Energizer Low Self Discharge NiMH

John Navas <spamfilter1.RemoveThis@navasgroup.com> wrote:
>
> Be careful of marketing claims. The self-discharge of standard NiMH
> cells is about 1% per day, so the difference is much less than claimed.
> See the room temperature curve in Retained Capacity in Energizer's own
> NiMH Application Manual:
> <http://data.energizer.com/PDFs/nickelmetalhydride_appman.pdf>
>

I have had several of my NiMH Sanyo 2500mAh batteries go completely dead
in as little as 30 days. Wouldn't even light up the LEDs on my little digicam
tester [voltage based] and my load tester refused to test. They charge fine,
but they discharge very quickly. I have a few, random batteries, that will
hold 60% of their capacity several months out. It is a bit of random luck
with most batteries. My Sanyo Eneloop and the new Maha Imedion batteries seem
to hold 100% charge (or nearly so) for several months after I charge them.
When I received the Imedion batteries, I immediately discharged them and ran
teh IEC forming charge on them [using the MH-C9000 break-in] and found most
are between 2220mAh and 2295mAh (haven't seen one over 2300mAh yet). I use
either the load tester or simply voltage test and three months later I am
still getting 100% (which means it is closer to 100% than 80% ... so safe to
say above 90% capacity).

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse

In the land of the dark the Ship of the Sun is driven by the Grateful Dead.
-- Egyptian Book of the Dead
 >> Stay informed about: Energizer Low Self Discharge NiMH 

Robert Sneddon <fred RemoveThis @nospam.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> Panasonic claim their version (trade name Infinium) of the
> Eneloop/Hybrio low-discharge NiMH batteries retain 80% of charge after
> six months; that's only a 20% total drop in 180 days. Whether that's
> actually true or not I don't know; it might require perfect charging and
> brand-new cells to reach that goal.
>

I bought a pack of Sanyo Eneloop from Circuit City last summer and the date on
the package was 13 months previous. Most of the batteries showed 100% on my
indicator with a couple popping at 80% (led goes 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100).

This is what I use for close testing and I just keep a cheap digicam [voltage]
tester handy for field testing.

http://www.thomasdistributing.com/zts-mbt-1-battery-tester.htm

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse

In the land of the dark the Ship of the Sun is driven by the Grateful Dead.
-- Egyptian Book of the Dead
 >> Stay informed about: Energizer Low Self Discharge NiMH 

John Navas <spamfilter1 DeleteThis @navasgroup.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 13 Feb 2008 13:32:41 +0000, Robert Sneddon
> <fred DeleteThis @nospam.demon.co.uk> wrote in
> <doTA4pK5FvsHFwXl DeleteThis @nospam.demon.co.uk>:
>
>> It's worth noting that the low-discharge NiMH cells are sold
>>pre-charged and can be used straight off the shelf, unlike traditional
>>NiMH cells.
>
> Why? I use fast charge cells that fully charge in 15 minutes.
>

Sure you can. But you can't put them in a flashlight and expect the
flashlight to be working six months later when you need it. With the ULSD
batteries, you most certainly can. I use them in clocks, remote controls,
wireless mouse and keyboard, and just about anything I can find a use for them
in. I don't think I have a single alkaline AA or AAA battery left in the
house. Lithium is probably good for emergency lights kept in a car where
environmental conditions vary greatly throughout the year.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse

In the land of the dark the Ship of the Sun is driven by the Grateful Dead.
-- Egyptian Book of the Dead
 >> Stay informed about: Energizer Low Self Discharge NiMH 

John Navas <spamfilter1.TakeThisOut@navasgroup.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 11 Feb 2008 02:41:14 GMT, Dave Cohen <user.TakeThisOut@example.net> wrote in
> <eBOrj.192$eU3.108@trndny04>:
>
>>I would never use anything but the recommended alkaline in a smoke
>>detector plus all the smoke detectors I've come across use a 9v cell.
>
> I would never use a rechargeable in a smoke detector.
>

If they ever get the LSD NiMH 9.6V batteries available, they will indeed go
into my smoke detectors. I use AA in my clocks already and I just change them
when daylight savings time changes [and they usually still have 60% charge in
them].

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse

In the land of the dark the Ship of the Sun is driven by the Grateful Dead.
-- Egyptian Book of the Dead
 >> Stay informed about: Energizer Low Self Discharge NiMH 

On Feb 10, 7:45 pm, Ron Hunter <rphun....DeleteThis@charter.net> wrote:
> Ray Paseur wrote:
> >>> I have become a big fan of low self discharge NiMH batteries (aka
> >>> "precharged", "hybrid") But I had not seen any mention of these from
> >>> Energizer <snip>
>
> > A google search turned up nothing you can buy from Energizer.
>
> >>http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Energizer+Hybrid+Batteries
>
> > I've been using theEneloopbatteries for about a year. One application
> > is the flashlight that we use for an evening walk. We take the dog out
> > for about 30 minutes a night. There are four AA batteries in the
> > flashlight. Eneloopbatteries with 2000mAH outlast our non-hybrid
> > rechargables (all brands) which boast 2500mAH. A full charge seems to
> > power the light for about a week to ten days. It appears to me that
> > unless you are going to discharge the non-hybrid batteries very soon
> > after charging, you are unlikely to benefit from the extra 500mAH. The
> > extra juice just gets lost in the self-discharge process.
>
> > If you do the math, rechargables of any sort make all the sense in the
> > world. Their initial cost is repaid many times over in lower operating
> > costs and less garbage in the landfill. I would encourage any
> > photographer who uses AA batteries to go immediately to rechargables.
> > Keep a backup set of lithiums if you're going somewhere that doesn't
> > have electricity, but for everyday use, go with the rechargables. If
> > your experience is anything like mine, you'll want the hybrids.
>
> > Here are some of the infrequently-used places where theEneloophybrid
> > (or any other brand hybrid) seem to makes sense. The flashlight in the
> > car. The P&S camera that my son uses once a week or so. My extra flash
> > unit that gets used only sproadically. The radio triggers. The smoke
> > detector. Anything else that might sit on the shelf for a couple of
> > weeks before use, or might need a low power drain for a long time,
> > because a week or two is time enough for the non-hybrids to bleed a lot
> > of their power.
>
> > I still own and use a few of the non-hybrids batteries - they were prior
> > inventory - and as they die I am replacing all of them with Eneloops.
>
> > Environmentally and economically yours, ~Ray
>
> I did find an application theEneloopbatteries didn't perform well in.
> I have some 'stick n' click' lights. Single white LED, with 3 AAA
> cells. I have one that gets used about 2-3 hours a day, and AAA
> alkalines last 3 months, or longer in that light. A freshly charged set
> of Eneloops lasted less than a month. Will have to find another use for
> them.
> Yes, economically, they would be better, over the course of a year, or
> so, but the batteries are a pain to change, so that counts more for me
> than the few cents (less than $.75) that three AAA cells cost, if you
> add the nuisance factor in.
> I am assuming that the LED expects a higher voltage than the NiMH
> battery delivers.

Yes, I think you are right! White LEDs require 3.3 to 3.6V in normal
operation. Bear in mind that the LED is not connected directly to the
batteries but there is regulating circuit in between that causes an
extra voltage drop. 3 Alkalines will give you around 4.5V (1.5 x 3)
and you will probably see a brighter light. With Eneloops they stay at
1.2V or above for most of their discharge curve so YES that is to be
expected.
I designed an LED flashlight for my bike and go the the best results
using 4 NIMH batteries. Your Eneloops are great batteries, I own a AAA
that powers my mp3 player and so far it has been the best battery I've
had for this application with 13 hours of continuous playing time
whereas Sanyo 900 or 800 would hardly go above 8 hours of playing
time.
 >> Stay informed about: Energizer Low Self Discharge NiMH