Long-term test Contour NiMH

So the things I’ve heard are true then. There really does only seem to be eneloop. I have 8 or 12 GP recyko’s which seem to be good but one vented some salty looking liquid in my charger, but the cell works perfectly apart from that.

Marc.

Not wanting to hijack Don’s post, suppose its related to contour’s if don doesn’t mind here.

Maybe worth making new thread Marcl on different types

Based on my own small sample and experiences, only other cells i’ve had any mileage out of apart from
Enerloops have been duracells offering (think Sanyo make them) & Uniross Hybrio’s LSD (AAA) All the remainder of my Ni-Mh Lsd cells of 4 different brands have crapped out.
I use various chargers BC700 and couple of other makes alternating so i wouldn’t say they have been overcharged ,I also never run them to nothing either

I haven’t tried the GP recyko’s, Panasonic Evolta’s so I couldn’t comment on quality.

Four year old Uniross cells are still going albeit lower slightly in capacity

regards B

I thought the uniross were eneloops, could be wrong though. Don will probably be able to tell you.

Marc.

The Uniross ones I have (somewhere) aren’t Eneloops but they work well enough - when I can find them.

Not a clue where they are just now.

as Don said there not made by sanyo, out of my batteries these are the only ones that have been fine in use

sorry but my general knowledge is far from understanding the data that has been posted in this 3d… :~

could someone sum up how worthy are these batteries?
I was thinking of buying this: http://www.energysavingonline.co.uk/contour-smart-battery-charger … is it worth the money?

thank you

The reason for all the numbers is an attempt to find out how worthy they are. I’ll have an idea in a few weeks.

I’m not wild about that charger. It is pretty slow and it doesn’t mention individual channels. It looks like a dumb timer-controlled charger, even if it does say it uses a microprocessor (What doesn’t these days?). Unless the trickle charge is at a very, very low rate (30mA or less), it’ll kill batteries by overcharging them. It is usually a bad idea to leave batteries on charge long-term.

thank you Don, that was one quick answer!
I’ll wait a few weeks for your review on the batteries and perhaps look somewhere else for the charger.

If you can find an Angeleyes charger, they’re good for around £20 - that is what the screeds of numbers are generated by. Unfortunately the usual HK suspects don’t seem to stock it. I got mine from KD about six years ago. There is a thread on the DX forums asking them to stock it.

This one appears to be an Angeleyes with a different name on it. IT costs £16.50.
http://www.fasttech.com/products/1421/10001892/1136306-aa-aaa-batteries-charger-capacity-mah-tester-and

7Dayshop used to sell just about the only decent charger Vanson make - the BC1-HU. It is often sold under different names. This one is decent but is only a tiny amount less than the angel eyes.
http://www.7dayshop.com/sanyo-mqn04-e-4-3utgb-overnight-aa-aaa-battery-charger-with-4-x-aa-2000mah?backUrl=L2NoYXJnZXJzLXBvd2VyLWJhdHRlcmllcy9iYXR0ZXJ5LWNoYXJnZXJzLWFuZC10ZXN0ZXJzI2Rpcj1hc2MmbGltaXQ9YWxsJm9yZGVyPXByaWNl

Hi Don, I think I’m going to get one of these Angeleyes/Shan chargers. They have more features for NiMH than the Nitecore i4, such as a clear backlit display and discharge.

I can’t figure out how independent the four bays are though. Can I perform different functions for four cells at once, like charge a pair of AAA’s whilst discharging a pair of AA’s?

I don’t think you can. I’m using mine flat out for discharging just now so can’t check. However, I’m pretty sure you set the mode (Charge Discharge or Refresh) for all four slots. I’ll check the ten or so cubic metres of paper and see if I can find the manual.

Edit: You set the mode for all four slots.

Since I’ve found them at a decent price I think I’ll get another one.

Thanks, Don! This is not a huge deal for me as I prefer to use chargers like this anyway.

They look very like 2nd Gen Eneloops. Also if you have a look at them with a magnifier near the shrink wrap join they have a date code on them in the same type of eneloop laser etched font, on both AAA and AA

On mine 11 . 06 l Q

I’m pretty sure they are 2G eneloops but the testing is to nail this down. The discharge curves will make interesting reading when the wonderful HKJ gets them and tests them.

Must go looking for the date codes. These days I need a magnifier for a lot of things - my days of reading 1 point Flyspeck Sans on motherboards are long gone.

Does that mean 2006?

2011 June.

Marc.

iCell are now selling four of these AA’s together with their charger for the bargain price of £8.19.

I’ve no idea what the charger is like, but I’ve one on the way as a gift for a nephew (to go with the EA4).

These cells were last charged 11 months ago. It'll be a year on the 28th (1-8) and 30th March (9-16). They've spent a long time in the back of the car so have been exposed to temperatures between 30C and -10C. I'll be interested to see how they do after a year of neglect. I just cleared out the car and found them again.

I'll do discharges for their anniversary of charging.

Looking forward to see these results. I haven’t had any feedback about them from my nephew (who I passed the cells on to), so some news would be interesting.

I bought 16 Contour AA in the UK, August 2013, and using various chargers and lights, mostly PIR around the house, and TBH they compare extremely well with my Eneloops (2008).

Similar RT's, apparent capacity, and charge holding ability.

CONTOUR ENERGY CHIBRUAA4 SuperSmart Battery Charger with 4 x World Best Batteries £ 6.99
CONTOUR ENERGY REAA4RTU 4 x AA Pre-Charge Rechargeable Batteries £ 4.49