Rechargeable Battery Review’s Basic Assumptions

Any Rechargeable Battery:

• Will not hold the same charge from cycle to cycle;
• Will not deliver the same capacity from cycle to cycle;
• No two charge or discharge cycles are exactly equal;
• All these differences are expected to be small;
• Should deliver close to its rated capacity whether it is used in a device with Fixed Load characteristics at 0.05C or in a device with Constant Current characteristics at 0.2C;
• The term close means a variation of less than +/- 5%.

Rechargeable Batteries from the Same Manufacturer:

• Example: two or more AA 2500 mAh from the Sanyo ( blister pack);
• No two batteries will have the same capacity or behaviour;
• No two charge or discharge cycles are equal, even in the same rechargeable battery;
• All these differences are expected to be small;
• Should deliver close to its rated capacity whether it is used in a device with Fixed Load characteristics at 0.05C or in a device with Constant Current characteristics at 0.2C;
• The term close means a variation of less than +/- 5%.

Batteries from the Different Manufacturers:

• Example: an AA 2500 mAh from the Sanyo and Powerex
• No two batteries will have the same capacity or behaviour;
• No two charge or discharge cycles will be equal;
• May perform differently at various discharge rates or in different devices;
• Should deliver close to their rated capacity whether it is used in a device with Fixed Load characteristics at 0.05C or in a device with Constant Current characteristics at 0.2C;
• The term close means a variation of less than +/- 5%.

Here are some questions you should ask yourself and decide what your assumptions are when you buy a rechargeable battery:

• When you see rechargeable batteries with higher capacities, do you expect better performance?
• How do you expect two different brands of the same capacity to perform?
• Does a higher capacity rating on the label mean better value?
• Can you get more value from a lower capacity rechargeable battery?