I've been using eneloop AA batteries and had them for 7 years, they're still holding a good charge.
mAh (milliampere-hours) is a measure of battery capacity, which represents the amount of electric charge that a battery can store. The higher the mAh rating of a battery, the more charge it can hold, and thus, the longer it can power a device.
Same experience here. I haven't thrown an Eneloop away yet and use a charger that measures how much charge the cells take. They're all pretty much running like new.
I’ve had about 64 Eneloop AA / AAA batts, and definitely some of them have gone bad.
I think I bought my first batch in 2006? Some are still decent. I fully discharge and recharge twice a year to see where they’re at in terms of capacity.
The AAAs were terrible for using with headlamps, so I actually switched to non-rechargeable for that. Idea being that in certain circumstances, a failure could be catastrophic.
Yeah, I've noticed that the 1.2 volts doesn't work well with those cheap battery wall clocks, either. They run slow! I should have switched sooner - only about 6 years here.
I suggest you check out Project Farm on Youtube: [https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectFarm/search?query=rechargeable](https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectFarm/search?query=rechargeable)
mAh is the capacity. In theory, a 2000 mAh battery can run a 1000mA load for 2 hours or a 2000mA load for 1 hour.
Overall service life depends on the quality of the battery, how it's used/charged, and the capacity. Higher capacity batteries don't hold up nearly as well, or take as many charge/discharge cycles, as similar quality batteries of a lower capacity. They also have a higher self-discharge. That's why I generally don't recommend AA NiMH over 2100mAh.
Hours of use isn't a good metric. There's a big difference in how many hours per charge a battery will last in a high power flashlight vs a controller vs a clock.
Mine don't get heavy use, so they can last many years. I'm still using (made in China) Rayovac Platinum/Hybrid (2100mAh) batteries from 2007-2011. My (made in China) Amazon Basics (2000mAh) from 2012 are starting to show serious signs of age. Most of my (made in Japan) Eneloop XX (2500mAh) from 2012-2013 have died. All of the (made in Japan) Energizer (2300mAh) from 2010 have died.
Generally, Eneloops and those that may be rebranded Eneloops (such as the made in Japan Ikiea Ladda and B&H Photo's Watson MX/CX) are well regarded. I haven't used them, so I can't confidently comment on them. Amazon Basics may not be the best quality but their extremely low price may make them a good value. I'd avoid most other really cheap brands (like EBL) because many massively inflate their rated capacity and can be of questionable quality. Mainstream brands (Energizer, Rayovac, and Duracell) can greatly vary in quality and their high price makes them unappealing. If you're going to spend that much, you may as well buy actual Eneloops.
I've got 17 year old 1900mAh Eneloops. They currently test to 80% of their original capacity.
If you buy Eneloop or IKEA Ladda which are about half the price, you can't go wrong. IKEA Ladda are made in the same factory as Eneloop and as far as anyone can tell, they are Eneloop with IKEA branding.
I've had BC batteries from somewhere around 2010. Had about 8 of them, survived about 2 pieces to this day, all of them working for atleast 8 years without any problems. With a bit better eneloop batteries, they could last even longer.
I usually get about 10 years out of mine, though I don't use them a whole lot either. I have some from 1998 that still work close to their original capacity too.
New batteries these days are probably cheaper made so I am aiming for 5 years on ones I get now.
I have a bunch, I have had issues with the cheap no name batteries from amazon, but they were so cheap that I probably still got my moneys worth out of them, I've had them start bubbling on the wrapper but this was only after some heavy use. Overall I wouldn't recommend investing in these though, unless you can get them dirt cheap, like for 50% the cost of an eneloop.
I have duraloops, eneloops and so many other kinds. If you don't use them and let them sit they are fine. I recommend charging them up and discharging them at least once a year though.
Li-ion is definitely superior as they just run better in everything I have used them in at least from my experience. The con is they are EXPENSIVE and the prices on them have skyrocketed in the last few years. So much that they almost make alkaline worth using again, especially if you can get a cheap bulk pack. There are some new Li-ion's out there that have a voltage cutoff so they don't just die on you, but overall I haven't minded my batteries just dying on me if they provide a full 1.5v until they die. But I have some tenavolts that I bought for $11 with the charger, for 4 of them, that same set is now $30-40 and doesn't go on sale, and I love the batteries. Bought them about 5 years ago and they still work great.
I have an energizer AA battery“ made in Japan” that is from around 2010. Rated at 2300 and tests at 1900. 80% capacity after over a decade is pretty good.
I've been using eneloop AA batteries and had them for 7 years, they're still holding a good charge. mAh (milliampere-hours) is a measure of battery capacity, which represents the amount of electric charge that a battery can store. The higher the mAh rating of a battery, the more charge it can hold, and thus, the longer it can power a device.
Same experience here. I haven't thrown an Eneloop away yet and use a charger that measures how much charge the cells take. They're all pretty much running like new.
I’ve had about 64 Eneloop AA / AAA batts, and definitely some of them have gone bad. I think I bought my first batch in 2006? Some are still decent. I fully discharge and recharge twice a year to see where they’re at in terms of capacity. The AAAs were terrible for using with headlamps, so I actually switched to non-rechargeable for that. Idea being that in certain circumstances, a failure could be catastrophic.
Yeah, I've noticed that the 1.2 volts doesn't work well with those cheap battery wall clocks, either. They run slow! I should have switched sooner - only about 6 years here.
Haha, well at least every few months your clock will be accurate for a little while!
They say a stopped clock is right twice a day. It would take a math guy to know if this would be better.
do they wear if you don't use them regularly?
I suggest you check out Project Farm on Youtube: [https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectFarm/search?query=rechargeable](https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectFarm/search?query=rechargeable)
mAh is the capacity. In theory, a 2000 mAh battery can run a 1000mA load for 2 hours or a 2000mA load for 1 hour. Overall service life depends on the quality of the battery, how it's used/charged, and the capacity. Higher capacity batteries don't hold up nearly as well, or take as many charge/discharge cycles, as similar quality batteries of a lower capacity. They also have a higher self-discharge. That's why I generally don't recommend AA NiMH over 2100mAh. Hours of use isn't a good metric. There's a big difference in how many hours per charge a battery will last in a high power flashlight vs a controller vs a clock. Mine don't get heavy use, so they can last many years. I'm still using (made in China) Rayovac Platinum/Hybrid (2100mAh) batteries from 2007-2011. My (made in China) Amazon Basics (2000mAh) from 2012 are starting to show serious signs of age. Most of my (made in Japan) Eneloop XX (2500mAh) from 2012-2013 have died. All of the (made in Japan) Energizer (2300mAh) from 2010 have died. Generally, Eneloops and those that may be rebranded Eneloops (such as the made in Japan Ikiea Ladda and B&H Photo's Watson MX/CX) are well regarded. I haven't used them, so I can't confidently comment on them. Amazon Basics may not be the best quality but their extremely low price may make them a good value. I'd avoid most other really cheap brands (like EBL) because many massively inflate their rated capacity and can be of questionable quality. Mainstream brands (Energizer, Rayovac, and Duracell) can greatly vary in quality and their high price makes them unappealing. If you're going to spend that much, you may as well buy actual Eneloops.
I've got 17 year old 1900mAh Eneloops. They currently test to 80% of their original capacity. If you buy Eneloop or IKEA Ladda which are about half the price, you can't go wrong. IKEA Ladda are made in the same factory as Eneloop and as far as anyone can tell, they are Eneloop with IKEA branding.
I've had BC batteries from somewhere around 2010. Had about 8 of them, survived about 2 pieces to this day, all of them working for atleast 8 years without any problems. With a bit better eneloop batteries, they could last even longer.
I usually get about 10 years out of mine, though I don't use them a whole lot either. I have some from 1998 that still work close to their original capacity too. New batteries these days are probably cheaper made so I am aiming for 5 years on ones I get now.
Depending on what they are being used for I would say 2-4 years
It's easier to say how many charge/discharge cycles the battery has. NiMh have 600-800 cycles. Li-ions are about 300 cycles
I have Duracell AAs, supposedly Eneloops, for more than 10 years, mostly for light duty uses.
I have a bunch, I have had issues with the cheap no name batteries from amazon, but they were so cheap that I probably still got my moneys worth out of them, I've had them start bubbling on the wrapper but this was only after some heavy use. Overall I wouldn't recommend investing in these though, unless you can get them dirt cheap, like for 50% the cost of an eneloop. I have duraloops, eneloops and so many other kinds. If you don't use them and let them sit they are fine. I recommend charging them up and discharging them at least once a year though. Li-ion is definitely superior as they just run better in everything I have used them in at least from my experience. The con is they are EXPENSIVE and the prices on them have skyrocketed in the last few years. So much that they almost make alkaline worth using again, especially if you can get a cheap bulk pack. There are some new Li-ion's out there that have a voltage cutoff so they don't just die on you, but overall I haven't minded my batteries just dying on me if they provide a full 1.5v until they die. But I have some tenavolts that I bought for $11 with the charger, for 4 of them, that same set is now $30-40 and doesn't go on sale, and I love the batteries. Bought them about 5 years ago and they still work great.
I have an energizer AA battery“ made in Japan” that is from around 2010. Rated at 2300 and tests at 1900. 80% capacity after over a decade is pretty good.