far more likely to last.
Capacity is one metric, charge cycles another. I think possibly the most critical characteristic for me is real world longevity, which is about impossible to measure in a useful way. By the time you’ve acquired that information THAT particular battery, even if it has the same name and wrapper, is likely no longer made.
Ok.
So do you think I’m just as good with the HarborFreight batteries given the constant low drain use I have in mind and that they will be recharged every two to three weeks?
Thanks
You are an experiment in progress. I don’t know, I’m working entirely off reputation, and even reputations change. Japanese Eneloops were pretty much the leader of the pack….now there are Chinese Eneloops which don’t seem to be as good. Come back in 2-3 years or when the batteries croak. 
Of course by then the HF batteries will likely be from a different source. No biggie, we’re talking a few bucks here in a rolling experiment.
FWIW, I had been eyeballing a dozen of those Amazon Basics AAA for $13 but the reports weren’t great. So, instead I bought 24 Tenergy Centuras for $20. They seem to have about the same general reputation….all over the map but mostly positive. Guess I’ll find out. I do have some Eneloop (genuine, Japanese) AAA and I’m not entirely enamored of them, but maybe that’s just AAA. It’s kind of a poor size as far as I’m concerned, but I got a bunch of things that need them.
Yeah. I guess you’re right. After all the dust settles it’s probably hit or miss, 6 - 1/2 dozen or the other as they say.
For all I know the Ikea LADDA’s might not be the same quality as the ones HJK got from where ever he got those.
And by the time I drive way over to Ikea to get them they’re gonna cost me about $14 a pack of 4.
I have a 25% off coupon for HarborFreight that puts the 900mAh batteries at $5.20 per pack of 4
I think I’ll just get another set of those and stop fussing over it haha.
If ever I’m at Ikea for furniture of something else, then I’ll pick some up.
Bought 4 more HF 900mAh AAA’s today : - )
Discharge test @ 1.0 Amp
Cell 1 - 999mAh
Cell 2 - 946mAh
Cell 3 - 934mAh
Cell 4 - 932mAh
What you’ll see on chinese crap is it will look pretty impressive right out of the box .
And what you can absolutely guarentee is that they will be DOA or so bad in two years that you;ll be chasing appallingly low capacities and high resistance and regret ever buying them.
The flip side is After 5 years you will still be using eneloops/duraloop /amazon/fdk or ikeas …probably more like 15 years
Every time someone buys junk batteries……A puppy dies
15 years from a battery? I thought battery life was measured by cycles….not time?
I’ve never used eneloops……
So I can take your word that no matter what, the ikea batteries will last me 15 years? THAT is a reason to buy them.
I’m NOT recommending them but I’ve just got done charging some Energizer NiMh C’s. They are dated 2004, have nearly new capacity and low IR. I’ve had Radio Shack D’s that lasted over 10 years with regular weekend cycling at about a 2A draw to 3/4 of their capacity. I’ve also had ‘no-name’ batteries with better marketing specs that were on their way out in 2 years.
Most (decent) batteries don’t die by cycles. They die by user abuse and neglect. How long the new LSD cells will last is still up for grabs. Since the time frame can be REALLY long for good cells, and the use history about impossible to determine, there is no way to guarantee anything. Pretty much everyone is their own experiment. Throw LOTS of experiments into the mix and you can get some kind of idea what the [general] outcome will be.