6,560 FLASH POPS LATER: The Results of "AA" Rechargeable Battery Tests

m3rdpwr wrote in post #7728590
The most important question, "Did your son get an 'A+'?!?!?!"

(Hopefully I don't look like a stooge if that was already asked!)

-Mario

Thank you for asking, Mario, you're the first one to ask!! While he didn't get the top prize, I got what I wanted out of the "process." My son's unfortunately not really into science. His talent lies with music, rather. So the whole process took some nudging on my part, but he went through the process and therefore learned the basic rudiments of what "scientific experiment" requires. He and his older brother teamed up at the last year's Science Fair (on the "best water filter system" for hikers), and they won the first place, so it's someone else's turn to win this year...

meihcydna wrote in post #7729013
very nicely recorded! this helped me determine on which rechargeable batteries i should get now.

jbrown7815 wrote in post #7723763
Wow, great job, Props for all the hard work

fayenatic wrote in post #7721566
good information here, that's some thorough testing. thanks for sharing the results!

Thank you all for your kind comments.

Bearing all this in mind, I'm trying to decide whether to keep my Eneloops in the CP-E4 which is only used for events, or if it's better to get some PowerEXs for it. What do you guys think?

berniesiao wrote in post #7730898
Bearing all this in mind, I'm trying to decide whether to keep my Eneloops in the CP-E4 which is only used for events, or if it's better to get some PowerEXs for it. What do you guys think?

I also have the CP-E4, and I'd be perfectly content having 8 eneloops in there plus 4 in the flash. That alone should last you through just about any single event shooting. In case you do need to purchase more batteries, then perhaps add Imedions to the collection....

berniesiao wrote in post #7730898
Bearing all this in mind, I'm trying to decide whether to keep my Eneloops in the CP-E4 which is only used for events, or if it's better to get some PowerEXs for it. What do you guys think?

Use what you have until they don't do what you need, then replace them with what you need.

SYS wrote in post #7717695
Yes, against my initial skepticism, "higher the 'mAh' the stronger the performance" came through consistently. Even Energizer Rechargeable that I despised performed better than eneloops that I so admired.

eneloops were pleasantly consistent in their "low self-discharge" showing....

I also learned that not all "low self-discharging" claiming batteries are same. I was expecting MAHA Powerex "Imedion," for instance, to be about the same as eneloop, but I'd trust eneloop as the most reliable in this category...

MAHA Powerex 2700mAh, on the other hand, came through really impressively, such that I've now changed my strategy in how I use my rechargeable batteries, that is, I'd use Powerex as the main horse and rely on eneloops more as back up or in situations where I need to use in intermittent situations and applications.

The alkaline was surprising how poorly it performed... I was expecting them to be a bit stronger...

LOL, it seems like I'm the only guy that likes the Energizers - glad to see I'm no longer alone I think I'll try out the Powerex next time I buy.

I appreciate all the hard work and I hope your son got an A!

dan

dan j wrote in post #7731380
LOL, it seems like I'm the only guy that likes the Energizers - glad to see I'm no longer alone I think I'll try out the Powerex next time I buy.

I appreciate all the hard work and I hope your son got an A!

dan

Thanks, Dan.

Thanks for this great piece of science!

So it appears that highest NiMH trumps everything.

Thus those Pearstone 2900 NiMH batteries are probably the best if one extrapolates from these results.

40Dude6aedyk wrote in post #7732020
Thanks for this great piece of science!

So it appears that highest NiMH trumps everything.

In terms of "performance," yes, but not so for "ready to use" and "shelf life." In other words, if you're a casual shooter who doesn't care to charge each time before the shoot, then perhaps eneloops or Imedions would be a better alternative.

If Pearstone is as reliable a battery company as MAHA Powerex, then I'd expect to get more out of Pearstone 2900mAh battery than Powerex 2700mAh -- but again, in the "performance" category only, though.

Suppose you lose 25% of the charge in a 2900 NiMH battery over 6 months. Wouldn't you still be left with more juice than an Eneloop?

SYS wrote in post #7732106
If Pearstone is as reliable a battery company as MAHA Powerex...

And there is the rub! I have owned high-mAh-rating batteries (2700mAh) that were worse than my several-years-old 1250mAh NiMH batteries. The lesson is - do not believe what the label says - always buy from a reputable company, it's cheaper in the long run.

40Dude6aedyk wrote in post #7732151
Suppose you lose 25% of the charge in a 2900 NiMH battery over 6 months. Wouldn't you still be left with more juice than an Eneloop?

If there's a 2900mAh battery that would ONLY lose 25% over 6 months!! That's "futuristic" thinking... As it is right now, 2900mAh battery would be TOTALLY drained in 6 months if not sooner.

Rudi wrote in post #7732169
And there is the rub! I have owned high-mAh-rating batteries (2700mAh) that were worse than my several-years-old 1250mAh NiMH batteries. The lesson is - do not believe what the label says - always buy from a reputable company, it's cheaper in the long run.

Yes, and I'd add to this where the batteries were manufactured... At this point, I'd trust reputable battery companies that manufacture batteries in Japan than those batteries outsourced elsewhere...

Look at Sony.... I wouldn't have hesitated in purchasing any of their products when they used to manufacture their products in Japan a couple of decades ago. Their quality went downhill ever since they started to outsource... I don't trust Sony any more...

After reading this post, I ordered a set of Enloop and PowerEx rechargeable batteries as well as the La Crosse charger through Thomas Distributing Battery Supply. FYI - they are having a sale on both through April 30. You can also get an additional 5% off by using Code GCNE561. Kudos go out to you and your son for all your efforts in providing us with such valueable information!

shutterfly39 wrote in post #7735677
After reading this post, I ordered a set of Enloop and PowerEx rechargeable batteries as well as the La Crosse charger through Thomas Distributing Battery Supply. FYI - they are having a sale on both through April 30. You can also get an additional 5% off by using Code GCNE561. Kudos go out to you and your son for all your efforts in providing us with such valueable information!

Thanks. On sale or not, I think I'm pretty well stocked up so I'm not planning on getting any more batteries for a long while! But your info should be good for others looking to get some. You'll be getting some free battery storage cases with your purchases, too.