Good Smart Battery Chargers which can charge at least 4 batteries at a time?

What are your recommendations for good quality good value smart chargers that can handle a mix of at least 4 batteries, AA and AAA, with different starting charge levels?

Are there any that can also handle a mix of AA, AAA and 18650 at the same time?

I'm just as interested in value - if a $30 smart charger will do 90% of what a $50 charger will do, that's fine by me.

mountainwalker said:

What are your recommendations for good quality good value smart chargers that can handle a mix of at least 4 batteries, AA and AAA, with different starting charge levels?

Are there any that can also handle a mix of AA, AAA and 18650 at the same time?

I'm just as interested in value - if a $30 smart charger will do 90% of what a $50 charger will do, that's fine by me.

Click to expand...

SkyRC MC3000 (multi-chem).

Maha C9000 (NiMH).

Opus BT 3100/3400 v. 2.2/3.1 (multi-chem).

Liitokala Lii 500 Engineer (multi-chem).

Xtar VC-4 (multi-chem).

Xtar Dragon Slayer (multi-chem).

To name a few.

HKJ is your friend:

http://www.lygte-info.dk/info/indexBatteriesAndChargers UK.html

Chris

ChrisGarrett said:

SkyRC MC3000 (multi-chem).
Maha C9000 (NiMH).
Opus BT 3100/3400 v. 2.2/3.1 (multi-chem).
Liitokala Lii 500 Engineer (multi-chem).
Xtar VC-4 (multi-chem).
Xtar Dragon Slayer (multi-chem).
To name a few.
HKJ is your friend: http://www.lygte-info.dk/info/indexBatteriesAndChargers UK.html
Chris

Click to expand...

Chris, thank you very much. The number of choices is quite overwhelming. Friends also mentioned the Nitecore Intellicharger i4 and powerex MH-C9000 and Panasonic BQ-CC65. I should say that looking for 2 models:

a) a home-use model that will charge at least 4 batteries at the same time (and it would be nice if it came with or could be used with a car charge adapter)
b) a lighter weight travel compact model that could charge preferably 4 batteries but at least 2. Just not be heavy and chunky like some home chargers where weight and size are not an issue.

Questions:
1) Which would you recommend for each? It seems like you can spend anywhere from $25-60 on smart home chargers that can charge 4 batteries at the same time so if I can get most of the capability from a $25-35 model I'd prefer that, unless there's a big benefit to a more expensive model.

2) A member of these forums messaged me several years ago that "the Maha 9000 and La crosse 900 are well rate but they have flaws you should read about." Is that still true?

mountainwalker said:

Chris, thank you very much. The number of choices is quite overwhelming. Friends also mentioned the Nitecore Intellicharger i4 and powerex MH-C9000 and Panasonic BQ-CC65. I should say that looking for 2 models:

a) a home-use model that will charge at least 4 batteries at the same time (and it would be nice if it came with or could be used with a car charge adapter)
b) a lighter weight travel compact model that could charge preferably 4 batteries but at least 2. Just not be heavy and chunky like some home chargers where weight and size are not an issue.

Questions:
1) Which would you recommend for each? It seems like you can spend anywhere from $25-60 on smart home chargers that can charge 4 batteries at the same time so if I can get most of the capability from a $25-35 model I'd prefer that, unless there's a big benefit to a more expensive model.

2) A member of these forums messaged me several years ago that "the Maha 9000 and La crosse 900 are well rate but they have flaws you should read about." Is that still true?

Click to expand...

I have the Maha C9000 w/car adapter, I have the Opus BT 3400 with car adapter, I have the Xtar VC4 which can work with a USB 12v cigarette adapter and I have a couple of smaller 1-2 slot Liitokala USB chargers.

Get the Opus BT 3100, or 3400 if you live in the USA. Get the 3A car adapter, which comes with it I think and use that for $30-$40, depending on where you buy from. The 3400 v. 2.2 is what I have and the new model version is the 3.1, it differs from the 3100 in that you can toggle off the display and you have an 'upgraded' fan. The v. 2.1/2.2 of either, has a 2.80v li-ion discharge cutoff and the v. 3.1 has a cutoff point of 3.10v.

It's a good bang for your buck charger.

All chargers have nits and flaws.

My Maha C9000 has been running strong for almost 6 years, but like any mass produced electronic item, you have some lemons out there. I also have a LaCrosse BC-700, which heats up and suspends charging at times. It's a decent charger, but at the same price as the Maha, at the time, I wish I would have gotten a second C9000, but others have no problems with their LaCrosse chargers.

They only do NiMH batteries, so that may be a negative point for you.

Chris

ChrisGarrett said:

I have the Maha C9000 w/car adapter, I have the Opus BT 3400 with car adapter, I have the Xtar VC4 which can work with a USB 12v cigarette adapter and I have a couple of smaller 1-2 slot Liitokala USB chargers.

Get the Opus BT 3100, or 3400 if you live in the USA. Get the 3A car adapter, which comes with it I think and use that for $30-$40, depending on where you buy from. The 3400 v. 2.2 is what I have and the new model version is the 3.1, it differs from the 3100 in that you can toggle off the display and you have an 'upgraded' fan. The v. 2.1/2.2 of either, has a 2.80v li-ion discharge cutoff and the v. 3.1 has a cutoff point of 3.10v.

It's a good bang for your buck charger.

Chris

Click to expand...

Thank you.
1) I'm seeing the BTC 3400 v3.1 - is that the same as the BT 3400 v3.1?
2) The BTC 3400 v3.1 is listed at double the cost of the XTAR VC4, and because the XTAR VC4 is USB, it can be used with a USB car charger. Is there any reason to get a BTC 3400 v3.1 over the XTAR VC4?
3) Which lightweight and compact 1-2 battery smart travel chargers do you recommend which can charge AA, AAA and 18650, which preferably can act as a power bank to charge a device like a mobile phone? Something like the LiitoKala Lii - 202 USB Battery Charger, $6 on Gearbest? I see it will also function as a power bank with micro USB output to charge external devices like mobile phones.
https://www.gearbest.com/chargers/pp_424662.html

mountainwalker said:

2) The BTC 3400 v3.1 is listed at double the cost of the XTAR VC4, and because the XTAR VC4 is USB, it can be used with a USB car charger. Is there any reason to get a BTC 3400 v3.1 over the XTAR VC4?

Click to expand...

The Opus BT-C3400 is an analyzing charger. It can be used to test capacity of batteries. It also can be used to check internal resistance. The VC4 has no testing modes, it only charges. The VC4 has a maximum charge current of 500mA when using 4 slots. The Opus is double that 1000mA using 4 slots. Also the VC4 does not come with a power supply, so add in the cost of a USB 2A adapter.
The Xtar VP4 plus dragon is more in line with the Opus BT-C3400 in terms of capability then the VC4.

When I bought my BT-C3400 it came with a car adapter and AC power supply.