So glad to share XTAR .5V AA 4150mWh battery has been released!
This 1.5V Li-ion battery has the highest real capacity in the field.
Main Features:
• Charge capacity 2500mAh, energy 4150mWh
• Consistent and reliable 1.5V output
• Super quick charging time 2.9 hours, with smart LED indicator
• Intelligent safety chip, anti-leakage and multiple protections
• Low-voltage detection function
• Cycle life more than 1200 times
Interesting, but as we can already get 2500mAh from Eneloop pros, I guess the big advantage would be the constant 1.5V voltage, right?
On the flop side, I wonder what the self-discharge rate is; can’t see that in your literature, but it’s probably very high vs Eneloop’s 85% remaining charge after 1 year, specially seeing the XTar has an “intelligent circuit” built-in (intelligence costs energy).
1200 recharge cycles would also be great vs the Eneloop Pro 500 cycles, but I’m kinda skeptic on this one (Li-Ions only get about 500 cycles, the same as the Eneloop Pros, so I can’t see how the XTar could go almost 2.5x over that being based on the same chemistry).
And as a curiosity, why the charging LED? I guess it’s because a normal 1.5V charger can’t be trusted to charge it optimally, so it’s the internal “intelligent circuit” that does it, and therefore needs the LED to tell us when it’s done?
Yes, constant 1.5V but also more current capability than alkaline, and it should deliver in cold weather. Some devices, especially motorized electronic door locks, really need a constant 1.5V and they get cold in the winter and barely manage to work (if at all) with power sources other than the kind featured in this thread.
Power management ICs can have power consumption rates in the uA range. It would be nice to know the actual power consumption of the power management board though.
Eneloops are advertised as retaining 70% charge after 10 years and are rated for 2100 cycles.
Eneloop Pro is advertised as retaining 85% charge after 1 year and rated for 500 cycles.
The charger might only charge the cells to 4.1V, is one possible explanation.
An Eneloop Pro has about 3.0 Wh, this XTAR claims to have 4.15 Wh.
Agreed in terms of watt-hours, but I’d bet that’s just nominal (ie, the first integral of the V.A curve before the built-in circuit, possibly a very small and simple and inexpensive buck converter – and small/simple/inexpensive is usually in direct contradiction with efficient 
)
The Eneloops are free from similar effects as they’ve no internal circuitry to speak of, AFAIK we’re always dealing directly with the bare cell.
So please forgive me for staying a skeptic on these XTar cells until someone unaffiliated with the vendor can actually get hands on a few and test them throughougly…
Really? I thought only Lithium primaries had good cold-temp performance…
Yep, I was referring to the Pros which would have similar mAh capacity (albeit possibly more Whr as @SammysHP just pointed out).
Anyway, if these XTars come anywhere near the LSD performance of even the Pros, I’d be very pleased.
Sure, but even something as low as 20uA can become significant in terms of % cell capacity after a couple of years. And then there’s still the actual Li-Ion cell self-discharge to cope with, which IME tends to be much larger than NiMHs…
would be nice to know the actual power consumption of the power management board though.
Agreed, to say nothing of their efficiency.
I’m not sure a ‘normal’ 4.1V charger would actually work with one of these batteries, as most chargers need the battery to output quite a bit more than 1.5V to detect it as a Li-Ion and then give it that much voltage.
Perhaps XTar will sell special chargers with these?
Eneloop Pros are janky and pretty bad in comparison to the non-Pros. As I discovered when checking the voltages on some of my protected batteries, the discharge from the protection circuit looks to be wildly overstated by some people.
Purchase link: https://xtardirect.com/products/xtar-15v-aa-4150mwh-battery-set?VariantsId=10889
It’s suggested to use the compatible xtar L4 charger for this 1.5V AA 4150mWh battery. To charge the 1.5V AA/AAA Li-ion batteries, it needs standard charging voltage around 5V, and keeps constant voltage charge. Not same way as a regular 3.6V Li-ion battery charging, or a NIMH battery needs.
Will the charger included in the XTAR LC4 kit charge these new cells correctly?
slmjim
Yes, the LC4 can charge xtar 1.5V Li-ion batteries with indicator, including this new 4150mWh 1.5V battery.
Right now, the LC4+4150mWh bundle is available for just $29.99. It’s a first-come, first-served deal, and quantities are limited. Grab it while you can! Amazon : https://www.amazon.com/Batteries-XTAR-1-5V-Battery-4150mWh/dp/B0CF8ZNZ33/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?crid=1K47P6M69JF3Q&keywords=XTAR%2B4150mwh&qid=1693289683&sprefix=xtar4150mwh%2Caps%2C940&sr=8-1-fkmr0&th=1
OK, so they require a special charger. I wonder whether a fully-featured charger like the SkyRC MC3000 could be configured to do the same thing.
All you need is 5 V. You could attach a USB cable with magnets and it would work.
$72 for 8 batteries on AX. Bit much no?
How would one know when the battery is full in order to disconnect the power? Or does it not matter?
Doesn’t matter, it has its own charging controller built in. Not sure if there’s an indicator LED showing the charging status. I might review them, but it can take a few weeks.
That makes sense…thanks
