review – you are familiar with the standard AA alkaline batteries From companies like Duracell, you may be familiar with rechargeable NiMH AA batteries such as These are from Energizer. They are all the same size (14.5mm diameter, 50.5mm length) and have a standard voltage range (1.2 to 1.5v), although their capacities vary widely (typically 1000 to 2800 mAh). What you may not know is that there are many other types of AA batteries that use different materials inside, each with slightly different performance and purpose. Today I’ll be reviewing EBL’s NiZN AA batteries.
What is it?
This is a set of 8 rechargeable NiZN AA batteries and chargers. They have a capacity of 3000 mAh, use 1.6v and can be recharged 1000 times. EBL has supplied batteries and chargers for 24 years, and their mission is “to provide the highest quality and most reliable batteries possible”.they are Headquartered in China.
What’s in this box?
- 8 batteries in 2 plastic boxes
- charger
- A micro-USB cable
- User Manual (with a 4-page English manual)
Hardware Specifications
The battery specifications are as follows:
- Battery Type: NiZN AA
- Voltage: 1.6V
- Capacity: 3000mWh
The charger specifications are as follows:
- Input: DC 5V/2A
- AA output: DC 1.6V 1500mA
- AAA output: DC 1.6V 600mA
Design and Features
At first glance, these appear to be ordinary AA batteries with an attractive black and gold design. However, the dimensions are different from standard AA batteries; the height is the same, but the diameter is slightly wider. Some devices have very small cell spacing, so if I’m not careful, these NiZN cells can get stuck.
The charger is made of plastic and comes in matte black. It’s a very simple open design, typical of a charger. The charger can charge all eight batteries at once, and it’s not much larger than the battery itself. It can also charge AAA NiZN batteries, but no batteries are included in this package.
a warning: This charger is for Ni-Zn batteries only; do not use it with other types of batteries, and do not put NiZN batteries in other types of chargers. I wish the battery and charger had a bright warning icon or label to indicate this effect, as I think it’s easy for me to forget and make this mistake at some point.
installation and setup
The battery and charger come in a small cardboard box.
The batteries come in a pair of plastic cases, and the chargers come in bubble wrap; the EBL does a good job of protecting everything in transit.
Using this charger couldn’t be easier. I opened the plastic case, removed the batteries, and popped them into place, taking care to put the positive terminal on top. The charger has USB-C and micro-USB ports. Unfortunately, EBL takes a shortcut here and only includes a micro-USB cable, which is obsolete at this point. I wish they would ditch the micro-USB port and include a USB-C to USB-C cable.
I plugged the USB-A end into my Soundcore Wakey and micro-USB into the top of the charger. When charging, the small LEDs above each battery turn red; when they’re done, they turn green.
Performance
Because these are NiZN batteries, there are some differences from the alkaline or NiMH batteries I usually buy. One, its nominal voltage is 1.6v, which is higher than ordinary AA. When first charged, they may have a slightly higher terminal voltage, around 1.85v, which can be dangerous for some gadgets. I need to be careful not to use them in any gadget whose circuit might be sensitive to this higher voltage. Second, these batteries are great for power-hungry devices, anything that consumes a lot of power in a short period of time, such as portable video game consoles, radio-controlled toys, or external camera flashes. Third, historically, NiZN batteries do not maintain a state of charge well beyond 50 cycles. Time will tell if these batteries are true.
I tested the battery in two devices.The first device is a pair Artisan LED Lantern. They are designed for camping, but we tend to use them in the backyard when grilling our brioWe often grill after the sun goes down, so these lanterns are perfect when we need to check how our meat is doing or watch as we eat. Each lantern requires 6 AA batteries and can output 500 lumens at its highest setting, enough to light up a back porch. When I replaced the alkaline batteries in a lamp with NiZN batteries from EBL, I could see the difference. Of the four settings, the lantern with NiZN batteries was significantly brighter than the lantern with Duracell alkaline batteries. In the photo above, the light on the right has a NiZN battery.
The second device is Flash 430EX II, My Canon DSLR uses an external flash with a set of four AA batteries. When shooting flash photography repeatedly, the battery in the flash will drain quickly. NiZN batteries have no problem powering the flash, even when firing repeatedly. I can’t tell if the photos are any brighter compared to the Duracell’s alkaline batteries, but they work fine. I’d love to bring a few sets of four for photos.
what do I like
- Eight batteries
- The ability to charge all eight at once
- Gives extra power to those gadgets that can use it
what would i change
- Avoid using these batteries in other chargers and the prominent warnings for using other batteries in this charger.
final thoughts
NiZN batteries aren’t for everyone, but if you have a power-hungry device, they can provide the power you need. I’ve found that the EBL’s battery provides good power to my lantern and Speedlite, and despite their slightly larger diameter, I have no problem getting them out of these gadgets. The charger’s very simple design works exactly as expected. If you need a bunch of NiZN AA, then I recommend checking out this little tool from EBL.
Price: $30.29
where to buy: Amazon
resource: Samples for this review provided by EBL.
