[Elecraft] Eneloop 2500 mah batteries

[lane zeitler]

Just received my Sanyo eneloop 2500 mAH rechargeable batteries niMH cells......will start the charge cycle when I get home from work tonight. How long should I charge them for...this will be the first charge and I have not used the radio yet at all with these new batteries. 

Also, if I keep the xmit power down to about 3watts what kind of operation time can I expect with casual SSB xmissions? Any thoughts on this are appreciated, thanks.

LCDR Lane Zeitler
Ku7i
JH1JCM
Forward Deployed 
US Naval Hospital 
Yokosuka Japan