# Best rechargeable AA/AAA batteries?



## aab (Feb 22, 2018)

My current sets of rechargeable AA/AAA batteries are 7-8 years old (some Duracell PreCharhed and some Turnigys) and not surprisingly not holding their full capacity anymore so it's time for new ones.

What are good ones and a good place to get them keeping in mind I'm in Canada?

Thanks


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## Thunderheart (Feb 22, 2018)

I've recently bought a good amount of PKCELL batteries. They have the best price/performance ratio, especially with coupons and during sales period.
Check out their official store at aliexpress.
For AA size the LSD ones have 2200mAh capacity and green wrap and the non-LSD ones are rated 2600mAh and have yellow wrap.


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## tokaji (Feb 22, 2018)

White _[1900mAh]_ Eneloop with Panasonic BQ-CC17 charger.


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## puglife (Feb 22, 2018)

+1 for the eneloop, you can have the LADDA too @ ikea (they are rebranded eneloop pro)


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## aab (Feb 22, 2018)

tokaji said:


> White _[1900mAh]_ Eneloop with Panasonic BQ-CC17 charger.



I'm confused by the 1900mah, it seems very high for AAAs (have they reached these capacities?) and very low for AAs (my 10 year old ones are like 2500 or more).

If they are AAs, why should I get 1900mahs in 2018 when I had 2500+ probably in 2005?

Thank you


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## HKJ (Feb 22, 2018)

aab said:


> I'm confused by the 1900mah, it seems very high for AAAs (have they reached these capacities?) and very low for AAs (my 10 year old ones are like 2500 or more).
> 
> If they are AAs, why should I get 1900mahs in 2018 when I had 2500+ probably in 2005?
> 
> Thank you



It is for AA and the reason to use the 1900mAh is because they just about last forever and never self discharge.


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## kpatz (Feb 22, 2018)

Eneloop AAs are ~1900mAh and have very low self discharge. Eneloop Pro AAs are 2550 mAh, but they have more self discharge than regular Eneloops. The Pros are intended for use in high current draw applications like high-lumen flashlights. Regular Eneloops are better for lower current drain applications.


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## ChrisGarrett (Feb 22, 2018)

Anything from the FDK plant in Japan, that is a low self discharge battery (LSD).

Fujitsu, Eneloop, Duracell Ion Core, some Amazons, some Ikeas, et. al..

http://eneloop101.com/batteries/rewrapped-batteries/

Chris


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## SweD (Feb 23, 2018)

ChrisGarrett said:


> Anything from the FDK plant in Japan, that is a low self discharge battery (LSD).
> 
> Fujitsu, Eneloop, Duracell Ion Core, some Amazons, some Ikeas, et. al..
> 
> ...



Just got a bit qurious. The above link mentioned Powerex as being re-wrapps. This might well be true, just asking since I know I've read on the Mahaenergy website that they have their own manufacturing plant in Taiwan? Could well be that they share I suppose. 

/Dennis


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## ChrisGarrett (Feb 23, 2018)

SweD said:


> Just got a bit qurious. The above link mentioned Powerex as being re-wrapps. This might well be true, just asking since I know I've read on the Mahaenergy website that they have their own manufacturing plant in Taiwan? Could well be that they share I suppose.
> 
> /Dennis



Hi Dennis,

I pretty much read Chibi's POWEREX section as stating that they're NOT Eneloops. Maybe somebody, somewhere, thought they were, so he listed them, or maybe he's just including all of the major players, I don't know, but there's no indication from his words that they're made in the FDK plant and are even LSD batteries.

My buddy bought a C9000 right after I did in 2012, but instead of buying my AccuPower 2900/1200s, he went with PowerEx and he had a couple of his AAs fail quite early on. I'd never spend my money on them unless it was an emergency and there were all I could get.

I won't buy the AccuPower batteries, either, but I got close to 2.5-3 years out of 8 AAs and 8 AAAs before recycling them.

For the record, the worst batteries I bought when I revamped everything 6 years ago were my 8 Sanyo 2700 HSD 'made in Japan' AAs. I don't think that I even got 2 years out of them in light duty, before their I.R.s were through the roof.

Chris


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## neutralwhite (Feb 23, 2018)

what about these GP Recykos ? 
any good?.
those Vs Eneloops?.

AA AAA.
thanks.


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## eh4 (Feb 23, 2018)

Eneloops are proven, high value batteries. 
Any number of manufacturers can claim better numbers, when they're half as proven as Eneloops are I'll be interested.


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## ChrisGarrett (Feb 23, 2018)

neutralwhite said:


> what about these GP Recykos ?
> any good?.
> those Vs Eneloops?.
> 
> ...



Here's an informal/unscientific 'test' I did about 5 years back:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...ut-Eneloops-GP-ReCyKos-and-Imedions-it-s-done!







Mine from 2012, had that wrapper iteration and they're still in pretty good shape.

Same with the Imedions, but they're a little less 'LSD' than the other two, as you can see from my results.

Chris


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## Enderman (Feb 23, 2018)

Definitely eneloops, don't cheap out on batteries to save money.
If you need high current and long runtime get the pros.
If you need many charge cycles get the regular white ones.

I bought pros because by the time I go through the 500 cycles, more than 5 years will have passed and there will be much better batteries I can replace them with.


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## DavisonDave (Feb 23, 2018)

ChrisGarrett said:


> I pretty much read Chibi's POWEREX section as stating that they're NOT Eneloops. Maybe somebody, somewhere, thought they were, so he listed them, or maybe he's just including all of the major players, I don't know, but there's no indication from his words that they're made in the FDK plant and are even LSD batteries.Chris



You can get POWEREX that are HSD or that are LSD. The LSD version is labeled as PRECHARGED and READY TO USE. They are a replacement for the Imedions that were discontinued. They are made in China so not Eneloops.


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## ChrisGarrett (Feb 23, 2018)

DavisonDave said:


> You can get POWEREX that are HSD or that are LSD. The LSD version is labeled as PRECHARGED and READY TO USE. They are a replacement for the Imedions that were discontinued. They are made in China so not Eneloops.



Thanks DD. I guess with my post above, I totally glossed over my Imedions, which are LSDish, made in China and PowerEx owned.

Anyhow, I kind of hated my Imedions in the beginning, but frankly, after 6 years, they've been better than many NiMH batteries that I blew my money on, initially and I had a good bunch of them.

Chris


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## carnage (Feb 24, 2018)

Powerex Pro AA that are made in Japan.


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## dgbrookman (Feb 24, 2018)

I haven't had good luck with Powerex -- they fizzle out before giving as many charge cycles as I'd expect. But other people like them so maybe I'm doing something wrong.

Of the second-tier brands Tenergy has performed OK. Amazon Basics are hit-or-miss. Amazon obviously doesn't make their own batteries so the Amazon Basics are inconsistent. At one time they were rebranded Eneloops but the latest batch of AAA that I bought from them were Chinese cells made by goodness knows who. Rayovac NiMH has performed poorly in my experience. 

If you go over to Amazon there's a user called "NLee the Engineer" who does a lot of helpful reviews and comparisons of AA/AAA batteries. Worth reading his observations.

TL;DR -- just buy Eneloops and be done with it.


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## SweD (Feb 25, 2018)

ChrisGarrett said:


> Hi Dennis,
> 
> I pretty much read Chibi's POWEREX section as stating that they're NOT Eneloops. Maybe somebody, somewhere, thought they were, so he listed them, or maybe he's just including all of the major players, I don't know, but there's no indication from his words that they're made in the FDK plant and are even LSD batteries.
> 
> ...



We read it smilarly then, I never meant to say that he stated that Powerex are Eneloop Re-Wraps, that was never said, but I Did interpret his writing in such a way that they Are Re-Wraps, albeit of something other than Eneloops. Just got me curious, just know Maha states on their web site that they have a plant in Taiwan, which officially is called Republic of China, so perhaps it fits ayhow, considering I saw in the thread that Powerex's are at least some of them made in China.

/Dennis


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## DavisonDave (Feb 25, 2018)

I have some POWEREX HSD that came with chargers that say made in Japan. It looks like they are now being called pro. I've never had very good luck with them and some of them have died without a lot of use. They are labeled as 2700 mah could this be a rewrap of the Sanyos that Chris had? I was also given some POWEREX LSD that say "Tested and Quality Inspected in Taiwan Assembled in China" I take this as made in China. They are labeled as 2600 mah. They seem OK but I haven't had them long enough to know how they will hold up. When I buy NiMH I only buy Enellops.


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## weez82 (Feb 25, 2018)

Eneloops are always the safe bet. Ive used GP Recyko. Those no longer work. And I've been using the Amazon Basics for a few months now. So far so good but only time will tell. As for the Eneloops I have. All still work and 4 of them are over 10 years old. Just read all the threads on this site and the conclusion is, Eneloops are king.


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## neutralwhite (Feb 25, 2018)

[h=3]from darksucks;

*WHY DON'T I CARRY ENELOOP?!*[/h]GP ReCyko+ compares very (very) favorably to everyone's favorite Panasonic eneloop...in practice you'll never know the difference. I wouldn't bother to sell ReCyko+ if I wasn't 100% confident they were awesome.
I actually tried to get a deal with Panasonic for a couple of years and they were awful to deal with at every step. It took me more than a year just to get a response from them, which finally involved calling in a favor from someone I knew at Panasonic.
I got fed up with their attitude and contacted GP. Negotiating a deal still took a long time, but they have been amazingly responsive and helpful every step of the way. I've actually been buying LR44 batteries from GP for years. When I enquired about AA/AAA rechargeables the next email came from their US VP of sales within 24 hours.
When I'm dealing with any company, it matters what kind of company they are, and I'm proud to be representing GP. You may have never heard of GP here in the US, but they are a major player in the rest of the world and manufacture a huge percentage of the world's batteries.
https://darksucks.com/collections/batteries/products/nimh-rechargeable-aa-aaa


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## Enderman (Feb 25, 2018)

"GP ReCyko+ compares very (very) favorably to everyone's favorite Panasonic eneloop...in practice you'll never know the difference. "

Half the charge cycles and more self-discharge is definitely not "very favourable"
This just sounds like someone is salty they didn't get a cheap deal on eneloops.
A company as large as Panasonic is not going to give some random small retailer a discount on a battery that already sells thousands of times more than anything else.


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## Norman (Feb 27, 2018)

Personally, as a fellow Canadian, my only Eneloops were purchased when Radio Shack was selling off their inventory. That should give you an idea of how old they are. Their performance haven't really impressed me, but I suspect they may have been old stock at the time, and I haven't bothered to check if their performance has improved.

As you know, Eneloops are hard to find here. In fact. other than Radio Shack, the only place I've ever seen them is in Canada Computers (ok, and in a local Japanese grocery store). They're currently $30 for an 8-pack of the 2000mAH BK3MCCA8BA (@CC). My suggestion would be to keep an eye out for Duracell sales at Shoppers Drug Mart or WalMart, or whoever sells them online in Canada. Recently, I've only seen the high-capacity 2500mAH Duracell Rechargeables on sale at $12-$15/4-pk. Never the regular pre-charged.

I'm not a Costco member, so I don't know if they sell Eneloops here, nor have I had the chance to visit Ikea to check out the Laddas. I suppose you could purchase them on the web, with the 50% exchange rate, plus the $30 sea shipping charge (most Americans seem to think Canada is located somewhere just north of Siberia).

I think somebody suggested Aliexpress. I made a purchase at the end of November. I paid extra for the 14-21 day ePacket delivery. It showed up over 50 days later, so don't be in a rush if you make a purchase there.


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## aab (Apr 16, 2018)

I know it's been a while since I made this thread but I still haven't bought new batteries and the ones I've had for almost 10 years now last very few days per charge when they used to last several months per charge. I'm going crazy literally recharging every device's batteries more than once a week so I need to buy new ones yesterday.

When I asked about buying them in Canada, I didn't mean a local store, I simply meant an online store (anywhere on the planet) that ships to Canada.

What would be a good website to get Eneloops at a good price shipped to Canada? I will likely need a large amount of both AAs and AAAs, probably several hundred dollars worth, so any place that offers quantity discounts would help.

Thanks


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## apagogeas (Apr 16, 2018)

If you can't get eneloops (either the regular or Pro) at a reasonable price, consider IKEA Ladda. They seem to be in par with eneloops at the most favorable price compared to any other battery out there for the quality they offer, so even in the unlikely case they are not re-branded eneloops they'll work admirably anyway. They offer all the major capacities, 1000 (brown)/2450 (white) mAh for AA, 500 (brown)/900 (white) mAh for AAA so if lower capacity suits you in some of your applications (like remotes), you can save some more money. The king of robustness is still the regular eneloop though at 1900mAh minimum for AA size and I would prefer that battery if maximum capacity is not crucial. For AAA you can easily pick IKEA for the price as AAA is not durable anyway, even eneloops are not that robust in that size. If you go for eneloops, make sure you get the Japan version, Panasonic also makes eneloops in China and these are not so good compared to Japan's version.


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## WalkIntoTheLight (Apr 17, 2018)

aab said:


> When I asked about buying them in Canada, I didn't mean a local store, I simply meant an online store (anywhere on the planet) that ships to Canada.
> 
> What would be a good website to get Eneloops at a good price shipped to Canada? I will likely need a large amount of both AAs and AAAs, probably several hundred dollars worth, so any place that offers quantity discounts would help.



Order Eneloops on-line from costco.ca. It's the Canadian Costco web-site. You can also find them in-store sometimes, although not very often. They go on sale on-line about once a year, but even the regular price is about the best you'll find them in Canada.


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## Norman (Apr 18, 2018)

Duracell AA 2450s & AAA 4-Packs are on sale at Staples for 50% off ($9.94) until 24 Apr 2018. Both in-store and online. Check item 712617 (AA) & 712740 (AAA) at Staples.ca.

Ikea Ladda are not on sale. There appears to be two different types of AA & AAA 4-packs.
White AA 2450 is $8.99 https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/70303876/
White AAA 900 is $7.99 https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/90303880/
The brown ones are about half the capacity.

You can use these as a comparison point for the Eneloops.


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## MrAl (Apr 20, 2018)

Hello,

I only use Low Self Discharge NiMH these days because i got tired of the fast self discharge of the standard type cells.

I use mostly Eneloops, AA size, but i've also used Kodac and Rayovac low self dicharge too.
The Kodac's work well, and since i cant get them anymore i went with Eneloop now only.
The Eneloops test around 2000mAHr.

I also have Eneloop AAA, but did not test any of them yet. I would say they are round 800mAHr offhand.

Of course i also use Li-ion but that's a different category.


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## bdoon51 (Apr 5, 2019)

aab said:


> My current sets of rechargeable AA/AAA batteries are 7-8 years old (some Duracell PreCharhed and some Turnigys) and not surprisingly not holding their full capacity anymore so it's time for new ones.
> 
> What are good ones and a good place to get them keeping in mind I'm in Canada?
> 
> Thanks



7 to 8 years is very good. I have more issues with the chargers (Not LA Chargers) than batteries. Nevertheless, I am finding out that batteries over time do not hold the initial charge or voltage? The voltage is 1.5 volts so it must be the decrease in charge that occurs in the electrolyte? (Are these the same type of electrolytes in our bodies?) 

Whatever ...the charge decreases over time though they still light up the voltage meter. You still get more for your money than with primary batteries.

So what makwes one brand or make of re-chargeable batteries better (last longer with needed charge) than others?:thinking:


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