Teach me about Eneloops...

[Gareth]

So can anyone fill me in on the real life advantage of eneloop cells?  One of my big questions is, can I charge them on my NiMH or would I need to buy a new charger?  Any thoughts and info greatly received.

[Tinnie]

So can anyone fill me in on the real life advantage of eneloop cells?  One of my big questions is, can I charge them on my NiMH or would I need to buy a new charger?  Any thoughts and info greatly received.

Best advantage is that it retains it charge for a long time compared to other rechargeable batteries you find at your local shops.

I find it performs really nice and comes second to only lithium batteries. Eneloop batteries are the best batteries imo for general all day use...you'll probably need lithium where the weather is bad.

Disadvantage? Probably the price (for me in Aus)

Don't know if it would work in other chargers...probably will. I bought mine in an 8 pack with an 8 way Charger.

[edap617]

Yes, you can use your NimH charger.

[Neil]

As above   their charged shelf life is significantly longer than normal NiMH cells.   You may find Uniross Hybrio cells a bit cheaper and easier to obtain over here, they're the same deal.

So long as your charger can handle NiMH cells and isn't an old NiCd only charger you should have no issues.  I don't recommend using them in ultra fast chargers though as they'll most likely reduce the working life of the cell.

What charger have you got?

[Gareth]

As above  their charged shelf life is significantly longer than normal NiMH cells.   You may find Uniross Hybrio cells a bit cheaper and easier to obtain over here, they're the same deal.

So long as your charger can handle NiMH cells and isn't an old NiCd only charger you should have no issues.  I don't recommend using them in ultra fast chargers though as they'll most likely reduce the working life of the cell.

What charger have you got?

Well there's the rub, it's just a cheap Eveready two cell job (AA or AAA), at least it's a NiMH.  It's certainly not an ultra fast charger.

Thanks for the help so far chaps.

[Chako]

I have a pair of i-Sobots that will only use Eneloops. Problem is they are very hard to find in Canada.

When the time comes, I will have to find them on the net somewhere.

[Neil]

As above  their charged shelf life is significantly longer than normal NiMH cells.   You may find Uniross Hybrio cells a bit cheaper and easier to obtain over here, they're the same deal.

So long as your charger can handle NiMH cells and isn't an old NiCd only charger you should have no issues.  I don't recommend using them in ultra fast chargers though as they'll most likely reduce the working life of the cell.

What charger have you got?

Well there's the rub, it's just a cheap Eveready two cell job (AA or AAA), at least it's a NiMH.  It's certainly not an ultra fast charger.

Thanks for the help so far chaps.

That should be fine.  The funky chargers that can fill'em up in half an hour I can't recommend but if your cheap charger normally charges a pair in a six, twelve hours etc. it'll do the job.

Eneloops aside I really recommend buying a good quality charger that monitors each cell individually.  Its makes charging simpler (don't have to keep cells paired etc.) and your batteries last many more cycles.

[MultiMat]

I recently bought a Eneloop pack that included X4 AA's & a charger , it was a very good price too.
my little samsung s630 digital camera only takes X2 AA's & can chew through batteries.
Gareth I have found the Eneloop's performance has improved after a couple of , use till flat & charges.

[NutSAK]

Eneloops aside I really recommend buying a good quality charger that monitors each cell individually.  Its makes charging simpler (don't have to keep cells paired etc.) and your batteries last many more cycles.

I couldn't agree with you more, and highly recommend a LaCrosse BC-900 or BC-700.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Mine work on a normal NiMH charger

[NutSAK]

Mine work on a normal NiMH charger

Yes, they work great on any NiMH charger that is not the "ultra fast" type.  However, charging a single cell at a time without having to pair it with another (which may be at a different state of charge) will ultimately extend the life of your cells.

[Gareth]

Mine work on a normal NiMH charger

Yes, they work great on any NiMH charger that is not the "ultra fast" type.  However, charging a single cell at a time without having to pair it with another (which may be at a different state of charge) will ultimately extend the life of your cells.

Ah, that makes sense.

[EM745]

First off, "fast" chargers are bad for regular NiMH's as well as LSD's like the Eneloop. That said, fast chargers can be quite convenient and are okay for OCCASIONAL use.

Another advantage specific to the Eneloops is the fact that their voltage doesn't "sag" as much as other LSD's under high current load. This can be a significant advantage in electronics that use voltage sensing to determine battery level (like some digital cameras).

And yes, you can use any decent NiMH charger to charge LSD batts. That said, chargers that have independant charging channels and multiple termination modes (timer, delta-V & temperature sensing) are the best way to go in order to ensure optimum charging and long battery life (in terms of charging cycles).

I have a pair of i-Sobots that will only use Eneloops. Problem is they are very hard to find in Canada.

When the time comes, I will have to find them on the net somewhere.

I know of at least two CONFIRMED Eneloop rebrands:

- Duracell Precharged, or the so-called "Duraloops" (white-tops only!)
- Sony CycleEnergy

Just make sure that they are 2000 mAh, have "squarish" positive terminal surrounded by a WHITE insuator, have that familiar Sanyo ridged negative terminal, be wrapped in vinyl, and are MADE IN JAPAN!

Black-top Duracells (dark grey insulator around the + terminal) that are made in China are rebranded Rayovac Hybrids.

HTH. 

[jzmtl]

I have a pair of i-Sobots that will only use Eneloops. Problem is they are very hard to find in Canada.

When the time comes, I will have to find them on the net somewhere.

Duracell precharged with white top is rebadged eneloop, shopper's drug mart often has the 4 pack on sale for $7.

Costco has lots of eneloop too.

[Benner]

I only use eneloop cells now as they just hold their charge so much longer than any other rechargable.  I charge mine on a Maha charger and the cells seem as fresh as the day I got them.

[Neil]

Most of my batteries are Uniross Hybrio.  No problems.  My main charger is an Ansmann Energy 8 that I've been using for a couple of years an am very happy with. 

I appreciate that for very high drain use them up all at once applications like my boys radio controlled cars normal high capacity NiMHs are still the way to go but for everything else these new cells are superb.

[Black Rose]

Problem is they are very hard to find in Canada.

Costco sells them in 6xAA 2xAAA packs for $17.99.

Every few months, Shoppers has the Duracell Pre-Charged (ONLY get the white top ones) on sale for $7.00 for a pack of 4 AA or AAA.

[Grant Lamontagne]

My mother has a problem with her nice fancy new digital camera- after about 4 shots, the batteries die.  She's installing the updated firmware, and I was wondering if Eneloops would help her as well?  Of course then I started thinking that if Eneloops were that great, maybe I should also have a few sets, and I saw them at Home Depot today for $27 for four batteries and a charger, and I started to wonder if I should get a set.

My digital camera goes through batteries at a fair speed as well- how do eneloops work in cameras, or is it a waste of time?

Def

[Benner]

You will probably find that they would last longer, certainly compared to alkalines.

The main think I like about Eneloops is that apart from the fact they last ages, they charge up really well and after months of many re-charges you can't see any decrease in capacity.  This is rare for a rechargable in my experience.

[Zack]

My mother has a problem with her nice fancy new digital camera- after about 4 shots, the batteries die.  She's installing the updated firmware, and I was wondering if Eneloops would help her as well?  Of course then I started thinking that if Eneloops were that great, maybe I should also have a few sets, and I saw them at Home Depot today for $27 for four batteries and a charger, and I started to wonder if I should get a set.

My digital camera goes through batteries at a fair speed as well- how do eneloops work in cameras, or is it a waste of time?

Def

I know the  eneloops work great in my SB600 flash, and my wifes Canon powershot.  I had a set in the camera charged when Liam was being born, never used them and they are still showing an almost full charge in the camera and volt meter.

[jzmtl]

My mother has a problem with her nice fancy new digital camera- after about 4 shots, the batteries die.  She's installing the updated firmware, and I was wondering if Eneloops would help her as well?  Of course then I started thinking that if Eneloops were that great, maybe I should also have a few sets, and I saw them at Home Depot today for $27 for four batteries and a charger, and I started to wonder if I should get a set.

My digital camera goes through batteries at a fair speed as well- how do eneloops work in cameras, or is it a waste of time?

Def

Were you/your mother using alkaline before? They cannot hold up to the high drain modern digital camera puts on them. For example (made up numbers but shows the point ) if drained at 0.1 amp they would give you 1.5 amp hour, but if drained at 1 amp they would only give you 0.5 amp hour.

Nimh rechargeable will hold well under high load so that's why they last longer in digital cameras. Eneloops will be able to discharge at 7 or 8 amps without problem so don't short them out. Costco pack is the cheapest around, not counting the occasional $7 packs at shopper's drug mart.

[Nightshade]

Great cells. I was amazed at how well they hold up in prolonged cold temps. -7.8 Celsius or there abouts. Definitely not your average rechargeable.

[Black Rose]

My mother has a problem with her nice fancy new digital camera- after about 4 shots, the batteries die.  She's installing the updated firmware, and I was wondering if Eneloops would help her as well?  Of course then I started thinking that if Eneloops were that great, maybe I should also have a few sets, and I saw them at Home Depot today for $27 for four batteries and a charger, and I started to wonder if I should get a set.

You'll get a better deal on Eneloops at Costco than HD.

[Neil]

My mother has a problem with her nice fancy new digital camera- after about 4 shots, the batteries die.  She's installing the updated firmware, and I was wondering if Eneloops would help her as well?  Of course then I started thinking that if Eneloops were that great, maybe I should also have a few sets, and I saw them at Home Depot today for $27 for four batteries and a charger, and I started to wonder if I should get a set.

My digital camera goes through batteries at a fair speed as well- how do eneloops work in cameras, or is it a waste of time?

Def

Were you/your mother using alkaline before? They cannot hold up to the high drain modern digital camera puts on them. For example (made up numbers but shows the point ) if drained at 0.1 amp they would give you 1.5 amp hour, but if drained at 1 amp they would only give you 0.5 amp hour.

Nimh rechargeable will hold well under high load so that's why they last longer in digital cameras. Eneloops will be able to discharge at 7 or 8 amps without problem so don't short them out. Costco pack is the cheapest around, not counting the occasional $7 packs at shopper's drug mart.

An ill advised way of illustrating the high discharge would be take take a piece of solder from one terminal to the other......  Yes I have but remember, I'M STUPID! 

[NutSAK]

Using alkaline AAs in a camera is silly. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Not when you get 48 of them for $10! 

Def