Test/review of Ladda AAA 500mAh (Brown)

Batteries and Chargers Rechargeable Batteries
1

Ladda AAA 500mAh (Brown)







Official specifications:

  • Capacity: 500mAh

  • Voltage: 1.2V

  • Ready to use, i.e. low self discharge (lsd) cells.

  • Made in Japan



Maximum temperature raise at different discharge currents: 1A:+2,4°C, 2A:+4,9°C, 3A:+6,6°C, 5A:+8,4°C

This is low capacity AAA batteries.

























Conclusion

The batteries are good quality, but for most applications I do not see the point in these low capacity cells.
There is a few places where they may be an advantage to use, because they are supposed to be very robust.



Notes and links

The batteries was supplied by a reader for review.

How is the test done and how to read the charts
Compare to other AA/AAA batteries: Alkaline/NiMH/Lithium
2

Thanks for the review HKJ. Just bought my first Ladda batteries, 2450mah AA’s that are supposedly made by Sanyo and are the same as Eneloop. Ladda also had 1000mah AA, not sure if the lower capacity are also made by Sanyo, probably not. Prices were $1.75 and $1.00 each respectively. Low capacity batteries are OK for low consumption items like TV remote controls.

3

I was thinking that they would be useful for those garden solar lamps that people have in their yards.

4

This “robust” low capacity type of cells may use a different, overcharge resistant chemistry/construction. Certain cheap appliances come with unsophisticated/cheap charging circuitry/power supply combos, this means the internal/stock battery gets killed pretty soon if assembled with high capacity cell types.

5

Have an idea about having solar lamps as dec- oration in windows where there is to much work to get electricity. Would be nice if they had longer lifespan than batteries supplied with garden type lights.

6

…Two years since HKJ’s initial review… I tested a new one of these today and found 520 mAh capacity @ 0.2A. My result was better than the reviewed sample, so Ikea is apparently maintaining the quality.

HKJ questioned the point of using “low capacity” cells, but a couple of commenters hinted at using them in solar lamps, which is exactly what I am using them for.

A couple of months ago I bought some cheap solar lamps from Aldi and the lamps are now starting to die. When I opened them up I discovered NiCad 200mAh batteries. It seems the LEDs only require about 100mAh to run all night, and because the lights are designed to recharge each day, 200mAh probably appeared sufficient to the manufacturer. I am replacing the NiCads with LADDA 500s and I am hoping to get a couple of years.

LADDA 500s are ideal for this task because they have a longer life than the higher capacity products (1500 cycles for the 500s vs 500 cycles for the 900s [which are twice the price]). 500mAh will also run for at least 3 nights without recharging, which is adequate during poor weather etc.

these batteries are still available from Ikea and excellent value at $AUD4.50 for a four-pack.

7

Interested in seeing how these work out. Right now I’m just putting old NiMh in solar applications. They NiCads they come with are generally pathetic. OTOH, the NiMh tend to get hammered pretty soundly in one season. Admittedly they are old to start with, I’m not putting good cells in that ‘grinder’.

I even tried an Alkaline AAA in one experiment. It worked, didn’t leak, and lasted a whole season. But, that’s a one off trial.

8

+ flydiver Thankyou for your feedback. I understand your reluctance to put good cells in the ‘grinder’. The effect of extreme temperature on cell durability is an ‘unknown’ for me. Where you are, the concern is probably the cold, where I am it is the heat. The cells easily exceed 50deg C on a hot day in direct sunlight. I don’t know if this has a permanent deleterious effect. I guess I will find out and I will report back in a year or two with results…

9

In my area it never gets too hot or cold. I’m in a maritime area in the extreme NW corner of the USA. We have a lot of cloudy days in the spring and fall so strong sunlight is lacking. They do fine in the 4-5 months of summer. In the fall I just bring them in because between short days, low angle sunlight, and many cloudy days they simply don’t charge. They end up going dead a lot, which is hard on them also.