[Review] XTAR 1.5 V 1620 mWh AAA batteries

[dmenezes]

Thanks @Mandrake50 for these links, really useful (I had seen the first one before but somehow mishandled it when posting), and specially the last one from the guy that effectively tested it (this one was completely new to me).

@Mandrake50

He tested the self discharge rate and said this:
“With a voltage of 3.2V to 4.2V, the quiescent current is about 15uA to 16uA which is very low. With a low Li-Ion cell between about 2.75V and 4.2V, the quiescent drops to about 10uA to 11uA. In-between 2.37V and 2.75V, the green LED was blinking as if the chip was resetting itself, interfering with the measurement. Below this, the reading was in the 2uA range, but a cell in this range is likely over-discharged and may suffer permanent damage or become unsafe for use.”

So one could do the calculations if so motivated.

Well, here’s my take on that:

• From 4.2V to 3.2V: assuming 16uA current draw, and assuming 90% of a 1000mAh cell, it would take (1000 mAh * 90%)/(16 uA /1000)= 56250 h = 2343 days = 6.4 years for that current draw to bring the battery from 100% to 10% charge.

As this is clearly absurd, specially in light of the numbers @budgetlampenfan just gave us on the other thread, I think the above numbers only reflect the electronics (ie, the converter/charger board) and not the cell’s self-discharge proper, which would have to be added to that.