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[Tim McCulloch]

I've been a House Deck A2 for many Broadway tours this past year.  They are all running Sennheiser packs with Powerex-pro rechargeable batteries.  These shows have two sets that they use in constant rotation for months. 

Tim, an interesting thing we learned about the Powerex batteries -
you know how on these Broadway shows some of these batteries under heavy use have their ring on the positive side of the battery come loose or come off?  Apparently when that happens it voids the manufacturer warranty.  One of the tours found that out after talking to Maha Energy directly about some battery issues they were having. 

I've also had excellent results using the Ansmann MaxE Pro rechargeable batteries with Sennheiser ew100 wireless.  I have a former client going on three years using these and they've never failed.

Hi Eric-

Confirmed tonight we're using Maha PowerexPro AA and MH-C801D chargers.  When I put last night's batteries in the chargers most were showing 1 bar of charge remaining, after about 4.5 hours of "on" time.  With the soft charge function all of the batteries except 1 were fully charged in 2 hours.  I'm thinking of getting a smaller charger and 4-pack of batteries to experiment with.

[Bob Faulkner]

Hi Bob,

I was an early adopter of rechargeable batteries, at least fifteen years ago.
Early on few of my needs were super-critical, for instance
replacing batteries during a dance class wasn't a big deal.

First, buy this battery tester, or whichever version best fits your needs:
 https://www.ztsinc.com/mini9RL.html
(If somebody know of something similar out there, please share!)
Before I got this tester, I was counting on a 'smart' charger and the battery meters on devices to tell me batteries were good.
I keep about 60 AAs on hand, and right after getting the tester, fully charged and tested each battery.
About 40 came up to 100%. Half a dozen came up at 80% and got marked so, for non-critical use.
More than a dozen hit 20, 30 or 40% and were recycled.

The white Sanyos seem to last forever.
The black ones have more capacity but take fewer charge cycles.

Years ago I had way too many PowerEx failures; they may be better now.

Most off-brand batteries have died an early death, but a few are still going strong.

Several online reviews bring up some batteries that have a lot of power to start with, but
I wonder how they do over a long period of time.

With the ZTS tester at hand, I would feel comfortable trying a bunch of different brands.
I now check batteries when they come off the charger, and right before a show.

Take a sharpie and write the year you buy the batteries on the batteries.
I have a few 2012s that are still going strong, though most are 2016 or newer.

Thanks and good health,  Weogo

Good info Weogo!  Thanks for the ZTS link!

I use the inexpensive Eneloop chargers. I deliberately avoided quick chargers because in my experience they lessen long term battery life.  My 5 year old batteries are all still going strong with very little to no noticeable diminished charge capacity.
 

This is what I'm seeing as well with the advantage of using slow chargers.  As long as I have enough batteries to last a show (and then some), quick charging should never be a requirement.

Hi Eric-

Confirmed tonight we're using Maha PowerexPro AA and MH-C801D chargers.  When I put last night's batteries in the chargers most were showing 1 bar of charge remaining, after about 4.5 hours of "on" time.  With the soft charge function all of the batteries except 1 were fully charged in 2 hours.  I'm thinking of getting a smaller charger and 4-pack of batteries to experiment with.

Looks good.  Thank you for the follow up!


As for a charger, I'm planning on using (at least to start with) an Xtar VC4 - it charges various batteries (and chemistry) at the same time.  Not sure if that is actually a feature.

[Jamin Lynch]

So do you need an eneloop charger for eneloop batteries? Or will just about any decent quality charger do?

I'm really glad this topic came along when it did. I always been on the fence with rechargeable batteries. But I just recently switched over due to the cost of regular ones. Not knowing much about them, I got Energizer from the local Lowes and an inexpensive 16 bank charger on line. So far I've only used them for about 3-4 shows. 1 handheld wireless mic, 2 wireless headset mics and 4 IEM's for a local band I often work with.

I put in fully charged batteries before sound check, which lasts about 10 minutes, then turn everything off. The band plays 3 1 hour sets. I have them turn everything off during the breaks. So far they have been fine. But I'm always concerned about battery failure in the middle of a set.

After reading this, I'll be upgrading soon. Just need to decide which way to go.

On a side note: Is it just me or is it a PITA to get batteries out of a Sennheiser wireless handheld mic?

[Bob Faulkner]

So do you need an eneloop charger for eneloop batteries? Or will just about any decent quality charger do?

I'm really glad this topic came along when it did. I always been on the fence with rechargeable batteries. But I just recently switched over due to the cost of regular ones. Not knowing much about them, I got Energizer from the local Lowes and an inexpensive 16 bank charger on line. So far I've only used them for about 3-4 shows. 1 handheld wireless mic, 2 wireless headset mics and 4 IEM's for a local band I often work with.

I put in fully charged batteries before sound check, which lasts about 10 minutes, then turn everything off. The band plays 3 1 hour sets. I have them turn everything off during the breaks. So far they have been fine. But I'm always concerned about battery failure in the middle of a set.

After reading this, I'll be upgrading soon. Just need to decide which way to go.

On a side note: Is it just me or is it a PITA to get batteries out of a Sennheiser wireless handheld mic?

To my understanding, any charger that supports the chemistry of the battery will work (either slow or fast charge).  Though, this is the "deepest" I've ever been in the rechargeable battery arena, so I may be wrong on the type of charger.

Have not had any issues getting batteries out of our Sennheiser handhelds.  I push the battery down (on the opposite end of the spring)... it does well for "compressing" the battery away from the contact point... and then out it comes.

[brian maddox]

....
Thanks.  From what I've read about 1.2v rechargeables, I don't think the 1.2v will be an issue for the actual mic; however, for battery meters, the lower voltage can present an image the battery is doing good (for a long time), then all of sudden the battery needs to be replaced - this sort of concerns me.

This is absolutely true, which is why you really can't "stretch" rechargeables when it comes to run time since there is just no way to know how much time you've really got left.  You'll sit at "3 bars" for hours and then go to zero with basically no warning.  So long as you are disciplined with your battery swaps this isn't a really big deal though since of course swapping batteries early has no downside, unlike regular batteries.

IMHO, Getting 8 hours reliably with rechargeable AAs is not realistic.  4-6 hours is doable depending on the battery and transmitter used. 

I've had good success with AnsMann, although they tend to run a little larger so that's something to be aware of.  I've had them in regular use for YEARS and they've held up really well.

[Erik Jerde]

I’ve been using Ansmann rechargeables for nearly 15 years now and have had nothing but positive results.  I’m mostly on the max proe cells now which I like for their low self discharge.  Cells do occasionally go out but that’s usually after a lot of hard use.  I second the practice of writing the year acquired on each cell.

[Don Ernst]

On a side note: Is it just me or is it a PITA to get batteries out of a Sennheiser wireless handheld mic?

If you look at the battery compartment with no batteries in it, there are 2 plastic panels on the sides.  They are flexible so you can push on them to dislodge the batteries with little effort.

[Dave Garoutte]

So do you need an eneloop charger for eneloop batteries? Or will just about any decent quality charger do?

On a side note: Is it just me or is it a PITA to get batteries out of a Sennheiser wireless handheld mic?

Yes, it's definitely a PITA.  fingernails required.
The eneloop kits I got came with a charger; I have three now.

[Jamin Lynch]

If you look at the battery compartment with no batteries in it, there are 2 plastic panels on the sides.  They are flexible so you can push on them to dislodge the batteries with little effort.

Thanks for the tip. I just checked that out and now it's easy. 

[Debbie Dunkley]

Yes, it's definitely a PITA.  fingernails required.
The eneloop kits I got came with a charger; I have three now.

I have 3 of the Eneloop chargers too Dave and I charge my batteries using all 3 - total 12 batteries for each show.
It takes care of 3 IEM body packs, my headset mic pack, Chris's wireless guitar pack with a couple of spares.
I make sure to rotate the batteries so they don't stay discharged for very long and I know the ages of each type.
My oldest batteries at 5 years old are Amazon Basics - black style - and they are all still in use and working at least a full 4 hour show.

[ProSoundWeb Community]