# Eneloop Battery Chargers



## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 14, 2016)

Last night, a set of my Eneloop batteries died after a few minutes of use in my flash, and a second set was totally empty. Obviously, they had gone too long between charges, but they might have also had diminished capacity, since some are several years old. I have 3 dozen of them, and keeping track of charges can be messed up.

So, I started researching battery chargers and reading reviews. The usual Powerex /Maha and Lacrosse BC-1000 chargers came up as top units, but a new model, the Opus BT-C2000 popped up. Apparently, the newest version with firmware 2.1 is a good compromise but, as always, its a compromise. I ordered one and plan to use it to analyze each of my Eneloop and NIMH batteries, and toss any that can't be revived.

Has anyone used this one?
I went ahead and ordered one, so I'll see if it is as good as the review.

http://www.amazon.com/BT-C2000-charger-set-100-240V-Battery-Analyzer-Portable/dp/B00JL3XL2G/ref=cm_cr_dp_asin_lnk


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## Deleted member 91053 (Jan 14, 2016)

I have a number of chargers for my R/C aircraft. They can charge many (up to 27) NIMH cells at once as well as doing full cycling for analysis/recovery. They are cheap too! 

I would have thought that your Eneloops should still be good, mine are 5 + years old and going fine. Modern batteries don't last like the old NiCad cells (I have some Sanyo's that are still on spec since 1985!) but they do hold a lot more charge and have fewer nasty chemicals inside.


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## YuengLinger (Jan 15, 2016)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> Last night, a set of my Eneloop batteries died after a few minutes of use in my flash, and a second set was totally empty. Obviously, they had gone too long between charges, but they might have also had diminished capacity, since some are several years old. I have 3 dozen of them, and keeping track of charges can be messed up.
> 
> So, I started researching battery chargers and reading reviews. The usual Powerex /Maha and Lacrosse BC-1000 chargers came up as top units, but a new model, the Opus BT-C2000 popped up. Apparently, the newest version with firmware 2.1 is a good compromise but, as always, its a compromise. I ordered one and plan to use it to analyze each of my Eneloop and NIMH batteries, and toss any that can't be revived.
> 
> ...


Glad you posted this. I've been using my Einsteins, rarely my Speedlites. Was thinking of tossing my own 3 doz Eneloops!

Amazon reviews do seem overwhelmingly positive.


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## meywd (Jan 15, 2016)

I have this charger for a year now, mainly to charge some Sony rechargeable batteries that I got with my flash, and recently got some enloops, but only charged them once, I don't use the flash that much, so I only charge once every few months, I got the charger for the ability to test the batteries, the discharge, and the updated firmware that fixed the over heating/charging issue that happened with earlier models.


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## Ozarker (Jan 15, 2016)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> Last night, a set of my Eneloop batteries died after a few minutes of use in my flash, and a second set was totally empty. Obviously, they had gone too long between charges, but they might have also had diminished capacity, since some are several years old. I have 3 dozen of them, and keeping track of charges can be messed up.
> 
> So, I started researching battery chargers and reading reviews. The usual Powerex /Maha and Lacrosse BC-1000 chargers came up as top units, but a new model, the Opus BT-C2000 popped up. Apparently, the newest version with firmware 2.1 is a good compromise but, as always, its a compromise. I ordered one and plan to use it to analyze each of my Eneloop and NIMH batteries, and toss any that can't be revived.
> 
> ...



I don't have that one. The one I use and have been very happy with is this one and it discharges and then charges 16 eneloops at once:
http://www.amazon.com/Titanium-Battery-100-240V-Adapters-MD-1600L/dp/B005UNPM3M/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1452822539&sr=1-1&keywords=eneloop+titanium+charger


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## YuengLinger (Jan 15, 2016)

CanonFanBoy said:


> Mt Spokane Photography said:
> 
> 
> > Last night, a set of my Eneloop batteries died after a few minutes of use in my flash, and a second set was totally empty. Obviously, they had gone too long between charges, but they might have also had diminished capacity, since some are several years old. I have 3 dozen of them, and keeping track of charges can be messed up.
> ...



Ooooh...I want one! Glad I still have the Eneloops.


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## neuroanatomist (Jan 15, 2016)

Am I crazy for just using the ones that came from Sanyo with the Eneloops? I have a pair of 4-place wall warts, they've been fine and my oldest batteries are from 2009 and going strong.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 15, 2016)

neuroanatomist said:


> Am I crazy for just using the ones that came from Sanyo with the Eneloops? I have a pair of 4-place wall warts, they've been fine and my oldest batteries are from 2009 and going strong.



That's what I've been using, but I have no idea as to any diminished capacity. I have some eneloops that are well over 5 years old, and seem to be fine, so I ordered it mainly to be able to analyze my batteries and see if I have any weak ones.


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## stefang (Jan 15, 2016)

I'm using a Maha c800s to charge Eneloops for years now and couldn't be happier.


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## Ozarker (Jan 15, 2016)

YuengLinger said:


> CanonFanBoy said:
> 
> 
> > Mt Spokane Photography said:
> ...



Comes with a cigarette lighter charging cord in addition to the 110v wall cord. Enjoy!


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 15, 2016)

CanonFanBoy said:


> I don't have that one. The one I use and have been very happy with is this one and it discharges and then charges 16 eneloops at once:
> http://www.amazon.com/Titanium-Battery-100-240V-Adapters-MD-1600L/dp/B005UNPM3M/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1452822539&sr=1-1&keywords=eneloop+titanium+charger



I was not able to find any serious reviews of this one that tested currents, voltages, temperatures, ect. Amazon had a lot of people who had failed units, and with that much heat being generated, I'd be a bit shy. 

From what I've read, it does not analyze a battery or tell you its capacity.


The power supply is rated at 2.1A which means 131 MA/ battery (200MA is very slow). A 2000 MAH battery that is totally empty and charged at 131 MA is going to take a long time to fully charge, 2000MAH/131ma =15.2 hours. The claims of charging in 5 or 6 hours are likely based on a battery that is already half charged until it gets 3/4 charged. 

I'd be interested in reading some test results that measured the actual charging rate, and the actual percentage of charge given to a battery.


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## BeenThere (Jan 15, 2016)

I have the Opus BT-C3400. Got it so that I could set charging current on Eneloops. I use 200mA for AAA and 500mA on AAs. Some research on Internet suggested theses as best charging currents. I'm happy with the charger but it is pricey. It can also be used with some if the high power Li-Io batteries.


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## FTb-n (Jan 15, 2016)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> CanonFanBoy said:
> 
> 
> > I don't have that one. The one I use and have been very happy with is this one and it discharges and then charges 16 eneloops at once:
> ...


I've also had good success with the Titanium charger. Maybe not a serious review, but I discovered this charger from review below:

https://www.slrlounge.com/best-charger-ever-the-titanium-16-bay-battery-charger-review/

I've also had good success with MAHA chargers from Thomas Distributing.

http://www.thomasdistributing.com/Maha-Chargers_c_1205.html


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## Ozarker (Jan 16, 2016)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> CanonFanBoy said:
> 
> 
> > I don't have that one. The one I use and have been very happy with is this one and it discharges and then charges 16 eneloops at once:
> ...



I've never noticed any heat generated. Certainly no high temps at all. I just looked at Amazon and 427 customers gave it 4.4 out of 5 stars. Of course, anyone who received a bad unit will let us know and the satisfied less so I think.

I've had mine for well over a year with no trouble. Since it charges 16 batteries at once the charge times (I've never timed it) have never been an issue. It takes a lot of shots on a 600EX to go through even 4 batteries.

For $60 and 4.4 out of 5 stars... I felt confident. The rating was just as high at the end of 2014. At that price point I didn't search for any reviews.

Good luck with your purchase Mt. Spokane.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 16, 2016)

CanonFanBoy said:


> Mt Spokane Photography said:
> 
> 
> > CanonFanBoy said:
> ...



I wanted to analyze my batteries and measure their actual capacity(They won't have full capacity after 5 years). I have good chargers (MAHA and Sanyo). 

I'm glad to hear its working out, I guess that the slower charging rate means less heat, so that's good. Heat is the big cause of battery failure. I'm also leery of the one I ordered, with the cheap imported no name brands, there is no one to service the warranty except maybe the seller.

The reason I was wondering about a review that actually tested what it was doing, is that there are chargers that were tested and it was found that they were not charging completely.


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## 9VIII (Jan 16, 2016)

For the past three years or so I've been maintaining a herd of a few dozen AA batteries for flashlights and such with a pair of MAHA MH-C9000 (so that I can do 8 cells at a time), which seems to be the charger of choice on Candlepower Forums.

No complaints yet.


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## Ozarker (Jan 16, 2016)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> CanonFanBoy said:
> 
> 
> > Mt Spokane Photography said:
> ...



Those eneloop batteries hold a charge so well I don't get to use the charger very often. Just don't get out to shoot very much and they really perform. I think they must be among the best there is. Never liked rechargeables until I got those. What a great product they are.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 16, 2016)

CanonFanBoy said:


> Those eneloop batteries hold a charge so well I don't get to use the charger very often. Just don't get out to shoot very much and they really perform. I think they must be among the best there is. Never liked rechargeables until I got those. What a great product they are.



Yes, I love mine, and was shocked to find them flat. I don't know if it is because they are old, or because I haven't charged them for a long time. I usually charge them all periodically, so I thought they were ready to go. I want to find out what's going on with them, and only a charger that analyzes them will be able to tell me that. There are very sophisticated analyzers that are expensive, but this cheap one should work.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 18, 2016)

The charger arrived this afternoon, and I tried it immediately. I had a assortment of various NiMH batteries laying around. Eneloops, Sanyo, Powerex, and a generic brand. 

One battery was totally dead, so I tossed it. I noticed that one of the generic brand batteries would not charge at the initial default rate while the others had no problem with 400ma. I checked the internal resistance, and saw that it was very high, so I tossed it. Then, I tried charging the other generic battery at 1000ma, but 5XX was as high as it would go. The internal resistance was also high for that battery, so I tossed it.

The randomly selected eneloop had the lowest internal resistance by a factor of 2-5X.

I now have 4 batteries charging, Eneloop, Sanyo, Powerex, and another eneloop. I have a set of 4 powerex cells to try later, along with about 30 eneloops. I have some AAA's to try as well. The charger comes with a adapter for a C and a D battery, but I don't believe I have any.

I'll go out to my studio and gather up more batteries, I'm not sure what is laying around out there. At any rate, I will know how much charge each battey holds as well as the internal resistance.

This is a Chinese unit, just like the others, but I had to laugh at the photo on the front with Eneloop knockoffs in the charger. They were labeled Enelong


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## ajfotofilmagem (Jan 19, 2016)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> The charger arrived this afternoon, and I tried it immediately. I had a assortment of various NiMH batteries laying around. Eneloops, Sanyo, Powerex, and a generic brand.
> 
> One battery was totally dead, so I tossed it. I noticed that one of the generic brand batteries would not charge at the initial default rate while the others had no problem with 400ma. I checked the internal resistance, and saw that it was very high, so I tossed it. Then, I tried charging the other generic battery at 1000ma, but 5XX was as high as it would go. The internal resistance was also high for that battery, so I tossed it.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the feedback


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## risc32 (Jan 19, 2016)

neuroanatomist said:


> Am I crazy for just using the ones that came from Sanyo with the Eneloops? I have a pair of 4-place wall warts, they've been fine and my oldest batteries are from 2009 and going strong.



I also have two of these wall hanging eneloop chargers, and my yrs old eneloop batteries are as strong as ever. I also have a lacrosse charger,(the blue one?) and while it helps to determine weak batteries(never one if my eneloops) and gives info on things for gearheads, i could live without it. 
batteries, i just 3 minutes ago had to order a MacBook battery, I come here, and it's aa's. If only I could have gotten my hands on an eneloop replacement for my mac...


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## RustyTheGeek (Jan 19, 2016)

neuroanatomist said:


> Am I crazy for just using the ones that came from Sanyo with the Eneloops? I have a pair of 4-place wall warts, they've been fine and my oldest batteries are from 2009 and going strong.



Exactly ditto right down to the 2009 date for many of my eneloops as well. I understand the desire for a smarter charger however. The eneloop chargers have always worked fine but I do wonder what the battery status is from time to time and if there is any maintenance the might improve them or keep them in top condition.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 19, 2016)

I've had 8 Eneloops on my Sanyo Charger for 3 days now. I checked all of them on the new charger and they all read full charge. I'll do a charge / discharge test on them when they cool to room temperature tomorrow. One of the two Eneloops I'm charging seems to be going slow. The other charged quickly. I'm using 600ma to charge them in a fairly short time. The Sanyo NIMH is also taking longer to charge, its 2100 mah, so slightly higher capacity. I also have found three cells called Nexcell energyon that seem to have charged up fine. I think they are good batteries, but I can't remember buying them. Sometimes I get them inside equipment that I buy. I usually buy from Thomas Distributing or when Eneloops are on sale at Costco.


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## [email protected] (Jan 19, 2016)

> I don't have that one. The one I use and have been very happy with is this one and it discharges and then charges 16 eneloops at once:
> http://www.amazon.com/Titanium-Battery-100-240V-Adapters-MD-1600L/dp/B005UNPM3M/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1452822539&sr=1-1&keywords=eneloop+titanium+charger
> 
> I was not able to find any serious reviews of this one that tested currents, voltages, temperatures, ect. Amazon had a lot of people who had failed units, and with that much heat being generated, I'd be a bit shy.
> ...





I used the Titanium for a couple years, and liked it very much, particularly because it was double or quadruple the capacity of most chargers, with its 16 bays. It also did a deplete-and-charge refresh cycle. 

2 problems:
1) Mine started dropping its power on and off rapidly and eventually became useless.
2) It would find even brand new Eneloops to be bad batteries, giving me the full flashing indicator suggesting that this was some old, high-resistance battery. Sometimes I could charge that battery in another charger and put it back and it would be fine, and other times it would continue to dislike the battery. This wouldn't have been so bad but for the frequency of it happening - perhaps 60 percent of any batteries, new or used, that I put on it. The problem became progressively worse, either because the charger was nuttier and nuttier, or my stable of batteries was getting worse (less likely, as I was adding many new ones).

I just went on a tear for the past few weeks, purchasing 5 different types of chargers so I could compare. I'll have more info in a couple months, but for now I can say that the Maha MH-C800S is my favorite, as it has been the least finicky and pretty flexible, so long as you know its interface tricks. Does 8 batteries at a time. I just ordered the Opus to use as a tester/refresher. 

I think the charger makers are losing out in not producing more 16+ bay chargers. I have game cameras, each of which take 12 batteries. Bring in four of those in a night and you have an awful lot of charging cycles to do with 48 batteries and a 4-bay charger. Thus the many charger purchases - and hopefully some learnings coming soon.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 19, 2016)

[email protected] said:


> I think the charger makers are losing out in not producing more 16+ bay chargers. I have game cameras, each of which take 12 batteries. Bring in four of those in a night and you have an awful lot of charging cycles to do with 48 batteries and a 4-bay charger. Thus the many charger purchases - and hopefully some learnings coming soon.



I think that the issue is the amount of heat generated. A 16 battery charger will have to be large and have fans to charge at high current levels like the Maha. So its a trade off, take a long time and charge a lot of batteries, or a short time and do a few.

The low cost chargers like the BT-2000 are going to have a limited lifetime. Mine was very warm on the bottom after charging 4 batteries at 600ma. Its not going to last long at temperatures like that. I hope it lasts long enough for me to check all my batteries, I definitely have some weak ones. Batteries are cheap enough that I'll toss any questionable ones.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 20, 2016)

I checked on Eneloop batteries at Costco today. They have their combo pack with 8AA + 2 AAA + Charger for $24.95. They have a huge display out, with pallets full of them. Their new sale is coming up in a week or two, so I'm expecting to see them on sale. They usually build up stock of items just before a sale.

Their price already beats the others, so if it gets better, I'll replace most of my older eneloops. The first group has been testing most of the day. 3 seem pretty good, but one of the three has half the capacity of the others. I expect to find this sort of thing as I go thru them.

I do not see any good deals on the Eneloop Pro batteries, they are almost 2X the price, which seems way too high.


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## RustyTheGeek (Jan 20, 2016)

Eneloop Batteries are a strange and odd exception to normal reality. They truly "just work" and do that above expectations. Since 2009 I have thrown away ZERO batteries and they all still seem to work great.

Costco is pretty decent as well. Good prices and good customer service on some interesting stuff.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 20, 2016)

The battery test is still ongoing at 200ma. One stopped at 1075MA while the other three are at 1787 and still going. All it takes is one battery with less capacity to cause issues with a flash unit. High internal resistance limits the current, so that's another factor to check. Since the batteries are in series, just one with a high internal resistance will slow down flash recovery time.

So, even though dropping charge capacity to 1075ma isn't bad, it puts a limit on the three batteries that take a full charge. All of my batteries seemed to charge up fine, and I usually recharge them before they run down, so I did not notice until my flash unexpectedly refused to fire last week.

At $2.50 a battery, and seeing that they last for years, I'll toss any that do not take a reasonably full charge. I'll retry those that seem weak, of course, but I expect the results to be the same. The weak one has a internal resistance that is the same as the others, it just did not take a full charge. The voltage was the same as well. 

They seem to charge to about 1.41-1.45 volts when charged at 400 to 600 ma. I've seen some charge a little higher. Different chargers charge to different voltages, I'm surprised at the variations I've seen online.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?67780-What-is-the-fully-charged-voltage-of-NiMh-batteri


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## RustyTheGeek (Jan 20, 2016)

I think the nerd curve is peaking on this thread!  (And that's a _good_ thing! This is good info.)


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## kphoto99 (Jan 20, 2016)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> I do not see any good deals on the Eneloop Pro batteries, they are almost 2X the price, which seems way too high.



I compared the regular Eneloops with the Pro version in the flash and I found the Pro cut the recycle time in half. Now I only buy the Pro (when on sale) for the flash. I have about 80 of different vintage of the Eneloops.

One more thing, the Fujitsu HR-3UTHC is the made in Japan version of the Eneloops Pro, so far I have not seen any difference between it and the Eneloops Pro. Sometime you can find them on sale at NewEgg.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 20, 2016)

kphoto99 said:


> the Pro (when on sale) for the flash. I have about 80 of different vintage of the Eneloops.
> 
> One more thing, the Fujitsu HR-3UTHC is the made in Japan version of the Eneloops Pro, so far I have not seen any difference between it and the Eneloops Pro. Sometime you can find them on sale at NewEgg.




The Fujitsu HR-3UTHBEX is the same.

FDK makes the Eneloops, and the Fujitsu batteries, and other rebranded ones are said to come out of the FDK factories. FDK is owned by Fujitsu, so Eneloop Batteries are currently rebranded Fujitsu batteries, except that in China, someone else produces them.

http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-High-Capacity-Rechargeable-Batteries-Pre-charged/dp/B00HZV9WTM/ref=pd_sim_121_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=511-%2BJWO1kL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR139%2C160_&refRID=1VW36EFR6HJD2WXJK6XN

I think I might give the Amazon batteries a try. $19 for 8 of them seems good. I'll check the capacity to see if they are actually 2550mah. Amazon gives the specs for the older version, we'll see.





To clarify, there are three different versions of AmazonBasic rechargeable NiMH batteries:
- The original AmazonBasics batteries came in black wrappers. They are made in China and have the capacity rating of 2000mAh. They are NOT as good as Sanyo eneloop batteries.
[[ASIN:B0030T1NEA AmazonBasics AA NiMH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries]]
- The second version of AmazonBasics batteries came in white wrappers. They are made in Japan and also have the capacity rating of 2000mAh. They are (according to me) rebranded 2nd-gen Sanyo eneloop, so you can expect at least 1500 cycles lifespan.
[[ASIN:B00CWNMV4G AmazonBasics Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries]]
- The third version is also black but called 'high-capacity'. They are (according to me) rebranded Sanyo XX. They are rated 2400mAh, but actual capacity is around 2550mAh, just like Sanyo XX. The rated lifespan of the XX is only 500 cycles.
[[ASIN:B00HZV9TGS AmazonBasics High-Capacity Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries]] see less 
By NLee the Engineer on October 26, 2014 

*I'm seeing some recent reviews that say the batteries are larger than standard (This is true), and have leaked, and perform poorly. 

I'll pass on them. *

I think I'll buy some Eneloop Pro's for my flash, but keep using the regular ones for other equipment due to the potential for fit issues.


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## tron (Jan 20, 2016)

I have a MAHA 9000 which works fine with my eneloops for about 2 years. It can also refresh the batteries if they do not seem to hold full charge although I have not tested it yet.


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## surapon (Jan 20, 2016)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> Last night, a set of my Eneloop batteries died after a few minutes of use in my flash, and a second set was totally empty. Obviously, they had gone too long between charges, but they might have also had diminished capacity, since some are several years old. I have 3 dozen of them, and keeping track of charges can be messed up.
> 
> So, I started researching battery chargers and reading reviews. The usual Powerex /Maha and Lacrosse BC-1000 chargers came up as top units, but a new model, the Opus BT-C2000 popped up. Apparently, the newest version with firmware 2.1 is a good compromise but, as always, its a compromise. I ordered one and plan to use it to analyze each of my Eneloop and NIMH batteries, and toss any that can't be revived.
> 
> ...



Dear Great Teacher Mr. Mt Spokane.
I have 24 of Eneloop since 2007, and these great batteries never fail me, BUT, Some of my teachers, the PRO teach me that, Eneloop Batteries love the SLOW CHARGERS----They do not like FAST CHARGER. Yes, Sir, I use slow charger such as Energizer out put 250 mA . or Old Olympus 490 mA.---BUT I must charge up to 8-10 Hours after I use.
Have a great day, Sir.
Surapon


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 20, 2016)

surapon said:


> Mt Spokane Photography said:
> 
> 
> > Last night, a set of my Eneloop batteries died after a few minutes of use in my flash, and a second set was totally empty. Obviously, they had gone too long between charges, but they might have also had diminished capacity, since some are several years old. I have 3 dozen of them, and keeping track of charges can be messed up.
> ...



I like your Hawaiian Colored Batteries. I saw those online and was interested.

With the smart chargers you can use much higher current, even 1400MA, but it shortens battery life. Up to 800 ma for the eneloops with a smart charger is supposed to be fine.

The newer batteries have lower internal resistance, so they do not heat as much with higher currents.

I reran a complete charge / discharge on the first set of eneloop batteries, and this time, they all came out on almost exactly 1900 mah, which is like new. Apparently, the one I thought was bad did not get a full charge before I started the test. It might be interesting to do a discharge test on the four and see how the charge holds up after a few weeks. 

Date codes were 07-109T, 08-09TQ, 08-10TZ, and 08-10TZ. I believe this means they were from 2010 and one from 2009.


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## Deleted member 91053 (Jan 20, 2016)

My Eneloops are charged at up to 1C (1 x capacity = 2000 Ma/2 amps) on my R/C aircraft field chargers and are quite old now. All show a capacity of 1900 Mah + (they never gave the advertised 2000 Mah!).
I would expect the newer 2500 Mah capacity ones to be less robust, as other brands have proved in the past, which is why I stick to the 2000 Mah versions.
You may have guessed - I am not very patient with battery charging, but mine are OK at these rates or 1/2 C (1 Amp) but not less as the peak voltage detection becomes less reliable at lower charging rates.


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## ajfotofilmagem (Jan 20, 2016)

johnf3f said:


> My Eneloops are charged at up to 1C (1 x capacity = 2000 Ma/2 amps) on my R/C aircraft field chargers and are quite old now. All show a capacity of 1900 Mah + (they never gave the advertised 2000 Mah!).
> I would expect the newer 2500 Mah capacity ones to be less robust, as other brands have proved in the past, which is why I stick to the 2000 Mah versions.
> You may have guessed - I am not very patient with battery charging, but mine are OK at these rates or 1/2 C (1 Amp) but not less as the peak voltage detection becomes less reliable at lower charging rates.


His experience matches what I've found over the years.
Charging 2000mA battery with the charger delivering 1000mA, it's pretty safe. Provide beyond 1200mA (for batteries 2000 ma) starts to get too hot for my taste.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 20, 2016)

johnf3f said:


> My Eneloops are charged at up to 1C (1 x capacity = 2000 Ma/2 amps) on my R/C aircraft field chargers and are quite old now. All show a capacity of 1900 Mah + (they never gave the advertised 2000 Mah!).
> I would expect the newer 2500 Mah capacity ones to be less robust, as other brands have proved in the past, which is why I stick to the 2000 Mah versions.
> You may have guessed - I am not very patient with battery charging, but mine are OK at these rates or 1/2 C (1 Amp) but not less as the peak voltage detection becomes less reliable at lower charging rates.



All eneloops have always been rated at 1900mah min, nominal 2000 mah. The capacity is going to be determined by a lot of things, charging current, capacity, temperature, etc. 1900 mah is what most of them measure unless extreme care in charging them is taken.

http://www.panasonic.com/ca/consumer/accessories/consumer-batteries/eneloop/bk3mcca4bf.html

The recharge ratings are based on when the capacity falls to 50%, so a 500 recharge rating will mean that the battery will fall to 50% of its initial capability after 500 recharges. The main thing that has changed over time is improvement in charge retention.

The high capacity batteries have a shorter life, but can put out higher currents due to the low internal resistance. For those who have a requirement for high currents, they are the battery of choice. Flash Units can fall into that category, as can race cars. For a clock, they are a poor choice.


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## RGF (Jan 23, 2016)

I use a powered charger and Imedion batteries. I routinely charge them, even if not used, every 6 months and before a major trip I will refresh the battery. Granted this is a pain, but if I start several weeks before the trip this works well.

I have not had problems. ON a trip I will recharge batteries end of the day if they have been used.

This works for me.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 23, 2016)

I've now done about 24-30 batteries, and 4 sets of eneloops. All but two of the 16 eneloops were at 1900 mah while two were a bit lower, around 1600.

I did 4 powered NIMH and they did not look good, about 800 or less mah. I had 8 energyon that were apparently eneloop clones, one was bad, four were at 1600 mah, and three untested.

I have a few more sets to test, but the eneloops are looking pretty good, I may do the charge cycle test, where it charges / discharges three times to see if any of the weaker cells revive.

What it showed me is that I can't tell if a battery carries full capacity, even though it seems to charge just fine.

I've also learned that Eneloops were not made by Sanyo, but they had a interest in the company that did. That company is now owned by Fujitsu, so when you purchase a Fujitsu battery, you get the same thing. Amazon Basics is a rebranded eneloop and so is Duracell Iron Core.


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## mackguyver (Jan 25, 2016)

I've tried numerous chargers over the last 20 years and for Eneloops, the best one I've found is from Panasonic:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JHKSLQ4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

I have 2 of these that I take with me when I travel and they have provided the best charge and charge each cell separately.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 25, 2016)

mackguyver said:


> I've tried numerous chargers over the last 20 years and for Eneloops, the best one I've found is from Panasonic:
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JHKSLQ4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
> 
> I have 2 of these that I take with me when I travel and they have provided the best charge and charge each cell separately.



The charger comes with the set of 10 eneloop batteries for $25 at Costco(8 AA + 2 AAA). I'll likely buy a couple sets just for the charger. I plan to double check that it is the right version. I suspect that some may be buying the Costco kit and separating charger and batteries, then selling them for a nice profit.

I am still testing batteries. I've tested all of the Eneloops and three have a lower capacity, around 16-1700 mah. They really are head and shoulders better. All of my Powerex batteries look pretty bad by comparison.

After the AA's, I have a bunch of AAA's to test.


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## mackguyver (Jan 26, 2016)

The one that came with my Eneloops at Costco was this Sanyo charger. It's really, really slow and charges two cells x 2, hence only having two LEDs. As long as the one they are selling now has 4 LEDs, you should be good:

http://www.amazon.com/eneloop-4-Position-Rechargeable-Battery-Charger/dp/B005ILYG5Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1453768715&sr=8-3&keywords=sanyo+eneloop+charger


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 26, 2016)

mackguyver said:


> The one that came with my Eneloops at Costco was this Sanyo charger. It's really, really slow and charges two cells x 2, hence only having two LEDs. As long as the one they are selling now has 4 LEDs, you should be good:
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/eneloop-4-Position-Rechargeable-Battery-Charger/dp/B005ILYG5Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1453768715&sr=8-3&keywords=sanyo+eneloop+charger



Yes, I have three or 4 of the old Sanyo chargers and 2 or 3 old Maha Chargers. The Panasonic that comes in the kit is supposed to be the upgraded charger.

It is a really slow charger, so its not for those who need a fast charge. I have also been looking at the Opus BT-3400. It has a cooling fan, and detects as well as charges Li-on batteries. It costs $50.

I've thought of importing my own, but they want a lot size of 1000. They sell for $16 rather than $40.


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## Ozarker (Jan 26, 2016)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> johnf3f said:
> 
> 
> > My Eneloops are charged at up to 1C (1 x capacity = 2000 Ma/2 amps) on my R/C aircraft field chargers and are quite old now. All show a capacity of 1900 Mah + (they never gave the advertised 2000 Mah!).
> ...



Maybe I am missing what y'all are talking about. I have some of these Eneloop Pro batteries (8). Aren't they rated at 2450 mAh min, nominal 2550 mAh? I like them a lot but chose mostly quantity (Eneloop) over capacity (Eneloop Pro). 

The Eneloop Pro is pricey. I have OCD (Seriously, I do.), so I have far more stuff than I'll ever use. 7 of Canon's 600EX-RT and four sets of Eneloop batteries each.

Even with my problems I could not stomach buying too many Eneloop Pros... but it was a terrible struggle not to.


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## RustyTheGeek (Jan 26, 2016)

CanonFanBoy said:


> I have OCD (Seriously, I do.), so I have far more stuff than I'll ever use. 7 of Canon's 600EX-RT and four sets of Eneloop batteries each.
> Even with my problems I could not stomach buying too many Eneloop Pros... but it was a terrible struggle not to.



I think you probably fit in just fine on this forum!


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## RustyTheGeek (Jan 26, 2016)

I've been keeping up this this thread but I've been too busy to post.

Thanks so much for sharing all this info on the batteries and chargers. It's a great resource. Now I'm probably going to get a better charger to test my eneloops as well since I am in a similar situation as Mt. Spokane with a lot of eneloops from as far back as 2009. I'm interested to see how mine are truly performing after all this time. Maybe I'll even splurge and buy a few more eneloops at Costco after that!

Rusty


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 26, 2016)

CanonFanBoy said:


> Mt Spokane Photography said:
> 
> 
> > johnf3f said:
> ...



The reference was for the non-Pro version. Some advertise them as 2000 mah, but they have a minimum rating of 1900 mah.

The Pro version is sold under many names. They are made by a company belonging to Fujitsu and sold as Fujitsu, they are rebranded as Eneloop Pro for Panasonic, they Are cold by Duracell as ion core, and even by Amazon as Amazon basics. They are probably the best buy at $19 for 8 batteries. The pro battery started out as a 2400 mah battery and was later increased to 2550 mah. Amazon still sells it as 2400 mah, but they test out at 2550 mah.

http://famcart.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-evolution-of-eneloop-and-fujitsu.html


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## Ozarker (Jan 26, 2016)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> CanonFanBoy said:
> 
> 
> > Mt Spokane Photography said:
> ...



Nice to know! Thanks!


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## mackguyver (Jan 26, 2016)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> mackguyver said:
> 
> 
> > The one that came with my Eneloops at Costco was this Sanyo charger. It's really, really slow and charges two cells x 2, hence only having two LEDs. As long as the one they are selling now has 4 LEDs, you should be good:
> ...


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## Ozarker (Jan 26, 2016)

RustyTheGeek said:


> CanonFanBoy said:
> 
> 
> > I have OCD (Seriously, I do.), so I have far more stuff than I'll ever use. 7 of Canon's 600EX-RT and four sets of Eneloop batteries each.
> ...



I'm photo gear poor. It could have been drugs or alcohol, but glad I chose camera gear and guitars, ukuleles, and violins.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 26, 2016)

I've been looking at another charger, the Opus BT-3100 / 3400. (Same Charger, just different numbers). It is more universal, even charging Li-on batteries, and has a cooling fan so it can handle higher power.

The software appears to be identical, both run version 2.2.


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## kaihp (Jan 26, 2016)

I just purchased a Japcell BC-4001 branded charger, and from the looks of it, it's identical the Opus BT-C2000 charger you linked to in the original post.

It has a FW release v2.2 as well. A bit of googling around reveals a lot of "white-label"/"private-label" versions of the same charger.


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## mackguyver (Jan 26, 2016)

CanonFanBoy said:


> RustyTheGeek said:
> 
> 
> > CanonFanBoy said:
> ...


I feel the same with the Eneloop Pros - but the tougher one for me to stomach was buying a spare battery for my 1D X - $165 (on sale!). But as they say, "If you can't afford the hubcaps, you can't afford the car."


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## frumrk (Jan 26, 2016)

CanonFanBoy said:


> Mt Spokane Photography said:
> 
> 
> > CanonFanBoy said:
> ...



I have this charger also... and like it a lot. As someone who does weddings... I need the capacity to charge a lot of batteries in a short amount of time. I also have the La Cross BC 700. I use it to test my batteries. I purchased a bunch of the Amazon Rechargeable AA's about 4 years back. Using the Titanium charger it appears (using the La Cross to test) that I am getting more capacity out of them (only slightly). Every battery that I still have tests equal to or higher then they did when I first started testing them 3 years ago. For example one battery tested at 2070mah 2 years ago and now it is testing at 2140mah (charging first with the Titanium before testing). I am not suggesting that that the Titanium made the battery better... only that it does a better job of charging.

I believe the big difference with the Titanium is that it is a Pulse type charger. I had several batteries that sat in my daughters Walkie Talkies for almost a year and became reverse polarized. The La Cross wouldn't charge them... but the Titanium brought them back to life.

But regardless... 4 years with cheap Amazon batteries and all testing well over 2000 mah (their base rating)... not bad. But I'm sure they won't hold the charge like the Enelope's... but I would never go to a wedding without charging the day before anyway... 

I first heard about the Titanium on SLRLounge and decided to give it a try. My only complaint is that some of the AAA slots are very tight. The batteries will go in... but hard to get out. Otherwise... the AA's are fine.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 27, 2016)

frumrk said:


> CanonFanBoy said:
> 
> 
> > Mt Spokane Photography said:
> ...



ASmazon basics and eneloop batteries are the same, its not a well kept secret. There were a bunch of Amazon basics that were made in China, but they have switched back to FDK made batteries.

FDK is the actual company that makes the Eneloop and its owned by Fujitsu. The exact same cell is now sold under various brand names, so its not surprising that your Amazon batteries are holding up.

Battery capacities can appear to be larger if a battery is overcharged. Some chargers do this and its not a good practice. They charge the battery to a higher voltage than recommended, and get more capacity.


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## Wick (Jan 27, 2016)

> I don't have that one. The one I use and have been very happy with is this one and it discharges and then charges 16 eneloops at once:
> http://www.amazon.com/Titanium-Battery-100-240V-Adapters-MD-1600L/dp/B005UNPM3M/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1452822539&sr=1-1&keywords=eneloop+titanium+charger



I also have that one. Appreciate the 16-battery capacity and backlit display that my Maha does not have.


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## Ozarker (Jan 28, 2016)

mackguyver said:


> CanonFanBoy said:
> 
> 
> > RustyTheGeek said:
> ...



Very true.


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## Ozarker (Jan 28, 2016)

frumrk said:


> CanonFanBoy said:
> 
> 
> > Mt Spokane Photography said:
> ...



This is very good to hear. Thanks.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 28, 2016)

As I had expected, the Eneloop Battery kits went on sale today at Costco for $7 off or $23.95 in our store. I bought two sets. 

It includes the green case, the Panasonic Advanced Charger (charges individual cells AA-300ma, AAA 150m,a), some adapters to use the cells in equipment needing C or D cells, and 10 batteries. They are made in Japan, not China in case you wondered.


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## RustyTheGeek (Jan 28, 2016)

Dang. Time to go to Costco I guess. Oh well, so much for having any space left in the house or any money left. But I'll once again be prepared for the apocalypse!


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## RustyTheGeek (Jan 30, 2016)

OK. My little (well big) 3400 charger arrived. I put in some of my older 2009 eneloops. If I'm using it right, (because I was in a hurry and I just skimmed the directions), it appears that those old eneloops are all consistently still working at over 2000+ mAh capacity. It took several hours for the "Charge/Test" cycle to finish while the fan would turn on and off from time to time. All the batteries appeared to charge at the same rate and all their numbers were within about 10% of each other as the time progressed.

I looked at the other displayed numbers occasionally as it ran the cycle and it appears that each voltage was around 1.3 - 1.4 volts each.

Graham, is this the mode you used to test your batteries? Does this sound like the same results you got on all your good batteries. When did you know you found a battery that was dying? I'm guessing one of the readouts just showed lower numbers that got your attention? Or was there a loud klaxon type siren that popped up with a flashing strobe light and little flag that waved saying a battery should be chucked? 

I'll start another set later after I see the reply and know I'm on the right track. I'm a engineer type who loves this stuff but I'm pretty busy this weekend and so I'm being a bit lazy. Thanks! (Plus, I figure the reply will also help others, so there's that excuse, LOL!)


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## kaihp (Jan 30, 2016)

RustyTheGeek said:


> OK. My little (well big) 3400 charger arrived. I put in some of my older 2009 eneloops. If I'm using it right, (because I was in a hurry and I just skimmed the directions), it appears that those old eneloops are all consistently still working at over 2000+ mAh capacity. It took several hours for the "Charge/Test" cycle to finish while the fan would turn on and off from time to time. All the batteries appeared to charge at the same rate and all their numbers were within about 10% of each other as the time progressed.
> 
> I looked at the other displayed numbers occasionally as it ran the cycle and it appears that each voltage was around 1.3 - 1.4 volts each.
> 
> ...



Not sure if it's exactly the same FW and display on all the models, but I use the "Discharge test" method, which cycles the batteries 3 times (taking 12+ hours). According to the manual, it discharges down to 0.9V. It charges up to around 1.45-1.46V from my experience.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 30, 2016)

kaihp said:


> RustyTheGeek said:
> 
> 
> > OK. My little (well big) 3400 charger arrived. I put in some of my older 2009 eneloops. If I'm using it right, (because I was in a hurry and I just skimmed the directions), it appears that those old eneloops are all consistently still working at over 2000+ mAh capacity. It took several hours for the "Charge/Test" cycle to finish while the fan would turn on and off from time to time. All the batteries appeared to charge at the same rate and all their numbers were within about 10% of each other as the time progressed.
> ...



In mine, the Discharge - Refresh mode does the cycling test 3X. 

The Charge - Test charges, discharges while measuring capacity (current and time), and charges again. The capacity is saved until you do another test, so I check it when I pull the batteries out after the test is complete (FULL) is displayed on each cell when the test is complete. Bad cells or those with low capacities complete the test much sooner. I've been sitting the cells aside that show decent capacity but lower than the others, such as 1700 mah rather than 1900. I'll run the Discharge- Refresh cycling on those to see if the capacity increases. If not, I'll probably give them away. I'd expect one that is losing capacity will not hold a charge for a long time. I might put them away for a month and see if they lose charge, but that means keeping track of each one.


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