Hello. The stacked Eneloops suddenly found in the “stocks of the Motherland” suggested that this is the very case when advertising promises can be checked and the harsh reality.
A long time ago (at the beginning of '13) I matured to replace a heap of different-sized batteries on the farm with identical high-quality batteries. Just then there was a peak of interest in Sanyo Eneloop. After reading the reviews and consulting with the toad, I rushed to the well-known online store NKON and ordered it immediately with a margin to cover all my zoo devices.
Part of the batteries during this time faithfully and served for several dozen cycles, some have been lost. But at about the same time, the need for such a number of elements was no longer due to the fact that many modern gadgets were switching to lithium. And so, sorting out the stocks the other day, I found perfectly preserved specimens that had lain in a charged state since about the end of '13, i.e. almost five years. This prompted the idea to check whether the promises of Sanyo were true, that this type of battery would not have many years of work interruption. Since it found as many as six identical batteries of two different series, the test was not piece by piece, at the same time I was able to check the difference between the series on which the manufacturer had rested.
So. Armed with the good old Maha Powerex MH-C9000 put all the specimens found to discharge a current of 500mA.
Ordinary Sanyo Eneloop (HR-3UTGB, 1900mAh) showed after more than 4 years of oblivion 1.17-1.22V and without grunting, they gave out 1100-1200mAh, and the difference between all 6 copies was minimal, literally 30-40mAh. Those. Having lain guaranteed for 4 years after full charge (after the purchase, the whole detachment was cyclically swung, showed its full capacity of about 1900 mAh and was stored in a cozy dark place without temperature drops), they saved it under 60% of energy and gave it briskly.
After that, in the Refresh mode, they were twice cyclically charged with a current of 1000mA and at the end they gave out all six capacities from 1852 to 1876 mAh.
How not cool, but the result is phenomenal. Those.
after 4 years of neglect (and about 5 years from the date of production), Sanyo Eneloop HR-3UTGB batteries give out the nominal factory settings without any discounts for old age and give out of the box more than half of the energy that was originally poured into it. Never seen anything like it before. At one time, he used a lot of ordinary NiMhs and could not survive even a year of oblivion, and if he could, his capacity turned out to be ridiculous and the buildup never gave in.
Another series,
Sanyo Eneloop XX (HR-3UWXA, 2400 mAh) , behaved differently. Having shown the initial voltages from 0.98V to 1.12V, when delivered to the discharge they gave 120-200 mAh and asked for mercy. I already started to bury them in the shower, but I put them on Refresh and twice cyclically charged with 1000mA of current, as it should be for new and fresh ones. Returning to the subjects in the morning, I was amazed to find out that they were not just not dead, but each of the six
actually showed capacity from 2340 mAh to 2385 mAh , i.e. despite the fact that they do not know how much they were almost completely discharged, they didn’t really die, they gave the factory settings again without any discounts.
The third type, small AAA Eneloop, could not be tested, I found it only one and it was permanently used all these years. And yes, he also showed the factory capacity.
So, the conclusions:
- Sanyo has never once claimed by heart that its batteries are qualitatively different from the rest. They are different and yes, many years can lie with a small self-discharge.
- Although Eneloop XX is little different from other high-quality batteries, and they have a higher discharge than they are brothers, they are still ready to lie for years and wait in the wings.
- The main problem with batteries is not at all the price, self-discharge, capacity. Their main problem is that they disappear. They are discarded by uncomplicated people, they are given along with the carrier, they are lost when transferred to the charging point, etc. etc. Out of a few dozen in total, I found exactly half AA and exactly one AAA. And most of the AAA obviously, according to the recollections, did not survive even a couple of charge cycles until the moment of loss.
- Alas, it was not possible to replace ordinary batteries with batteries everywhere. Any mice, consoles are friends with them sluggishly, they need a higher voltage and here they save one-time lithium about which you can not remember for years. Is that NiZn will save here, but with him it seems more hemorrhoids than joy.
- Sanyo has long been retired, but Panasonic (and not only from itself) continues to supply Eneloops, which pleases.
PS: Found Ansmann and others that have lain for about the same time and found in quantity - none of them even managed to start, not to measure the capacity.
PPS: In the first photo an unopened pack of Eneloops. They are up to 5 years from the moment of production two months left, then I will open and measure them, but I am sure that there will be no surprise and they will also show the factory settings.