Sanyo NEW 1500 eneloop 4 Pack AA Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries

by Sanyo

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 0.6 x 3.8 x 4.5 inches ; 4.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B004UG41W8
• Item model number: SEC-HR3U4BPN
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (483 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #9 in Electronics > Accessories & Supplies > Batteries, Chargers & Accessories > Household Batteries > Rechargeable
  • #10 in Electronics > Accessories & Supplies > Batteries, Chargers & Accessories > Household Batteries > AA
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 21, 2011

Product Description

Style: AA 4 Pack

From the Manufacturer

Rechargeable Up To 1,500X; Low Self Discharge-Batteries Maintain 75% Charge After 3 Years Of Non-Use; Pre Charged & Ready To Use; 2,000 Mah; No Memory Effect; Aa; 4 Pack

Product Description

Rechargeable Up To 1,500X; Low Self Discharge-Batteries Maintain 75% Charge After 3 Years Of Non-Use; Pre Charged & Ready To Use; 2,000 Mah; No Memory Effect; Aa; 4 Pack

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

765 of 775 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Those are genuine second-generation eneloop cells - as far as I can tell, April 20, 2011

By 

NLee the Engineer (Nashua, NH) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 10 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Sanyo NEW 1500 eneloop 8 Pack AA Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries (Electronics)

I have done extensive testing on the original eneloop rechargeable batteries since early 2007, shortly after they were introduced in the US. I have also tested the blue second-generation eneloop cells from the Costco eneloop package back in 2010. But this is the first time I have seen second-gen eneloop in white wrappings being sold in the US. With so much talk about counterfeit eneloop going around, I was understandably cautious when I purchased those SANYO NEW 1500 eneloop 8 Pack AA Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries.

I tested four of those cells, using my old La Crosse BC-900 Battery Charger.
- Right out of the package, their average remaining charge is 1568mAh, or nearly 80% of the rated capacity of 2000mAh. The spread is also very small, from 1558 to 1577mAh. This proves that they are indeed low-self-discharge type. (Date code on my cells says "11-01", or Jan 2011)
- After one recharge/discharge cycle, their average capacity improved to 2115mAh
- After two more recharge/discharge cycles, their average capacity leveled off at 2133mAh, or more than 6% higher than the rated capacity.

The above results are very consistent with what I have previously observed, while testing second-gen eneloop cells in the Costco package. Therefore I'm convinced that those are indeed genuine second-gen Sanyo eneloop cells. (See the scans I uploaded to Customer Images section, if you need to distinguish between old and new eneloop cells)

On the other hand, currently the prices of those new eneloop cells are about 25-50% higher than that of the original eneloop cells. So one may question: do the new eneloop cells offer sufficient improvement over the old, to justify the price different? Let's compare the following factors:

- Cycle Life: The 2nd-gen eneloop claims to "recharge up to 1500 cycles", while the original only claims 1000 cycles. This 50% improvement looks great on paper, but note that if you recharge your eneloop cells twice every week, it will take 10 years to reach 1000 cycles. So in real life, most average users will never notice the difference.

- Self-Discharge Rate: The new eneloop cells claim to "maintain 75% charge after 3 years", while the original only claims "80% after 2 years". Again, in real life most people will never notice the difference.

- Capacity: First-gen eneloop AA cells have "Typ 2000mAh, Min 1900mAh" printed on them, while 2nd-gen eneloop AA cells only say "Min 1900mAh". But in fact they have the same capacity rating of 2000mAh (typical) according to official Sanyo web site. My measured capacity numbers are actually around 2100mAh for both versions.


BOTTOM LINE:
Both the new and old eneloop cells are excellent products. You can safely mix and match them in any application, and probably nobody can tell the difference in the next 10 years. But in case you can't decide which version is a better value... Just flip a coin and pick one - you can't lose either way!

[Update on July 31, 2011]
Long term self-discharge data: I have tested a pair of new eneloop AA cells after 104 days sitting on the shelf (the batteries, not me). The average remaining charge is 88.7%. This charge-retention rate is slightly better than that of the original eneloop, but the difference is within margin of error for my experiment.

187 of 193 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Second-gen eneloop better than the first - by a hair, April 30, 2011

By 

NLee the Engineer (Nashua, NH) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 10 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Sanyo NEW 1500 eneloop 4 Pack AAA Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries (Electronics)

This package (Sanyo SEC-HR4U4BPN) contains four second-generation eneloop AAA rechargeable batteries. I have tested those cells using my old La Crosse BC-900 Advanced Battery Charger. Here are my findings:
- Right out of the package, the average remaining charge is 640mAh, or 80% of the rated capacity (800mAh)
- After the first recharge cycle, the average capacity increased to 839mAh.
- After two more recharge/discharge cycles, the average capacity leveled off at 843mAh, or 5% higher than rated capacity.

The above is very consistent with the results I obtained last year, while testing 2nd-gen eneloop AAA cells from the Costco package. Therefore I have no doubt that those batteries are genuine. Date code embossed on them says "10-12", which means Dec 2010 (see my upload in the "Customer Images" section, if you need to know where to find the date code).

According to Sanyo press releases, those 2nd-generation eneloop cells offer several benefits over the original eneloop:
- Can be recharged "up to 1500 cycles" (vs. "1000 cycles" for the original)
- Can hold "75% charge after 3 years" (vs. "80% after 2 years")
- Works down to -20 degree C (vs. -10 degree C)

In real life, however, it is nearly impossible for the average user to experience those benefits. Note the even if you recharge your cells twice every week, it will take nearly ten years to reach 1000 cycles. Furthermore, the advertised self-discharge rates for new and old eneloop cells are actually the same during first two years.

As to the capacity: original eneloop AAA cells have "Typ. 800mAh, Min. 750mAh" printed on them. The new eneloop AAA cells only say "Min. 750mAh". This has created confusions for some people, who thought the new version has lower capacity. But according to Sanyo web site, capacity of the new AAA is also 800mAh typical. My own test results, however, have shown that measured capacity of the original eneloop is around 4% higher than rated, whereas capacity of the new eneloop is about 5% higher than rated. Again, the difference is so small that most users will never notice it.

BOTTOM LINE:
Second-generation eneloop cells do offer some improvements over the original, but the actual benefit is very hard to verify in real life. In my case, the price I paid for this new eneloop AAA package is only 10% higher than that of the old one, so I consider it a good deal. If the price difference is much greater, then you have to decide whether it is worthwhile to pay extra for those perceived benefits.


[Update on May 31, 2011]
Prices for the new eneloop AAA have came down further during the past month, so now it is an even better deal. But just in case you are looking for greater bargains, you may want to consider the GP ReCkyo Pre-Charged AAA cells. They are priced lower than Sanyo eneloop, and have slightly higher capacity (rated 850mAh, measured 880mAh).

[Update on July 31, 2011]
Long term self-discharge data: I have tested a pair of new eneloop AAA cells after 92 days sitting on the shelf (the batteries, not me). The average remaining charge is 89.4%. This charge-retention rate is slightly better than that of the original eneloop, but the difference is within margin of error for my experiment.

172 of 179 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent batteries, mediocre charger, May 5, 2011

By 

NLee the Engineer (Nashua, NH) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 10 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Sanyo NEW 1500 eneloop 4 Pack AA Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries with Charger (Electronics)

This package (SANYO NEW 1500 eneloop 4 Pack AA Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries w/ Charger) contains four second-generation '1500 cycles' eneloop AA cells, plus the 'MQN06' 4-cell charger

I have tested those new second-generation eneloop cells about one year ago from the Costco eneloop package, and also more recently from the SANYO NEW 1500 eneloop 8 Pack AA. I can honestly say that: while both old and new eneloop are excellent products, their difference in performance is hardly noticeable. Both version have exactly the same capacity rating of 'Typ 2000mAh, Min 1900mAh'. Actual measured capacity, using my old La Crosse BC-900, is actually about 5% higher at about 2100mAh on the average.

Some advertised improvements of the new eneloop cells looked impressive on paper, but not easy to verify in real life. For example, the new cells claim to have 50% longer lifespan (from 1000 to 1500 cycles). But note that even if you recharge your eneloop cells twice every week, it will take about ten years before you can realize the difference in battery lifespan. The new eneloop also claims to "hold 75% charge after 3 years" in storage, while the old one only claims "80% after two year". Again, in real life most users will never experience any difference. But then again, it does give a warm and fuzzy feeling knowing that you are getting the latest and greatest rechargeable batteries on the market. (At least until the 2500mAh Sanyo "eneloop-XX" arrives)

Mechanically, there are some very minor differences between original and new eneloop cells (See my upload in the Customer Images section to distinguish between old and new). Note that there are some confusions about 'vent holes' on the latest eneloop cells. Some poeple even claim that cells without visible vent holes are counterfeits. But I have tested two batches of new eneloop cells with and without 'vent holes', and found them to be identical electrically. So I'm confident that those latest batch I received are genuine.

The Sanyo MQN06 4-cell charger (included in this and many other eneloop packages) is a big let-down. Here's what I don't like about this charger:
- It charges in pairs only. This is very inconvenient for appliances that take odd number of cells. If you try to charge an exhausted cell together with a half-full cell, the charging process stops as soon as the second cell is full, which means the first cell is still half-empty.
- The charging current is very low: 300mA for AA cells, 150mA for AAA cells. That means it take about 7 hours to recharge a pair of exhausted eneloop AA cells.
- If you leave a pair of charged cells in an unplugged MQN06, there is a leakage current of 0.5mA. This means a loss of 12mAh per day. In other words, a set of 2000mAh cells will become exhausted in about 5 months. That wipes out the 'low-self-discharge' benefit of eneloop cells.


CONCLUSION:
Over the past four years, I have found the original Sanyo eneloop cells to be the most consistent and reliable NiMH cells I have ever used. So I can recommend the new eneloop based on my past experience. On the other hand, I find it inexcusable that Sanyo continues to bundle the best rechargeable batteries with such a mediocre charger. So you may want to consider a package that comes with a better charger, such as the Sony Cycle Energy BCG34HRE4KN, and then buy more Sanyo eneloop cells as needed. This SONY charger can handle each cell individually, and it can be used to recharge any other brands of LSD cells.

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