NiMh Battery Shoot Out

[Brody]

Well, it definately looks like I wasn't just imagining things when I said the Sunpak cells definately underperform compared to other brands. My favorite types remain the Sanyo industrial 2500's followed by Energizer 2500's and Jetcell 2400's. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
I don't think I really need any more Nimh batteries for a while. (although I might get some high discharge cells if I build an 8 cell Mag85) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Hopefully, others will find the data from my batteries valuable.

 

[litho123]

Hi Tom -

Any more batts been tested?

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif

 

[Lurveleven]

He has probably been busy with other stuff lately, but I know he has other batteries lined up for testing.

Sigbjoern

 

[paulr]

I have 4 of the Sanyo industrial 2500 mAH cells cycling on a LaCrosse BC-900 right now. After about 2 days of conditioning, two now read "full" while the other two are still cycling (700 mA charge, 350 mA discharge). All four of them so far measure slightly below the 2500 mAH spec (2.49, 2.42, 2.43, and 2.48 AH, the last two being the "full" ones). This is slightly disappointing compared with the Energizer-labelled 2200 mAH cells that came with my 15 minute Energizer charger. Three of the four tested slightly above 2200 mAH and the other came in at 2190 mAH.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

A comparison I would like to see would be a price/mah at various battery drain rates. Sure it is nice to have the highest capacity cell but for general use sometimes having a dozen generic cells with less capacity at a cheaper price is better than 4 or 6 premium cells with perhaps 30-50% more capacity per cell.

 

[SilverFox]

Sorry about the problem with the graphs not showing up earlier. PhotoBucket only allows me 1.5 gigs of free bandwith a month. I decided to pay for their premier service, so that should not be a problem (for at least a year /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif ).

Thank all of you that kept me informed of this problem.

I have added some graphs.

The AccuPower AA 2600 mAh cells are very solid performers. I also added some C and D cells from AccuPower as well.

Sigbjoern has me checking out some other sized cells as well. I posted the results from the MaxAmps 4/5 A 1100 mAh cells and I am working on some 2/3 A cells as well.

Those that have sent me cells to test - Thank you.

Those whose cells I am still working on (Greg, John, Jeff, Harry, Jim, and Sigbjoern), please bare with me. I am working on these as fast as I can.

When I finish this current batch, I think I will take some time off from testing. My wife is reminding me about some landscaping projects and painting the house...

Tom

 

[Lurveleven]

Tom, I want to thank you for the great job you have done on testing all these cells I and others have sent you. You really deserve to take some time off now, and I don't want to see your testing having negative effect on your marriage.
Maybe I can pick up the thread now that I get my CBA? And I don't have a wife to worry about /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

A big thanks also goes to AccuPower that sent me the cells Tom have been testing. It shouldn't be long before these are available for sale.
I have been in contact with a lot of battery companies, and of the ones selling consumer type cells, AccuPower is the one with best customer support (it is miles ahead of the competition). It doesn't hurt that they have some of the best performing products either (and in some categories they are the best).

Sigbjoern

 

[tbone_Ike]

Tom, don't feel you have to test my cells if you need some time off. I'm happy to see the 2600mA AccuPower cell results are good and those are the ones I would buy anyway (as soon as their available in US).

I think we are all very grateful for your efforts and don't want you to get burned out working so hard on this project and trying to get thing done around the house. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/goodjob.gif

Sigbjoern, thank for your contributions with the cells and the offer to continue this project while letting Tom take care of some more important business. I'm becoming quite a fan of AccuPower as well, and I am very glad to see good results with their new cells /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/happy14.gif

-jeff

 

[John N]

[ QUOTE ]
tbone_Ike said:
Tom, don't feel you have to test my cells if you need some time off.

...

I think we are all very grateful for your efforts and don't want you to get burned out

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto.

-john

 

[paulr]

I've now conditioned twelve Sanyo HR-3U 2500's on my LaCrosse BC-900. All but one or two of them came out below 2500 mAH, averaging around 2450 with a couple at 2380 or 2390. So, it's not realistic to call 2500 a "typical" capacity; it's more like "this is the max". Granted 100 mAH down is just 4%, but of the four Energizer 2200's that I tested (supposedly they are also HR-3U's), three were slightly above 2200 and one was at 2190, iirc. So maybe 2500 mAH is pushing the limits? I have some Energizer 2500's that I might also charge up, though I have so many charged NiMH's now...

Btw, my Sanyo 2500's were in the green sleeves and had "Dec 2004" (or 12/04 or something) clearly stamped on them, no mysterious codes to try to guess the mfgr date from. And all were charged to 1000 mAH or so. I suspect they were fully charged at the factory so this tells you the self-discharge rate.

 

[litho123]

Thanks Tom for testing the Ray-O-Vac and GP batteries.

The GP1800's fit 4 across snugly in a modamag 8AA-2D holder.
Add a dumdum AA and a WA 1274 bulb and it is one sweet light!

I trust the gift will be shared with the MRS. My wife has become addicted to the place.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Greg,

Thanks again.

As it turns out, my wife loves coffee nudges... and a full bodied coffee makes a very good nudge. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Tom

 

[SilverFox]

I have added the results for some 2/3 A cells.

All I can say is that there is a lot of power from a very small package...

Tom

 

[junglemike]

Ah, I just love those graphs. I can stare at them for hours, like exhibit at the museum

I'm wondering , why isn't there any NICD cells , only NIMH.
Well, i understand that nimh's have larger capacity, but nicd's suppose to have some other advantages,
here's what batteryuniversity says:
a) nicd's have _segnifically_ longer life time
b) they have much smaller internal resistance, and therefore can autup even 20C current.
c)they have much more tolerance for overcharge and can reconditioned and restore lost capacity much better than nimh

Are those advantages are still valid now? or nodern nimh's outperform nicd's even in these aspects?

 

[Bullzeyebill]

If I could find a good brand of 2000mA nicd AA's I would buy them, and hotwire guys would gladly use them.

Bill

 

[koala]

Just in case the cells Tom tested does not appeal to you and you want to go for a cheapo, do think twice...

Fortunately, they are not mine /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Koala, what happened? All four cells were charged and one leaked? Is Sony's warning the problem? Cells left in charger too long? What was final charging voltage of cells? First time cells were charged. Need more info before Powerizer NiMh AA's are deemed defective (cheapo).

Bill

 

[koala]

The author did not say much about the cells. The cells are new.

These 2250mAhs are older than the current Powerizer 2300mAh on the market. From what I can tell/guess, the cell was charged at 0.46C. It could be the charger's fault without built in temperature monitoring or it could have been a faulty one. If it is the problem with the cell then that means the cell has rapid temperature rise that the charger couldn't stop in time. It looks so hot that not only the cell shrink was destroyed but also melted the charging bay.

I have 14 Powerizer 2300mAh and I didn't have any problem with them.

-vince.

 

[AmondoTech]

For NIMH AA batteries, one should look at three parameters. The capacity is only one of the three.

1. Run time, capacity. Don't just trust the number printed on the sleeve. Tom probabaly can tell you more on this.

2. Cycle life. How is battery capacity holding up after a few hundred cycles? This is very difficult to test without an advanced analyzer.

3. Battery discharge voltage and internal resistance.

For quality NIMH AA batteries, you should expect to pay more. Wholesale price on quality NIMH AA batteries are above $1 so don't expect to get quality NIMH batteries at $1. Anything too cheap will almost guarantee cheap quality.

Regards,
Wayne

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Wayne,

I was just thinking about cycle life. I don't have the proper set up to test that, but can say that my Titanium 2400 cells are still going strong and testing nearly the same capacity after around 175 cycles.

My Energizer 2300 cells have not done as well. They only have about 80 cycles on them and are showing signs of higher internal resistance. It is interesting to observe that all 8 of my Energizer cells are behaving the same. Brody sent me some Energizer 2300 cells that performed a lot better than my cells, but I don't know the history or number of cycles on them.

Tom