The 10th Anniversary of Eneloop is later this year. November 2005 was the launch month of the original HR-3UTG series. Iāve been reliably informed that Panasonic will be doing global 10th Anniversary promotions for eneloop. Kind of ironic since Panasonic dont dont own the technology or the factory eneloop is made in (except the Chinese made eneloop that are actually using Panasonic Evolta technology, not Twicell factory technology the Japan made cells have always used).
Hereās the shortform history of the Twicell factory consumer NiMH battery line from even before the LSD days:-
April 2013 AA-AAA type low self-discharge type Ver.4 (UTGC) begin shipping. (2100 cycles)
October 2011 AA-AAA type low self-discharge type Ver.3 (UTGB) begin shipping. (1800 cycles)
January 2010 Transfer of Twicell factory to FDK Co,. Ltd (Majority owned by Fujitsu Ltd) from Sanyo Electric Co,. Ltd. Renamed to FDK TWICELL.
October 2009 AA-AAA type low self-discharge type Ver.2 (UTGA) begin shipping. (1500 cycles)
September 2008 Single, single-type two low self-discharge type begin shipping.
September 2009 Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Award as the employment of persons with disabilities excellent office.
January 2006 AAA type (HR-4UTG) low self-discharge type begin shipping. (1000 cycles)
November 2005 AA type 2700mAh (HR-3UG) begin shipping.
November 2005 AAA type 1000mAh (HR-4UG) begin shipping.
November 2005 AA type (HR-3UTG) low self-discharge type begin shipping. (1000 cycles)
July 2005 Commendation award from the Japanese Red Cross Society.
March 2005 OHSAS18001 certification.
August 2004 AA type 2500mAh (HR-3UF) begin shipping.
November 2003 ISO14001: 2004 certification.
September 2003 AA type 2300mAh (HR-3UB) begin shipping.
September 2002 AA type 2100mAh (HR-3UA) begin shipping.
August 2002 ISO9001: 1994 certification.
March 2002 AA type 1850mAh (HR-3U) begin shipping.
April 2001 Transfer to Sanyo Electric Co,. Ltd from Toshiba Battery Co,. Ltd
May 1993 Building 2 new building construction and operation 6 floors.
October 1991 Nickel-metal hydride battery production start.
Product numbers of the actual cells have not been changed as far as I could tell.
Is this far fetched? Maybe.
Could this be a prelude to a ā5th generationā? Who knows!
accumulator mentioned a couple of weeks ago, that he had found an unopened package for 1st generation AA eneloops with an April 2006 date code. His findings of the two cells from the package showed 72% and 73%
I also recently got a pair of 1st generation AA eneloops with a February 2008 date code. It came with the NC-MQH03 charger set from Singapore. I donāt have the fancy ZTS battery tester yet nor do I have the good Maha or La Crosse chargers to check this accurately yet. But, my cheapie Delkin tester showed 3 out of 5 lights. Not bad at all! Iāve decided not to touch them yet and will wait to test these for real on my friendās La Crosse BC-1000 charger to get definitive results.
With Panasonic's ownership of the Eneloop brand, they've been doing some weird things to it over the past couple of years... who knows what will happen later this year?
I can't believe I missed Uniqlo's Eneloop t-shirts a couple of years ago!
I just happen to like many out of the ordinary things, and a Eneloop or Kewpie (missed that one too) t-shirt counts
Iāve seen that thread before. Itās very informative, but there are actually some slightly newer versions of some of those Eneloop universe products
I am just emerging from a dark age, having purchased my first high-power LED flashlight last month. It runs on 18650 batteries, but since the charger I bought, a Nitecore D4, can charge NiMh in addition to Li-ion, I decided to buy some Eneloop Pros. I selected the Pro, because I want the longer runtimes it offers in AA flashlights. I have 16 AAs and 4 AAAs arriving next week.
Since placing my order, I have learned that capacity and number of cycles are not the only differences between regular and Pro batteries. The Pro model is also better for devices that draw high current.
That's fine. My reason for posting, however, is this. The same post where I read about high-current draw said that regular Eneloops are better in low-current applications. I understand that they may be more cost-effective, but are they really better? Is there any reason I should not run my TV remote on Eneloop Pros? What about the AA flashlights I anticipate buying? Frankly, those will also be run on low-output settings most of the time.
From what I read, using high(er) capacity cells in low draw devices is bad because the cells sit mostly unused and internal resistance eventually increases until you go through a ārefreshā cycle on a good charger. Not only that, using high(er) capacity cells in a low draw device is counter productiveā¦ they will self discharge before you even used up the cells. In other words, itās not worth the cost!
For remotes and clocks, Iāve ended up getting a bunch of Eneloop Lites as theyāre better suited for these applications. They are low capacity cells meant for low draw devices. Nevermind the fact that they have way more number of cycles than any one can practically use lolā¦ At the very least, I feel itās better to use regular Eneloops instead, which is what Iām using now in my DVR remote because that thing takes AAAs and sucks down batteries like none other
Other than high power flash lights, something that is better suited for Eneloop Pros are things such as camera flashes, hand warmers, cell phone battery booster packs, and electric shavers
Not sure just what I should do now. I am the proud owner of 20 Eneloop Pros, but most of my AA needs are for low-draw devices. I can either buy some regular Eneloops or Eneloop Lites or else abuse the Pros I now have...
Guess I'll just have to buy a few AA flashlights like the ThruNite TN4A (NW)! More likely, I will buy some lights that use 1 or 2 AAs. For applications where the TN4A might be useful, I am inclined towards Li-ion solutions.
Kouryu has got it pretty much correct. Ostensibly itās a waste of a good high capacity using the high capacity, high current cells for low drain applications such as TV remotes. Theyāll work fine but the longer cycle life 2000mAh white cells will do a better job over the years & even better if you can find them are the high cycle life āLiteā cells. These are half the capacity of the standard white cells but capacity is not important in low drain use as youāre almost never going to use anywhere near the whole charge anyway. Cycle life plus of course the low self discharge characteristic is the key factor for these cells.The lite batteries are designed for low drain long life use being rated at 5000 full cycles. Theyāre also made to handle continuous charge so appliances that sit on a low rate charge all the time when not in use such as shavers, cordless toothbrushes and solar charged garden lights are perfectly matched to the āliteā batteries. Just like the the other two models the Lite cells are manufactured at the FDK Twicell factory in Japan so whether you buy Eneloop Lite model BK-3LCC (formerly HR-3UQ) or Fujitsu Lite model HR-3UTLA you are buying the same battery.
Lots of info in this thread, but a qouple of questions:
I want to buy some eneloop batteries. Both AA and AAA. Not many 8 pcs of each, maybe 16.
1. What is the best buy now, any link to safe sellers? (that send to Norway)
2. Going to use them for my Nikon blitz, in remote controls, and if itās better, maybe 3 x in a 18650 flashlight.
3. Do I need to buy a separate charger? Or can one of my Opus BT-C3100 v2.2, LiitoKala Lii500 or Nitecore D4 chargers be used?
4. Do I need Pro or Normal? For my use?
Itās a Nikon SB-400 blitz for my D80 and D3100 SLR.
Ok, on remote control. But it donāt hurt to use normal eneloops on a remote control?
Was thinking maybe 3 x eneloop 2100mAh+ was lasting longer then 1 x 18650 3200mAh? But of course, the eneloops has only 1.2v, but the 18650 has 3.7/4.2
I have been at the store to look before I posted here, but some days ago I found a store/seller with better prices, but I canāt find it again.
No, it wont hurt to use standard eneloops in remote controls. but if Lites are cheaper, I would go with the Lites.
I honestly dont really care which brand/batteries I use in remote controls that I use daily.
I have eneloops in my remote shutter for my camera, but thats the only "remote" I use eneloops in. The remote controllers I use daily probably have alkaleaks in them.
Its the ones that get stored away, that I prefer to use proper batteries.
No, 3 times 2000mAh in series is still 2000mAh. The voltage becomes 3x, (about 4.2-4.5V)but not the capacity. (someone else will be better in explaining this, but you can search for Series vs Parallel batteries for more info)
Depending on the use of your strobe. if you need the capacity (shooting weddings etc) you should go with teh Pro.
If you "just shoot" with strobes occasionally, the standard eneloops will do just fine!
When charging Eneloops (or IKEA Ladda) AA and AAA batteries. Is it best to use the lowest setting, 300mAh, or can I charge them with higher current then that?
