When to Replace AA Eneloops?

My Eneloops stop charging my flashes. Sometimes I can get a good mix and my flash is working just fine,
but some AA batteries combinations do not work at all.

If my Amazon history does not lie I have mix of Sanyo and Panasonic Eneloops bought
on August 2016 and on August 2010

I think some of that are bad and need to be replaced.

Since it is a long time I have them, I could probably through them all out and buy all AA eneloops new
Bu I hate to waste good batteries, since I know some of them working ok.

I charge them on La Cross charger, then I test the voltage with multimeter

At what voltage I need to discard the batteries (ie recycle) ?
I have for example 1.175V and 1.125V - are they both bad?

How do you keep track of your rechargable AAs?


Thanks

gnnbtrn wrote in post #18783595
My Eneloops stop charging my flashes. Sometimes I can get a good mix and my flash is working just fine,
but some AA batteries combinations do not work at all.

If my Amazon history does not lie I have mix of Sanyo and Panasonic Eneloops bought
on August 2016 and on August 2010

I think some of that are bad and need to be replaced.

Since it is a long time I have them, I could probably through them all out and buy all AA eneloops new
Bu I hate to waste good batteries, since I know some of them working ok.

I charge them on La Cross charger, then I test the voltage with multimeter

At what voltage I need to discard the batteries (ie recycle) ?
I have for example 1.175V and 1.125V - are they both bad?

How do you keep track of your rechargable AAs?


Thanks

Can’t answer all but I always write down the month/year of my battery purchase on each battery. Once a few go weak, I bin all of the month/year batteries involved.

Angmo wrote in post #18783644
Can’t answer all but I always write down the month/year of my battery purchase on each battery. Once a few go weak, I bin all of the month/year batteries involved.

yup, except that I usually put them in flashlights or kids toys or something.

gnnbtrn wrote in post #18783595
I charge them on La Cross charger, then I test the voltage with multimeter

At what voltage I need to discard the batteries (ie recycle) ?
I have for example 1.175V and 1.125V - are they both bad?

How do you keep track of your rechargable AAs?

1. An NiMH rechargable battery off the charger should have something along the lines of 1.45 V (or slighly more). The numbers you present are definitely not good.
2. You should not mix batteries with significantly different capacities. E.g. new ones have 2000 mAh and old ones might only have 1600 mAh. Use the LaCross to figure out the capacity and match corresponding capacities.
3. Use the refresh mode on your LaCross. This will remove any lazy battery effect and you also can use the result for point 2.
4. I usually sort the ones with less then 75% of the original capacity out and use them for non critical application such as our battery operated bathroom mirror (don't ask....).

drmaxx wrote in post #18783774
1. An NiMH rechargable battery off the charger should have something along the lines of 1.45 V (or slighly more). The numbers you present are definitely not good.
2. You should not mix batteries with significantly different capacities. E.g. new ones have 2000 mAh and old ones might only have 1600 mAh. Use the LaCross to figure out the capacity and match corresponding capacities.
3. Use the refresh mode on your LaCross. This will remove any lazy battery effect and you also can use the result for point 2.
4. I usually sort the ones with less then 75% of the original capacity out and use them for non critical application such as our battery operated bathroom mirror (don't ask....).

I know you said don’t ask. But come on... details..!!!!

Are you sure 1.45V??
The battery itself has it as 1.2

gnnbtrn wrote in post #18783806
Are you sure 1.45V?? The battery itself has it as 1.2

Yes. As with all batteries, there is a variation in the voltage: It comes with about 1.45 V off the charger and during use falls down to about 0.9 V at which point it should be recharged. Alkaline batteries behave quite similar, although the shape of the discharge voltage curve looks different. Why they decided to label one 1.5 V and the other 1.2 V is beyond me - probably in order to distinguish the two types of batteries easily?

Strange,
But at what voltage I need to stop using the batteries? I did not get any at 1.4, the best I got so far was 1.182V

I did not mark them when they were new, the only difference I can tell some some of them are Sanyo, but others Panasonic

They sound a bit too new to be going wonky. Some (somewhat older) eneloops of mine retained 2135 Mah after 2 or 3 years left idle without a re-charge, not bad for cells rated at 1900 Mah.!
I still have some Sanyo NiCd cells from the mid 1980's that still exceed their specifications.

Discharge them individually to 0.9v and then charge them slowly, they will almost certainly be fine for several years to come.

I started buying Eneloops when they first came out (for RC aircraft) and I have yet to have one one fail or not perform to spec.

P.S. None of my Eneloops are less than 10 years old.

gnnbtrn wrote in post #18783836
But at what voltage I need to stop using the batteries? I did not get any at 1.4, the best I got so far was 1.182V

Open circuit voltage is not a good measure. You should use the 'Analyse' or 'Test' or 'Refresh' function on your charger to test the capacity (in mAh) of your batteries. I would toss them if they are less then 1400 mAh (for the Panasonic battery you showed above).

Angmo wrote in post #18783801
I know you said don’t ask. But come on... details..!!!!

sometimes these things are best left to speculation.

maybe the smartMirror® detects who is standing in front of it and reacts accordingly. Want to have a slimmer gut and rocking biceps? Just let the smartMirror® know. Hell, I'd pay good money to see a full head of hair every morning.

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #18783888
sometimes these things are best left to speculation.

maybe the smartMirror® detects who is standing in front of it and reacts accordingly. Want to have a slimmer gut and rocking biceps? Just let the smartMirror® know. Hell, I'd pay good money to see a full head of hair every morning.

Mirror mirror on the wall... oh crap. Needs batteries.


I gotta know about that mirror. Oh the stories it must have!

My charged Eneloops (Panasonic and Amazon) all read 1.31 v open. That's just FYI. Batteries should really be tested under load.

(These were AA, fully charged but not recently. They are marked 1.2 v.)

drmaxx wrote in post #18783855
Open circuit voltage is not a good measure. You should use the 'Analyse' or 'Test' or 'Refresh' function on your charger to test the capacity (in mAh) of your batteries. I would toss them if they are less then 1400 mAh (for the Panasonic battery you showed above).

I have set 4 batteries on Test mode, and 15 hrs later they are not done.
I know the refresh will take a log time, but I thought the Test will be a bit faster.
Is it normal?

Archibald wrote in post #18784004
My charged Eneloops (Panasonic and Amazon) all read 1.31 v open. That's just FYI. Batteries should really be tested under load.

(These were AA, fully charged but not recently. They are marked 1.2 v.)

I still do not understand how to sort bad from good batteries. Some of mine are definitely bad, but I cannot find with one