La Crosse BC-900 Charger Warning

[viorel00]

Hi, my LaCrosse charger just melted;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11974821@N00/

for details and discussion you can also visit these forums:

http://forums.macresource.com/read/1/215639
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1036&thread=21320289

 

[BentHeadTX]

How old is your charger and what version is it? (The "new" one, V33 or V32?) My V32 charger is around 1.5 years old and sits on a metal plate at work. I am getting a Maha C9000 analyzer for home use next month. Although the LaCrosse has not given me any problems, it is always suspect hence the metal plate it sits on.

 

[SilverFox]

Re: LaCrosse BC 900 just melted

Hello Viore,

Welcome to CPF.

Sorry to hear about your melt down.

Keep us informed of what you discover and how La Crosse handles this. They have repeatedly insisted that there is no problem with this charger. I believe they refereed to the number of chargers that have had problems as "statically insignificant..." Whatever that means.

Tom

Tom

 

[viorel00]

V32 it was. Purchased in May or June 2006 from Amazon.

 

[BrianI]

I have the "Technoline IC8800" branded version of the La Crosse BC-900, which shows 33 in the 4th lcd screen. Bought in the UK July this year.

Reading the threads about the overheating / melting problems I am slightly wary of using this charger! :thumbsdow

So far I havent read any reports of the V33 chargers suffering meltdown, but for peace of mind I'd rather not use mine anymore!

Things should be design to fail safe, not fail and burn!

--
Brian

 

[richiem]

I think maybe the CPU can have sensor or state errors that cause the problems described. I had a situation with this charger in which I was going to charge two AAs and during the charge I pulled the batts and then reinserted them immediately. They instantly started to get hot and I pulled them both again and then pulled the plug on the charger's supply, which reset everything. A faulty power supply with elevated DC output could definitely cause the overheating problem by overloading the charger system and the cells, but I think it more likely that the current monitoring function went wrong in my case and that the cells were being given all of the current that the system could supply. Have not had a problem since.

 

[coontai]

I just ordered the BC-900 today from amazon with some eneloops. I hope I don't have any problems... I let you guys know

 

[tacoal]

I just ordered the BC-900 today from amazon with some eneloops. I hope I don't have any problems... I let you guys know

be careful for first a few charging cycle. put the charger in a slanting position

 

[viorel00]

be careful for first a few charging cycle. put the charger in a slanting position

mine melted after I had it for 6 months and probably ~100 charging cycles.

 

[coontai]

be careful for first a few charging cycle. put the charger in a slanting position

Got it. More airflow. I have to ask has the later version (33) had any/ as many meltdown problems?


thanks in advance

 

[webfors]

yes, there have been reports of meltdowns with v33. My bc900 melted down after several months of flawless usage, charging 4 AA's at 500ma.

My suggestions are, use it on a metal surface, like a freezer top. Not on anything precious. My meltdown damaged the finish on my hifi speakers. The heat generated from the meltdown was so great the charger itself melted/bent in a concave shape.

 

[coontai]

thanks

 

[zeeexsixare]

Just to put in a word for the BC-900 charger- I use mine all the time and have yet to have a problem.

I've charged my cells at 1 amp and they barely even got warm. I've put them on refresh cycles at 500 mah that lasted several days and nothing got warm.

I've used good cells in them, I've used crappy cells in them.....never had a problem.

After using RC car chargers that make packs so hot that you can't even pick them up, I wasn't sure the BC-900 was working on the 1 amp setting until I used a multimeter to check things out. Sorry some people have had bad luck, but the charger has worked as advertised for me.

Same here - I don't know what is going on with all these problems people are having... Mine has been running continuously for 6 months, 24/7 with no hiccups, malfunctions, overcharges, or anything. Wall wart stays cold, unit stays cold to the touch, and batteries warm up just a slight amount (85 degrees F) during 1A charging.

 

[Hallis]

When i got mine about a year and a hlaf ago i ran my CBP1650's through some conditioning cycles to top them off. I noticed that they did get quite warm. I no longer use it. And i do not plan to. I might do a little testing but not sure.

Shane

 

[tacoal]

mine melted after I had it for 6 months and probably ~100 charging cycles.

I meant the battery. If the battery is not used for a few months, it is better to consider it as "NEW" battery.

 

[coontai]

i got mine today from amazon it is v33. It has gotten warm, but not hot to the touch. It works well, but the controls are very weird to get used to. The battery adaptors it came with are garbage, but I really don't care at all. The performance is nice and it has been charging nonstop. I also got some eneloops and have nothing but love for them...

 

[Muse]

Same here - I don't know what is going on with all these problems people are having... Mine has been running continuously for 6 months, 24/7 with no hiccups, malfunctions, overcharges, or anything. Wall wart stays cold, unit stays cold to the touch, and batteries warm up just a slight amount (85 degrees F) during 1A charging.

Having read a lot of posts, I think it's worth considering the possibility that some of these problems are due to defects in some units. One poster said he took his apart and discovered some very shoddy soldering work - bad solder joints, some joints where there should have been none (inadvertent connections made by sloppy soldering!!) He said he fixed the problems.

I'm probably going to order one, but I will open it up and inspect it! It's not something I normally do, but it seems like a good idea with this thing.

 

[hoarybat]

I guys! I have version v33 and as noted in my link below I had a near meltdown and the only reason it didn't was because I checked on the charger. I have always placed mine on a ceramic plate and am glad I took the precaution. I took mine apart yesterday and can confirm that two of the four folded flat plate contacts didn't quite line up as the other two. Not sure if this made a difference or not. But even before I did like a glutton I placed another set of batts in the charger at 1A and placed an ICE pack with a paper towel between the pack and the batts to prevent moisture penetration. I checked the batts every 30 minutes and they remained very cold throughout the complete charge and charged flawlessly. ONly did this once but that was encouraging since the last few sets were destroyed. Here is the update on the new Lacrosse BC-9009 charger in thread below which as shown isn't new at all! Does anyone know if there is a firmware later than V35? https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/224231