I've a set of four 1st gen Sanyo Eneloop batteries that I had purchased long in 2005 I guess for my camera. Still it works fine and has got juice. Two years back a friend from India got me another pack of 4, it was also Made in Japan. recently tried to order and buy few more from online/retail but most of them only have the ones from China now. I've heard the Chinese ones aren't as good as the Japanese ones.

- Is it true that the Chinese ones aren't that good?
- Also has Panasonic stopped making them in Japan?
- Is there any brand that still make batteries in the USA (heard Rayovac Recharge Plus is USA made,not sure if it genuine)?

 

Hi,

Lots of questions. All i know is that Sanyo does not make them anymore but Panasonic does now.
I have a lot of Panasonic ones but did not go through rigorous testing.
Supposedly Panasonic 'improved' the design
So many things ARE NOT made in the US anymore it's hard to keep track.

 

Hi,

Lots of questions. All i know is that Sanyo does not make them anymore but Panasonic does now.
I have a lot of Panasonic ones but did not go through rigorous testing.

Hi,

Sorry for making it crowded. I've re-arranged the questions now. Yes, I'm aware that Panasonic has absorbed the Sanyo battery division.Is there any new Panasonic eneloops that are made in Japan that you have come across recently. They seem to be quite hard to find. I saw that Rayovac Recharge Plus are made in USA. Have you come across any?

 

Hi,

Oh i didnt think to look until now, but now that you mention it, the pack i most recently bought from Amazon says on the back:
"Batteries made in Japan, charger made in China". It's the pack with the charger and multi colored batteries.
The charger worked pretty good though, although i got an updated version now too from Panasonic.

 

Hi,

Oh i didnt think to look until now, but now that you mention it, the pack i most recently bought from Amazon says on the back:
"Batteries made in Japan, charger made in China". It's the pack with the charger and multi colored batteries.
The charger worked pretty good though, although i got an updated version now too from Panasonic.

Thanks mate. I assume you are talking about the 4th gen Eneloop like in the link below.I don't mind if the charger is Chinese, but the batteris Japanese made is good news.

https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-ge...rd_wg=FBfHG&psc=1&refRID=ZZ11K3K478VXRFNJE4A5

 

Hi,

That's not the pack i bought mine came with a charger in the center of the package, but i think that pack is made in Japan too. To be sure, send a message to the seller asking them to check the back. If they are made in Japan the back will say that. I dont know if that is a given though because they may have been made in China but they did not update the package graphics yet.

Also, i have not tried the other batteries you mention here, but i did try the Kodac brand low self discharge types and they work pretty well too. I dont know if they are still available or not though anymore, that was several years ago and i switched to using just Eneloops a while back because the others were too hard to find.

Many, many years ago i tried the Rayovac rechargeable alkalines, but they only recharged about 10 or 20 times before they discharged very quickly. That was 20 years ago and i dont think they make them anymore.

Stay away from the PowerGenix brand, they really bite big. Recharge once, then die. They are not the same type of cell though anyway.

 

Many, many years ago i tried the Rayovac rechargeable alkalines, but they only recharged about 10 or 20 times before they discharged very quickly. That was 20 years ago and i dont think they make them anymore.

That was a failed product. I bought a several chargers and over a hundred dollars worth of batteries. They never lived up to the hype.

Fortunately the 4 AA portable charger worked for other battery chemistries.

 

Hi,
first post here. While searching for info about eneloops I came across this thread. I'd like to answer a few of the questions.

- Is it true that the Chinese ones aren't that good?
Yes, that is true.. At this time they arent as good. A friend of mine did a very thorough testing between the 2 types. Please take a look at this test; http://www.ultrasmartcharger.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=81
It must however be noted that chinese eneloops are probably improving bit by bit.. so far there have been no better tests that \i have come across.

- Also has Panasonic stopped making them in Japan?
No, they still source them from the FDK factory in Japan. In the East Asian region they likely sell |Chinese eneloops. America, Europe etc have Japanese eneloops. Please take a look at my overview that I made; http://eneloop101.com/batteries/complete-lineup/ You can see the latest versions are still made in Japan. If you are interested there is much more info on my site about eneloops if youre interested.
Also, without wanting to be rude, it is very unlikely you bought your eneloops in 2005 They were mostly available in Japan only from November 2005

- Is there any brand that still make batteries in the USA (heard Rayovac Recharge Plus is USA made,not sure if it genuine)?
Not that I have come across. Im an eneloop geek, but I must give credit when credit is due. At this time there is no other brand that is on the same page, especially not for LSD rating. Pure capacity when new there are a few that can measure themselves up to eneloop, but over the long term they usually can't keep up. Another friend of mine, HKJ has tested many AA and AAA batteries, have a look at this site as well: http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/CommonAAIndividualTest%20UK.html

THanks for reading.

 

Hi,
first post here. While searching for info about eneloops I came across this thread. I'd like to answer a few of the questions.

- Is it true that the Chinese ones aren't that good?
Yes, that is true.. At this time they arent as good. A friend of mine did a very thorough testing between the 2 types. Please take a look at this test; http://www.ultrasmartcharger.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=81
It must however be noted that chinese eneloops are probably improving bit by bit.. so far there have been no better tests that \i have come across.

- Also has Panasonic stopped making them in Japan?
No, they still source them from the FDK factory in Japan. In the East Asian region they likely sell |Chinese eneloops. America, Europe etc have Japanese eneloops. Please take a look at my overview that I made; http://eneloop101.com/batteries/complete-lineup/ You can see the latest versions are still made in Japan. If you are interested there is much more info on my site about eneloops if youre interested.
Also, without wanting to be rude, it is very unlikely you bought your eneloops in 2005 They were mostly available in Japan only from November 2005

- Is there any brand that still make batteries in the USA (heard Rayovac Recharge Plus is USA made,not sure if it genuine)?
Not that I have come across. Im an eneloop geek, but I must give credit when credit is due. At this time there is no other brand that is on the same page, especially not for LSD rating. Pure capacity when new there are a few that can measure themselves up to eneloop, but over the long term they usually can't keep up. Another friend of mine, HKJ has tested many AA and AAA batteries, have a look at this site as well: http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/CommonAAIndividualTest%20UK.html

THanks for reading.

Wow. Thank you very much.That was very informative.Those links you provided have very in-depth info.Precisely what I wanted. And about the date even I'm not sure. It was given to me by my dad, so I'm not sure about the year of purchase. It does have the label saying Model as HR-3UTG. Thats why I assumed its 2005.

 

My pleasure. Yes the 1st gen are from 2005 till 2009. But its still possible to have 1st gen from after the 2nd gen had started production

Maha (Powerex) is an American brand I believe, but their newest Powerex 2700 Pro are made in Japan. Good batteries! They are the same aa Panasonic 2700 (non eneloop) is my understanding.

 

@simonindia: 4th generation eneloops are great batteries. The ones you linked to are 4th gen.