I have a La Crosse BC900 charger that I have used for years and it has treated my Eneloops well. I thought I was treating my batteries best by charging them at the default 200ma rate of the BC900. A few months ago I read somewhere on this forum that the La Crosse chargers sometimes fail to determine "Full" at 200ma and 500ma was a safer rate to charge at. That post and a increased use of rechargeable AA's has caused me to start charging at the 500ma rate. I'm now charging AA's at least four times more frequently than before and can no longer just put the batteries in the BC900 and patiently wait for them at the default 200ma rate. Since I'm now charging at the 500ma rate I have to change the current rate and have found my patience tested. Sometimes (infrequently) I can put the first AA in then hit the current button to change to 500 then do the same with the other three. Most of the time I have a battle trying to change the charge rate of the last three batteries. I know that the charge rate of all the batteries is limited to what the first battery is set at. I can usually change the charge rate of the first battery to 500 by putting the battery in then hitting the button for that cell and while flashing hit the current button to go to 500. For the other three batteries I try to change the charge rate for each battery by hitting the cell button and increasing to 500 for all three batteries. This is very frustrating and usually takes 20+ minutes and involves pulling all four batteries out and restarting multiple times. Another method with the other three batteries is to put them in then hit one of the cells button and change all three cells to 500 at one time, this seems to be more successful. I can not seem to find a way to do this simply without trying my patience. Is there a better way to set all four batteries to 500ma? Am I missing something? Or is my charger defective? I would really like to keep using this La Crosse charger since it has treated my batteries well for years but my patience is wearing thin.
La Crosse Charger Help/Tips
- Thread starter Dimt
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I think that is the way I do it. Once a battery is set charging (if above the 200mA default rate), it seemed to be kind of finicky from my recollection to adjust additional batteries to match the higher charge rate. I just ended up pulling the power cord so that it reset and then when adjusting the current it was a global adjustment to all the cells that were currently installed. Seemed to always work well that way for me. So I don't think your charger is defective.....just the nature of the BC900. The BC700 has a better feel to the switches. I like the BC700 better than the BC900. The delay between the last switch press and when it starts charging is a little shorter in time which I also like. I have always charged the AA's at 500mA and the AAA's just the default 200mA. I've never had a missed termination. I won't use the 750mA rate............at least not when doing all 4 slots. Not because the batteries can't handle it, just that I don't want to stress the charger. Now that is my opinion. I've been inside these LaCrosse chargers and thought the power electronics aspect of them was a little weak. So I won't do 750mA. I'll do all 4 slots at 500mA with no problem with excess heat in the charger. Just my opinion for what its worth
. I still like the LaCrosse charger a lot.I think that is the way I do it. Once a battery is set charging (if above the 200mA default rate), it seemed to be kind of finicky from my recollection to adjust additional batteries to match the higher charge rate. I just ended up pulling the power cord so that it reset and then when adjusting the current it was a global adjustment to all the cells that were currently installed. Seemed to always work well that way for me. So I don't think your charger is defective.....just the nature of the BC900. The BC700 has a better feel to the switches. I like the BC700 better than the BC900. The delay between the last switch press and when it starts charging is a little shorter in time which I also like. I have always charged the AA's at 500mA and the AAA's just the default 200mA. I've never had a missed termination. I won't use the 750mA rate............at least not when doing all 4 slots. Not because the batteries can't handle it, just that I don't want to stress the charger. Now that is my opinion. I've been inside these LaCrosse chargers and thought the power electronics aspect of them was a little weak. So I won't do 750mA. I'll do all 4 slots at 500mA with no problem with excess heat in the charger. Just my opinion for what its worth
Thanks, I never thought of unpowering the whole unit. In fact this may work better for me because I have my battery chargers connected to a powerstrip with a on/off switch for each outlet. For me all I will have to do is put all four batteries in then switch on the power. Then adjust the current globally.....if that works things will much much simpler. I have some cells in the BC900 right now, I can't wait till they are done so I can try this with the next batch.
T
dgbrookman
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2012
- Messages
- 78
I've had a LaCrosse BC700 since 2010 and your experience with finicky buttons on the BC900 sounds very familiar. Maybe it's just a LaCrosse thing.
I used to charge at 200 mA on the assumption that gentle charging would be easier on the cells. But according to several credible sources charging at a low rate may not produce a reliable -deltaV or temperature signal to indicate charge termination. This is said to be a general behavior of NiMH cells so the failure to detect termination that you mentioned is not necessarily specific to LaCrosse chargers.
This means it's actually safer to charge at 500 mA or 700 mA. This should not stress the cells as it is only about 0.25 to 0.35 C for a typical AA NiMH cell (such as good old white Eneloops at 2000 mAH). The 200 mA rate is fine for AAA cells as it works out to around 0.25 C which should be high enough to produce a reliable termination signal.
I used to charge at 200 mA on the assumption that gentle charging would be easier on the cells. But according to several credible sources charging at a low rate may not produce a reliable -deltaV or temperature signal to indicate charge termination. This is said to be a general behavior of NiMH cells so the failure to detect termination that you mentioned is not necessarily specific to LaCrosse chargers.
This means it's actually safer to charge at 500 mA or 700 mA. This should not stress the cells as it is only about 0.25 to 0.35 C for a typical AA NiMH cell (such as good old white Eneloops at 2000 mAH). The 200 mA rate is fine for AAA cells as it works out to around 0.25 C which should be high enough to produce a reliable termination signal.
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I just tried powering off the charger putting in the batteries, then powering up and hit the current button twice & all the cells are at 500!
Two button presses and I'm I'm business! Thanks hiuintahs. I was about to get a Opus BT-C3100 but I'm a happy camper @ 500ma! Which I think we all agree 500ma is the best rate for AA's.
ChrisGarrett
Flashlight Enthusiast
I bought a BC-700 over 6 years ago, when I revamped my NiMH package. I bought a Maha C9000 at the same time.
I wish I would have just bought two Mahas, as they're the better charger and the BC-700 was about the same price at the time. I don't mind the quirks of my BC-700, as the Maha has its share of them (2 hour top off charge), but my BC-700 shuts down as the battery temps rise and they always do. This is at 700mA for my Eneloop types and it happens a lot. My batteries never get warm at 1000mA in my Maha.
I would never buy another La Crosse charger and I regret my initial decision. It works and it's smaller than the Maha, but it sits in a cabinet, only being used when I have to charge up a lot of batteries in short order.
I have a lot of chargers here.
Chris
I wish I would have just bought two Mahas, as they're the better charger and the BC-700 was about the same price at the time. I don't mind the quirks of my BC-700, as the Maha has its share of them (2 hour top off charge), but my BC-700 shuts down as the battery temps rise and they always do. This is at 700mA for my Eneloop types and it happens a lot. My batteries never get warm at 1000mA in my Maha.
I would never buy another La Crosse charger and I regret my initial decision. It works and it's smaller than the Maha, but it sits in a cabinet, only being used when I have to charge up a lot of batteries in short order.
I have a lot of chargers here.
Chris
Sorry to hear you have had so much trouble with your La Crosse charger. My experience with my BC900 has been different. Charging at a gentler rate (200-500) has been very good to my Eneloops. I have had trouble setting up my La Crosse but with the group power up technique hiuintahs has suggested I think my Pearly Whites will still be happy for a few more years.
ChrisGarrett
Flashlight Enthusiast
It's no bother and this site is full of La Crosse charger problems. Mine still works and apart from shutting down due to heat build up in its rather small chassis, often...when it works, it works as intended. Some of us think that it measures about 10% higher than the Maha, but a lot of chargers have a tolerance that they have to deal with.
There are other more capable chargers out there six years later.
Chris
weez82
Enlightened
I've always charged my eneloops at 700mA. Both the charger (10years old) and batteries (2-10 years old) are still running great. Love the bc-700
On my bc700 I charge AAA @500ma & AA @ 700 ma , mine has never shut down due to over heating, it will terminate ok with AAA @ 200ma but can miss once in a blue moon , mine has missed twice , but it's never missed @ 500ma.
When charging nimh battery's on the bc700 the battery's do get a bit warmer than my other chargers , xtar vc4, opus 3100 & skyrc mc3000.
When charging nimh battery's on the bc700 the battery's do get a bit warmer than my other chargers , xtar vc4, opus 3100 & skyrc mc3000.
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Here is a comparison of the Maha & La Crosse (you may have seen it 5 years ago?) The La Crosse seems to outperform the Maha at the lower (200 & 500ma) charge rates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3SBjrhANSs
ChrisGarrett
Flashlight Enthusiast
No, I hadn't seen that particular video, but there's no way I'm going with the LaCrosse BC-xxxx over the Maha.
The Maha has the 2 hour top off charge, where we don't know what the final numbers are, but yeah...no way and I've used both the BC-700 and the C9000 for 6+ years, regularly.
I'm pretty confident that most people on this forum, having both, would agree with me.
I still use my BC-700, but it's the 'AAA league' to me, not the 'major leagues'.
If we all liked the same things, it would be a boring world.
I don't freeze my batteries, for the record.
Chris
