I've blogged before about the poor quality of rechargeable batteries; much of what's available for sale is just So Much Junk. I have another to add to the list: the Nuon brand sold by Batteries Plus.
In late September, I took a chance and bought four (4) 4-packs of Nuon Rechargeable NIMH batteries. By April, I found that at least four of the cells will no longer hold any charge. My BC-900 simply registers "Null" when I tried to charge those cells last week. It's not like these have been doing heavy duty, either .. this particular set was in a clock-weather gadget that communicates to a remote unit (outside) to provide correct ("atomic clock") time & temperature.
Yesterday, I stopped by the local Batteries+ outlet to see if they knew how bad these things really are (25% failure rate in 7 months!) and thinking maybe they'd even exchange them. Not only did they profess ignorance about the poor quality, but wouldn't exchange them without a receipt. This was particularly distressing since Batteries Plus is the exclusive North American distributor of Nuon batteries.
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Although I have no test results I know that the Nuon AA batteries I use in a two year old Canon digital camera as well as other things (wall clock) do NOT compare to the Kodak batteries I used for a long time.
I bought a Nuon LUL176708SVF from Batteries Plus about a year ago for my Sony Vaio laptop. Since the Sony battery is about US$50 more, I thought I'd save some money. I lost money. My Nuon battery lasted about as long as the warranty, then stopped holding a full charge. After a year, it would hold zero charge. Poor quality.
I work for Batteries Plus and have for a number of years...
Here's the skinny:
Nuon is/was their house brand. New Energy On Demand was the concept....Nuon sucks. Cheap Asian.
Their other house brands are solid. "Werker" for Sealed Lead Acid and "Xtreme" for powersport batteries. The SLA can stand up to any general purpose maker in the land...even your genesis NP line (formally known as yuasa).
The fundamental problem is people/customers drop a general purpose battery in high rate application--such as UPS or special emergency lighting. There's where your panasonic or yuasa have an advantage. But for head to head general purpose applications (most all emergency lighting and some UPS) the Werker SLA definately worth the cost savings.
You'll find in the store Werker stickers on car/marine/golf cart/scrubber batteries. Those batteries are either made by Exide technologies or East Penn Deka. East Penn is the better SLI (starting, lighting, ignition) battery.
They pretty much dropped the NUON stuff to carry branded Rayovac product. From what I can tell, the Rayovac stuff seems to be of better quality though they are reluctant to confirm and difference in the battery other than the label...
With regard to the laptop line, the quality is significantly better. I notice cause our returns have dropped and overall customer feedback seems to be better.
Batteries Plus is a pretty sweet store and there is a wealth of knowledge available. BP corporate have done a solid job aligning themselves with top tier manufacturers. It is always getting better.
"Not only did they profess ignorance about the poor quality, but wouldn't exchange them without a receipt."
I'm currenly posting from a B+ that opened a few weeks ago and stumbled upon this while trying to find out information on the Nuons. Its not like I had some in=depth training on what every battery type is like from the corporate guy that comes out, so professing ignorance would be exactly what I would have to do. As for the return policy, it is posted on the wall very clearly. Whether they are junk or not, I'll just hope the person above me is right - because I have no clue.
I have used the AA NUON 2500MAH batteries and they work fine in my digital camera. If you wanted to pay more money, they also carry the rayovac hybrids, energizer, and a high end brand called powerex. Also, bought a laptop battery for the MAC G4 it is a Rayovac Branded battery, so I can't comment on the nuon but have had very good runtime still after about 16 months. Usually laptop batteries only last 18-24 months before run time significantly decreases.
I admire the inspiration for newer innovations. IF vehicles were operated by lithium ion batteries then the world would literally be a different place. ME myself mainly caring for the environment itself would really hope for the best case scenario and would wish that vehicles would run on them batteries!
I got VERY POOR service from all twenty-four of the cheapo, AA
NUON Alkaline batteries from B+...!
But at least the batteries are consistant with the quality (poor)of other China-made products which I have had the misfortune of buying/trying.
Charles
B+ AAnonymous said: "Whether they are junk or not, I'll just hope the person above me is right - because I have no clue."
This is the problem we get when a BUSINESS-MINDED person tries to sell to TECHNICALLY-MINDED persons.
Odds are aanonymous was made in
china, too.
I'm curious, did you use another type of battery in your clock system previously, alkaline or rechargeable? Did you fully charge and prime the Nuon batteries before installation?
Thanks,
Patrick
I purchased a set of 4 nuon D batteries and charger.I charged the batteries once. After 1 charge but no use they leaked a white powder. Store refused to accept return. PURE CRAP
I want to add to this by stating that most Batteries Plus locations are franchises and some are run differently then others. Personally I invested in the Rayovac Hybrids and they are great batteries. Nuon is a privately made label for people looking for a "cheap" quick fix. When it comes to digital cameras that use AA batteries it is wise to use high end AAs because they can take more stress. Also on the clock does it solar recharge? Or do you take the batteries out to charge them? If so that is your main issue. High drain devices like tv/dvd remotes and lanterns destroy rechargeable batteries quicker then they will trash basic alkalines.
Nuon batteries are great for me! No other comments but great!
I bought 4 Nuon D batteries. B+ replace one after a month...the others stopped working over the next few months. I have other NiMH that have lasted for years.
B+ should stand up and take responsibility--I have not gone back there for other batteries and suggest others do the same until they make their poor purchasing decisions right.
I'd like to know what everyone is using to charge their batteries like a dumb,smart,intelligent charger/analyzer.
I ask because it is pertinent to each individual case in very extreme ways.
Hmmmm, I was at Batteries Plus in Fresno some days back, and have no longer found the Nuon product line for rechargeable batteries. Small wonder, if it was because of the poor quality. Tenergy cells, both Nicad, and NIMH have been junk for me too. The only 2 options are to go with the Accupower Evolution for standard applications, and the overpriced Imedions for critical applications where the cells must match. For C and D Accupowers, you might want to get an extra pack of 2 in case 1 of the group of 8 is not up to spec. I think I did see a charger with something like 2 of them Nuon brand cheapies though. It is regrettable that Batteries+ do not carry the Eneloop brand anymore, and had to resort to the high self discharge Maha Powerex brand. Powerex has never been my favorite line, but has held up better than their Rayovac. The Rayovacs AAAs quickly deterioated in my bike torch light, quickly losing capacity unevenly across the cells, despite using a gentle smart charge/balance charge on them.
Update
I remember the Tenergy Premium started out well, and have discovered that the pack charger has been damaging ALL my sets of C/D/AA batteries. I am saving the pack charger for only break in and very rare use. The Imedions are not matched, and the charger did not like the Powerex brand. For AA/AAA size, I am sticking with Eneloops. The bike torch light that used 4 AAAs went bust, wouldn't respond to shutting it off. I have been able to do the 2 sets of 2 AAAs for the Duracells, but have to put the weakest battery to the left in the Powerex charger for this 1 particular brand. The Duracell AA/AAAs with the white ring disappeared for awhile, but they brought them back. I now don't see the black ring AA/AAA anymore. You can buy them at Target. Ordered a set of 6 D Tenergy Premiums in the mail yesterday, hope to let you know how they turned out, sans the pack charger after the break in mode.
Anonymous2 Update
If you buy Tenergy, get the Tenergy Premium, not the poor blue stock nor their NiCad line. The 6 pack of Tenergy Ds turned out OK, do not use pack charger, they will terminate properly on the Maha Powerex charger. Avoid Annsmann, they are poorly matched, and Energizer AAs have had a bad habit of having one cell go weak if the device uses more than 2. I hope to save you guys some money.
I have used the Nuon CR2354 little watch batteries for our assisted living home call response system -- each little resident pendant gets one of those batteries. Used them for years. But I have noticed this year in particular these Nuon batteries don't last worth a darn -- sometimes as little as a week with very moderate usage. I agree -- cheap Asian junk.
This was particularly distressing since Batteries Plus is the exclusive North American distributor of Nuon batteries. batteroo
On Nov. 16, 2015 I bought a four-pack of rechargeable AA Nuon 2500 mAh for $12.50 at Batteries+ to use in my Uniden BCD436HP radio scanner. On March 21, 2016 they started dying quickly after a full fresh charge. Rechargeable AA batteries that cost over $3 each should last more than four months!
I just got the 1 hour Nuon charger, and tried their X power AAAs. Turned out that the Nuon charger has a fixed timer that shuts off 1/1/2 hours later, so the X power 1200mAHs don't get full either. Duracell charger didn't like them, so I resorted to getting the white Eneloop, which will be a perfect match for this charger. I speak in behalf of those of you who have had trouble getting your AAAs to terminate properly in your chargers. If the charge time is less than an hour and a half, the power is killed on all the chambers at the same time, so if you get an iffy brand, they may not charge evenly.
It's a very nice and informative post,.
18650 battery
Looks like the Nuon like their 1 hr Nuon charger. Due to the nature of the charger cutting off the power before the Negative delta peak, or damaging them if you try to jam more power and wait for the delta drop, your best bet for that combination would be to run the Nuon AA,AAA batteries down to 1 volt each and every time before putting them into that charger. It turned out that the set I got of AAs bundled with the charger is still working OK, though I don't know if they are LSD. They do say precharged, though.
CORRECTION: I meant that if the charge time is more than an hour and a half on that 1 hr Nuon charger, all the chambers are shut off at the same time. For proper care of that particular battery, charger kit, refer to instructions above, marked as 6:06 pm
BLAST! Got burned again! I should have used Eneloops. The pack of AAA with Nuon worked fine for the first few charges with my bike headlamp with the Nuon charger, then 1 AAA went into permanent mismatch, so I used the AAA spare, same thing happened, AAARRGGHHH! I KNOW it isn't the charger, either, even the Duracell Ion speed 8000 wouldn't get that 1 weak battery up to par. I got Tenergy AAA, but I may wind up with the Eneloop brand. The ones for my speaker are still working great, so how does 1 cell consistently lose capacity all of a sudden when there is no overheating, or 15 minute charging, or overcharge? Something tells me some of these are junk to begin with, and I threw the packaging away! I guess the store gives you only a 30 day return window, and the price was probably higher than Eneloops shipped, UGH!
UPDATE+++++++++++++++ It turned out to be the Nuon 1 hour charger that has been damaging all the NUON batteries, thereby leading to 1 AAA battery going weak in the set consistently. It works OK on AAAs ONLY if you use empty Eneloop batteries and their cousins. White/black Eneloop AAA, and the Duracell and Amazon basics AAA. It doesn't seem to work optimally with AA. Nuon AAA (while empty) need to be charged in the Duracell ION speed 8000. The new Maha can be used, like the MHC800S model, but it will NOT charge a completely dead battery, thinking it's shorted. It would be nice if there didn't have to be a need for so many different chargers. This is due to the fact that each brand uses a slightly different NIMH formulation during construction of the battery. (why all Eneloop AAA products would slightly vent and hiss and give short cycle life on the Duracell 8000 while the Nuon AAA would thrive, even though both were empty)
Ive had NUON batterys and while they do get weaker over time most last me atleast 1 year and half with the 1 hour NUON charger only one battery has ever exploded on me but that battery was around 2-3 years old there used in my nerf guns and xbox controllers only
I purchased a Nuon battery from Batteries Plus 10.8volt 7800MAH for over $100.00 that only lasted 16 months, and B+ would have no part of replacing it, as it was 4 months over the crappy 1 year warranty from Nuon which is made under Rayovac, (other good laptop batteries are warranted for 3 years. This battery was replacing an OEM Dell 5400MAH, that lasted over 7 years. I have also bought many batteries, high end flashlights and key fobs from Batteries Plus, and there customer service sucks with an attitude. Needless to say, I will never do business with Batteries Plus ever again. B+ customer for over 20 years. Not any more.
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