Eneloop Charge/Discharge rates for longest life

llmercll

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
Messages
184
What are the ideal charge/discharge rates on a standard eneloop during refresh and analyze on a maha C9000?

I've read people recommend .5c to ensure the cells terminate. Would the maha not detect the endpoint on say a .35c charge? So about 700mah. The reason I ask is because the eneloop chargers charge at 500mah, no?

What about discharge? Is 500mah ok?

Looking to maximize life of the battery here.
 

tjh

Enlightened
Joined
Sep 22, 2013
Messages
266
Location
Napier, New Zealand
The c9000 terminates on voltage anyway, it doesn't detect the voltage drop (They claim it does, but I've always seen it hit 1.48v and then terminate) So if you want to really baby your cells you can charge them at 500Mah.

I charge my AA's at 1000Mah and they're fine still.
 

xxo

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 30, 2015
Messages
2,993
I use a Panasonic/Eneloop BQ CC-17 for most of my AAA/AA charging, never had a problem with missed termination and it only charges at 300 mA for AA's and 150 for AAA's. This is an excellent basic slow charger, I think it helps prolong the life of the cells over faster chargers.
 

WalkIntoTheLight

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 18, 2014
Messages
3,967
Location
Canada
I use a Panasonic/Eneloop BQ CC-17 for most of my AAA/AA charging, never had a problem with missed termination and it only charges at 300 mA for AA's and 150 for AAA's. This is an excellent basic slow charger, I think it helps prolong the life of the cells over faster chargers.

It is an excellent charger, I have 3 of them. But to be more specific about the charge rate, it actually uses a 1200mA charge (AA) or 600mA (AAA). However, the duty cycle for each slot is 25%. So, the average charge rate is 300mA (or 150mA). Perhaps the 1200mA allows the charger to detect the dV drop better. I've never seen it miss a detection, so it must be either doing it really well or also have an upper voltage termination as a backup.

Anyway, Eneloops can handle up to a 1C charge okay. They do tend to get a little hot at that rate, so I definitely prefer the slower chargers. I have some Sanyo/Panasonic chargers made for Eneloops that will charge at 2000mA (or 800mA for AAA), but seldom use them.
 
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