Rechargeable AA batteries

[myothercarsa2cv]

Any recommendations? Need some for the flash gun, it eats them!

[CageyH]

Get the highest mAh ones you can.

There are some reviews on the web for rechargeables, but I can't remember which ones came out top.

 

I use Vapex(?) AA's at around 2600 mAh.

[Roger Ford]

Disagree with that. Buy Sanyo Eneloops. They're not the highest capacity (or at least not the highest labelled capacity) but they're low-self-discharge, and they have better current capacity than almost anything else.

 

I wouldn't use anything other than low-self-discharge batteries, and Eneloops are the best of them.

 

IF you're using them continuously, and charging them weekly, ordinary NiMh batteries are OK. But if you leave them a couple of months between charges, LSD ones will generally last much better.

[tbird]

another for Eneloops, very low self discharge, you can keep a charged set in a box for months and they will still give usable service, I use theses 7day shop often have deals on them but can't see any at the moment.

 

Tim

 

Edited by - tbird on 29 Dec 2012 16:19:46

[Jonathan Kay]

Which? current best buys are:

High capacity: Ansmann Digital 2,850mAh

Hybrid: Uniross 2400 Series Premium Hybrio

 

Jonathan

[Guy Lowe]

Quoting Jonathan Kay: 

Which? current best buys are:

High capacity: Ansmann Digital 2,850mAh

Hybrid: Uniross 2400 Series Premium Hybrio

 

The Uniross 2400 Series Premium Hybrio AA's are on special offer

Guy

[keybaud]

I have 100 rechargeable AA batteries at home. 60 generic branded ones (2200 mAh) and 40 Sanyo Eneloop (1900 mAh).

 

Why Roger and tbird are correct:

 

Sanyo invented this technology and the new 3rd generation Eneloops are the best rechargeable you can get. They hold more of their charge longer and they can be recharged more times than other batteries. I bought the first 60 generic batteries as the Eneloops were a lot more expensive; however, now that you can get Eneloops for just under £2 a battery I would highly recommend them. The best place I found was BatteryLogic. I recommend the packs of 10 on this page.

 

The XX Enelopp have a higher mAh rating, but do not hold their charge as long and cannot be recharged as many times; hence I recommend the 3rd generation standard, which is part number HR-3UTGB. Be aware of shops selling the 2nd generation, HR-3UTGA as the latest battery, it isn't. It is still a good battery, but you'll be hard pressed to find a 2nd generation at the price Battery Logic has the 3rd generation version. There are also a lot of fake 'branded' batteries, which are cheaper rechargables pretending to be Eneloops, so buy them from a reputable battery dealer.

 

In order to keep the batteries in the best condition, you will need a charger that charges each cell individually and is designed for NiMH batteries. A standard NiCd charger will not charge NiMH properly, as the max voltage peaks in a different manner. I use an older version of the Ansmann Powerline, as it charges each cell individually and can be used all over the world on a range of voltages, etc.

 

Why do I have so many batteries? Two teenage boys with XBox controllers, Wii controllers, radio control toys, cameras, TV remotes, etc, etc. I keep a box full of charged batteries and the boys just dump the dead ones on my desk to recharge.

 

I've had the 60 generic batteries for a couple of years now and they no longer hold anywhere near as much charge as they used to. They are fine for TV remotes and XBox controllers, but they don't last very long at all in a high current device such as cameras, which is why I had to buy some replacements and I got the Eneloops.

 

Edited by - keybaud on 2 Jan 2013 18:16:28

[Jonathan Kay]

Quoting keybaud: 

Sanyo invented this technology and the new 3rd generation Eneloops are the best rechargeable you can get. They hold more of their charge longer and they can be recharged more times than other batteries.

Please can you point to the tests that show this?

 

The Which? comparison used the Sanyo Eneloop HR-3UTGA-4BP: they did well on "charge time" and "charge retention", but not on "high-drain lifetime". Overall they were 5th overall in the "Hybrid" category.

 

Jonathan

[keybaud]

Quoting Jonathan Kay: 

Quoting keybaud: 

Sanyo invented this technology and the new 3rd generation Eneloops are the best rechargeable you can get. They hold more of their charge longer and they can be recharged more times than other batteries.

Please can you point to the tests that show this?

 

The Which? comparison used the Sanyo Eneloop HR-3UTGA-4BP: they did well on "charge time" and "charge retention", but not on "high-drain lifetime". Overall they were 5th overall in the "Hybrid" category.

 

Jonathan

 

Having not seen the Which report, I can't comment on the tests they use. What is a 'High Drain' that they use to test lifetime? Were the batteries allowed to cool prior to being recharged, etc. There are a lot of real world comments where people who use rechargeables recommend Eneloops as they have noticed an improvement over other batteries.

 

Uniross website: "batteries can be charged up to 1000 times"

Ansmann general specs "can be charged up to 1000 times "

SANYO 3rd Generation Eneloop "batteries can be charged up to 1800 times"

 

I class 80% more life as a huge benefit.

 

As for the technology statement, I am unaware of anyone making rechargeables prior to 2005:

 

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-rechargeable-batteries-id-buy/

 

"Sanyo released the first Eneloop rechargeable batteries back in 2005. They were different from every other NiMh AA battery at the time due to the low self-discharge technology that Sanyo baked into them."

 

Edited by - keybaud on 2 Jan 2013 18:34:55

[AMMO]

I also use Eneloops. Very good battery. They work better than any other brand I have tried. I use a Maha charger that takes up to eight cells and charges them individually.

[CageyH]

Rechargeables are so cheap, I just keep a few spares on hand.

My Vapex batteries work fine for my need, and were pretty well priced.

[Jonathan Kay]

Quoting keybaud: 

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-rechargeable-batteries-id-buy/

Thanks for the link. The quoted tests are in this paragraph:

And here's how they perform: In 2010, Engadget found that the Eneloop, Energizer and PowerGenix AA rechargeable all offered roughly the same amount of staying power when used in a camera flash, but chose the Eneloop as the winner as they were good for twice as many charging cycles as the second place Energizers. Apartment Therapy favored the Eneloop batteries over PowerGenix, too. In their testing, the PowerGenix batteries failed to outlast the Eneloop. They couldn’t perform a second test because the battery charger that shipped with PowerGenix stopped working. Justin Thomas of MetaEfficient declared the Eneloop Pro as his choice for the best battery of 2012, saying “In informal tests, Eneloop Pro retained 2,035 mAh of capacity after 7 weeks of storage, which was higher than any other NiMH battery (both regular or low-self discharge), making it the longest lasting rechargeable AA battery. The only other battery to come close was the Energizer Recharge, which retained 1,859 mAh after seven weeks of storage.” The most thorough head-to-head testing of low self-discharge batteries I was able to find online was conducted by Stefan Vorkoetter, a Canadian software developer, pilot and electronics enthusiast. Through the course of his gloriously exhaustive testing of a wide range of low self-discharge batteries, he finally decided that the Eneloops were the best batteries to buy.

Let's take those one at a time. Quotes from here on are from the cited articles.

 

Engadget:

In reality, any of these three will serve you well, and if you're a heavy battery user, these kits will pay for themselves in just a month or two. We'd give Sanyo's alternatives the edge due to having twice the recharge longevity (reported, anyway) than the closest rival, but if you spot a deal on any of the three, click the buy button and never look back.

They tested three types (Energizer, PowerGenix and Sanyo Eneloop) and rated them as pretty level:

Lo and behold, the options from both Sanyo and Energizer lined up almost exactly, with no significant delta to report between any of them. Boring, we know, but it's true.

Their final choice was the Sanyo was on the recharge longevity, but they didn't actually test that which is why they wrote reported anyway.

 

Apartment Therapy: Only tested two types, Eneloops and PowerGenix. And they suspected the PowerGenix were from a bad batch.

 

MetaEfficient: I can't find any test data, except for that contained in an Amazon customer review!

 

Eneloops my be great batteries and they may be the best, but it's disappointing that I can't find the test data to show this. This should be a comparatively easy area to test products.

 

Jonathan

 

Edited by - Jonathan Kay on 2 Jan 2013 18:57:13

 

Edited by - Jonathan Kay on 2 Jan 2013 18:57:29

[Roger Ford]

Just subscribed to a Which? trial so I could read the report, and sadly I'm not much the wiser.

 

I wondered how they conducted their high-drain test - what the terminating criteria was, what current was drawn, and so on. Here's what they say:

 

High-drain lifetime

 

To find out how long each rechargeable battery is likely to last in real-life situations, our lab experts charge eight batteries of each brand/model using a smart charger on the soft-charge setting, then test to see how long each battery lasts under high-drain conditions.

Ah, great. So you "see how long it lasts" under "high-drain conditions". Now I understand

 

Given that all but one of the LSDs got four out of five stars for "charge retention" it's impossible to judge between them on that, and they didn't test maxiumum current output or number of recharge cycles at all. On the headline rating of number of hours for the unspecified high-drain test, it's clear that the Uniross and Energizer batteries do significantly better. But that's like judging a camera solely on its number of megapixels, and doesn't necessarily make them better batteries.

 

I was also interested in their disposable AA batteries. What a shame they didn't include Ikea batteries - at £1 for 10 they're easily the cheapest AA and AAA alkaline batteries you can buy, so a test that doesn't include them is rather pointless.

[Jonathan Kay]

Quoting keybaud: 

Having not seen the Which report, I can't comment on the tests they use. What is a 'High Drain' that they use to test lifetime? Were the batteries allowed to cool prior to being recharged, etc.

The Which? page describing the tests is here, but I can't tell which pages are open and which are only viewable by subscribers.. The paragraph on "High-drain lifetime" reads:

To find out how long each rechargeable battery is likely to last in real-life situations, our lab experts charge eight batteries of each brand/model using a smart charger on the soft-charge setting, then test to see how long each battery lasts under high-drain conditions.

 

Many rechargeable batteries come with their own-brand charger, but to keep things fair we use the same smart charger for all the batteries in our tests. Smart chargers are the best choice for keeping batteries in good shape – they monitor charge levels in each battery and stop just before it's full to avoid overcharging, which can reduce performance.

 

Find out which smart chargers scored highest in our separate test of chargers in our battery chargers review.

They tested 16 types, and at least 8 batteries of each type.

 

Jonathan

[Jonathan Kay]

Snap!

 

Which? are pretty good at responding to technical questions (guess how I know) so as a new subscriber you could test the testers by asking them about the drain tests. But I wouldn't expect it to introduce any bias between designs as a test of how those designs would perform in a given real-world use.

 

Jonathan

[Steve Campbell]

Maplins Code L32BJ (2400 mAh).

 

8 for £10

 

Always near the top of the Which tests and I've never had a complaint with them (not used in flash but on all my kids toys so not high drain I guess)

[keybaud]

Quoting Steve Campbell: 

Maplins Code L32BJ (2400 mAh).

 

8 for £10

 

Always near the top of the Which tests and I've never had a complaint with them (not used in flash but on all my kids toys so not high drain I guess)

 

The AAAs are £10 for 10, whereas the AAs are £12.99 for 10. They don't appear to be the slow discharge type, so may lose their charge over a short period of time if not used.

 

/edit I can't spell 8!

 

Edited by - keybaud on 3 Jan 2013 23:50:14

[Jonathan Kay]

Rechargeable AA batteries are reviewed in Which? June 2013. Sanyo Eneloops weren't mentioned. Are they sold in the UK as something else?

 

Jonathan

[brookside2004]

I won't add to the usual high-quality and useful debate from the POBC, except to say that going right back to the baseline debate, rechargeable v single use, it is worth considering that most if not all rechargeable designs supply 1.2v at full charge, whilst good quality non-rechargeables operate closer to 1.5v. In some applications this difference will have an effect.

[myothercarsa2cv]

Well in the end it turned out I got a late Christmas present and ended up with this:

 

here

 

Currently using the 'Extreme' AAs in wireless mice and keyboard, a flashgun and an LED ring flash. Absolutely no quibbles yet, been fantastic - and dare I say it, better than non-rechargeables in the flash gun... They may not last quite as long, but there's really nothing in it considering I can just pop them in the charger for an hour.

 

Only tiny reservation is the charger ticks quietly, thought my computer was on the way out!

[Roger Ford]

Quoting Jonathan Kay: 

Rechargeable AA batteries are reviewed in Which? June 2013. Sanyo Eneloops weren't mentioned. Are they sold in the UK as something else?

 

No. Were they only reviewing non-low-self-discharge batteries? Eneloops are only available as LSD.

 

it is worth considering that most if not all rechargeable designs supply 1.2v at full charge, whilst good quality non-rechargeables operate closer to 1.5v. In some applications this difference will have an effect.

That's true, but depends on the current requirements. For low power/current usage, the voltage will indeed be higher on alkaline batteries (and sometime NiMh won't work well because of this). But as soon as you start trying to draw high currents, the voltage on alkaline will "droop" and they will typically produce similar or lower voltages than NiMh cells.

[Jonathan Kay]

Quoting Roger Ford: 

Quoting Jonathan Kay: 

Rechargeable AA batteries are reviewed in Which? June 2013. Sanyo Eneloops weren't mentioned. Are they sold in the UK as something else?

No. Were they only reviewing non-low-self-discharge batteries? Eneloops are only available as LSD.Thanks. Not as far as I can tell. I've asked them.

 

Jonathan

 

Edited by - Jonathan Kay on 28 May 2013 13:29:45

[Jonathan Kay]

Hello Dr Kay

 

Thanks for your email about Sanyo Eneloops batteries. Thanks for your patience in waiting for our reply.

 

For our rechargeable battery testing there are so many batteries to test that we're unable to review all them. To help our Researchers make the very difficult decision of which to test they take a number of factors in to account such as availability, popularity and member suggestions.

 

I've added Sanyo Eneloops to our suggested reports database so that they will be taken into account for next time.

 

If you need anything more from us here at Which?, please come straight back to me and I'd be happy to help.

 

Regards

 

xxx yyy

Service Support Adviser

Which?

Jonathan

[Roger Ford]

Or in other words "sorry, we didn't bother to include what are pretty much universally accepted to be the best rechargable batteries around. Our testers promise to do their research a bit more thoroughly next time. We do hope you'll keep spending a fairly large amount of money with us every month."

[Jonathan Kay]

Quoting Roger Ford: 

Or in other words "sorry, we didn't bother to include what are pretty much universally accepted to be the best rechargable batteries around./pQuote]Any good recent tests from anywhere else?

 

Thanks

 

Jonathan