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The 1.2V AA 2300 mAh Maxell Rechargeable NiMH batteries we got for testing here are rated as 2300 mAh minimum capacity and that is the number printed on their package and this kind of surprised us as usually NiMH battery manufacturers print with big numbers on the front the typical capacity and somewhere else with small letters the minimum capacity that their cells should provide. The 2300 NiMHs we’ve got for testing apparently are now being replaced with a newer model that offers 2500 mAh capacity, though as it was not yet available in the shop we got these from we got only the 2300 mAh version.
We have started the test of the 1.2V AA 2300 mAh Maxell Rechargeable NiMH batteries with a low constant current discharge rate of 0.2A (the lowest load for AA NiMHs in our tests) and the result we got was 2328 mAh capacity. This value is well within the minimum capacity rating for the batteries, so we can say these Maxell NiMHs perform very well and furthermore increasing the load to 0.5A and 1.0A the batteries not only manage to still provide very good level of capacity, but the difference is actually quite small between the two and even at 2.0A load we still get good capacity. So the 1.2V AA 2300 mAh Maxell Rechargeable NiMH batteries do manage to perform very well not only in lower load applications, but in a very high ones as well by providing good capacity in various applications requiring more power.
The performance of the 1.2V AA 2300 mAh Maxell Rechargeable NiMH Batteries in our tests:
– 2328 mAh at 0.2A load
– 2182 mAh at 0.5A load
– 2156 mAh at 1.0A load
– 1547 mAh at 2.0A load
– 2.902 Wh at 0.2A load
– 2.640 Wh at 0.5A load
– 2.469 Wh at 1.0A load
– 1.598 Wh at 2.0A load
1.5V AA Maxell Super Alkaline Battery Tests
29, Aug 2013
The 1.5V AA Maxell Super Alkaline batteries are the higher-end Alkaline batteries that Maxell makes, the lower-end are labeled as just Alkaline batteries and we’ve already tested them, so our expectations from the Super Alkaline are to perform a bit better. The 1.5V AA Maxell Super Alkaline batteries we used for testing were with an expiration date of 01-2018, so they are supposedly offering quite a long shelf life. Maxell recommends the use of their Super Alkaline batteries for devices including portable radios, flashlights, radio control vehicles, MP3 players and portable GPS systems. And now let us see how good they will perform in our tests…
We have started the test of the 1.5V AA Maxell Super Alkaline batteries as we normally do with a low constant current discharge rate of 0.1A and the result we got was 2377 mAh as capacity and that is indeed a very good result. Increasing the constant current load to the higher values we use for testing the batteries continued to show very good performance and even in high loads they’ve managed to offer good performance. Since we’ve taken the standard 1.5V AA Duracell Copper Top batteries as a reference for well performing Alkaline batteries we can say that these Maxell Super Alkaline batteries do manage to outperform them in all four of the test loads we are using by a bit and that is definitely a good sign for Maxell.
The performance of the 1.5V AA Maxell Super Alkaline Batteries in our tests:
– 2377 mAh at 0.1A load
– 1959 mAh at 0.2A load
– 1070 mAh at 0.5A load
– 566 mAh at 1.0A load
– 2.978 Wh at 0.1A load
– 2.400 Wh at 0.2A load
– 1.263 Wh at 0.5A load
– 0.631 Wh at 1.0A load
We have already tested the 1.5V AA Varta High Energy Alkaline batteries and as well as the 1.5V AA Varta Max Tech Alkaline batteries and they both did perform really well giving the hughest capacities among all other AA-sized Alkaline batteries we’ve tested. And since the 1.5V AA Varta High Energy batteries had the +23% more power than Varta Simply Alkaline claim and the 1.5V AA Varta Max Tech batteries are labeled as +130% in digital cameras versus Varta Simply Alkaline we are expecting these to perform better, even though such marketing labels are hard to interpret in terms of real performance unless we compare both types with the results of our testing.
You can see that at low current drain the difference is just about 2% at 0.1A in favor of the Max Tech model, however as the current draw increases to 0.2A the gap also increase and the Max Tech batteries are able to deliver more – about 9%. Though at the at 0.5A load the things reverse in favor of the High Energy batteries where they take the lead with close to 12% and by and going to 1A the difference in useable capacity you get is just about a percent. So the 1.5V AA Varta High Energy Alkaline batteries are actually not that different as compared to the 1.5V AA Varta Max Tech Alkaline batteries as they provide you with a very similar performance in lower load applications and in very higher load ones, as for the middle ones that we test with they just swap the leading places once for each.
Varta – High Energy – Max Tech
0.1A load – 2700 mAh – 2748 mAh
0.2A load – 1941 mAh – 2114 mAh
0.5A load – 1216 mAh – 1087 mAh
1.0A load – 537 mAh – 545 mAh
In the end it is probably up to the price difference between the two types of batteries that can help you decide which one to buy, the Max Tech batteries from Varta are slightly more expensive with something like 10% more as compared to the High Energy version (though that difference in price may vary) and as you can see from our tests this difference in price may not be justifiable depending on your specific needs and requirements. Another thing to note is the fact that the Varta Max Tech batteries are also only available in some of the popular sizes and the Varta High Energy product range is much wider in terms of battery sizes and voltages available.