- Very slow self discharge maintains 85% residual capacity after 1 year of storage and 70% residual capacity after 2 years of storage
- Exact replacement for standard AAA size battery in all the devices
- Designed for enhanced performance for high drain applications such as digital cameras, CD players,portable audio devices
- Can be recharged for up to 1000 times, providing big saving by replacing hundreds of throw away AAA batteries.
- Can be rapidly charged with any quick charger, smart chargers, plug in charger or universal chargers
- Designed for hand held games, 2-way radios, PDAs, and other portable high drain digital electronics
Right out of the package, the average remaining charge measured was only 237mAh, or 30% of the rated capacity of '800mAh'.
After the first recharge, the average capacity jumped up to 898mAh!
After another two discharge/recharge cycles, the average peaked at 900mAh. The spread is quite small, with minimum=880mAh and maximum=922mAh.
In comparison, Sanyo eneloop AAA typically arrives with ~75% of rated capacity, and the average capacity after 2 cycles is 830-840mAh. So the Tenergy Centura, while marketed as an eneloop clone, actually delivered ~7% higher capacity than eneloop.
The measured capacity of Tenergy Centura is higher than all other LSD AAA cells I have tested except for PowerEx Imedion AAA. The Imedion AAA is rated for '950mAh', and delivers 975mAh average capacity under the same test conditions. But of course the price for Imedion is much higher.
I still have one concern: the performance charts provided by Tenergy claim that the capacity of Centura AAA is within 1% variation from that of eneloop, but why did I measure ~7% higher capacity instead? It is possible that Centura cells have actually improved in capacity, or maybe they are made by two different suppliers, one with higher capacity than the other. In any case, the present low price of Centura makes it an irresistible deal. You got to start picking while the picking is good.
[Aside]
Make sure you shop around for the best unit-price. As of this writing, the Tenergy Centura 12xAAA package is actually more expensive than three 4-pack, after you factor in shipping cost.
[Update on Oct 9, 2011]
Long term self-discharge data: After 92 days in storage, a pair of Tenergy Centura AAA cells retained 83.3% of the original charge. This proves that they are indeed LSD type, although the charge retention rate is slightly worse than advertised ("85% after 12 months").
[Update on Dec 5, 2011]
Tested a second pair of Centura AAA cells after 5 months. The average remaining charge is 739mAh, or 81.2% of original measured capacity of 910mAh. Another way of look at it: those cells have retained 92% of rated capacity of 800mAh. This is probably where the marketing claim of "85% after 12 months" came from.
Unlike the Tenergy Centura AA, those AAA cells did not suffer any capaity loss after storage. So I can fully reommend them without reservations.
Buy Tenergy Centura AAA Low Self-Discharge LSD NiMH Rechargeable Batteries, 1 Card 4xAAA Now
In spite of Centura's advertised similarity to Eneloop, Centura has a significantly higher self-discharge rate. I'd rate these batteries at about 4.3 stars (Price...5 stars, Capacity...5, Self discharge rate...3.) If they didn't advertise these batteries as retaining 90% capacity at 6 months and 85% at 1 year, I'd have given them 5 stars since they are a good value in an LSD. However, since they have a higher discharge rate than advertised (I'd say no better than average for a LSD), can't do it.I've pretty much replaced all alkaline batteries with NiMH LSD. Most devices use AAs...cameras, flashlights, GPS, wireless devices etc. and they're loaded with the older Rayovac Hybrids and Eneloops. Have a couple which use AAA and they have Hybrids. When I saw the $5 price of 4 Tenergy Centura AAAs and the advertised comparison to Eneloop (generally considered the best LSD available), I couldn't resist a purchase to test and keep them as a backup.
As were previous reviewers, I also was impressed with initial capacity which was well above the 800 mAh rating. After a couple of discharge/recharge cycles on a LaCrosse BC-9009 at a 100 mA discharge rate, they yielded a capacity of 916, 880, 879, and 870 mAh. Pretty impressive for AAA rechargeables.
I initially intended to test capacity at 6 months and 1 year to determine discharge rate. However, after reading NLee's test at 92 days, decided to test a couple myself which now are at 110 days and have been stored in the basement at 60 to 65 degrees. The results: 916 mAh now down to 727 mAh...79% of initial capacity. 880 mAh down to 731...83% of initial capacity. Average the two and you have 81%...in line with NLee's results and already below the advertised 85% at 1 year. However, there is another way to look at this. These batteries are rated at 800 mAh so if you consider the percent of rated capacity, they now average 91% of it at a bit under 4 months. Although the discharge rate will likely decrease with time, given the past rate of discharge, it's pretty doubtful they'll lose no more than 1% over the next 2 months or maintain 85 percent at a year. To be fair, I'll test one battery at 6 months and the last at 1 year. If there's still 680 mAh (85% of 800 mAh) remaining at 1 year, I'll update this review and change the rating to a 5.
Would I recommend these batteries? Absolutely! They are a great value in a LSD! Get some of the major brand 800 mAh LSDs and you will pay twice the price, have less capacity, and see little change in discharge rate. However, if you want a LSD battery with that advertised 85% capacity at one year, it would seem you'll have to spend the extra money and get Eneloop.
_______________________________________________________________________________
(Update 1/2/12) Final testing. At six months (184 days) tested both remaining batteries for self-discharge rate. The results...879 mAh battery now 726...82% of initial and 91% of rated 800mAh. 870 mAh now 710...82% of initial and 89% of rated..
Ran all four batteries through 4 charge/discharge cycles to determine capacity loss under use. Including the initial preparation for testing, this represents a total of 7 cycles. Initial capacity/ Current/ percentage drop for the 4 batteries. 916/851/7%, 880/876/under1%, 879/866/1.5%, 870/836/4%.
Conclusion:It would appear that after about 3-4 months, discharge rate falls to about 1% per month...so although not quite up to Eneloop, its close to that advertised for the 800 mAh RATED capacity. Two of the batteries (880 & 879) held capacities reasonably well under use but the 870 showed a significant drop and the 916 was unacceptable. Although noteworthy that all capacities are still above rated capacity, I have little confidence that the 916 will stand up under long-term us. I would say I have two 5 star batteries, a 4 star...and a 3 star. My initial 4 star rating still holds.
Added note: Early purchasers, myself included, report near 900 mAh initial capacity while a more recent purchaser reports it near 800. This implies that Centura may have changed manufacturers or that they are branding products from two different manufacturers. My testing confirms significant variability in quality within a single lot. Long term durability of Centura remains an unknown. For those concerned about it, I would recommend Eneloop due to their well-established high quality in all aspects...especially considering the recent 40% jump in Amazon's Centura price.These batteries seem to be a fine replacement for the original Panasonic batteries that came with our Panasonic cordless phone set. After a month or so of use they are working fine, and much less expensive than anything else.
Want Tenergy Centura AAA Low Self-Discharge LSD NiMH Rechargeable Batteries, 1 Card 4xAAA Discount?
Panasonic house phone set had 2 of 4 phones that never kept the charge. These batteries were the correct type. Read the reviews and tried them out. Very happy with them. Needed to be fully charged upon arrival, but put them in the phones and they charged up quickly. Great price too. With Prime delivery they got here in a snap.
Using my Lacrosee BC-700 battery charge/test function, the 4 "AAA" batteries performed as follows:
Battery 1 = 784 mAh
Battery 2 = 742 mAh
Battery 3 = 770 mAh
Battery 4 = 793 mAh
(See picture on customers' submitted images)
Straight from the box, the batteries show remaining voltages are between 1.30 to 1.31 volts (see pic above). All packs a little less juice compared to its rated capacity of 800 mAh. Compared to the more popular brands like Eneloops and Duracell, they performed not as good but not bad at all.
At the time of the review, they were available around 5 bucks which is the cheapest pre-charged batteries I can find.
I have been using pre-charged batteries for everything now, from toys, digital cameras, clocks, to remote controls.
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