Overview: All eneloop batteries; 2005-2025

[dc38]

I have approximately 30 Eneloops most of which are older than 10 years and some as old as 20 years. I use them primarily because they retain their charge for a long time which gives me confidence that charged cells will work properly when I decide to use them. My main use is for flashlights and to power photographic flash units which use four cells. Recently, several of my cells have produced fault warnings on charge and initially I tinkered with 'restoring' them but eventually discarded them after my flash would not not work in the field. The main problem with using questionable cells is that one dodgy cell in a device that uses multiple cells, can let you down badly. New Eneloops are reliable and cheap so my current strategy is to discard any cell that wont charge properly.

Because you called Americans stupid, either in jest or for real, I question what you say. Are you POSITIVE your oldest eneloops are 20 years old?

 

[kilogulf59]

Because you called Americans stupid, either in jest or for real, I question what you say. Are you POSITIVE your oldest eneloops are 20 years old?

Am I missing something?

 

[dc38]

Am I missing something?

Yeah, it was in another thread, lol. I'm just putting him on the spot, as eneloops were not released to the market in Japan until Q4 of 2005.

How to distinguish ENELOOP generations ~ by ChibiM

How to distinguish the 4/5 generations of eneloop standards. How to tell them apart by certain characteristics. Check it out NOW!

eneloop101.com

 

[kilogulf59]

Ohhhhhhhh, OK. I've got some older than 10 years and they work fine and some a few years old that don't hold up. I guess they're hit or miss. Either way, they've saved me a helluva lotta money over the years.

 

[dc38]

Ohhhhhhhh, OK. I've got some older than 10 years and they work fine and some a few years old that don't hold up. I guess they're hit or miss. Either way, they've saved me a helluva lotta money over the years.

When they start to not hold up, it's likely that those particular cells got beat up a little more than the others...dropped cells, flashlight impacts, etc. NiMH don't like physical abuse, and start to lose their LSD the more they're "abused". I have one blue cell in particular that slipped and fell onto linoleum, and while there was no apparent damage, it doesn't last as long as the other ones anymore, and shows ~2400mAh charged on a VC4, when all the healthy cells are between 1940mAh and 2022 mAh.

Mine are the blue and light blue ones from costco, so...circa 2015? I don't remember exactly, but they're at least that old, because I remember getting them shortly after my Klarus ST20.

But I agree, including the initial cost and charge cost, i think I broke even vs. Alkaleaks around 10 charges back then.

$27.99 for 8×AA and 4×aaa with a basic charger back then

 

[kilogulf59]

We initially got them for a Streamlight Waypoint Spotlight 4 C-cell. This we’ve had fsince 2014, IIRC, and it got used nightly up until a few years ago. We live in the country and have to scan the yard for critters before we let the dogs out. I used Eneloop NiMH AA-cells in C-cell adapters, which seem to last just as long as primary C-cells. I can’t even imagine how much money we’ve saved using rechargeable batteries. We replaced it in daily use with a Wuben L50, which is actually brighter and throws better. We did keep the spotlight JIC.

 

[hsa]

Hang on to the Waypoint, they are just too handy. I have a dually with the same battery set up as you. It's great.

 

[kilogulf59]

Hang on to the Waypoint, they are just too handy. I have a dually with the same battery set up as you. It's great.

"dually"?

Oh, it isn't goin' anywhere.

 

[Burgess]

Here we are now in Spring 2025,
and I'm STILL wondering *WHEN* will USA
be getting the "new" Eneloops which
Europe has had for a YEAR already !
< sigh >

:awman:

 

[hsa]

Waypoint dualie.

 

[kilogulf59]

@hsa Oh duh...I should've Googled it. WOW! 1000 lumens, nice. This is mine: WAYPOINT LED SPOTLIGHT

 

[gurdygurds]

I pretty much only use Eneloops along with the occasional ultimate lithium. But after reading a post about rewrapped Eneloop batteries, I decided to mix things up a bit. Got these Fujitsu batteries headed my way. Need to hunt down some Toshibas next.

 

[dc38]

I pretty much only use Eneloops along with the occasional ultimate lithium. But after reading a post about rewrapped Eneloop batteries, I decided to mix things up a bit. Got these Fujitsu batteries headed my way. Need to hunt down some Toshibas next.

View attachment 77938

Just a heads up, I'm in the process of cycling a bunch of Olight 2500 NiMH. Their average fill up charge is a tad over 2500 mAh, with the highest I saw being 2592 (but that cell was probably over drawn) and the lowest (probably a due to a momentary cutoff from a tripped circuit) around 2414mAh. Overall, they're holding up great, particularly when used and recharged regularly. I'm starting to get weary of constantly testing them though, lol...it's alit of work and waiting

 

[gurdygurds]

Just a heads up, I'm in the process of cycling a bunch of Olight 2500 NiMH. Their average fill up charge is a tad over 2500 mAh, with the highest I saw being 2592 (but that cell was probably over drawn) and the lowest (probably a due to a momentary cutoff from a tripped circuit) around 2414mAh. Overall, they're holding up great, particularly when used and recharged regularly. I'm starting to get weary of constantly testing them though, lol...it's alit of work and waiting

I haven't gone out of my way to be kind to my Eneloops, but when I come across one that has had a rough go I'll do a refresh cycle on my Opus BT-C2400. Haven't had one give up the ghost yet. I've been bummed that they stopped selling the different colored wraps, which I just thought looked cool but also was helpful to keep certain batteries with certain lights/devices. Trying to find different rewrapped Eneloops will allow me to continue doing that......as well as allowing me to continue to be an absolute dork.

Complete rewrapped Eneloops list 2025 ~ by ChibiM

Rewrapped eneloops have been a fairly common topic of debate. Some people claim certain batteries to be eneloops. >>>Watch the following LIST >>>

eneloop101.com

 

[gurdygurds]

Behold…..

 

[MidnightDistortions]

Just bought a 16 pack of Eneloop AAs. Ran low on them, where I don't have enough of them. Man they're expensive now, but still worth every penny. Older set are 12 years and still going strong.

My older AA Nimhs (the non LSD cells) Rayovacs are not doing do well, got a few that are doing ok but the rest are not. I don't might using them but they regularly need to be charged so just taking up charging space.

Going to wait to get the Pro AA ones, don't really need them now anyways but would have liked to have a set to just have them, but being expensive they're not worth it now, best being used in emergencies for more runtime and charging them at a high rate, Duraloops AAs are still hanging in there. One AAA Duraloop is not doing so hot. Discharging quicker than the other in a 4AAA Ozark Trail light.

 

[dc38]

Just bought a 16 pack of Eneloop AAs. Ran low on them, where I don't have enough of them. Man they're expensive now, but still worth every penny. Older set are 12 years and still going strong.

My older AA Nimhs (the non LSD cells) Rayovacs are not doing do well, got a few that are doing ok but the rest are not. I don't might using them but they regularly need to be charged so just taking up charging space.

Going to wait to get the Pro AA ones, don't really need them now anyways but would have liked to have a set to just have them, but being expensive they're not worth it now, best being used in emergencies for more runtime and charging them at a high rate, Duraloops AAs are still hanging in there. One AAA Duraloop is not doing so hot. Discharging quicker than the other in a 4AAA Ozark Trail light.

i bought a 48 pack of (I'm just a tiny bit ashamed) of costco alkalines today. currently doing a runtime test, it's supposed to "last" over 20 hours, but we shall see if that's with or without a "resting" period, and whether it's sustained or just if it's on...

As far as eneloops go, I have some that are 7 years old, maybe 20 cycles through them, and they have a tested capacity of 1700mAh. Most likely counterfeits, I had bought them from Amazon back then. They also only sustain the above test light for around 6.5 hours until substantial dimming (i.e. 30ish lumens down to about 5 lumens), whereas my 2400 mAh Olight NiMH sustain about 11 hours before starting to peter out.

 

[dc38]

i bought a 48 pack of (I'm just a tiny bit ashamed) of costco alkalines today. currently doing a runtime test, it's supposed to "last" over 20 hours, but we shall see if that's with or without a "resting" period, and whether it's sustained or just if it's on...

As far as eneloops go, I have some that are 7 years old, maybe 20 cycles through them, and they have a tested capacity of 1700mAh. Most likely counterfeits, I had bought them from Amazon back then. They also only sustain the above test light for around 6.5 hours until substantial dimming (i.e. 30ish lumens down to about 5 lumens), whereas my 2400 mAh Olight NiMH sustain about 11 hours before starting to peter out.

So...Runtime terminated at 14 hours and 27 minutes, light had dropped to roughly 12 lumens at the 13 hour marker, with a gradual but definite decline down to about 1 lumen. The cells definitely had some juice left, but I imagine that full/fresh lithium primaries would have lasted well over 20 hours before substantially dimming.

 

[MidnightDistortions]

i bought a 48 pack of (I'm just a tiny bit ashamed) of costco alkalines today. currently doing a runtime test, it's supposed to "last" over 20 hours, but we shall see if that's with or without a "resting" period, and whether it's sustained or just if it's on...

As far as eneloops go, I have some that are 7 years old, maybe 20 cycles through them, and they have a tested capacity of 1700mAh. Most likely counterfeits, I had bought them from Amazon back then. They also only sustain the above test light for around 6.5 hours until substantial dimming (i.e. 30ish lumens down to about 5 lumens), whereas my 2400 mAh Olight NiMH sustain about 11 hours before starting to peter out.

Ah well I have yet to see a Coast alkaline battery leak. Don't know anything on Costco batteries so you'll have to keep us updated on that. Pretty much Duracell is notoriously leaking.

Nothing worse than buying scams. You could have returned those granted if you were aware they were fakes.

Apparently Panasonic is mixing batteries from different productions. Particularly I got 6 from 2026-02 and 10 from 2026-01. According to Google that's ok if you mix them, provided you check them for capacity, ideally from a smart charger.

I got plenty of them and the C9000 Power Ex chargers will do fine with that. Debating on whether to just keep the 02 ones separate and adding them to the string lights with 3AA needed instead of breaking up 2 sets I already matched up for 4AA lights. That would leave 10 cells for a 4 set with 2 being in something like an AA Maglite or something else.

But regardless I would have to cycle the 16 pack to see where they would be ideal for. The nice thing is the 2026 ones have an extra 100 mAh capacity! So the min is 2000 and while they max out at 2100.

Most of my older Eneloop still exceed the minimum averging 1930mAh. Some of them did dip below 1800 but it seems it's mostly the ones that haven't been active.

 

[dc38]

Ah well I have yet to see a Coast alkaline battery leak. Don't know anything on Costco batteries so you'll have to keep us updated on that. Pretty much Duracell is notoriously leaking.

Nothing worse than buying scams. You could have returned those granted if you were aware they were fakes.

Apparently Panasonic is mixing batteries from different productions. Particularly I got 6 from 2026-02 and 10 from 2026-01. According to Google that's ok if you mix them, provided you check them for capacity, ideally from a smart charger.

I got plenty of them and the C9000 Power Ex chargers will do fine with that. Debating on whether to just keep the 02 ones separate and adding them to the string lights with 3AA needed instead of breaking up 2 sets I already matched up for 4AA lights. That would leave 10 cells for a 4 set with 2 being in something like an AA Maglite or something else.

But regardless I would have to cycle the 16 pack to see where they would be ideal for. The nice thing is the 2026 ones have an extra 100 mAh capacity! So the min is 2000 and while they max out at 2100.

Most of my older Eneloop still exceed the minimum averging 1930mAh. Some of them did dip below 1800 but it seems it's mostly the ones that haven't been active.

the LSD on my older white ones seem to be starting to fail, and they don't hold up as well to higher currents, a.k.a. 1.5A+. They only charge up about 1700mAh from "empty", but a battery test shows them to be around 1948mAh..I might have to run a couple refresh discharge cycles to fix them. My blue ones are holding up strong with the exception of one, which I must have inadvertently let go into a deep discharge...Thankfully, I have a couple old tenergy D's that hold at least 8000mAh each, so I just use those in parallel to "jump" the old eneloops to wake them up.

*I have yet to see a costco AA leak, but allegedly the Costcos are mfg by duracell...However, I have a 20 pack that suffered 8 leaks, with an expiry date of 2032.