These batteries come from Energizer CHP4WB4 combo that I reviewed earlier.
Batteries came precharged, just as low self discharge(LSD) batteries should.
Manufacturers specifications are as follows:
Type: Ni-Mh, AA rechargeable batteries
Capacity: 1400mA
Nominal voltage: 1.2V
Made in Japan
Life cycle: Can be recharged up to 1500 times, retain their capacity up to 1 year
I checked their voltages out of the box with my DMM and all batteries showed 1.31V.
- All four batteries came at 1.31v out of the box.
Batteries were also weighted, but in this case, its more of a habit to weight them since they aren't high capacity batteries(i.e, no need to compare their weight to other batteries to make sure they are equal in capacity before doing capacity discharge tests) and come from reputable source. Good, genuine 2000+mAh batteries will be in 30 gram ballpark, give or take few grams depending on their capacity.
- All batteries had pretty much the same weight, approximately 21.7 grams, give or take.
Before using them they were discharged with Powerex C9000 at 500mA discharge rate:
- Batteries fared well during 500mA discharge test, they didnt get hot, only warm to the touch.
All batteries showed capacity between 1030mAh and 1070mAh after combined 500mA and 100mA discharge session, I did 100mA on top of 500mA just to make sure that they are empty. They were, since it gave only additional ~20mA per battery.
After two cycles of charge and discharge these batteries settled on 1300mAh capacity regardless of discharge current(I used 500mA as well as 300mA on these cells, Im sure 1A discharge would yield similar results).
Slow charge at 200mA helped to form these batteries in and following discharge tests showed higher capacities ranging between 1430mAh and 1480mAh, so these batteries are up to claimed capacity and even slightly exceed it, which is good given how many vendors sell fake batteries with inflated capacity numbers that in reality turn out to be even 90% less than advertised.
It might be possible to get their capacity closer to 1500mAh with few more charge and discharge cycles, but I'm not going to do it this time.
As for their self-discharge - tests will be done in 1, 3 and 6 months, I will post results when 6 month tests will be ready(late July/early August).
Verdict:
I suppose these batteries are good for remote controls, clocks and other non-demanding appliances and devices, given their lower capacity(<1500mAh) versus regular LSD AA Ni-Mh batteries(which come at 1900mAh and higher).
If youre interested in these batteries, you can get them together with charger for around 18$(when the review was published) from Tmart's USA warehouse, use coupon code tmtchp4wb4 during checkout to lower the price by 4$!
Thanks for reading!