>   If they have triple the life of your Eveready batteries, it's
> probably because the Eveready batteries have lost 2/3 of their
> capacity (assuming that the Panasonics haven't lost any).  Under
> good conditions NiMH cells should last for hundreds of charge
> cycles, at which point manufacturers optimistically assume that they
> will have lost about 1/5 of their original capacity.  For your
> Eveready batteries to have lost so much more, it might be reasonable
> to assume that they have not been ideally cared for.
> Over-discharging batteries before putting them back in the charger
> is a common way to shorten their lives.  Actually, it's possible
> that not all of the Eveready cells has been damaged.  Only one bad
> cell can make the entire set appear to have lost most of their
> capacity.  Even if that's the case, you'd be better off replacing
> all of them, not just the bad cell.

> > Is there a difference in NmH chargers?

>   Yes.  But almost all chargers from reputable manufacturers should
> do a decent job charging your NiMH cells.  It's nice to have a
> charger that can independently charge cells and has a charge
> indicator for each cell.  One of these would allow you to also
> charge individual cells or sets of three, not just sets of 2 or 4,
> which is a common limitation of less expensive chargers that only
> charge pairs of NiMH cells.

> >  My camera manual recommends charging their brand of batteries only
> > with their charger.

>   That advice can be safely ignored in almost all cases.  Exceptions
> would be if the batteries are of unique, proprietary designs that
> wouldn't allow them to be conveniently or safely used with commonly
> available, standard NiMH chargers.  If Panasonic, Sanyo or Kodak
> sold cold cuts, they'd probably warn on their packages to only use
> Panasonic, Sanyo or Kodak brand bread when making sandwiches.  :)

>>On Sun, 6 Jul 2008 10:20:24 -0700 (PDT), Tom777 wrote:

>>>I have set of Panasonic NmH batteries with a Panasonic charger....
>>>they seem they have triple the life of my Everyready NmH batteries
>>>(same mah)....Is is because I am charging the Everyreadys in a
>>>Panasonic charger?

>>  If they have triple the life of your Eveready batteries, it's
>>probably because the Eveready batteries have lost 2/3 of their
>>capacity (assuming that the Panasonics haven't lost any).  Under
>>good conditions NiMH cells should last for hundreds of charge
>>cycles, at which point manufacturers optimistically assume that they
>>will have lost about 1/5 of their original capacity.  For your
>>Eveready batteries to have lost so much more, it might be reasonable
>>to assume that they have not been ideally cared for.
>>Over-discharging batteries before putting them back in the charger
>>is a common way to shorten their lives.  Actually, it's possible
>>that not all of the Eveready cells has been damaged.  Only one bad
>>cell can make the entire set appear to have lost most of their
>>capacity.  Even if that's the case, you'd be better off replacing
>>all of them, not just the bad cell.

>>>Is there a difference in NmH chargers?

>>  Yes.  But almost all chargers from reputable manufacturers should
>>do a decent job charging your NiMH cells.  It's nice to have a
>>charger that can independently charge cells and has a charge
>>indicator for each cell.  One of these would allow you to also
>>charge individual cells or sets of three, not just sets of 2 or 4,
>>which is a common limitation of less expensive chargers that only
>>charge pairs of NiMH cells.

>>> My camera manual recommends charging their brand of batteries only
>>>with their charger.

>>  That advice can be safely ignored in almost all cases.  Exceptions
>>would be if the batteries are of unique, proprietary designs that
>>wouldn't allow them to be conveniently or safely used with commonly
>>available, standard NiMH chargers.  If Panasonic, Sanyo or Kodak
>>sold cold cuts, they'd probably warn on their packages to only use
>>Panasonic, Sanyo or Kodak brand bread when making sandwiches.  :)

> Thanks for your feedback. ....any other replies would be
> appreciated.   Has anyone found one brand better than the other.  A
> friend says that everyreadys have a short self-discharge rate, in
> other words, after a charge they lose their power quickly just sitting
> for a few weeks. Any other experiences?

>> Thanks for your feedback. ....any other replies would be
>> appreciated.   Has anyone found one brand better than the other.  A
>> friend says that everyreadys have a short self-discharge rate, in
>> other words, after a charge they lose their power quickly just sitting
>> for a few weeks. Any other experiences?

>   There's nothing wrong with Eveready cells.  They're just the
> traditional NiMH type of cell, similar to NiCads, that can't hold
> most of their charge for months at a time.  If your friend doesn't
> like Eveready batteries, he's going to have a problem with batteries
> from all manufacturers.  There are basically two types of NiMH
> cells.  Standard and low self-discharge.  The latter type can hold a
> significant charge for a year or two, but they have less capacity
> than standard NiMH cells, 2,000-2,100mah vs. about 2,600-2,800mah
> for the higher self-discharge 'standard' NiMH cells.  For heavy use,
> standard cells are better because they're generally cheaper, and
> last longer before needing to be recharged.  For light use, such as
> where cells can last a month or more between charges, low
> self-discharge cells are usually preferable.  As far as I'm aware,
> all of the companies that produce low self-discharge batteries also
> sell standard NiMH cells.  

>   The low self-discharge cells typically go by different names.
> Sanyo calls theirs "Eneloop".  RayOVac's are called "Hybrid".  The
> ones packaged by Radio Shack don't seem to have a special name.
> What they have in common is that they're sold "pre-charged", and the
> package should say somewhere on it that they can be used
> immediately, without needing to first put them in a charger.
> Several manufacturers have stated that their low self-discharge
> cells can be charged using any properly designed NiMH charger.  If
> you still have questions, manufacturer's websites often have data
> sheets and application notes that can be very informative.

>>Thanks for your feedback. ....any other replies would be
>>appreciated.   Has anyone found one brand better than the other.  A
>>friend says that everyreadys have a short self-discharge rate, in
>>other words, after a charge they lose their power quickly just sitting
>>for a few weeks. Any other experiences?

>   There's nothing wrong with Eveready cells.  They're just the
> traditional NiMH type of cell, similar to NiCads, that can't hold
> most of their charge for months at a time.  If your friend doesn't
> like Eveready batteries, he's going to have a problem with batteries
> from all manufacturers.  There are basically two types of NiMH
> cells.  Standard and low self-discharge.  The latter type can hold a
> significant charge for a year or two, but they have less capacity
> than standard NiMH cells, 2,000-2,100mah vs. about 2,600-2,800mah
> for the higher self-discharge 'standard' NiMH cells.  For heavy use,
> standard cells are better because they're generally cheaper, and
> last longer before needing to be recharged.  For light use, such as
> where cells can last a month or more between charges, low
> self-discharge cells are usually preferable.  As far as I'm aware,
> all of the companies that produce low self-discharge batteries also
> sell standard NiMH cells.  

>   The low self-discharge cells typically go by different names.
> Sanyo calls theirs "Eneloop".  RayOVac's are called "Hybrid".  The
> ones packaged by Radio Shack don't seem to have a special name.
> What they have in common is that they're sold "pre-charged", and the
> package should say somewhere on it that they can be used
> immediately, without needing to first put them in a charger.
> Several manufacturers have stated that their low self-discharge
> cells can be charged using any properly designed NiMH charger.  If
> you still have questions, manufacturer's websites often have data
> sheets and application notes that can be very informative.