Topic: AA Batteries? What's the best rechargeables?

[justink]

What do we have in 2017?

does the charger matter at all?  or is it all in the battery itself? 

i figure any charger will charge, the only variable is how quickly.  so, i shouldn't need to upgrade my charger, just the battery itself, right?

[rippleish20]

Panasonic Eneloop Pro

[justink]

Panasonic Eneloop Pro

Thought so.

Would an energizer charger work just fine with these?

[GLouie]

I think any of the Eneloop family is the gold standard for AA NiMHs. Some have a bit more power, but less cycles.

I also feel the charger makes a difference, dumb vs. smart. You can balance charge time, heat & cell life, and the charger should use the dV/dt charge sensing and be reliable at detecting end of charge.

Personally, I use a Maha-Powerex MH-C9000, although there are several others well thought of. My understanding is that the charge rate should optimally be about 0.5-1C, so a 2000mAh Eneloop should be charged at 1000mA-2000mA. I understand that this Maha undercharges slightly and does a tiny trickle charge after it says, "full," but never totally shuts off. You are supposed to remove the cells after an overnight charge & sit, I guess.

[voltronic]

I've been using the 2400 mAh Duracell Ion Core for a few years, and they are excellent.  They are re-branded Eneloop XX's but cheaper and often found in supermarkets and drugstores.

Here is testing showing that these are the same as Eneloop XX.

[justink]

I've been using the 2400 mAh Duracell Ion Core for a few years, and they are excellent.  They are re-branded Eneloop XX's but cheaper and often found in supermarkets and drugstores.

Here is testing showing that these are the same as Eneloop XX.

Interesting. I have to double check but I think this is what I bought last time. (Those Duracell’s)

[willndmb]

I use Duracell and Eneloop
Both work fine, both work in each other's charger fine.
I actually think I get much better run times on my m10 with the Duracell, granted they are slightly more powerful but the difference in run time seems like it's not equal

[fanofjam]

My opinion...batteries are sorta like mic capsules...different designs for different situations.  So IMHO, there's no right answer.

I think it's more important to focus on the technical specs of the battery, which mainly consists of the battery chemistry and capacity...than the brand name.  Then apply those specs to your specific piece of gear.  It's not always intuitively obvious what the specs should be, just like it's not always intuitively obvious which mic capsules would work best when you walk into a venue.

Lots of people are calling out Eneloops, but most of the Eneloop designs are low discharge...which means that they'll hold their charge of a long period of time.  But low discharge batteries also have disadvantages...I can't remember off the top what the down side of the low discharge battery is...seems like it's higher internal resistance. 

Google battery university and spend two or three hours there and you'll learn alot. 

[rippleish20]

https://wavreport.com/2017/05/21/review-ikea-rechargeable-batteries/

[voltronic]

https://wavreport.com/2017/05/21/review-ikea-rechargeable-batteries/

That's awesome!  Now that my Duracells are showing signs of fatigue, I'm going to try these next.  Have you tried them yourself?  If so, what charger do you like with them?

[rippleish20]

https://wavreport.com/2017/05/21/review-ikea-rechargeable-batteries/

That's awesome!  Now that my Duracells are showing signs of fatigue, I'm going to try these next.  Have you tried them yourself?  If so, what charger do you like with them?

I havent tried them yet nut Im going to.

[dactylus]

https://wavreport.com/2017/05/21/review-ikea-rechargeable-batteries/

+T
Thanks for posting this.  I'm going to give these a try.

[fanofjam]

https://wavreport.com/2017/05/21/review-ikea-rechargeable-batteries/

Holy moly.  Thanks for the tip.  For anyone in the Atlanta area, they have the four packs of both AA (2450mah) and AAA (900mah) for only $3.99 a pack!!  I picked up eight packs. 

[eman]

I got the Powerex charger and it works great, once I figured out the programming sequence. The trouble with our hobby is that if you run one show the batteries are far from discharged so it is hard to get them fully charged again. The Powerex will discharge then recharge to capacity. It also analyzes to tell you your batteries are shot, which a lot of them were. I use the shot ones for remotes which don't need a lot of juice and not such a critical function. You can set the charge/discharge rate low or high, depending on how urgent your need is. If you have plenty of time, you can do a nice slow charge which for me is every time pretty much. I don't know how accurate it is, but it also estimates how many mAh each battery has when you are done charging. Definitely a huge improvement on the cheapo hardware store models which operate on a timer and wear out your batteries prematurely, overheating them. Worth the investment.

[justink]

I got the Powerex charger and it works great, once I figured out the programming sequence. The trouble with our hobby is that if you run one show the batteries are far from discharged so it is hard to get them fully charged again. The Powerex will discharge then recharge to capacity. It also analyzes to tell you your batteries are shot, which a lot of them were. I use the shot ones for remotes which don't need a lot of juice and not such a critical function. You can set the charge/discharge rate low or high, depending on how urgent your need is. If you have plenty of time, you can do a nice slow charge which for me is every time pretty much. I don't know how accurate it is, but it also estimates how many mAh each battery has when you are done charging. Definitely a huge improvement on the cheapo hardware store models which operate on a timer and wear out your batteries prematurely, overheating them. Worth the investment.

sounds cool.  got a link?  thanks.