AA Rechargeable batteries for a few $$$ less

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DavyC
Posts: 109
Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2018 1:53 pm
Location: UK

AA Rechargeable batteries for a few $$$ less

Post by DavyC »

I ordered a couple of additional speed lights, so In anticipation I gathered up a fistful of Eneloop Pro AA rechargeables.
They had been dormant for 18 months. Still, I was surprised that half of them were not relivable.

I was about to order some more new ones, but as there is a price premium with these 'Pro batteries', I had a look around.
Who would have thought how well regarded the Ikea 'Ladda 2450 mAh' batteries were.
Less than half the price with similar performance.
There are comparative reviews on YouTube of the well known brands.

viktor j nilsson
Posts: 423
Joined: Fri Mar 01, 2013 1:43 am
Location: Lund, Sweden

Re: AA Rechargeable batteries for a few $$$ less

Post by viktor j nilsson »

I've been using the white IKEA LADDA batteries for quite a while after reading the tests a few years ago. But the last time I ordered I noticed that IKEA had discontinued the original line of white batteries with a new gray-colored line of batteries. While it appeared like the white ones were likely rebranded Eneloops and great value, the same may not be true for the new line. Not sure if anyone has tested the new ones.

viktor j nilsson
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Location: Lund, Sweden

Re: AA Rechargeable batteries for a few $$$ less

Post by viktor j nilsson »

This was a good thread:
https://budgetlightforum.com/node/77574

Seems like the new gray LADDA batteries are also made in Japan and close to Eneloops in performance, or perhaps even identical to Eneloop pro. That's very good news.

DavyC
Posts: 109
Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2018 1:53 pm
Location: UK

Re: AA Rechargeable batteries for a few $$$ less

Post by DavyC »

I picked up some of the Grey Ladda 2450 batteries here in the UK. Made in Japan, which is a good sign.
After few charge/discharge cycles and monitor with an intelligent charger will give an idea of how things are going.
A good real world stress test is the refresh time taken for flash to re-fire.
Before everything turned 'Intelligent', a good indicator was how long the batteries needed to fully charge.

lothman
Posts: 956
Joined: Sat Feb 14, 2009 7:00 am
Location: Stuttgart/Germany

Re: AA Rechargeable batteries for a few $$$ less

Post by lothman »

DavyC wrote:
Sat Jul 31, 2021 1:51 am
I ordered a couple of additional speed lights, so In anticipation I gathered up a fistful of Eneloop Pro AA rechargeables.
They had been dormant for 18 months. Still, I was surprised that half of them were not relivable.
sometimes if they are heavily discharged some chargers do not recognise them. For me it often helped to put them parallel to a fully charged for 30 seconds, then the charger accepts them again and they worked as usual.

DavyC
Posts: 109
Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2018 1:53 pm
Location: UK

Re: AA Rechargeable batteries for a few $$$ less

Post by DavyC »

I never heard of this 'Shock Treatment' to kick start the charging process. I must remember that. Thanks.

Babylonia
Posts: 92
Joined: Tue Mar 20, 2012 10:56 am

Re: AA Rechargeable batteries for a few $$$ less

Post by Babylonia »

To kick start charging as for "Shock Treatment", by experience already many years ago.
In a comparable situation, I did put the batteries to a very old simple battery charger (without all micro electronics of today chargers) for about 10 minutes.
Afterwards back to the "more sophisticated" battery charger, to not overload.

Using some AAA batteries of the brand "GP" in some old Panasonic DECT wireless phones. Only charging to the base if the hand sets are beeping for low charge.
These "GP ReCyko" batteries are already be used for over 10 years. Seems no degrading. Still lasting in good condition.

https://international.gpbatteries.com/c ... -batteries

For flashes, try one of those "Pro" types.
https://international.gpbatteries.com/c ... ies?page=2
Greetings from Holland

DavyC
Posts: 109
Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2018 1:53 pm
Location: UK

Re: AA Rechargeable batteries for a few $$$ less

Post by DavyC »

These "GP ReCyko" batteries are already be used for over 10 years. Seems no degrading. Still lasting in good condition.
I took a look at the GP batteries which appear to have good specifications and also a very useful looking charger which doubles up as a Power Bank. Neat idea.

Most of the reviews I have seen would tend to favour Battery products made in Japan.
Not to say that something made in China, cannot be as good or better, but many products are tainted from outlandish ratings claims to
blatent cloning or forgery.

On a practical note, sellers like Amazon were fined for air shipping Lithium cells, so they have stopped supplying to some destinations.
This is where Ikea come in handy, as I can just pick up batteries locally.

pulsar123
Posts: 146
Joined: Fri Jun 12, 2015 12:36 pm

Re: AA Rechargeable batteries for a few $$$ less

Post by pulsar123 »

Check out this post - a very thorough testing of multiple brands of NiMH batteries, specifically for driving flashes:

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/sh ... ?t=1477069

The cheap Amazon Basics 2400mAh batteries look pretty good in this test, especially given the price. I've been using dozens of NiMH batteries for years in my home studio, all kinds of brands, made in Japan and China etc, and these particular batteries worked pretty well for me. Recently I had to throw the whole bunch of them as they would no longer charge properly, but they were 7 years old, so no big surprise there. They were black (made in Japan), replaced them with brand new ones (solid green, made in China), will see how the latter will fare. I also have a bunch of them from January 2020 (green top, made in China), they worked well so far.

DavyC
Posts: 109
Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2018 1:53 pm
Location: UK

Re: AA Rechargeable batteries for a few $$$ less

Post by DavyC »

Check out this post - a very thorough testing of multiple brands of NiMH batteries, specifically for driving flashes:
Thats what I call dedication!

Nice work.

Jmurphy18
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Joined: Sun Jun 13, 2021 12:07 pm
Location: Newport News va
Contact:

Re: AA Rechargeable batteries for a few $$$ less

Post by Jmurphy18 »

I still have a couple of the older PowerEx 9000 chargers with the "refresh & analyze " circuits that I use on my batteries when they sit for a while. I have 10 sets as I do water drop photography using 6 flashes plus with I do with the Godox on the Extreme. The newer 9930 does not have these modes. FYI just charges 8 batters and faster.
JohnM

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