[NTLK] AA NiMH Rechargeables

[Tony Douglas]

Hi,


If in the US, you could try WalMart; here in the UK Asda (which I think is affiliated to or owned by WalMart ?) sells eneloop batteries - I bought a couple of sets of four there last night.


I was intrigued by Joel's comment about speed of charging; Sanyo's own charger seems to be able to charge two AA batteries in about 4 hours or so. My only criticism of the pack I have is that the charger only charges two batteries at once - but if they only take 4 hours, it's not too much of a hassle. I'm trying a set of four out with an Energizer recharger tonight to see how long they take - and going by the LEDs, they'll be ready by morning (normal Energizer 2500mAh batteries seem to take a lot longer). But yes - I'm replacing standard AA and even standard rechargeable AAs as well with eneloops.


Has anyone tried Duracell's possibly equivalent batteries ? (They seem to have a variety of names - PreCharged in the US, ActiveState or StayCharged in the UK...)


- Tony 





-----Original Message-----
From: Dennis B. Swaney <romad at aol.com>
To: newtontalk at newtontalk.net
Sent: Sat, Jan 30, 2010 2:40 am
Subject: Re: [NTLK] AA NiMH Rechargeables


Joel M. Sciamma wrote:
> Brad wrote:
> 
>> Anyone have good things to say about these fairly new low-self
>> discharge hybrid NiMH batteries? For example Sanyo has a brand called
>> Eneloop. How many days of average use can one expect to get with these
>> in a MP2x00?
> 
> I find them to be the best batteries I have ever used, especially in  
> the MP2K.
> 
> I'm getting a couple of weeks of daily light use (often with  
> backlight) but when the machine is not used and is just in standby, I  
> think it would be months before they needed replacing. Eneloops have a  
> slightly higher voltage than other NiMH cells, which is also a small  
> benefit.
> 
> Lighter the use, the better they are, because the low self-discharge  
> means that they are always ready when conventional NiMH would be flat.  
> So even for TV remotes and torches they are a good fit. Effectively it  
> finally means the end of primary batteries for most circumstances and  
> all the waste and expense they bring.
> 
> I did a fair amount of research and it looks to me that the Eneloops  
> have the best technology of this breed.
> 
> One point to note is that these cells should not be fast-charged  
> (200mA is probably ideal) so that implies an overnight or longer  
> recharge time. I think this is well worth tolerating for what is close  
> to an ideal battery.
> Depending on the application this might mean you have to have an extra  
> set of cells to always have them ready.
> 

Only problem is that almost no one carries them. I got the special 
"Starter" package made only for Costco, but I just can't find any more 
of the AA and AAA cells.

-- 
Sincerely,
Dennis B. Swaney

Newton MP 2100
iPhone 3GS
iPad (coming soon)

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