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Posts Tagged ‘Panasonic Eneloop Pro’
Since we’ve just tested the Panasonic Eneloop Pro AAA NiMH batteries and there are some claims that the IKEA LADDA AAA NiMH batteries that we have also tested recently are the same as the Eneloop (both are low self discharge and made in Japan with similar capacity) we could not pass the chance to compare them. IKEA’s LADDA brand is available at significantly lower prices compared to the top of the line Eneloop Pro batteries and even though IKEA does not make any bold claims about their batteries like Panasonic, the LADDA batteries could easily end up as a great and more affordable alternative…
Looking at the test results with discharge of both battery types with the same settings under different constant current loads we can see very similar performance and results, though there are some slight differences we can conclude that it is very highly likely that they are being made in the same place. The IKEA LADDA batteries managed to give us a bit higher capacity at lower discharge rates (0.1A and 0.2A), but fell behind a bit at higher loads (0.5A and 1.0A). Looking at the discharge curves we see a very similar pattern for both the Eneloop Pro and the IKEA LADDA batteries and that along with the results makes us think that they are essentially the same thing, but produced for different companies and sold under different brands. Of course there could be more variance in the LADDA batteries if they are allowed a wider tolerance in production for example as they are rated at 900 mAh and since IKEA sells a lot without much of marketing going for a specific products like their batteries it could apparently manage a better price for what seems to be the same thing.
mAh Capacity – IKEA LADDA – Eneloop Pro
— 0.1A load – 926 mAh – 903 mAh
— 0.2A load – 925 mAh – 901 mAh
— 0.5A load – 863 mAh – 888 mAh
— 1.0A load – 588 mAh – 634 mAh
Wh Capacity – IKEA LADDA – Eneloop Pro
— 0.1A load – 1.153 Wh – 1.131 Wh
— 0.2A load – 1.137 Wh – 1.103 Wh
— 0.5A load – 0.013 Wh – 1.051 Wh
— 1.0A load – 0.614 Wh – 0.658 Wh
Back in 2013 we have tested the last generation of Sanyo Eneloop XX AAA NiMH batteries, right before they changed from Sanyo to Panasonic and since we have just managed to test the latest generation of Panasonic Eneloop Pro AAA NiMH batteries we have decided to see how much has changed in 5 years time and if the change is actually for the better or not. New generations should mean improvements in features and performance and when you give it 5 years of time, then you should expect some change, right?
The Sanyo Eneloop XX (HR-4UWXB) we tested back in 2013 were a third generation XX / PRO series of Eneloop rated at 950 mAh with minimum capacity of 900 mAh with 500 recharge cycles and 85% capacity retained in a year. Fast forward to Panasonic Eneloop PRO (BK-4HCDE) which are the latest fifth generation Eneloop Pro batteries we have 930 mAh minimum capacity and 930 mAh rating with 500 recharge cycles and 85% capacity left after 1 year. It seems nothing that much has changed in terms of base specifications for the the XX / PRO NiMH AAA size Eneloop batteries, but let us see how are things in our tests 5 years apart and two generations difference.
mAh Capacity – Eneloop XX – Eneloop Pro
— 0.1A load – 925 mAh – 903 mAh
— 0.2A load – 856 mAh – 901 mAh
— 0.5A load – 827 mAh – 888 mAh
— 1.0A load – 689 mAh – 634 mAh
Wh Capacity – Eneloop XX – Eneloop Pro
— 0.1A load – 1.153 Wh – 1.131 Wh
— 0.2A load – 1.047 Wh – 1.103 Wh
— 0.5A load – 0.954 Wh – 1.051 Wh
— 1.0A load – 0.733 Wh – 0.658 Wh
The test results show that the newer Eneloop PRO AAA bateries have a little less usable capacity at the lowest 0.1A load current, but manage to perform better in general in lower to medium current loads. The performance of the 5th generation Pro batteries under 0.1A, 0.2A and 0.5A is closer and more consistent, however at the higher 1.0A load the newer Pro is behind what the earlier 3rd gen Eneloop XX batteries managed to provide. In general not that much difference between the two and Eneloop XX / Pro AAA NiMH batteries still remain very good performer apparently. It is however interesting to note that capacity wise not much has changed in 5 years time for the AAA cells here, there are still no 1000 mAh models or higher for example, so are we reaching a limit for the capacity of the low self discharge NiMHs? Guess we’ll see soon enough after checking some of the other newer Eneloop models and compare them to the older generations that we have tested a while ago…
It has been a while since we have tested Eneloop batteries, so we were excited to check out what performance we can see from the latest gen Panasonic Eneloop Pro AAA NiMHs. According to Panasonic the BK-4HCDE Eneloop Pro AAA batteries should be able to deliver minimum capacity of 930 mAh, they come pre-charged and are low self discharge, meaning that they should be at retain 85% of their capacity in a year if not being used after a full charge. The Eneloop pro series is intended for high drain devices, meaning that it should handle better under heavier loads, the batteries are also suitable for use in low temperature conditions (-20 degrees Celsius) and are rated at up to 500 recharge cycles (if properly maintained). Of course the Eneloop Pro batteries are made in Japan and with all of the above said they are pretty expensive compared to other competing products, that is why we have high expectations.
The 1.2V AAA 930 mAh Panasonic Eneloop Pro NiMH (BK-4HCDE) batteries manage to deliver slightly more than 900 mAh at lower constant current loads of 0.1A and 0.2A in our tests and that kind of puzzled us, so we have repeated the tests multiple times just to be sure, however without much of a difference… we kind of expected to see the 930 mAh mark covered. Going up to 0.5A load we got at 888 mAh, a really good result and not much lower compared to the lower loads and then, jumping to 1.0A discharge test we see a more significant drop in the usable capacity at 634 mAh. We were a bit disappointed from the results at 0.1A and 0.2A constant current loads, even though the batteries did manage to perform very well at slightly over 900 mAh capacity in the test, we still expected to see a bit more.
The performance of the 1.2V AAA 930 mAh Panasonic Eneloop Pro NiMH batteries in our tests:
– 903 mAh at 0.1A load
– 901 mAh at 0.2A load
– 888 mAh at 0.5A load
– 634 mAh at 1.0A load
– 1.131 Wh at 0.1A load
– 1.103 Wh at 0.2A load
– 1.051 Wh at 0.5A load
– 0.658 Wh at 1.0A load