My Maha MH-C808M Charger Melted! What Now??

[milkyspit]

The Problem: Need Help!

Hey guys!

This is just weird... and a little disturbing, too. This evening I smelled a strong vinyl smell, like that of a newly-purchased vinyl beach ball fresh out of the packaging. Couldn't place it... then I remembered a batch if NiMH cells charging in the Milky Labs. (More on those cells in a moment.) So I took the cells out and sure enough, one was noticeably warm to the touch. Figured the jacket was outgassing.

...but when I reached into the charger to feel the plastic under where the cells would sit, to my horror my finger sunk right into a small pool of molten plastic! Which despite having no cells left in the charger, seemed to be getting worse.

THIS IS BAD! ...so I thought. I immediately unplugged the charger and proceeded to pull it not-so-gently from the mass of wires in which it was entangled, and out of my charging tray completely, then out of the house where it now sits. Needless to say, I have permanently retired that particular charger.

The Questions: Anyone?

This brings up two immediate issues I want/need to resolve...

1. Does the Maha MH-C808M have a history of melting like this? Ever? Anyone heard of such a thing with this unit??

2. What do I replace it with, to become my workhorse charger for Eneloops (mostly) and possibly larger-format (C, D) NiMH cells, that would put a good charge on the cells and perform in trouble-free, safe fashion??

Addendum: The Cells Might Have Been A Factor, Too

At the time I was charging Ray-o-vac 15 Minute IC3 NiMH cells of 2000mAh capacity. I had these left over after having disposed of my IC3 charger. These cells are designed to disconnect from the circuit briefly when they reach capacity, then reconnect themselves after a short delay. I'm thinking it might have contributed to the melting issue.

Then again, maybe not: I've charged these cells a number of times previously with no problems at all using this same charger. Even this time, 5 of the 6 cells charged perfectly. So did that final one, but the plastic under it was molten. Curiously, the cell itself was very warm, but not burning hot... certainly not of sufficient temperature to melt the plastic.

The plastic melted under the rightmost bay.

I'd appreciate the big guns over here in the battery part of the forum lending some assistance here. To be honest, I'm a little freaked out that this happened at all and could use my confidence restored. (And a good charger to replace the 808M, for that matter.)

[45/70]

Hi Milky. Recently I had posted that I hadn't heard of any problems with the 808. Guess that's changed!

I don't really know what happened, it could have been the cells you were charging I guess, but the charger shouldn't have gone postal. I would contact Maha and see what they say. Under warranty or not, I would think they would want to know about it. My best guess is that they'll send you a new charger and a return label to return the charger. Then they can check it out to see if they can figure out what happened.

Good luck!

Dave

[Mr Happy]

This seems a bit scary. But my guess would be on the IC3 batteries. I really don't think you are meant to charge those on anything but the IC3 charger.

I'm kind of puzzled why you would dispose of the charger but keep the cells?

(Actually I'm puzzled why anyone would ever dispose of anything, but that's just me )

[milkyspit]

I'm kind of puzzled why you would dispose of the charger but keep the cells?

I'd disposed of the charger AND the cells, actually donated to JTR1962 in the interest of science. Then in cleaning some drawers I found another half-dozen cells, though by that point I no longer had the charger. I'd charged the cells without incident in the Maha charger several times previously, so there seemed no reason to expect anything like this to happen.

Rest assured that now I have disposed of ALL the IC3 cells once and for all!

[VidPro]

...but when I reached into the charger to feel the plastic under where the cells would sit, to my horror my finger sunk right into a small pool of molten plastic! Which despite having no cells left in the charger, seemed to be getting worse.

1. Does the Maha MH-C808M have a history of melting like this? Ever? Anyone heard of such a thing with this unit??

Addendum: The Cells Might Have Been A Factor, Too

r.)

yes there is people who posted that the Charger Electronics , not the battery , the electronics on the right side got way to hot.
plus batteries put on the right side get heated by the electronics more than the others.

sounds like the battery itself got way to hot, i always prefer to use the "soft charging" method on that thing, unless i am in a rush, and if i am in a rush then i am more alert to what is going on.

you must have had the fluke battery of all times, because a battery that would just heat up on that charger would probably Toss a "no can do" error about charging it to begin with.
because it relies a lot on the voltage , a battery that will not reach voltage could potentially cause some of the same issues.

but on soft charging i dont know if the heat could ever get high enough to full damage the charger.

I NEVER DID like the fact that the battery SEATS into plastic, just due to the heat should be able to escape out all around a cell item, and i dont understand what purpose is served by having the battery seat like that.

by the way THAT SUCKS!

[SilverFox]

Hello Scott,

Contact Maha and let them know about this and hopefully they will replace it.

Hot cells can melt plastic, but it sounds like there may have been a component failure.

I would replace it with another 808.

As always, attend to the charge and prepare for upsets. I have heard a couple of rumors about the 808 getting hot enough to melt, but don't have any details. I have used mine without problems, but will be all ears to see if there is a problem that we are unaware of.

Tom

[tre]

When I was researching this charger, I found two reviews about it catching on fire:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R19GRNG...wasThisHelpful

http://www.amazon.com/review/R3I11NA...wasThisHelpful

I need a charger for C and D NiMh cells and just can't figure out what to buy. This has scared me away from this charger.

[sgt253]

I would never recommend something that may be found to be faulty. I will say I have been using this charger as my one and only charger for about the last two months. I have not had any issues with my charger. I will be following this thread closely, as I certainly don't need the hassle of a defective charger. Good luck to us all.

Regards.

[Greg G]

My Maha 808M has been serving me well for maybe...two years?


I wonder if any model battery charger has a 100% track record, no failures?

Every time I load a charger I treat it like it is going to meltdown and put it in a safe place where it can't catch the house on fire.

[tre]

I wonder if any model battery charger has a 100% track record, no failures?

Every time I load a charger I treat it like it is going to meltdown and put it in a safe place where it can't catch the house on fire.

Both good points.

[samgab]

Oh man. I just ordered a C808M... THEN read this thread... Well, It comes with a warranty and my house has fire alarms and full insurance

[SilverFox]

Hello Samqab,

If you remember the basics you should be fine. I don't think any other 808 chargers have had issues since this was reported.

Set your charger on a surface that is heat resistant. Attend to the charge by monitoring cell temperatures, and the time the cell is charging. If something seems amiss, unplug the charger first, then try to figure out what is going on. Finally, chargers work best when used with cells that are not crap.

Tom

[samgab]

Thanks silverfox. I'm sure it'll be fine. The odds are pretty good. And it's reported to be one of the best C, and D cell capable chargers out there, from what I've read. What a shame there isn't a version of the MH-C9000 that takes D cells.