I am looking at buying a La Crosse Technology BC1000 Alpha Power 4port battery charger for my AA nimh cells. Anyone have one or know if this is a good charger. Just wondering if it is reliable etc. It does get good reviews online. Thanks!
Battery charger advice
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ChrisGarrett
Flashlight Enthusiast
I bought the LC BC-700 and the Maha C-9000 at the same time in January of '12.
While I like my BC-700, it's smallish size means that even charging 4 batteries at 700maA (vs. BC-1000's 1A,) my unit will get hot and suspend charge until the temps drop back down.
If you have fat fingers and are always eating french frys, you might have trouble getting the AAAs in and out of the charger, due to its cramped bays.
The Maha C-9000 isn't perfect, but if I could only have one of mine going forward, I'd keep the Maha, as I think it's just a more well rounded and complete charger, vs. the LaCrosse offerings.
Chris
ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond
Flashlight Enthusiast
I've owned the La Crosse BC-700 and the BC-1000 for several years. I've never had a problem with them and been very happy with the charging results. In general though I charge my AAs are 500mA so I've not had any of the heat issues CG above mentioned. I've heard the Maha is also a very good charger.
ChrisGarrett
Flashlight Enthusiast
It doesn't do it every time, but just the other day, on some Sanyo 2700s at 700mA, it shut down on both paired channels for 10 minutes, at varying times during the charge.
I'm pretty much in an ambient temp of 80*-82* for most of the year, even with the AC on, so maybe that's it? Even with fresh, quality batteries, I've had my protection circuit trip more than a few times on the BC-700 and never on my Maha.
Chris
My first charger was the La Crosse BC-900 and then later purchased the BC-700 as a back up but I just use the BC-700 all the time now because the buttons work better. I also just charge the AA's at 500mA and the AAA's at 200mA and have never had trouble or a missed termination. I think the Maha is a better charger but the BC-700 is still better than most out there and adequate for me personally. Whatever a products maximum capability is..........I tend to operate under their maximum capability simply for reliability reasons.
MidnightDistortions
Flashlight Enthusiast
The La Crosse chargers are pretty simple and easy to use. If you want more options though (if you don't mind setting each battery) or a better analyzer/break in the Maha analyzer is good. It also lets you know if your batteries are having high resistance. The La Crosse will usually prematurely show full charge. I'd like the get the Maha charger but if you are just needing a simple smart charger/analyzer the La Crosse will do 
.
.Yeah I'm not wanting to get TOO into battery maintenance at this point, just want something that gives me a fairly accurate idea of what's going on with the batts and be able to keep the conditioning acceptable. The maha is still in contention though.
NoNotAgain
Flashlight Enthusiast
Get the Maha charger. With all that can be done, you'll grow into it, or wait till next year and purchase a second charger.
MidnightDistortions
Flashlight Enthusiast
Unless you found a deal on the BC1000, they should be about the same ... C$60.
WalkIntoTheLight
Flashlight Enthusiast
Honestly, the only important thing about a charger is that it is a "smart" charger (detects when batteries are full and terminates charging), and does independent channel charging. A $10 charger that does this is just as good as a $100 charger, the only difference is the extras such as displaying capacity, etc.
Costco Canada online has a good deal on now with a BQ-CC17 Panasonic smart charger (charges 4 AA or AAA independently) with Eneloop batteries. It's a cheap charger, and is slow, but it does a good job.
Costco Canada online has a good deal on now with a BQ-CC17 Panasonic smart charger (charges 4 AA or AAA independently) with Eneloop batteries. It's a cheap charger, and is slow, but it does a good job.
There is no universal definition of "smart" and all "smart" chargers are not equal.
BTW, on their website, Panasonic does not describe the BQ CC17 as "smart" they call it "Advanced"; they state that it uses ΔT and a timer for charge control. Panasonic calls the BQ CC16 "Smart & Quick"; it uses -ΔV and a timer.
The Maha C9000 uses -ΔV and has both temperature and timer as additional charge controls.
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WalkIntoTheLight
Flashlight Enthusiast
Sure, but the point is that it terminates the charge when the batteries are full, and doesn't just overcharge/cook them.
I tested the BQ-CC17 against my main charger, and it performed almost as well. It reliably terminated the charge when full, and came very close to charging the cells as much as my main charger (which uses -dV, rather than dT). It may have left the cells about 99% charged, which IMO is good enough and better than overcharging with a trickle charge.
It also charges older (non Eneloop) cells, which faster chargers can not, though it doesn't charge ones with very high internal resistance (but I'd rather it did charge them... I can use my own brains to tell the difference between NiMH and alkaline cells).
Anyway, my main point is that don't discount inexpensive chargers, just because they're inexpensive. Most people will find them just as good, and maybe better because of their small size.
But definitely stay away from dumb timed chargers, or chargers that only charge in pairs (unless you always use the same cells as a pair).
MidnightDistortions
Flashlight Enthusiast
I consider any charger a smart charger when it properly charges and maximizes the lifespan of the battery. I'm sure the Panasonic BQ-CC17 charger is great. I prefer to have an LCD screen so i can keep tabs on how the batteries are performing . A good battery charger analyzer is what i look for.
. A good battery charger analyzer is what i look for.Don't get me wrong ... I have and use the Sanyo NC-MQR06W (an older version of the BQ-CC17) as my travel charger. But at home, I prefer the Maha C9000 because it seems to run cooler when charging 4 batteries (probably the greater separation and air flow between batteries).
I'm not sure what you meant by
I'm not sure what you meant by
I've charged old non-Eneloop NiMH of various brands on the C9000 at 1000 mA without any problem (although I have discarded most of those old batteries over time).
WalkIntoTheLight
Flashlight Enthusiast
I was referring to some of my "quick chargers" (i.e., 1-2 amp charging), that don't like old NiMH cells that have high internal resistance. The cells heat up way too much in them. I have 2 chargers like this (not my main charger), and they work fine with Eneloops but not well with old cells. The BQ-CC17 is slow, so doesn't heat up old cells (as long as they don't have such high IR that it refuses to charge them).
