Alternative to Duracell Mobile Charger?

[e_dogg]

I've been hunting around for a Duracell Mobile Charger and can't seem to find one. Since it's discontinued, I'd rather buy in a brick & mortar store so that I know the exact one I'm getting and they don't try to slip me a GoMobile charger instead.

But, alas, I can't seem to find one. I've checked Target, Batteries+, Big Lots, CVS, Fry's, and Office Depot.

A guy at Batteries+ said that all of the AA chargers they carry charge individually and are smart chargers. He pointed at a rack full of Powerex (Maha), Rayovac, Nuon, and Energizer chargers and said that they were all comparable to the Duracell Mobile Charger.

He pointed out the Nuon NURECH4-4 and Rayovac RAYPS32-2B specifically as good alternatives to the Duracell Mobile Charger because they were also $20. I'm not sure that I believe him, though.

I also saw the Duracell Value Charger and Duracell Mini Charger at a few places (I think these are timed chargers and not smart?). And a lot of similar Energizer chargers (the Compact Charger, Family Charger, and 15 minute charger).

Are any of these good alternatives to the Duracell Mobile Charger? Is there something else in the $20 range that I should look at?

I'm going to buy some Eneloops soon and will be using them in a digital camera and Romisen 2xAA light along with my wireless mouse and keyboard. I might get some AAA Eneloops for my TV remote too.

 

[TakeTheActive]

I've been hunting around for a Duracell Mobile Charger and can't seem to find one. Since it's discontinued, I'd rather buy in a brick & mortar store so that I know the exact one I'm getting and they don't try to slip me a GoMobile charger instead.

But, alas, I can't seem to find one. I've checked Target, Batteries+, Big Lots, CVS, Fry's, and Office Depot...

SEARCH for CPF Member fishx65 in the CPF Marketplace Forum. IIRC, he had a few for sale @ $18 including shipping.

...A guy at Batteries+ said that all of the AA chargers they carry charge individually and are smart chargers. He pointed at a rack full of Powerex (Maha), Rayovac, Nuon, and Energizer chargers and said that they were all comparable to the Duracell Mobile Charger.

He pointed out the Nuon NURECH4-4 and Rayovac RAYPS32-2B specifically as good alternatives to the Duracell Mobile Charger because they were also $20. I'm not sure that I believe him, though...

IMO, invest YOUR time with GOOGLE and do the homework. Even Eneloops won't perform well with a *CRAP* charger.

...I also saw the Duracell Value Charger and Duracell Mini Charger at a few places (I think these are timed chargers and not smart?). And a lot of similar Energizer chargers (the Compact Charger, Family Charger, and 15 minute charger).

Are any of these good alternatives to the Duracell Mobile Charger? Is there something else in the $20 range that I should look at?

There are PLENTY of posts discussing good chargers in the CPF Archives...

Duracell Mobile Charger - Target DPCI?

 

[Mr Happy]

I'm sorry, I don't know what to recommend in the $20 price range.

The two chargers pointed to in Batteries Plus seem to be dumb timed chargers as best as I can tell. Not good equivalents at all.

If you can spend a little more, the Maha C401FS is good (but use the slow charge mode unless you are in a hurry).

Your local Fry's may also have the rather nice Sony 34HRMF4, though the included 2700 mAh batteries may develop the classic high self-discharge problem.

It is sad that the Mobile Charger has disappeared. Experience seems to show that consumers will not pay $25 for a charger in a B&M store, so the choice gets restricted to $15 "value" chargers that destroy batteries.

There really isn't a recommendable consumer charger with desirable features at a low price as far as I can tell, right now.

 

[Mr Happy]

By the way, if you can convince yourself to stretch to the Maha C9000 you will not regret it. It really is the best thing for eneloops bar none. If you buy two or three cheaper chargers in a search for a good one (easy to do), you will have spent the same amount of money.

 

[Mr Happy]

If you take a look in Target, you may find one of these TG-LCD2700 on clearance for $15 in the camera accessories section:

http://www.target.com/Targus-Digital-Battery-Charger-Batteries/dp/B000BKQNG4

It's not quite perfect as it may get a little warm, but otherwise it has good features including a refresh (discharge) button. I recommend to keep it vertical in a wall outlet and leave the plastic cover open while charging.

 

[e_dogg]

SEARCH for CPF Member fishx65 in the CPF Marketplace Forum. IIRC, he had a few for sale @ $18 including shipping.

IMO, invest YOUR time with GOOGLE and do the homework. Even Eneloops won't perform well with a *CRAP* charger.

There are PLENTY of posts discussing good chargers in the CPF Archives...

Duracell Mobile Charger - Target DPCI?

Trust me, I'm not a forum/research newbie. I've done plenty of searching but wasn't really able to find anything definitive about other ~$20 chargers or reccomendations of alternatives. Plus, Fishx65 sold the last one of his chargers about a week ago.

The reason I made the post is because I'm trying to avoid a crap charger and my budget was only about $20.

I'm sorry, I don't know what to recommend in the $20 price range.

The two chargers pointed to in Batteries Plus seem to be dumb timed chargers as best as I can tell. Not good equivalents at all.

If you can spend a little more, the Maha C401FS is good (but use the slow charge mode unless you are in a hurry).

Your local Fry's may also have the rather nice Sony 34HRMF4, though the included 2700 mAh batteries may develop the classic high self-discharge problem.

It is sad that the Mobile Charger has disappeared. Experience seems to show that consumers will not pay $25 for a charger in a B&M store, so the choice gets restricted to $15 "value" chargers that destroy batteries.

There really isn't a recommendable consumer charger with desirable features at a low price as far as I can tell, right now.

Thanks for the input - helpful as always, Mr. Happy! I had a feeling that the alternatives the guy at Batteries+ tried to get me to buy weren't worth it.

As luck would have it, I just went grocery shopping at Von's (aka Safeway in other parts of the country) and they had a couple of the Mobile Chargers left in stock! So, I picked one up there for $22.

And to top it off, they had white-top/made in Japan Duraloops on sale for about $8!!! They only had three 4xAA packs left so I scooped them all up. And picked up a couple 4xAAA packs (black top/made in China) to use in my TV remote once the Alkalines in there die.

 

[TakeTheActive]

If you take a look in Target, you may find one of these TG-LCD2700 on clearance for $15 in the camera accessories section:

http://www.target.com/Targus-Digital-Battery-Charger-Batteries/dp/B000BKQNG4

It's not quite perfect as it may get a little warm, but otherwise it has good features including a refresh (discharge) button. I recommend to keep it vertical in a wall outlet and leave the plastic cover open while charging.

I thought that you were uncomfortable with the excess [55°C (130°F) at a 1000 mA charging current (two hour charging)] heat?

Reference: Battery Temperatures During Charging For NiMH

I would be more comfortable with the 'FREE' (runs cool / terminates well) Sanyo MQN06 than the Targus. Even my new Duracell CEF20 Mini Charger (AA/AAA 280mA/110mA, 2 cell / 2 channel!) has also been running cool and terminating well in my limited experiments. It CAN be confused when I put a fully charged cell in one channel and a flat cell in the other though...

 

[Light Sabre]

The LaCrosse BC-700 is only $30 at Amazon. Not $20, but the least expensive smart charger I could think of. Amazon.com: lacrosse bc700

 

[Mr Happy]

I thought that you were uncomfortable with the excess [55°C (130°F) at a 1000 mA charging current (two hour charging)] heat?

It's true, I did express reservations about that. But I didn't feel I could write the charger off completely after just one observation.

However: today I tried charging four completely discharged eneloops in it (500 mA charging), while keeping it vertical in a wall socket with the plastic lid open. In this case it still heated some of the cells up to 53°C, and even after four hours with hot cells and an appearance that they were fully charged it did not stop charging.

So basically my gut feeling was right. I can't recommend this charger.

 

[benhar]

I know you want to buy from a B&M store to guarantee you get what you want, but there are still some legit Mobile Chargers on eBay. The pictures are pretty clear on what you are getting, and even if they do ship something different, Paypal covers the full price for most if not all of the sellers. Just pay attention to the listings and you should be good.

I got mine off eBay with 4 batteries and car adapter for $22 shipped. There are even better deals than that but I didn't want to take chances waiting.

Edit: Nevermind, didn't see that you already found a charger

 

[Mr Happy]

Seems they're getting like gold dust. Here's one for $113.34 :huh: with free shipping (should hope so too!):

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000XSBVK2/?tag=cpf0b6-20

I wonder why Duracell are withdrawing such a good product from the market? They have something unique with no competition that works well and they don't want to sell it? It's really odd.

 

[Bones]

Seems they're getting like gold dust. Here's one for $113.34 :huh: with free shipping (should hope so too!):

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000XSBVK2/?tag=cpf0b6-20

I wonder why Duracell are withdrawing such a good product from the market? They have something unique with no competition that works well and they don't want to sell it? It's really odd.

And the bad news keeps on coming. It appears that the newly released one hour 'Go' charger can only charge in pairs:

http://www.amazon.com ... product-gallery/B002FU6KA2

Isn't the combination of a pairs charger and rate that can impart a full charge in one hour pretty lethal for NiMH cells?

 

[Mr Happy]

I've noticed that lots of 1 hr chargers seem to charge in pairs. Maybe it's because the circuit is cheaper to build that way?

Whatever the reason, it is going to be very bad for mismatched or unbalanced pairs of cells. It does certainly seem like a backwards step.

 

[Turbo DV8]

Seems they're getting like gold dust. Here's one for $113.34 :huh: with free shipping.

Well, the free shipping just seals the deal for me!

 

[Light Sabre]

I stoped by Safeway after work today, they had a whole peg plus a few just laying on the shelf of the Duracell Mobile Chargers CEF23DX2 for $23. It only has 2 AA LSD batteries and doesn't have the auto 12VDC power cord. Looked at the reviews on Amazon, seems like half the people complained about the units smell after they opened the package. The other half didn't even notice any bad smell. I will probably buy one, check it out, and if all is well, buy a few more.

 

[Marduke]

I like the smell. It has that "fresh gadget" smell.

 

[benhar]

I noticed the smell too. It didn't really remind me of the new electronics smell, more of a strong acidic smell. I've opened my share of electronics, and this was a new one to me. It's worn off for the most part now.

 

[jonnyfgroove]

The two I bought both have a strong odor that resembles ammonia. :shrug:

 

[e_dogg]

Yeah, the one I just bought had a funky smell too. I'm a computer geek and have smelled my fair share of computer components burning in. But I've never smelled anything like the charger.

I've left it sitting out on the counter for a few days and it seems like it's gone away, thankfully.

 

[Bones]

I wonder if the increasing potency we're noticing can be attributed to 'just in time' parts stocking and manufacturing, followed almost immediately by enclosure of the item in virtually air-tight blister pack?