At 07:31 PM 2/5/2013, RussellMc wrote: > > The latest & greatest Eneloops are > >There are also latish and greatish Eneloop lite at AA =3D 1000 mAh. >Same lifetime claims as Eneloop std. We don't seem to have ready access to Sanyo Eneloop batteries here in=20 Edmonton, AB, Canada. I've seen them at only one retail outlet=20 (Costco) several years ago - and not since. However, the new Duracell 'Green' rechargeable NiMh cells are **=20 wonderful **! They have now started using the term 'Stay Charged' on=20 their packaging - and they do stay charged. There is a bit of a story here - its long but it will all make sense=20 at the end. I've mentioned a couple of times that I have done some sport-related=20 projects. The power modules that go in player's helmets use a pair=20 of prismatic NiMh cells from GP - the stated capacity is 1650 mAH but=20 battery analyzer we use (Cadex) says that they are only 1000=20 mAH. The reason this is important is because it affects the charger. The two cells in the module are permanently connected in series, and=20 thus requires a very good quality 2-cell NiMh charger. I purchased=20 pretty much every NiCd and / or NiMh charger that I could purchase=20 locally and evaluated all of them. Most of them are true rubbish - I=20 would class them as 'Battery Destroyers' rather than battery chargers. Costco has been offering a Duracell battery and charger combo for=20 several years now. The package consists of a charger with 4 cell=20 pockets plus 4 each "AA" and "AAA" cells (8 cells total). I grabbed=20 a couple of those to evaluate as well. FWIW - the "AA" cells are=20 2000mAH, the "AAA" cells are 1000mAH. The charger has 4 cell pockets - two cells are in series and fed by=20 one charger; the 2nd set of two series-connected cells is fed by a=20 separate charger. Each cell pocket has three contacts: the (+)=20 terminal is common but the (-) terminal is separate for the "AA" and=20 "AAA" cells. Because the Duracell "AAA" cells are rated at 1000 mAH and the=20 measured capacity of the prismatic cells is also 1000 mAH, I chose to=20 use the contacts for the "AAA" cells. It turns out that these are VERY good chargers. End-of-charge=20 termination was bang-on; they ramp the charge current when starting=20 the charge cycle - all the good things that I like to see. So: we bought something like 40 or so of the sets. The chargers all=20 got modified to bring the charge connections out to a pair of cables=20 with connectors that match the power modules and we were all=20 set. These have been in use for the last 3 or 4 years now with=20 absolutely NO problems whatsoever. All of those charger / battery combo kits came with four each "AA"=20 and "AAA" cells. Those cells all went into cardboard boxes and sat=20 on our shelf for a year. I sold a bunch of the "AA" cells to my parents for their=20 solar-powered yard lights and sold a bunch more to some friends. But=20 I still had a couple of hundred cells laying around. So: a year later, I decided to start using the "AA" cells in some of=20 my equipment that formerly used NiCd battery packs. I got the cells=20 tabbed in the configurations that I needed and installed them. Just=20 for giggles and laughs, I didn't bother charging them before using=20 the equipment. The equipment worked perfectly - and just kept going and going. Bear=20 in mind that these cells had been sitting on the shelf for more than=20 a year before I touched them - and goodness knows how long they had=20 sat on a warehouse shelf before they reached the store where I=20 purchased them from. So I grabbed a couple of cells and put them into the battery=20 analyzer. Ballpark: about 1950 mAH for a 2000 mAH rated cell. I loaded up all the stuff that could use the "AA" cells and still had=20 some left over. But: these cells were looking so good that I decided=20 to just hang on to what I had left rather than get rid of them. Then I bought another batch of these Duracell battery and charger=20 combo packages. Kept all those cells as well. Another year goes by and I've still got a few (very few) cells left=20 from the original batch. Ran a capacity test on them - still sitting=20 a little over 1800 mAH charge left in the cells. That's more than=20 two years after I purchased them. I am impressed. Well, I've managed to use up almost all of the cells now. I've got a=20 bunch of Brother TZ label printers that each want 6- "AAA"=20 cells. All of those are now Duracell Green cells. My Brady TLS2200=20 label printers and extra battery packs each use 6- "AA" cells - all=20 are now Duracell. Same with my Coastel Coax strippers - each pack=20 contained 6- sub C cells; I replaced them with 6- Duracell "AA"=20 cells. The strippers work perfectly. Most of the gear using the "AA" cells has been through dozens of=20 discharge - charge cycles now. The battery packs still appear to=20 have most / all of their initial capacity. So: now I'm actively looking for projects that need these Duracell=20 chargers so that I can collect more cells. They are just that good. dwayne --=20 Dwayne Reid Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd Edmonton, AB, CANADA (780) 489-3199 voice (780) 487-6397 fax www.trinity-electronics.com Custom Electronics Design and Manufacturing --=20 http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .