eneloop with charger / adapter (Costco) package

fmc1

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I went to Costco today and found this, 6 x AA's, 4 x AAA's, 4 x AA to C spacers, 4 x AA to D spacers, a BQ-CC75 charger and a plastic case for 30 dollars.






I have never heard of this charger before. This is what I know so far. It has a flip out AC plug on the back and a USB 5V 1A output on the side for charging smartphones or whatever. It is not a power bank. It can charge any combination of AA's or AAA's. AA charge is always 300mA, AAA charge is always 150mA. Each bay has a solid green LED when charging. When using the USB output it will not charge batteries.
 

glockboy

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Re: Saw this in Costco today for the first time

Wait for some time and they will have a $8 off coupon.
 

fmc1

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Re: Saw this in Costco today for the first time

It seems like the closest relative to the BQ-CC75 in the Panasonic line is the BQ-CC17. The charge currents and time estimates are all exactly the same. Last night I tested the charger with a AA that was almost fully charged. The charge finished in about an hour so that tells me it has some type of smart termination and not just a timer. Smart termination also follows suit with the BQ-CC17.
So far the only difference I see between the BQ-CC75 and the BQ-CC17 is the USB output on the CC75.
 

ChibiM

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Re: Saw this in Costco today for the first time

Interesting. Something new to add to the list. Do you know yhe SKU/product code?
Link to costco of this set?
 

ChibiM

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Re: Saw this in Costco today for the first time

BTW if someone is willing to take a picture of front and back of the package I'd like to use it on my website...thanks.
 

fmc1

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Re: Saw this in Costco today for the first time

It does not show up on https://www.costco.com/ but lots of things they sell are only available in stores and not on line.


The item number from the receipt is 1185756. There are a few ebay sellers selling it for a lot more money than costco. I did a search using that item number.


http://costcocouple.com/eneloop-rechargeable-battery-kit/
Has it up on their site also.


The AA to D adapters are the better screw on bottom type with the big negative contact. This is the first time I have seen regular white eneloops for sale in costco. In years past the eneloop AA's costco sold were dark blue and AAA's were silver. There are also ebay sellers selling these older sets.


Frank
 

ChibiM

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Re: Saw this in Costco today for the first time

It does not show up on https://www.costco.com/ but lots of things they sell are only available in stores and not on line.


The item number from the receipt is 1185756. There are a few ebay sellers selling it for a lot more money than costco. I did a search using that item number.


http://costcocouple.com/eneloop-rechargeable-battery-kit/
Has it up on their site also.


The AA to D adapters are the better screw on bottom type with the big negative contact. This is the first time I have seen regular white eneloops for sale in costco. In years past the eneloop AA's costco sold were dark blue and AAA's were silver. There are also ebay sellers selling these older sets.


Frank
Hey Frank,
thanks a lot.
So you actually bought a set?
Could you possibly take a few nice pictures of the package (without glare)? That would be awesome!
The ones on costcocouple are not so good, because they are taken from the side. I wonder if they (costco) actually sometimes have offical product pictures?
If too much asked, never mind, hopefully I will come across some in the future.
 

iamlucky13

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It has a flip out AC plug on the back and a USB 5V 1A output on the side for charging smartphones or whatever. It is not a power bank. It can charge any combination of AA's or AAA's. AA charge is always 300mA, AAA charge is always 150mA. Each bay has a solid green LED when charging. When using the USB output it will not charge batteries.

I didn't catch what you were saying until I read the package description.

So to clarify: it does not power the USB port from the batteries, so you can't, for example, use your spare Eneloops and the charger to top up your cell phone during a power outage.

Instead it powers the USB from the AC power, and if using the USB port, it will not charge the batteries. Or perhaps it just continues whichever function it was doing first, which would be preferable.

Wait for some time and they will have a $8 off coupon.

I assume you're stating this based on the sales they've offered on past Eneloop kits, not specific knowledge of an upcoming sale, right?

That would be sweet if they do. It would be cheaper than even just buying the batteries alone with no charger or adapters.
 

ChibiM

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hmmm That is strange, it looks indeed like it can charge a phone While the charger is plugged in....
Kind of lame not adding the USB out (powerbank) function then

Can someone confirm this?
 
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fmc1

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ChibiM


Sorry I can't help you out with pictures of the back of the package since I opened it up right away and discarded the cardboard packaging. I was very curious about the charger since I never saw it mentioned anywhere before.


The charger is defiantly not a power bank, it will not supply current to the USB from batteries. If you are charging batteries and then insert a USB cable it trips a switch and the battery LEDs turn off and the USB LED comes on. Think of it this way a BQ-CC75 is a BQ-CC17 or an AC to USB adapter but not both at the same time.


Permit me to remind people that the list price on 8 spacers alone is just a little under 30 dollars. So I feel it a very good deal despite some flaws.

Let me also add that from my past experience with the Costco store near me things like this don't last long. I would not be surprised if these were sold out in less than a month.


Frank
 
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iamlucky13

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hmmm That is strange, it looks indeed like it can charge a phone While the charger is plugged in....
Kind of lame not adding the USB out (powerbank) function then

Can someone confirm this?

It occurred to me the charger circuits are all in parallel. They'd either either need to add a boost regulator, or do some internal switching to put the batteries in series for this feature. That hardly sounds insurmountable, but apparently Panasonic was only interested in adding the more basic feature of using the DC converter it already has to power a USB port.
 

ChibiM

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@fmc1, thanks for all the info.. Good to know. How about a clear picture of the charger? Would that be okay? Just from the front and back?

@iamlucky : well the BQ CC57 has this function from the top of my head. So it's not that they cant make it :)
 

ChibiM

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Thanks! Thats definitely helpful.
Could you take a picture of the front of the charger?
No pressure ;)
 

marinemaster

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Panasonic just needs to re-make the usb powered two Eneloop batteries charger already. It has been out of production for too long.
 

iamlucky13

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I checked Slickdeals, and it sounds like the $20 price is pretty widely corroborated, and although not labeled in every store, seems to be ringing up that way.

A comment on Slickdeals also pointed out that there is a very similar price available on the Fujitsu-branded version on Newegg.

Same number of batteries and spacers, but the D-spacers look like a cheaper version, plus throw-away dumb charger for $25 minus $10 mail-in rebate:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...044&cm_re=fujitsu_nimh-_-17-109-044-_-Product

4 x AA with a 4-hour smart charger for $15:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...037&cm_re=fujitsu_nimh-_-17-109-037-_-Product

Based on the specs, appearance (rough size and location of the plug, screws, and other features), and reported presence of a post-termination trickle charge, I think there's a good chance the Fujitsu smart charger is the guts of the Panasonic BQ-CC16 with a slightly different plastic shell

I thought the Costco deal seemed unbeatable between the number of batteries it includes and the spacers, but getting the Fujitsu smart, fast charger is another compelling option. I'm not sure which I'm going to go with.
 
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