This new eneloop package (Sanyo Eneloop Ni-MH Charger and 8 Rechargeable AA and 4 Rechargeable AAA Batteries) contains 12 of the 2nd-gen eneloop cells, and the MQN06 4-cell charger. Note that unlike the previous eneloop Power Pack Kit, there are no C- and D-shell adapters in this package.
The rated capacities of those new eneloop cells are the same as that of original eneloop: 2000mAh for AA, 800 for AAA. All batteries are made in Japan. The charger is made in China.
I have tested 4 new eneloop AA cells, using my La Crosse BC-900 Battery Charger:
- Right out of the package, the average remaining charge is 1557mAh (min=1551, max=1564)
- After just one charge/discharge cycle, the average capacity rises to 2100mAh (min=2070, max=2130). This is 5% higher than the rated value!
Date code embossed on the AA cells is "10-04 0Y". I assume that means April 2010. Note that just like the old eneloop, the new ones are only charged to 75-80% when leaving factory.
According to the package and also Sanyo web site, the new eneloop is supposed to offer the following advantages over the original:
- "Holds charge up to 3 years" (85% after 1 year, 80% after 2, 75% after 3)
- "Recharge 1500x" (vs. "1000x" for original)
- "Suitable for temperature as low as -20 degree C" (vs. -10)
In real life, it is nearly impossible for the user to experience those benefits. If you recharge the new eneloop twice every week, it will take 15 years to reach 1500 cycles! Also the new self-discharge rate is not much different from that for the old eneloop (which claims 85% after 1 year, 80% after 2). So it is probably not worth paying an extra premium over the old eneloop, just for those perceived benefits.
However, there is one visible benefit for the new eneloop: it comes in different colors!
- The 8 AA cells consist of 4 light-blue and 4 dark-blue
- The 4 AAA cells consist of 2 light-green and 2 dark-green
This makes it easier for the new eneloop to be arranged in groups. For example, you may use one color group in your camera and another group as spare. Plus the new colors looked very nice, too.
The charger included in this package, on the other hand, is a big let-down. It is the same old Sanyo MQN06 which is slow and only charges in pairs. It is simply inexcusable that Sanyo continue to package their best rechargeable batteries with their worst charger. In my case, the price I paid (at a local warehouse Club) is cheaper than buying 12 new eneloop cells separately, so I just tell myself that the charger is thrown in for free. Otherwise I would subtract one star from the rating.
[Update July 29, 2010]
I have tested 4 new eneloop AAA cells, date code "10-05 0B":
- Average remaining charge out of package is 619mAh
- After two more charge/discharge cycles, the average capacity reached 830mAh.
That's what I like most about those eneloop cells (both new and old). They are highly consistent, and their measured capacities are usually higher than rated values.
[Upadte Nov 21, 2010]
Long term self-discharge data: I have tested a pair of new eneloop AA cell, after nearly 4 months (115 days) of storage. The average remaining charge is 89% of full capacity. This result is slightly better than that of the original eneloop, which usually reatins about 87% after three months. But the difference is within margin of error of my experiments. Sanyo Eneloop Ni-MH Charger and 8 Rechargeable AA and 4 Rechargeable AAA Batteries
I bought this for one reason alone: Classic style rechargeable batteries after a month or so, will discharge most of their charge! Requiring another recharging cycle, wasting your time, and increasing your power bill. It also made it impossible to have a spare fully charged and ready to go. I don't know how Sanyo did it, but I am glad they did. These are all high quality batteries, all 'Made in Japan', that look stylish [love the shades of blue] and work just as described.
A must buy for any household. I use them in wireless mouse, remotes, and my camera. You should too ~
This pack was created specifically for Costco stores, where it costs $25 (sometimes $21 on sale). You have to decide for yourself if the 50% markup is worth the convenience of not having to deal with Costco.
I bought two of this set to use in my Canon 580EX DSLR flash and Canon CP-E4 external flash power pack. The AA are blue and AAA are green, as these are the ones with 2000 cycle times with no hysteresis. I used 12 AA batteries for my flash system and the remaining cells to be used for other things like remote controls and wireless mice. I could not be more pleased. The flash recycle time is the fastest I've seen with any battery. This includes disposable alkaline lithium Energizer and Duracell AA cells. In one evening I was able to do nearly 600 flash shots without ever having to wait for the flash to recycle! I kept going, thinking "well, my flash may not fire this time since the batteries are loosing their charge." I knew the Eneloops would be better, but I didn't know it would be this much better. I wish I had gotten the Eneloops a couple of years ago. The charger does take several hours to recharge Eneloop cells and it would probably be best to get a high quality Maha PowerEx Charger like the C801D for a faster charge time. The great thing about the Eneloop batteries is that the voltage doesn't drop after several cycles of charge/discharge.
My only complaint is the packaging is so big and hard to open. Perhaps the packaging was intended for retail to prevent theft.
This is about the only way I know how to get the next generation Eneloop cells in a cost effective manner.
I have been so happy with the consistency of all the Eneloop cells I bought years ago. Hard to believe they can make them better, but they did! I'm glad the cells come in colors so I know they are newer.
Every other NiMH cell I've ever used are now kaput. All Eneloops I've ever bought are still working. They all test at 90-95% of the rated mA*h rating, even after several years in use. That's what I'm impressed about.
I was hoping that the charger had independent bays, but it doesn't. You must charge cells in pairs. Not very handy if you have a device that uses one or three cells (computer mouse, LED flashlight, clock, etc.). In fact, you shouldn't charge cells in a shared bay unless they have been discharged equally. Even so, with a fold-down plug and light weight it will come in handy. Rated 7 hours to charge AA cells, or 10 hours to charge AAA. That's too long to be handy on the road, unless you're gonna charge only 4 cells maximum overnight... there is no 12VDC car option.
Get your mangifier out to read the instruction manual. I don't understand why they provided a manual that is about the size of two credit cards when the whole package is about as big as a 11x17 sheet of paper. The font size is probably 3 or 4. To make matters worse, they fold up the manual three times and tape it to the back of the charger, no way to remove the tape without ripping the manual.
It's crazy this "green" product is packaged in the most resource inefficient way I've seen in a long time... big box store method. The package is 16X10 inches, and is made of 3 layers of glossy pressed cardboard glued together. The plastic in the packaging is not marked recycleable. The package is shipped in an even bigger box, with lots of bubble wrap to take up the extra space. Perhaps the leaves printed on the packaging are really poison ivy. I digress.
I bought another one of these sets after they dropped a couple more bucks. Somebody said the Cosco version is [...] and amazon's cost 50% more. That must have been a little while ago, Amazon's current price shipped free is now close to that price.
To sum it up:
Cells: 5 stars
Charger/Instructions: 4 stars
Packaging: 3 stars
UPDATE: I tried using the older "white" eneloop AAA's in this charger, they will not stay in the charger, the (+) side pops back up and do not make contact. - Aaa - Battery Charger - Eneloop - Nimh Batteries'
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