Test/Review of Analyzing Charger Powerex MH-C9000

[SilverFox]

I had some connection issues with the AAA contacts so I took the unit apart and "adjusted" the contacts to eliminate the problem. After that I have had no problems unless the AAA cell has shrink wrap that wraps over the bottom radius of the cell.

My chargers are some of the first ones built. I don't know if this has changed with newer versions.

Tom

 

[GM@CPF]

Question regarding Comparatisons and Raw Data Collected ?

HKJ,
Thank you very much for ALL your analysis work. I value it greatly because you execute it objectively and very analytically....kudos and thanks!

A. After your review of the Lacrosse BC1000/1020 is published, I would be very interested in your opinion and the pros/cons comparing the Maha C9000, LaCrosse BC1000/1020, and the latest competitor Opus BT-C2000 ver 2.1.

Would you please provide one?

B. I have performed a lot of data analysis using Excel and would like to offer my services to our humble community. If your testing equipment/software collects raw data and saves it I would be interested in using Excel to perform some comparative metrics. Sometimes comparative analysis leads to some rather interesting discussions that individual analysis may not. We never know unless we try. Just let me know sir.

Regards,
CS

 

[GM@CPF]

Re: Question regarding Comparatisons and Raw Data Collected ?

HKJ,
Thank you very much for ALL your analysis work. I value it greatly because you execute it objectively and very analytically....kudos and thanks!

A. I see your posted review of the La Cross BC-1020. Interesting they advertise improved performance with current LX processor but it looks like a bit of a failure especially when compared to offerings by competitors Maha and Opus.


Offer still stands:
B. I have performed a lot of data analysis using Excel and would like to offer my services to our humble community. If your testing equipment/software collects raw data and saves it I would be interested in using Excel to perform some comparative metrics. Sometimes comparative analysis leads to some rather interesting discussions that individual analysis may not. We never know unless we try. Just let me know sir.

Regards,
CS

[/QUOTE]

 

[HKJ]

Re: Question regarding Comparatisons and Raw Data Collected ?

A. I see your posted review of the La Cross BC-1020. Interesting they advertise improved performance with current LX processor but it looks like a bit of a failure especially when compared to offerings by competitors Maha and Opus.

I do not know if the new processor fails, but the software on the processor could be better on some points.

Offer still stands:

I have performed a lot of data analysis using Excel and would like to offer my services to our humble community. If your testing equipment/software collects raw data and saves it I would be interested in using Excel to perform some comparative metrics. Sometimes comparative analysis leads to some rather interesting discussions that individual analysis may not. We never know unless we try. Just let me know sir.

I do not believe that comparing raw data would be useful. What would be useful is a table comparing some of the metrics of the different chargers. This is stuff like, supported batteries, usb output, charge time for one battery, charge time for full load of batteries, charge algorithm, and a couple of other parameters.
My hope was to make it in a spreadsheet and then use my scripting to make it into a couple of web tables. My first try with this is the led driver table: http://lygte-info.dk/info/indexLedDrivers UK.html

 

[WDG]

...AAA cells go in bottom end first.

Somewhat depending upon when it was made. I use four of these units, bought in pairs, (in 2007, IIRC.) The older pair (0G0C01) prefer top end first, while the newer pair (0G0D01) work better bottom end in first, else the cells may pop out.


There are a couple other differences that indicate that the "D" version was a fairly significant update. For example, the displays in the "D" version have much dimmer backlighting (following complaints of backlighting being too bright,) and they rate cells lower during BREAK-IN than the "C" versions (possibly more accurately.)


I have been extremely pleased with these chargers. My only wish is that they were all of the same version.

...I never used it to charge AAA cells (too many button presses req'd...

I assume you know that you can press & hold to change the charging, discharging, and other rates, instead of requiring individual button presses? It will continue stepping up or down until the button is released.

 

[18650]

Yes I have been putting in cells bottom first and all the way in. I'd hate to have to open it to fix the faulty slots.

I assume you know that you can press & hold to change the charging, discharging, and other rates, instead of requiring individual button presses? It will continue stepping up or down until the button is released.

The alternative is to place cells into slots on my Sanyo charger and plug that into the wall. It charges at 400mA automatically. It's not worth the effort to use the C9000 for AAA for anything other than analysis.

 

[Zef]

How long does a "refresh analyze" cycle take for a 2000mah AA eneloop? I'm time poor. Leaving on a trip in 30hrs and hoping to revive some old batteries. Also, at the end of a "refresh analyze" cycle are the batteries charged or do I need to do that as well?

 

[HKJ]

How long does a "refresh analyze" cycle take for a 2000mah AA eneloop? I'm time poor. Leaving on a trip in 30hrs and hoping to revive some old batteries. Also, at the end of a "refresh analyze" cycle are the batteries charged or do I need to do that as well?

If you look an the review above, you will see a curve that uses about 650 minutes, i.e. 11 hours:

The function will both charge before and after the discharge.

 

[Viking]

Hi Zef

Refresh & analyze mode is a good way to sort the best batteries for your trip. However if you don't have the time to get through all your cells , you can use the ICV feature at startup ( It takes less than 15 seconds ) .
That funktion tells you how much internal resistance the individual cell has. The value is between 1.4-2.10. The higher the value the higher internal resistance.

You can also combine the two functions , by first do an initial ICV check for all the cells in stock to sort out the poorest. And then focus on the rest ( or best ) for the Refresh & analyze mode.

keep in mind ICV is only shown once at the display ( just before charging begins ). If the voltage value shown is below 1.4 it is not the ICV value , in that case just take the cell out and try again.

PS

All the cells should be in same state of charge before measuring and comparing ICV.

 

[Zef]

Thank you very much for the detailed responses. I now have an accurate plan of attack. Cheers!

 

[samgab]

Fantastic review as always, thanks HKJ. I missed this one when it first came out, but I'd been looking forward to seeing your test/review of this charger.
It seems, as I already knew, that this charger is very gentle on cells, keeping the temps nice and low when charging, and with its low max voltage termination followed by 2 hour trickle, it gently *almost* fills the cell, erring slightly on the side of undercharging rather than overcharging, which is what I'd prefer as it's kinder on the cells in the long term. The amount that it ends up undercharging is only a few mAh's, and doesn't really matter in the real life scheme of things, as anyone who is properly prepared carries at least one spare set when they have a mission critical need for the flashlight etc. And a few mAh's isn't going to make much difference to the single cycle runtime, but it can make a large difference to the long term longevity of the cells.

 

[Turak]

whoops, sorry ignore

 

[Tapis]

Thanks for the review. After reading all the positive comments about this charger, I have decided to buy it to replace the mediocre charger I use for my eneloops. I cannot order from Amazon. Does any of these CPFmarketplace dealers carry it? I checked a few and wasn't successful.

 

[WDG]

I purchased mine from Thomas Distributing. I usually buy from them when I can, as I've always had great service from them. (It looks like they've got it on sale, right now.)

 

[Tapis]

Thanks WDG, but shipping to East Europe (where I am presently) was a bit costly. Enerdan is Powerex distributor in Germany and their price and shipping rate are very reasonnable, so I ended up buying from them.

 

[BillSWPA]

Thanks for the review. This thread coming up again is timely for me, since I am learning that merely recharging my cells might not be quite enough in all cases.

 

[MidnightDistortions]

Great review . This charger is definitely a better analyzer than the LaCrosse one i have, but so far i have been able to use older NiMHs thanks to the LaCrosse charger. I plan to get a Powerex charger in the near future . The only problem that i read about this charger is the backlight won't shut off when in use don't know if that's still true or not.

 

[StandardBattery]

I don't know if they have made any updates to this charger in a long time, but it's still a pretty good charger. I don't know why the light is a big issue for many. The Sky MC-3000 might come out next year sometime or the UltraSmart (w/LCD) might appear in the next few months that will probably set higher standards. The automatic data-logging to SD Card of the UltraSmart charger is pretty cool, and could create a nice history of cell performance over a long time period with regular use. The Opus BT-3100 and BT-2400 both seem like pretty good chargers although some here are reporting issues with their BT-3100 v2.1 chargers. I started testing mine more fully, and so far so good. Sounds like there might be quality control issues and depending on how you purchase returns could be a big hassle with long delays. The MH-9000 is proven and it's quirks are known. NiMh cells are pretty reasonable these days so just a basically good charger with proper process can go a long way and the right process with the not so good charger can be pretty effective also. The reviews can be very helpful in establishing a good process.

 

[MidnightDistortions]

The backlight is a pretty good feature to have but it doesn't need to stay illuminated for very long unless you were staring at it during the time your charging/maintaining the batteries. It's difficult for some who sleep in the same room they have their charger in with the light staying on. Even then i am used to using a penlight when looking at the charger info.

 

[Tapis]

@ MidnightDistortions - One can cut a small piece of cardboard and cover the screen. Problem solved.