"Help with deciding on battery charger/analyzer"

Hello all!

I'm new around here and I guess in general regarding this topic. I have, over the years, had many rechargeable batteries which have always been charged with the charger that came with them (i.e. Energizer, Duracell, etc.). Recently I noticed that some of my Duracell cells are dying quicker than they should. In my research over the past few days I've found that I can use better chargers (analyzers) that can not only help keep my batteries healthy but can also hint at what might be wrong.

After reading tons of articles both here and elsewhere online I have come down to these (in order of initial desirability). I'm wondering if any of the experts here can comment?

SkyRC NC2500
Pros

• Latest, cool charger/analyzer with BlueTooth and iPhone app.
• LED display with separate cell information.
• Has backlight (and does not stay on all the time).
• Can update app/firmware when released.

Cons

• Higher price (not that big a deal).
• Has possible issues with reporting correct Internal Resistance and Discharge values. (really wondering if this has been corrected or if this has been overblown).
• Reported to have a loud fan. I hate fans! But maybe this isn't that big a deal?
• Shallow viewing angle on LED display.

Ambient Weather BC-2000 (clone of Opus BT-C2000)
Pros

• Has pretty much everything I need in a charger/analyzer.
• Lowest price.
• LED display with separate cell information.
• Has backlight (and does not stay on all the time).
• Good viewing angles on LED display.
• Very high rating, good reviews on Amazon.
• No fan.

Cons

• No BT, or app.
• No way to update firmware.

PowerEx MH-C9000
Pros

• Has big LED display.
• LED display with separate cell information.
• Good spacing between batteries.
• Been on the market for a long time. Good reputation.
• No fan.

Cons

• No way to update firmware.
• Complicated menu system. Need dozens of clicks to set all batteries to the same settings.
• Default charge setting of 1000mAh for both AA & AAA cells.
• Backlight stays on all the time (maybe not a big deal).
• Shallow viewing angle on LED display.

By looking at this you might just say why are looking at the NC2500? The obvious clear winner is BC-2000, right? Well, not really. I really like the SkyRC model but I have concerns after looking over everything. If these are big concerns to others then maybe I'd dodge a bullet by not getting it. But if there's no real deal breakers I'd rather have it.

I realize the C9000 is likely a favorite with you guys and maybe it is the best choice. Just not from my eyes at the moment.

Please keep in mind I'm a noob so I don't have any of these already or lots of experience to know what's important and what's not. If you can help that would be great!

Thanks so much!

-Richard

richard13 said:

Hello all!

I'm new around here and I guess in general regarding this topic. I have, over the years, had many rechargeable batteries which have always been charged with the charger that came with them (i.e. Energizer, Duracell, etc.). Recently I noticed that some of my Duracell cells are dying quicker than they should. In my research over the past few days I've found that I can use better chargers (analyzers) that can not only help keep my batteries healthy but can also hint at what might be wrong.

After reading tons of articles both here and elsewhere online I have come down to these (in order of initial desirability). I'm wondering if any of the experts here can comment?

[...]

I realize the C9000 is likely a favorite with you guys and maybe it is the best choice. Just not from my eyes at the moment.

Please keep in mind I'm a noob so I don't have any of these already or lots of experience to know what's important and what's not. If you can help that would be great!

Thanks so much!

-Richard

Click to expand...

Hi, welcome to the forum Richard. Well to start off yes, the C9000 is a favorite on this forum, though the only issue i have run into the C9000 is that it's a bit tougher to get the AAA cells in properly. That can be remedied by holding the negative battery terminal with the battery at a slight angle then pushing the positive terminal in.. you should see the AAA negative terminal on the charger pushed in and the positive terminal on the battery should be in between the two dimples or bumps that secures the battery in place. I'm not too bothered by the amount of buttons you have to press (and the default being at 1 amp). It's something that you'll get used to anyhow. If you're in a rush, it might not be so easy or fast. The backlight isn't really that bothersome.. it's great for a nightlight . Another option if you are looking for easy charging and a far cheaper option is to get the BQ-CC17 Panasonic charger.

I recommend the Powerex Maha MH-C9000. Big surprise, right? Ha ha ha!

:welcome:

I have two C9000s and the idea that they take "dozens of button presses" is simply not a consideration, in my opinion; think how many keystrokes you made to make your post! Was that a hardship? The C9000 interface is similar in that yes, you are making numerous 'button presses' but they are not the big deal that some reviewers make them out to be.

I will add that the menu system is logical and not complicated at all; if you're buying an analyzer I have full confidence that you can use the Powerex.

I have no issues with my LCDs, but that a personal thing: I like that they stay lit at all times they're in use and the viewing angle is not unreasonable to me.

So, my personal recommendation is: C9000! (Disclaimer: Not an expert! But very enthusiastic)

+1 for the C9000

I guess this is going to be a piling on thread.

Maha C9000 all the way.

Just keep the instructions in hand the first time you program it. After the third cell programming you won't need the instructions.

Buy right, buy once, cry once.

Chris

"Help with deciding on battery charger/analyzer"

The MH-C9000 is a great charger, but if you also want to be able to charge Li-Ion I would suggest that that you also check out the Opus BT-C3100. You can read HKJ's review here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?389732-Test-Review-of-Charger-Opus-BT-C3100-V2-1



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Re: "Help with deciding on battery charger/analyzer"

With respect to the Opus BT-C3100, I agree with HJK's comment in his review about not preferring pulsing during the lithium ion charge algorithm as I've seen at least one study suggesting pulsing leads to cell degradation. In the absence of conclusive evidence to the contrary, I'll continue to prefer the tried and true constant-current / constant-voltage approach over the simulated approaches used by a surprising number of budget li-ion chargers.

Meanwhile for an NiMH analyser charger, I too am using the MAHA C9000 for all routine charging, discharging/refresh purposes.

Question for the OP: What chargers are you using now? Not all name-brand chargers are known to do the job well and it may be these very chargers leading to your Duracell performance degradation. Also which Duracell NiMH cells are we talking about?

Re: "Help with deciding on battery charger/analyzer"

MidnightDistortions said:

Hi, welcome to the forum Richard. Well to start off yes, the C9000 is a favorite on this forum, though the only issue i have run into the C9000 is that it's a bit tougher to get the AAA cells in properly. That can be remedied by holding the negative battery terminal with the battery at a slight angle then pushing the positive terminal in.. you should see the AAA negative terminal on the charger pushed in and the positive terminal on the battery should be in between the two dimples or bumps that secures the battery in place. I'm not too bothered by the amount of buttons you have to press (and the default being at 1 amp). It's something that you'll get used to anyhow. If you're in a rush, it might not be so easy or fast. The backlight isn't really that bothersome.. it's great for a nightlight . Another option if you are looking for easy charging and a far cheaper option is to get the BQ-CC17 Panasonic charger.

Click to expand...

Thank you so much for the welcome! Yea, I think I've seen a bunch of positive comments about the C9000 and lots of comparison to it as well on this forum. Thanks for the advice.

Grijon said:

I recommend the Powerex Maha MH-C9000. Big surprise, right? Ha ha ha!

:welcome:

I have two C9000s and the idea that they take "dozens of button presses" is simply not a consideration, in my opinion; think how many keystrokes you made to make your post! Was that a hardship? The C9000 interface is similar in that yes, you are making numerous 'button presses' but they are not the big deal that some reviewers make them out to be.

I will add that the menu system is logical and not complicated at all; if you're buying an analyzer I have full confidence that you can use the Powerex.

I have no issues with my LCDs, but that a personal thing: I like that they stay lit at all times they're in use and the viewing angle is not unreasonable to me.

So, my personal recommendation is: C9000! (Disclaimer: Not an expert! But very enthusiastic)

Click to expand...

Thank you for the welcome as well! I like writing comments and typing, it isn't really a hassle. I think what the other reviewers are saying is that pushing a bunch of buttons isn't that bad but pushing the same buttons over and over again is a bit of a chore. I get what they are saying but I also understand what you're saying as well. I think the LCD being on all the time is probably a lesser concern as I would keep it in another room so it wouldn't keep me up anyway.

RollerBoySE said:

The MH-C9000 is a great charger, but if you also want to be able to charge Li-Ion I would suggest that that you also check out the Opus BT-C3100. You can read HKJ's review here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?389732-Test-Review-of-Charger-Opus-BT-C3100-V2-1



Sent from my iPad using Candlepowerforums

Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestions. As I said earlier, the C9000 is one in consideration. I did look at the BT-C3100 and its variants but realized I only have NiMH rechargeable batteries so I didn't need a charger that could handle Li-Ion as well (at least not yet). I also didn't like the more "spring loaded" look of the Li-Ion chargers either. But I'll keep them in mind if things change for me.

tandem said:

With respect to the Opus BT-C3100, I agree with HJK's comment in his review about not preferring pulsing during the lithium ion charge algorithm as I've seen at least one study suggesting pulsing leads to cell degradation. In the absence of conclusive evidence to the contrary, I'll continue to prefer the tried and true constant-current / constant-voltage approach over the simulated approaches used by a surprising number of budget li-ion chargers.

Meanwhile for an NiMH analyser charger, I too am using the MAHA C9000 for all routine charging, discharging/refresh purposes.

Question for the OP: What chargers are you using now? Not all name-brand chargers are known to do the job well and it may be these very chargers leading to your Duracell performance degradation. Also which Duracell NiMH cells are we talking about?

Click to expand...

The chargers I am using now are the ones that came with the battery packages I bought. They are both Duracell and I can dig up the model numbers if that matters. Regarding the cells themselves, yes, they are NiMH. I'm not sure if there are obvious generational indicators here (or charts I can look up) but the first couple sets were the Precharged rechargeable type with a light green "rechargeable" word on the side. The more recent ones have a darker/more "glittery" looking green on them. These more recent cells aren't as good and don't seem to be LSD at all. Not quite as bad as the Energizer rechargeables I had a few years ago though. I find I almost always have to top these off before use after sitting in the drawer for a while. The ones that are starting to fail are the older, more stable ones so it's kind of disappointing.

Re: "Help with deciding on battery charger/analyzer"

I am going to throw my opinion here as well.
Out of the three models listed I would probably consider the BC-2000.

The NC2500 is a very nice looking charger but its too expensive for simply charging and discharging batteries.

The C9000 turns me off with all the button smashing required to set up the batteries and that it only display the status of one battery at a time.
When I have four batteries I like to see the status of all of them without pressing buttons.

The BC2000 does what you need.
It charges and discharges the batteries, you can test the capacities for better pairing, it handles the batteries well and its fairly cheap. Its a no brainer for me.

Re: "Help with deciding on battery charger/analyzer"

FYI if you are mostly charging AA format cells, there's not much "button smashing" being forced upon C9000 users.

I'll admit to mostly using the default charge rate for my AA Eneloops these past five years. In the case you simply want to charge AA cell(s) at the default rate, here's the hugely involved process:

Option 1:

Turn C9000 on and watch the funky initialization
Insert cell(s)
Walk away

Option 2:

Insert cell(s)
Turn C9000 on
Walk away

In both cases the default program - Charge @1000mA - will launch. In both cases not a button was pushed.

Happy?

Re: "Help with deciding on battery charger/analyzer"

tandem said:

FYI if you are mostly charging AA format cells, there's not much "button smashing" being forced upon C9000 users.

Happy?

Click to expand...

Honestly, if peoples' ADD is so severe that they can't press a couple of buttons a few, or more, times, then they probably shouldn't be playing with this stuff in the first place.

Stick with alkaleaks.

Chris

Re: "Help with deciding on battery charger/analyzer"

tandem said:

FYI if you are mostly charging AA format cells, there's not much "button smashing" being forced upon C9000 users.

I'll admit to mostly using the default charge rate for my AA Eneloops these past five years. In the case you simply want to charge AA cell(s) at the default rate, here's the hugely involved process:

Option 1:

Turn C9000 on and watch the funky initialization
Insert cell(s)
Walk away

Option 2:

Insert cell(s)
Turn C9000 on
Walk away

In both cases the default program - Charge @1000mA - will launch. In both cases not a button was pushed.

Happy?

Click to expand...

All fine and dandy if you just want to charge the batteries at the default 1000mah.
So tell me I am curious if you want to charge/test four batteries to check their capacities, all in all how many button do you end up pressing to get that information from begining to end?

With the BM2000 you can get the discharge capacity with just a couple keystrokes.

The point is that todays chargers are as good or better than the C9000 dealing with the batteries and with a much better interface.

Re: "Help with deciding on battery charger/analyzer"

hammerjoe said:

All fine and dandy if you just want to charge the batteries at the default 1000mah.
So tell me I am curious if you want to charge/test four batteries to check their capacities, all in all how many button do you end up pressing to get that information from begining to end?

With the BM2000 you can get the discharge capacity with just a couple keystrokes.

The point is that todays chargers are as good or better than the C9000 dealing with the batteries and with a much better interface.

Click to expand...

Here's how it works:

Turn the unit on, wait 10 seconds for it to spool up.

Grab four AAA batteries that are in a depleted state.

Insert AAA #1 in slot #1 and you'll see CHARGE start blinking, hit ENTER.

Select CHARGE RATE then starts blinking on the screen and 1000mA is displayed (default).

Hit the DOWN arrow six times to get to 400mA (good for me and AAAs)

Hit ENTER and watch the screen, as I.R. will be displayed briefly.

Repeat for slots #2-#4.

8 times per slot, for a totlal of 32 presses in that instance.

Presses are actually lightening fast, at least when scrolling through the CHARGE/DISCHARGE values.

If that's too much for you to be able to handle, or bother with, I don't know what to say?

There are decent chargers out there without all of the bells and whistles, that only require one to insert either AAs, or AAAs, into the bays and then plug the unit into an outlet.

The Sanyo NC-MQR-06 comes to mind. Plug and play baby!

Chris

Re: "Help with deciding on battery charger/analyzer"

hammerjoe said:

All fine and dandy if you just want to charge the batteries at the default 1000mah.

Click to expand...

I have almost 200 AA and AAA NiMH cells with an approximate 80/20% split between the two formats. Charging AA's is what this charger spends most of its time working on and has been doing this for five years without fail, and without very many button presses thanks to its default charge current of 1000mA.

It would appear that the BT2000/BM2000 has a default charge current of 400mA - this suggests to me that to charge AA cells - the thing I do most with an AA/AAA charger - I'd have to press more buttons on the BT2000/BM2000 than on the MAHA C9000. True?

The point is that todays chargers are as good or better than the C9000 dealing with the batteries and with a much better interface.

Click to expand...

There are some good analysing consumer-grade NiMH chargers out there. Before there used to be not much choice - the C9000 and the LaCrosse. I've always preferred the MAHA C9000 because the product has a solid track record spanning years, now many years. LaCrosse has had its issues and hasn't always supported its users and products as well as they could have.

Will the BT/BM2000 enjoy the same track record? Will end-users receive the same level of support? Dunno - remains to be seen.

The C9000 might seem like a dated product to some but myself I see a product that offers a comprehensive suite of NiMH analytical tools, works very well, has a great track record, and continues to be well supported by the maker. In my view those are all good reasons to continue to consider the C9000 rather than put it out to pasture.

Re: "Help with deciding on battery charger/analyzer"

Excellent post, tandem.

Re: "Help with deciding on battery charger/analyzer"

Well said, Chris.

Re: "Help with deciding on battery charger/analyzer"

The C9000 is a battery analyzer like the La Crosse chargers and while there's less buttons to press on the La Crosse charger i'm finding using the C9000 isn't so bad. Of course if you're going from a simple light indicator charger to the C9000 it might seem a little annoying for some. They could improve it so the charging rate is default at 500mA, which is good enough for both AA/AAA cells or better yet the default should be user preference. Something that i wished the La Crosse had so i could just toss my cells in and one click of a button they could refresh, test or whatever without me having to change the current all the time but i'm not seeing any charger doing that yet so i'm perfectly fine with the C9000 and the BC1000. I also have a Panasonic charger which is easy to use and it's a great charger to let the batteries charge overnight without fear of any overcharging or the default current is too high. The other nice thing about the C9000 is you don't have to remove the cells right away or hover over it, you could even go without a timer. With the La Crosse charger i feel like i have to remove them right away or they'll overcharge if left sitting for over 2 hours trickle charging the cells.

Re: "Help with deciding on battery charger/analyzer"

I will admit that analysing AAA cells is my least favourite activity on the C9000 simply because I do prefer to drop the charge and discharge rate down when analysing AAA cells. That requires a maximal number of button presses.

Charging AAA isn't so bad. Sure, there are button presses but in typing this note I've pressed more buttons than I will press on my C9000 this entire week.

Re MD's posted above, I too have found that for my usage the C9000's top-off approach works very well. I charge either first thing in the morning or late in the evening. Cells are always fully ready by the time I need them or they move to the ready-to-use bin.

I like the Opus BT-C3400. It can charge a wide range of batteries: NiMH/NiCd sizes: AAAA, AAA, AA, A, C and SubC, i-ion sizes: 10440, 14500, 14650, RCR123A (17340), 17500, 17670, 18350, 18500, 18650, 19670 (protected 18650), 25500, 26500, 26650. It is even supposed to test for internal resistance.

After buying a flashlight that uses 18650 batteries, I was in the market for a good charger that would change them too. I like the MH-C9000, but using it is too much like work! <g> There are just too many key-clicks to get it to do what I want. I have two BT-C2400 charger and I like them a lot. I have two La Crosse chargers too - I think that they are 9100's. I never had the overheating issues that some users reported.