NiMH battery comparison tool(and how to get cheap rebranded Eneloops)

I was looking at what batteries to get for my flashgun and came across this awesome comparison website:

https://lygte-info.dk/review/batteri...comparator.php

It tests the batteries,shows their construction,discharge pattern,etc. Sizes include AA and 18650. The reviewer goes by the name HKJ on this forum:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...eries-Included

This site then also shows what batteries are rebranded Eneloops and what generation they are:

https://eneloop101.com/batteries/rewrapped-batteries/

Eneloops tend to be made in Japan,and are known as some of the longest lasting and lowest discharge batteries you can get. As you can see the rebrands cover multiple generations of Eneloops and Eneloop Pros,so some might prioritise power and others lifespan.

Edit!!

I have compiled a list of AA and AAA batteries you can find in the US which are Eneloops:

https://forums.hexus.net/consumer-el...ml#post3988841

Here is an overview of some reasonably priced smart chargers:

https://forums.hexus.net/consumer-el...ml#post3988904

The website also tests chargers too:

https://lygte-info.dk/info/indexBatt...gers%20UK.html

Here are some USB charger tests too:

https://lygte-info.dk/info/ChargerIndex%20UK.html

Edit!!

This site has some good tests of normal AA batteries too:

http://anrieff.net/batterytest/index_en.html

Good to get confirmation that the IKEA ones are Eneloops. Had suspected that when I saw the made in Japan label.

Don't really use batteries enough to go for anything fancy though. I have those Lidl low-discharge (the Eures ones not the worse quality Kompernass ones) and a fairly poor 7dayshop USB charger.

The 'Eneloops' are interesting especialyy. I've some devices that take AA or AAA cells and 7dayshop and Aldidl cells are a tad too big - damn near had to hammer a torch to get the battery carrier out. Result is, I now have quite a lot of Eneloops and some of the good Fujitsu (also made in Japan, same specs. - I suspect the same thing in reality).
When I want more, some of these 'clones' could save me a bit
Ikea's primary cells are pretty good as well, but sometimes a bit short-dated.

Any advice or websites on other battery sizes?

Need some more 20700s for my vapes, but information / tests hard to come by :/

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ubiquity

Any advice or websites on other battery sizes?

Need some more 20700s for my vapes, but information / tests hard to come by :/

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The Danish website does test them - you need to search for it:

https://lygte-info.dk/review/batteri...comparator.php
https://lygte-info.dk/review/batteri...Test%20UK.html

There are some newer ones in the second test.

Now I just need to find somewhere that actually has stock of Sanyo NCR20700As. Seems about as common as unicorn poop!

This site has some good tests of normal AA batteries too:

http://anrieff.net/batterytest/index_en.html

OK,after some research I have made a list of Eneloop AA and AAA rebrands which are worth looking at.

Retailers to buy the batteries from are:
1.)Amazon
2.)Ikea
3.)7dayshop(slow postage,and 3 to 5 day items are from outside the EU so can take a week)
4.)buyabattery

The Eneloop batteries were first developed by Sanyo(who was bought up by Panasonic) and are made in the FDK factory owned by Fujitsu.

There are four forms of Eneloop AA NIMH batteries - the 500ish discharge/recharge cycle Eneloop Pros which are 2400mAh and above made for higher current applications,the 1000 to 2100 cycle standard Eneloops which are between 1900mAh to 2100mAh and 2000 to 5000 cycle Eneloop/Eneloop Lite which are around 1000mAh. There was a rare Eneloop Plus which is like a standard Eneloop but overheat protection.

The Eneloop Pros are made in Japan,some Eneloop and Eneloop Lite models are also made in China(but apparently have worse discharge characteristics).

Most rebrands tend to be either Eneloop Pros of various generations or the 1000 cycle Eneloop/Eneloop Lite which seem closer to the older versions of the Eneloop. The 1500 to 2100 cycle ones seem to be mostly Panasonic/Sanyo/Fujitsu branded batteries.

From what I have read there seems to less variation between the different Eneloop Pro rebrands(similar number of cycles),but with the Eneloop/Eneloop Light rebrands it can vary more.

Now their might be others,but these look all like safe bets which are reasonably easy to get hold off. Examples include a number of Duracell,Energizer and Varta batteries but since they have multiple product lines and can mix and match batteries it is hard to keep track of what you are getting.

Eneloop Pro

The AA 2450mAh/2500mAh Eneloop rebrands tend seem to be one of 5 generations of Eneloop Pro,which have upto 500 recharge/discharge cycles. AAA rebrands tend to have 900mAh to 930mAh minimum ratings and the same 500 cycle rating. Eneloop Pro batteries tend to emphasis capacity and current over recharge/discharge cycles but are still long lasting. They also do not retain charge as long as the lower capacity Eneloops variants. These are all made in Japan currently.

AA variants

1.)Panasonic/Sanyo(comes in branded packages for both) BK-3HCDE Eneloop Pro ~ £25 for 8

5th generation Eneloop Pro,which has a minimum capacity of 2500mAh.

2.)Fujitsu HR-3UTHC 2450mAh - 3rd/4th generation Eneloop Pro(HR-3UTHC) ~£15 to £20 for 8

Previous generation to the latest Eneloop Pros,so the 3rd/4th generation versions of the battery.

3.)Durcaell Duraloop 2450mAh - earlier generation Eneloop(?) ~£14 to £15 for 8

Older version of battery,but has been around for at least 5 years,but good reviews about reliability and people using them for years.

4.)Ikea LADDA 2450 2450mAh(White) ~ £11 instore or £16 with some very slow delivery(6 to 10 working days)

Probably earlier generation Eneloop Pros.

5.)Amazon Basics grey 2400mAh/2500mAh HR-3UTHA ~£17 for 8

1st generation Eneloop Pros.

AAA Variants

1.)Panasonic BK-4HCDE 930mAh minimum ~ £20 to £25 for 8

5th generation Eneloop Pros.

2.)Panasonic BK-4HCCE 900mAh minimum/950mAh typical ~ £20 to £25 for 8

4th generation Eneloop Pros. BK-4HCDE listings might be confused with BK-4HCCE listings by retailers like Amazon.

3.)Fujitsu HR-4UTHCEX 900mAh minimum/950mAh typical ~ £12 to £13 for 8

3rd/4th generation Eneloop Pros.

4.)Fujitsu HR-4UAEX 930mAh/1000mAh typical ~ £11 for 8

Possible 5th generation Eneloop Pros.

5.)Amazon Basics HR-4UTHA ~ £14 for 8

800mAh minimum capacity and 850mAh typical capacity and a 500 cycle lifespan. Unique Eneloop Pro variant(apparently).Made in Japan.

6.)Ikea LADDA 900 900mAh ~ £8 for 8 or £12 with very slow delivery

Apparently similar to the Fujitsu HR-4UTHCEX.Made in Japan.

Standard Eneloop

AA variants

Can be made in Japan or China(since Panasonic is probably trying to save some money) but apparently for the EU market they are Japan only. They tend to be around 1900mAh to 2000mAh capacity in AA variants and 750mAh to 800mAh minimum in AAA versions. The ones for sale in Europe either have a 2100 cycle lifespan or a 1000 cycle one in terms of the rebrands.

1.)Panasonic BK-3MCC 1900mAh ~ £16 for 8

Has a 2100 cycle lifespan.4th generation standard Eneloop. Both Chinese and Japanese versions. Japanese versions are better.

2.)Fujitsu HR-3UTC 1900mAh minimum~ £14 to £16 for 8

Has a 2100 cycle lifespan. 4th generation standard Eneloop.Made in Japan.

3.)Amazon Basics black HR-4UTG 1900mAh ~ £13 for 8

Has a 1000 cycle lifespan.Made in Japan. Most likely first generation Eneloops.

4.)Ansmann Maxe Pro AA 1900mAh ~ £18 to £20 for 8

Has a 2100 cycle lifespan. Made in Japan.

AAA Variants

1.)Panasonic BK-4MCCE ~ £13 for 8

750mAh minimum capacity and a 2100 cycle lifespan. 4th generation Eneloop. Made in Japan.

2.)Fujitsu HR-4UTCEX ~ £11 for 8

750mAh minimum capacity and a 2100 cycle lifespan. 4th generation Eneloop.Made in Japan.

3.)Amazon Basics HR-4UTG ~ £12 for 8

750mAh minimum capacity. Probably 1st generation Eneloop. Made in Japan.

4.)Ansmann Maxe Pro AAA ~£18 for 8

750mAh minimum capacity and a 2100 cycle lifespan.Made in Japan.

Eneloop Lite

Low capacity - around 1000mAh in AA form but designed for a large number of cycles. 550mAh capacity in AAA form.

AA variants

1.)Panasonic Eneloop Lite BK-3LCCE 950mAh ~ £16 to £20 for 8

Made in Japan. Has a 3000 cycle lifespan. BK-3LCC is made in China,has lower capacity but a 5000 cycle lifespan.

2.)IKEA LADDA 1000 1000mAh ~ 8 for £6 instore or for £11 including very slow delivery

Might be a Eneloop Lite variant. Has a 1500 cycle lifespan. Made in Japan.

AAA variants

1.)Panasonic BK-4LCCE ~ £14 for 8

Made in Japan. Has a 3000 cycle lifespan. BK-4LCC is made in China,has lower capacity but a 5000 cycle lifespan.

Budget Chargers

This is not an extensive overview but more and indication of some reasonably priced chargers,which can be easily bought over here,which get decent reviews. If you are willing to spend over £30 you can get some really decent ones. However,this is about saving money(hence the whole Eneloop rebrand thing!!).

A word of warning - do not use fast chargers(unless you can adjust the current manually) with the batteries as it will ruin them longterm.

Many of these chargers will rebranded under many diferent names,so sometimes you might get a rebrand from a reputable source which is the same(although you need to be wary of knockoffs too).

Smart Chargers

Basically these chargers can be use to not only charge batteries,but some can analyse capacity,or even try to refresh them.

1.)Zanflare C4 ~ £25 to £30

https://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%...20C4%20UK.html

2.)XTAR VC4 ~ £17 to £25

USB powered but make sure it can supply enough current!

https://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%...0VC4%20UK.html

3.)XTAR VP4 ~ £24

https://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%...0VP4%20UK.html

4.)LiitoKala Engineer Lii-500 ~£26

https://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%...-500%20UK.html
https://zeroair.wordpress.com/2017/0...okala-lii-500/

5.)Nitecore D4 2017/2018 ~ £20 to £25

https://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%...20D4%20UK.html

6.)Nitecore i4 2017/2018 ~ £15

https://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%...2017%20UK.html

7.)7dayshop Multismart 3000/PSPower MT4000/Youshiko YC5000 ~£15

https://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%...4000%20UK.html

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kompukare

Good to get confirmation that the IKEA ones are Eneloops. Had suspected that when I saw the made in Japan label.

Don't really use batteries enough to go for anything fancy though. I have those Lidl low-discharge (the Eures ones not the worse quality Kompernass ones) and a fairly poor 7dayshop USB charger.

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It appears a number if the LIDL might be Ansmann ones.

My main charger is a Lidl 'smart' one. The first one packed up at about 2 years 10 - 11 months. A couple of e-mails and a scan of the receipt got me a new one - I did feel a slight twinge of guilt, but a couple of pints in The Malt Shovel fixed that!

I try to charge at least 3 cells at a time, so that they aren't charged too quickly. Rather bizarrely, the Eneloop Pros, used for a month in a toothbrush, sometimes show as faulty on the Lidl charger. I still have an old 7Day 'dumb' charger and a couple of minutes in that does something so that the "smart" charger will accept the cells.

@ CAT-THE-FIFTH: thank you for the run-down and links - very useful.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Giraffe

My main charger is a Lidl 'smart' one. The first one packed up at about 2 years 10 - 11 months. A couple of e-mails and a scan of the receipt got me a new one - I did feel a slight twinge of guilt, but a couple of pints in The Malt Shovel fixed that!

I try to charge at least 3 cells at a time, so that they aren't charged too quickly. Rather bizarrely, the Eneloop Pros, used for a month in a toothbrush, sometimes show as faulty on the Lidl charger. I still have an old 7Day 'dumb' charger and a couple of minutes in that does something so that the "smart" charger will accept the cells.

@ CAT-THE-FIFTH: thank you for the run-down and links - very useful.

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That is because if you run down the NIMH batteries too much many smart chargers cannot detect them. If they drop beyond a certain voltage it can also damage the cells.

A number of the ones I listed should be able to charge flat batteries - the Zenflare was fine with some 12+ year old batteries which have not been used for yonks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

That is because if you run down the NIMH batteries too much many smart chargers cannot detect them. If they drop beyond a certain voltage it can also damage the cells.

A number of the ones I listed should be able to charge flat batteries - the Zenflare was fine with some 12+ year old batteries which have not been used for yonks.

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The voltage at the end of the month is about 1.15V; I've had full performance for 40 days, so the cells aren't 'flat' by any means.

Thank you for the excellent posts here. I have around 8-16 Eneloop Standard at mum's house (prolly 16) and around the same number of AAA. We have a fairly decent smart charger there too though it would only do 4 cells at a time.

I need to get those here I'm literally not using them for months on end. Would have been nice to have gotten them cheaper but ebay was reasonable value for them so.... yeah. Branded LOL