Duracell Pre-Charged = Sanyo Eneloop?

[trunker0205]

Yesterday, I was at Wal-Mart and saw some new (new to me anyway) Duracell rechargeable AA and AAA four packs ( http://duracell.com/precharged/ ). I needed some more AAAs so I decided to buy one of these four packs even though they were nearly $13 and therefore relatively expensive.

Now I'm guessing here, but I think these new Duracells are really Sanyo Eneloops with a Duracell wrapper. They are made in Japan and look exactly like an Eneloop with a different brand wrapper.

Anyone else have any knowledge or experience with these new pre-charged Duracell rechargeables?

Take a look at this Duracell on left and eneloop on right..

 

[Raven95150]

Very possible, I believe Sanyo makes batteries that are sold under many different brand names.

 

[Grog]

A google search shows that to be likely, most hits were to CPF of course :lol: If they are made in japan they are though to be the Saynos, those made in china are thought to be Rayovac Hybrids.


HH Gregg has the best prices on Eneloops that I have found except for the circuit city clearance when I was able to get 8pks of AA for $6.57. CC also had AAA 4pks for $6.?? but I have not checked to see if they are any cheaper, been wanting to pick up a few packs in that size too.


edit...a good link.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=178790

 

[ChargerSRT8]

From what I've read, they are considered to be the same. As are Radio Shack, which incidentally are on clearance $2.97 2/pack.

 

[N467RX]

Target had them last week for 10.99 I believe.

 

[trunker0205]

A google search shows that to be likely, most hits were to CPF of course :lol: If they are made in japan they are though to be the Saynos, those made in china are thought to be Rayovac Hybrids.


HH Gregg has the best prices on Eneloops that I have found except for the circuit city clearance when I was able to get 8pks of AA for $6.57. CC also had AAA 4pks for $6.?? but I have not checked to see if they are any cheaper, been wanting to pick up a few packs in that size too.


edit...a good link.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=178790

Great link...thanks

 

[enine]

The local HHGreg's here sold out of them months ago (maybe me buying over 20 packs helped). The local radio shack has a 4 pack of their pre-charged for $19.99 on clearance so I've been buying them from thomas distributing at the 11.97/ a 4 pack but then the price goes down more the more you buy. Can't recall the last time I've went into a walmart, guess I don't like payng higher grocery prices for the conveienance of shopping under one roof instead of walking across the parking lot from a real grocery store to all the other stores.

 

[LordJ]

I picked up the Eneloops at Costco.. package of 6 AA and 2 AAA cost me $20. A Little pricey, but they work great. Not changing out the batteries nearly as much as when I used the old sanyo ones...

 

[MarcInIllinois]

Hi

Whats the mAh rating? I think the eneloops are something like 2000 and the ones I saw at costco weren't marked. I know I have seen Duracell 2650 at Walmart not too long ago.

Yesterday, I was at Wal-Mart and saw some new (new to me anyway) Duracell rechargeable AA and AAA four packs ( http://duracell.com/precharged/ ). I needed some more AAAs so I decided to buy one of these four packs even though they were nearly $13 and therefore relatively expensive.

Now I'm guessing here, but I think these new Duracells are really Sanyo Eneloops with a Duracell wrapper. They are made in Japan and look exactly like an Eneloop with a different brand wrapper.

Anyone else have any knowledge or experience with these new pre-charged Duracell rechargeables?

Take a look at this Duracell on left and eneloop on right..

 

[N_Jay]

Hi

Whats the mAh rating? I think the eneloops are something like 2000 and the ones I saw at costco weren't marked. I know I have seen Duracell 2650 at Walmart not too long ago.

The advantage of eneloops and other batteries of that type is the long storage without self discharge.

Traditional NiMH batteries have a higher capacity, but trade-off higher self discharge rates.

If you charge them and use them right away, eneloops are a poor choice.
If you are going to store them charged for later use, traditional NiMH are a poor choice.

 

[trunker0205]

Hi

Whats the mAh rating? I think the eneloops are something like 2000 and the ones I saw at costco weren't marked. I know I have seen Duracell 2650 at Walmart not too long ago.

They are 2000mah same as the eneloops.

 

[MarcInIllinois]

They are 2000mah same as the eneloops.

ok I see now they are the precharged ones.. missed that. interesting, have to see if we have them nearby.

 

[oregontreehugger]

+1 on the Sanyo Eneloop cells. Been using them here since last year and they work great in electronics. Especially scanners.

 

[N_Jay]

+1 on the Sanyo Eneloop cells. Been using them here since last year and they work great in electronics. Especially scanners.

What do you find they do "better"?

 

[W4KRR]

Can the Eneloop batteries be charged using the same chargers we use for Nickel Metal Hydryde batteries, or do they require a special charger?

 

[N_Jay]

Can the Eneloop batteries be charged using the same chargers we use for Nickel Metal Hydryde batteries, or do they require a special charger?

I think they use the same charger, but have less capacity and lower number of cycles.

 

[ChargerSRT8]

You can charge them in any charger that charges NiMH, because they are in fact NiMH cells. I would avoid the 15 minute fast chargers, as the charging current is to high and is not good for the cells.

I have not seen any documentation or seen any discussion indicating they have fewer cycles.

Their capacity may be lower, but due to the fact that they are LSD Low Self Discharge, they maintain their capacity longer than non LSD's. Non LSD cells begin to lose their capacity as soon as they come off the charger, and will self discharge down to the capacity off Eneloops in a week or less, so that becomes a wash in comparing the labeled capacities.

 

[N_Jay]

I may have been wrong about the cycles.
Eneloop is listed as 1000 which is the same as standard NiMH.
I had read it was 300 to 500.

EDIT: The Duracell site says "Hundreds of times", not 1000 times.

 

[Grog]

The Duracell site says "Hundreds of times", not 1000 times.

Probably because some idiot who charges his batteries improperly will only get 999 charges out of them and want a free replacement set :lol:

 

[N_Jay]

Probably because some idiot who charges his batteries improperly will only get 999 charges out of them and want a free replacement set :lol:

Like any product design it is a compromise between different parameters.

Traditional NiMH have been pushing capacity and cycle life, probably at the expense of internal discharge.

These new batteries (I am guessing) use a different separator material, or slightly different chemical makeup to reduce self discharge. I would be surprised if almost all other specifications don't take a slight dip. Capacity obviously has.