Rechargeable batteries

[WickerBill]

I am completely convinced of the benefits of rechargeable AA batteries, but it has been a year or so since the last time I researched and bought. Need some more for cameras and Wiimotes and 360 controllers, etc.


Always been a big fan of Sanyo NiMH (non-Eneloop), but wondered if anyone has any suggestions that I should also consider? Have the Eneloops gotten better (i.e. higher than 2000 mAh)?

[Methanolandbrats]

Power Ex 2700 and Maha charger. Works great.

http://www.thomas-distributing.com/maha_2700_rechargeable_batteries.php

http://www.thomas-distributing.com/maha-mh-c800s-battery-charger.htm

[Insomniac]

I second the PowerEx 2700. Work great.

I have this charger:

http://www.thomas-distributing.com/maha-powerex-mh-c204w-nimh-battery-charger.htm

The free bag that comes with it fits the charger+cord, plastic case for eight batteries, extra memory card, USB card reader and my Canon Powershot A510.

[oddlycalm]

Always been a big fan of Sanyo NiMH
Great batteries. The Sanyo 2500mHa AA's cost around 30% less than either the Sanyo or PowerEx 2700mHa and actually seem to test better for run time FWIW.

Sayno 2500mHa (http://thomasdistributing.com/shop/index.php?cPath=122_104_106&sort=3a&filter_id=19)


Battery run time (http://www.users.on.net/~mhains/Tables/swiff/AAover2000.swf)


I've got an older Vansen charger that's still getting it done, but I'm sure it's not cutting edge.

oc

[ChampcarShark]

Wonderful topic. Rechargeable batteries last for about 2k charges, after that they loose their power holding capabilities.

How do I know???

I have a friend who works across the border in a battery manufacturing plant, they manufacture about 20 to 50 different brands of batteries, so do not ask me about the brand names. Anything from energizer to the private brands.

He says all batteries are the same, they manufacture them in the same line and just put a label on them to manufacture different brands.

He says that they take a sample and test them, so there is a risk that you may get defective batteries that will not work past a week or so, because individual batteries are not tested. They manufacture about a million units per month.

I have been using no label batteries for a while and they seem to work fine for the first two or three months, after that they discharge very rapidly.

I bought some at the local sam's club with the same results.

[oddlycalm]

I have been using no label batteries for a while and they seem to work fine for the first two or three months, after that they discharge very rapidly.

I bought some at the local sam's club with the same results.
Pretty much the same story with me. The generics weren't great. I even had some that were oversize so they were too fat to fit in the holders. Waste of money.

oc

[Insomniac]

Wonderful topic. Rechargeable batteries last for about 2k charges, after that they loose their power holding capabilities.

How do I know???

I have a friend who works across the border in a battery manufacturing plant, they manufacture about 20 to 50 different brands of batteries, so do not ask me about the brand names. Anything from energizer to the private brands.

He says all batteries are the same, they manufacture them in the same line and just put a label on them to manufacture different brands.

He says that they take a sample and test them, so there is a risk that you may get defective batteries that will not work past a week or so, because individual batteries are not tested. They manufacture about a million units per month.

I have been using no label batteries for a while and they seem to work fine for the first two or three months, after that they discharge very rapidly.

I bought some at the local sam's club with the same results.

Those generics don't sound the same. 2000 charges done in 2-3 months? :saywhat:

[ChampcarShark]

Those generics don't sound the same. 2000 charges done in 2-3 months? :saywhat:

My son abuses them, on the wireless game pad, PS2 and the headlights on his bicycle. after the first month he almost recharges them two or three times a day, quick charge 2 hours, per directions.

If I keep count that is less than 2000 charges.

[Insomniac]

Pretty much the same story with me. The generics weren't great. I even had some that were oversize so they were too fat to fit in the holders. Waste of money.

oc

Now that you mention that, my AA PowerEx 2700s are not easy to remove from Xbox 360 controllers. They went in easy enough, but required pliers to get out. (They weren't jammed, but there is no real way to get your hands on them. They need to slide out, not be pulled out.)

[oddlycalm]

Now that you mention that, my AA PowerEx 2700s are not easy to remove from Xbox 360 controllers. They went in easy enough, but required pliers to get out. (They weren't jammed, but there is no real way to get your hands on them. They need to slide out, not be pulled out.)
Yeah, I don't like having to pry them out either. I've also had some too fat (OD > 0.025" over nominal) to fit in some holders and too big to allow the covers to be replaced. I guess I know why they were well priced...:gomer:

This thread motivated me to finally get off my tail and order a La Crosse BC-900 (http://www.thomas-distributing.com/la_crosse_bc-900_battery_charger.php)so I can test, match sets and recondition batteries that have lost capacity.

oc

[Methanolandbrats]

Thing jewelers screwdriver pops batteries out of tight situations.

[G.]

This thread motivated me to finally get off my tail and order a La Crosse BC-900 (http://www.thomas-distributing.com/la_crosse_bc-900_battery_charger.php)so I can test, match sets and recondition batteries that have lost capacity.

ocDoes this really do what it says? Any trusted reviews?

This could save me a LOT of time.

[WickerBill]

That's the charging station that I have. I'm very happy with the results I get from it on my Sanyo batteries...

[oddlycalm]

Does this really do what it says? Any trusted reviews?

This could save me a LOT of time.

Sorry I brought this one up. :( The big caveat on this thing is found among the one-star reviews on Amazon. A half dozen reviewers had units with a thermal protection failure that caused a literal meltdown and fire hazard. :eek: If I had seen what's on the Amazon site I wouldn't have ordered the thing from Thomas Dist. I'll return it in exchange for the Maha C9000.

The other issues that makes the BC-900 less than great as a tester is the hard to read non-back-lit display and the fact it can't deal with fully discharge batteries. I could overlook that if it wasn't a known fire hazard. Only way I'd operate this thing is on a metal work surface on a GFI circuit. Yet another great Chinese product...

Amazon BC-900 reviews (http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B00077AA5Q/ref=cm_cr_dp_hist_1?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addOneStar)

oc

[JLMannin]

Power Ex 2700 and Maha charger. Works great.

http://www.thomas-distributing.com/maha_2700_rechargeable_batteries.php

http://www.thomas-distributing.com/maha-mh-c800s-battery-charger.htm

I'll second both choices as well. I also have some Sanyo 1000 mAh AAA batteries, and they seen to be working well. The Maha charger is also able to recondition and test batteries to allow for better matching.

[Insomniac]

I'll second both choices as well. I also have some Sanyo 1000 mAh AAA batteries, and they seen to be working well. The Maha charger is also able to recondition and test batteries to allow for better matching.

How do you match batteries?

[oddlycalm]

How do you match batteries?

Run the Test function then match sets according to capacity. I just did four older DynaCharge batteries and they tested at 1428, 1455, 1487 & 1489. They started life as 1800mHa nominal but were probably 1500 actual. I put the 1428 & 1455 into one set of two and the remaining two in another set.

oc

[G.]

Run the Test function then match sets according to capacity. I just did four older DynaCharge batteries and they tested at 1428, 1455, 1487 & 1489. They started life as 1800mHa nominal but were probably 1500 actual. I put the 1428 & 1455 into one set of two and the remaining two in another set.

oc
Do you believe the capacity numbers? Has it panned out?

I have a boatload of rechargeables that I need to sort through and match up (and try to repair). The MAHA or La Fire would do it, but with anything dealing with NiCd's (or NiMH's) I'm very sceptical.

rather than setting up a 14 dimentional spreadsheet, careful catalogging, multiple refresh cycles, etc., I would buy the MAHA.

Or I would just buy new batteries, which might have something to do with why I have a boatload of the things.

What really gets me tentative, is if these two chargers actually do what they claim, with any degree of accuracy, then why don't ALL chargers do this? It should be, like, mandatory or something.

[oddlycalm]

Do you believe the capacity numbers? Has it panned out?
I've only tested a few sets as it takes a long time (12-14hrs) to fully discharge then slow charge (200mHa) to full.

I wanted to test batteries that I have a lot of history with so I'm working on sets of old DynaCharge 1800's and some generics I've had for a long time. The DynaCharge have been reliable as a hammer but they don't last long. Knowing that they are 1500 nominal brings that into focus. I had some generics that tested close to their rating and a couple that I knew were hurting which tracked with their use patters. So far I'd say the capacity numbers appear to be on the money, but I have nothing to check it against.

I'll start matching the good stuff at some point but not until I've weeded out all the junk and match what's left of the old stuff. As I'm writing this I'm thinking about what a totally winter thing this is to even think about much less do...:gomer:

oc

[Insomniac]

Run the Test function then match sets according to capacity. I just did four older DynaCharge batteries and they tested at 1428, 1455, 1487 & 1489. They started life as 1800mHa nominal but were probably 1500 actual. I put the 1428 & 1455 into one set of two and the remaining two in another set.

oc

Ahh, I got myself confused. I have the 4 battery 204W charger. That explains why I can't do that. :)

[indyfan31]

Bringing this back because I'm having what I think is a weird issue.

I have a bunch of Powerex AA batteries and the Maha charger.
The problem is with the batteries, they have plenty of power but won't hold a charge. I use them in my Nikon Speedlights, when fully charged they're great, they cycle really fast. However, if they sit for 2 or 3 days before use, the speedlight will eat them up in about a dozen flashes. Is this normal or did I get a bad batch? I'm actually having better reliability out of a set of 2-year-old Energizers, they hold a charge for weeks. :confused:

[oddlycalm]

Different batteries seem to discharge when not in use at different rates. For applications like yours I use the Sanyo Eneloop batteries. Less total capacity but they take forever to discharge when not in use. Some people don't like them but I've had good service from them.

oc

[indyfan31]

Different batteries seem to discharge when not in use at different rates. For applications like yours I use the Sanyo Eneloop batteries. Less total capacity but they take forever to discharge when not in use. Some people don't like them but I've had good service from them.

oc

That's pretty much what I've been seeing on other forums. thanks oc.
I've sent an email to Maha, we'll see what they have to say.

[WickerBill]

I have one set of four Powerex AAs and do not have the idle discharge issue... you may have gotten a bad set.

Agree on Eneloops (and all of the Sanyos, to be honest, have great charge holds)

[Methanolandbrats]

I've got 32 Powerex AAs I use in my camera grips and flashes. No discharge issues and a lot of reserve power. Love my eight bay MAHA charger too.:thumbup:

[oddlycalm]

The good news is that once you get a good set they seem to last nearly forever. I have a couple devices that see heavy use but sit for weeks at a time in between and I've been using the same sets of batteries in them for years.

oc

[indyfan31]

After describing the problem to the Maha rep, he concluded I have a bad "batch" of batteries and they're going to replace them under warranty. Very cool. :thumbup: