PowerGenix NiZn rechargeable AA batteries: finally, some cells worth buying
By Darren Murph 
posted Nov 9th 2009 11:22AM
posted Nov 9th 2009 11:22AM
One of the major concerns with traditional NiMh rechargeables is just how weak they are, and just how quickly their longevity declines. With few exceptions, most of these cells can't actually power a dedicated hotshoe flash for more than a few minutes (if at all), and any application that demands a serious amount of power generally asks too much from these pricey tubes. Furthermore, these batteries also have a tendency to go from fully charged to empty faster and faster as time goes on, and while we understand that said phenomenon is simply a harsh reality when dealing with devices such as this, we always felt that the performance decline was unacceptable given the price premium attached to 'em.
Enter PowerGenix, a little known company with a lot of hustle and a pocket full of promises. The company is selling 1.6v AA Nickel Zinc rechargeables at a variety of outlets now, with the MRSP for a 4-pack sitting at $14.99; the special charger (needed for charging NiZn batteries) can be purchased along with four cells for $34.99 (again, that's MSRP). Needless to say, both are available for less if you poke around a bit. We began using these with exceptionally low expectations, and six wedding shoots later, we're now grinning from ear to ear. Our Nikon Speedlight SB-600 chews through standard batteries like a voracious beast, only squeezing out around 200 to 300 shots on a warm, lucky day. The PowerGenix cells, however, allowed us to fire the flash anywhere between 300 and 400 times in all conditions, and even after running them bone dry and juicing them back up for months on end, we've yet to see 'em take a performance hit.
Naturally, these will also keep your wireless keyboard, mouse or remote ticking for a long, long time, but it's their ability to shine even in high-drain applications that really impressed us. The economics of it just make these tough to ignore: a 4-pack of Energizer's 'Ultimate Lithium' AA cells can be had for around $7 to $10, while the 4-pack of PowerGenix batteries cost just a few bucks more (charger notwithstanding). If you're a power user that eats through 8, 12 or more AA cells at every stop, it's a no brainer to make the switch to NiZn. If you find yourself buying batteries around once per year, you're probably better off sticking with your current habits. But hey -- at least there's finally a great solution for those of us who've been procuring more batteries than toilet paper over the past few years.
I didn't know 1.6V counted as "HIGH VOLTAGE"
Compared to the usual 1.2V from NiMh, yes it is.
A bit of a silly marketing claim, yes, but that's compared to standard AA's that are usually 1.5V and most rechargeables that run between 1.2V and 1.3V.
It does for AA batteries...1.5V is a fully charged AA.
Its most likely a marketing ploy, which if its as good as its claimed to be then use any tactics neccessary.
Eneloop just got 0.4Vpwned
So now we have AA's that are STILL not 1.5V.
@BigD145 Neither are regular alkaline AA cells. I just tested a several fresh ones and they were all just about 1.6V. 1.5V is an approximation, and it sounds like these batteries provide roughly the same voltage as regular AA batteries. This will be great for devices that don't deal well with the 1.3~1.2V of other rechargeable AAs.
Sorry to attach to the top message, but someone has to do Darren's job for him. Here is a data sheet from Powergenix:
http://www.powergenix.com/docs/powergenix-specs-aa.pdf
The punch line. Capacity is no miracle, It's 1500mAhrs typical (1500 x 1.6V = 2400mWhrs), but still no info on # of cycles or self discharge.
OK. More info in this press release from June:
http://www.en-genius.net/site/zones/greenpowerZONE/product_reviews/grnpowp_060109
Key points:
1. quoted: "self-discharge rate is a bit under 1%/day, better than Ni-MH but not as good as Li-Ion" - This is crap. It's the same as old NiMH but not close to Eneloop types which lose only 15% in year. And they don't say how it might be worse is less than ideal conditions.
2. quoted: "will typically deliver 500 – 1000 charge cycles but, like its lithium-based counterparts, a multi-cell pack will require additional management electronics to match charge/discharge characteristics or it will deliver only 200 – 250 charge cycles" - This is not good. They are saying it needs high-end battery management to get good cycle life. So much for dropping these in your speedlight.
It looks like their only advantage is high current charge/discharge capability. That's nice for EVs and power tools, but not that important for cameras, and consumer stuff. NiMH is already pretty good at high current. In order for these to be useful, they have to improve the self discharge. The importance of that can't be overstated.
sweet! are you doing the same kind of test on the Eneloops? I'm curious to see how those hold up as well.
Yeah, I'm really interested to know how these stack up against the Eneloops. I love my Eneloops, it's hard to imagine how I got along without them.
I'd definitely love to see the Eneloops stacked up against this, I use four AAAs in my Harmony 550 remote and it seems to last 3 months or even more with fairly heavy use (I do love my volume button).
Not only that, but the need for a proprietary charger is kind of annoying, just how many charges can you get out of this battery?
I just bought some eneloops to replace my Xbox 360 quick charge, and the batteries last like 2-3 times longer (unscientifically). I got 4 with the charger for like $20, which is a way better deal than the 360's for $30 with 1 battery pack and $15 more for another. There are 2 downsides though; 1: I have to take them out of the battery pack instead of popping it right in the charger, and 2: they don't turn off the controller before it's about to die to give you a warning, and once it turns off it's completely dead. Definitely worth it IMO.
Ya, I would be all over these if I could charge them in my eneloop charger.
I'd love to see you test these along side the Sanyo Eneloops. I have poured quite a bit into the Eneloop batteries, and I do love them. If there's something significantly better, I'd like to know!
I'm curious if you can charge theses in the eneloop charger?
How are you going to charge these in a regular charger?
THIS IS 1.6V
are you guys that stupid?
and I'm thinking a 4 battery charger is a little anemic... my speedlight takes 5 batteries, so I'll be sitting through 2 charge cycles? Yah, no.
I bought some of the Energizer badged eneloops (the ones with the white top) from Target a while back for use in my Speedlight SB-600 (same as the reviewer) and can say I get about the same results. I used to get about 220-250 flashes out of standard AAs and maybe even 300 out of Lithium AAs, but with the eneloops, I've been getting right around 350-375 shots. After about 10 recharges, I haven't really noticed any decreases, and I even left them in the SB-600 for 4 months and got about 300 shots out of them without recharging.
Talk about a fluff piece. There are more words setting up the battery review than the review itself. The only info about the batteries is that they used them for "months on end" without losing capacity, and they got 300-400 flashes out of them. No info about how long they take to charge, starting and ending voltage measurements, storage loss (esp. compared to eneloops which are getting very popular), nothing.
@DR, @kit - the short answer is no, these won't work in the Eneloop charger. the Eneloop batteries are 1.2V and these are 1.6V. on top of that the chemistry is different. the Eneloops are Ni-MH whereas these are a new form, NiZn (Nickel-Zinc), so the difference in charging conditions is probably enough to cause....well, let's just say it could problems. if you're lucky it would be limited to simply ruining your batteries.
How many mAh are these rated at?
Yeah c'mon Engadget do an Eneloop vs comparison. My 2 AA Eneloops last about 2 months in My 360 control with rumble on. The other two i have, have been powering My toothbrush for the last 6 months and still going strong.
@pasty
don't expect too much yet, engadget have only been testing them for a few months
Finally some decides to go bunny thumping...
probably will make the switch, seems like these would really shine for 360 controllers. I've had a couple of m$'s play and charge packs die on me, the pos
"m$'s "
That's new and creative.
@richard
If it wasn't new and creative than your comment would be worthless.
e.g.
"the" That's a nice word, where did you learn that? The future?
He has a point, even if he's being annoying about it. Using the abbreviation "M$" or spelling it out "Micro$oft" is like seriously referring to authority structures as "the man."
$34.99? Where do you guys shop? $25.47 from Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/PowerGenix-PGX1HRCH-4AAZiNc-1-6v-4-Position-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B0029NZVZ0
i believe they are shopping at the big box store called MSRP
They said "MSRP"
L2Read.
It clearly says MSRP..
No one has pointed it out yet but it says MSRP.
Lol @ Tony
No one has pointed it out yet, but lol @Tony
will definitely be checking these out.
between the wireless mouse, automated shower cleaner, pile of my son's toys, and our barrel full of remotes (yes, working on a logitech soon), this is definitely peaks my interest.
I'm very interested in this automated shower cleaner, as I'm sure my 3 other roommates would be.
it's called a woman.
Those use expensive batteries, called "jewellery".
Aaron X: Fantastic Analogy
Battery to jewelery
Amit
piques
What are the standard batteries that you are comparing them with?
Energizer's maddeningly expensive 'Ultimate Lithium' AA cells, the non-rechargeable ones.
Darren: Can you gather some PowerEX rechargeable and compare them? I do not know what voltage the PowerEX comes in, but they last forever. They are rated at 2700mAh. I have replaced all my non-chargeable batteries in my household with them.
It might be worth a look.
If only someone decided to go thump the comment system...
But you can actually recharge duracells, if you do it properly that is.
IF you do it properly, and IF you use a proper charger, and IF the batteries are really fully up to spec...
BUT you can only do it a couple of times safely, if you re-charge them too much they will start to leak, or will explode. But when you do recharge them, they do not last as long as a fresh battery.
I am sorry but that is too many IF's and BUT's for my comfort level.
@TavisJohn
Agreed. I was enthusiastic about recharging disposable batteries until I realized how poorly they perform. I bought the "correct" kind of charger and the instructions stated that to get an optimal charge you have to recharge the batteries when they are half depleted. I am not sure how I am supposed to tell when they are half depleted (since there is usually not a gauge on devices that use disposable batteries. But I can tell you that if you wait until they run out of juice then recharge them expect about 30% of the original run time. Second recharge is even worse.
In defense of recharging disposable batteries, I never had one explode.