This is about Low Self-Discharge rechargeable NiMH batteries. Eneloops are the gold standard (as you can see on OzBargain) but you'll find identical or similar products from other brands. Well known examples are Aldi's Activ Energy products, and Ikea's Ladda cells which may or may not be made in the same factories.
Copying in some notes because it's a pain in the arse to look up.
Cell types
Earlier models were made by Sanyo, before Panasonic bought them out.
Cell type |
Minimum Capacity (mAh) |
AA Eneloop BK-3MCCE |
1900 |
AA Eneloop Pro |
? |
AA Panasonic Evolta BK-3HLD |
2550 |
AA Aldi Activ Energy |
2500 |
AA Lite |
? |
AAA |
? |
AAA Sanyo Eneloop XX HR-4UWXB |
900 |
AAA Panasonic Evolta BK-4HLD |
950 |
AAA Lite |
? |
AAA Aldi Activ Energy |
900 |
Chargers
Information on the Smart and Quick Charger comes from here: http://main.panasonic-eneloop.eu/sites/default/files/4_BQ-CC55.pdf
Smart and Quick: BQ-CC55
Interestingly, my black JP-plug charger quotes very slightly lower charging currents, 750mA for AA cells and 275mA for AAA cells. The AU-plug white charger that I bought locally says 800mA (3.2A total) and 300mA (1.2A total) respectively.
Status lights
LED status |
Battery status |
Red |
< 20% charged |
Yellow |
20-80% charged |
Green |
> 80% charged |
Off |
100% charged |
Blinking yellow |
Battery replacement recommended |
Blinking red |
Invalid batteries (ie. non-rechargeable) inserted |
Charging times
Battery capacity |
Charging time 1-2 cells |
Charging time 3-4 cells |
AA 2400 – 2550 mAh |
2 hours |
4 hours |
AA 1900 – 2000 mAh |
1.5 hours |
3 hours |
AA 950 – 1000 mAh |
0.75 hours |
1.5 hours |
AAA 900 – 950 mAh |
2 hours |
4 hours |
AAA 750 – 800 mAh |
1.5 hours |
3 hours |
AAA 550 – 650 mAh |
1.25 hours |
2.5 hours |
Model numbers
The Smart and Quick charger is the one you want because it doesn't suck. Universal voltage, plugs straight into the wall, can charge any mix of AA and AAA cells, charges quickly, has good visual feedback on charging progress, and each cell is handled individually so there's no need to pair them.
May be referred to as K-KJ16MCC4TA or BQ-CC16 when sold in a pack with 4x AA regular eneloops.
- BQ-CC55 if sold alone?
The Basic charger is really crap. No smarts at all, it just supplies current to a pair of batteries for a time that is definitely enough to completely charge them, regardless of how full they are. This is not really good for the batteries, they dissipate the extra current as heat once they're full. Batteries must be charged in pairs. It is also very slow, about 10-12 hours for AA cells (there's two charging circuits so it's the same whether you charge 2 or 4 cells at once). Minimal feedback, green LED while charging and no LED when finished.
- May be K-KJ18MCC4TA when sold with batteries included
BQ-CC18 has little circular LEDs at the bottom of each pair
BQ-CC51 has diffused strip LEDS at the top of each pair
The Advanced charger is noted as being slow and smart. It can charge single cells, and terminates automatically once the charging is complete. Charging a AA cell should take about 6 hours I think.
- BQ-CC17