IMEDION and eneloop performance review

Many customers ask “How do the new IMEDION AA rechargeable batteries compare to the eneloop AA rechargeable batteries?

Both are a low discharge technology, so they retain up to 85% of their charge after 12 months. But the eneloops have been available for a while, whereas the IMEDIONs are new. Has Maha been able to develop a better performer?

It would seem so. Test results have demonstrated IMEDION AA batteries outperforming the eneloop AA batteries in capacity measurements and discharge tests. Anders over on the Candle Power Forum has done many tests on the IMEDION AA batteries. The results of one of the tests, a comparison to the eneloop batteries, is shown below.

Update: Anders has noted that the eneloop graph is not correct. To see a more comparable graph, see the eneloop tests by Silverfox.

Here in Australia, several people have done their own tests and published the results on the whirlpool forum. Results by “Horrorking” can be seen here and IMEDION and eneloop performance tests in a Nikon SB-800 camera flash can be seen here

While the IMEDION AA batteries demonstrate a capacity advantage over the eneloop batteries, the other benefit of the IMEDION batteries is that they include a free AA battery holder, whereas the eneloop batteries do not.

EDIT: Fixed typo’s and added link to eneloop test results – sorry for misspelling your name Anders!

MH-C204W rapid charging and trickle charging process

Here is a question we received from a customer today. I thought it was worth sharing…

Hi,

I have MH-C204W battery charger I bought from you about 2 years ago. Its instructions sheet states \”do not mix batteries of different capacities ….\”. Your website states \”.. you can charge two different sets of two rechargeable batteries …\”. Is this true for all MH-C204W models or is this a later update to this product.

This is true of all MH-C204W battery chargers. The MH-C204W charges AA and AAA NiMH rechargeable batteries in pairs, and the pairs should match. However, you could have a different capacity and/or brand in slot 1&2 to what you are charging in slot 3&4. Similarly, you could charge a set of AA batteries in slot 1&2, and a set of AAA batteries in slot 3&4

I have also noticed that at the end of the quick charge cycle the batteries are only about 90% charged but leaving them on for another 2-3 hours adds another 8% or so to the voltage. Is this what should normally be done for a \”fuller\” charge\”?

The 204W will charge the NiMH batteries at a rate of 2000mA until they are almost full, approximately 97% of capacity. The battery charger then detects that the NiMH batteries are almost full by constantly monitoring the voltage, and it will switch to a 50mA trickle charge. If you leave the battieries in the charger for another hour or two, you will get another 2% or 3% charged capacity.

difference between MH-C800S and MH-C801D

The main difference between the MH-C800S and MH-C801D is the charge rate. The 801D charges at 2000mA, so 2700mAh AA rechargeable batteries take 1.35 hours to charge if completely flat, and 2100mAh low discharge AA rechargeable batteries take just over 1 hour. The 800S charges at 1000mA, so the 2700mAh batteries take 2.7 hours to charge if completely empty.

Both battery chargers have a “soft charge” function which will charge at half the normal rate.

The other difference is that the 801D has a commercial grade power supply with a DIN connector, whereas the 800S has a smaller wall-wart style power supply.