basic eneloop kit chargers - pros/cons?

[luke_DF]

I'm about to make the switch to eneloops and I can see you can get them with "kit" chargers (buy some batts and charger together).

I was wondering if someone can look into the Collective CPF Wisdom Guidelines Revised Edition (chapter Newbie Advice!) and give me a quick rundown of pros and cons of these? I don't want to shell out big bucks on a top-level-state-of-the-art-CPF-wet-dream-charger (I don't think I will be using it frequently enough to justify it), but if there are better options out there that don't cost an arm and a leg - I'll think about it!

 

[tolkaze]

The chargers are okay, they have a discharge / refresh button on them, and can charge individual channels. Not sure at what rate. Mine get hot when you discharge then recharge straight away

 

[brianp6621]

The chargers are okay, they have a discharge / refresh button on them, and can charge individual channels. Not sure at what rate. Mine get hot when you discharge then recharge straight away

I don't think this info is quite correct.

The main/only "kit" charger that is included nowadays is the MQN06.

It can only charge cells in pairs so you can only charge 2 or 4 at a time and since it doesn't charge cells independent of one another the the cells you charge in a pair should be of roughly the same discharge.

There is no discharge/refresh button, at least not on the MQN06, it is plug it in and charge, nothing more complicated/detailed than that.

From the reading here, they do a good job of simply charging cells as long as they are similarly discharged, but nothing more. For real cell analysis/refresh/recovery/maintenance you'll want something like the Lacross 9x series of the Maha C9000.

There were old more competent kit chargers but they don't seem to be for sale anywhere anymore, that I could find at least.

Do a search online or here for the MQN06 and you'll find plenty of info.

 

[cckw]

I went through that whole thing a short time back. and bought a Maha C9000 for my main home use. The charger that came with the batteries I use as a travel charger and charge batteries with their mate from the camera or flashlight, and am happy this way.

As an only charger if you are discerning enough to seek guidance here then you are picky enough to need a better charger then the one that comes in the package.

 

[420light]

As an only charger if you are discerning enough to seek guidance here then you are picky enough to need a better charger then the one that comes in the package.

Well Put. +1

 

[brianp6621]

I didn't put this in the original post but I do as cckw and bought a Maha C9000 for my main charger/analyzer and use the MQN06 for travel/charging similarly discharged cells.

 

[luke_DF]

thank you for your input - lovecpf

There is no discharge/refresh button, at least not on the MQN06, it is plug it in and charge, nothing more complicated/detailed than that.

how important is the discharge/recharge cycle with eneloops? I was hoping that they actually don't need much "maintenance", and I will find a way to cope with the fact that you have to charge two batts with same discharge level at the same time, so I'm leaning toward the MQN06...

 

[brianp6621]

thank you for your input - lovecpf



how important is the discharge/recharge cycle with eneloops? I was hoping that they actually don't need much "maintenance", and I will find a way to cope with the fact that you have to charge two batts with same discharge level at the same time, so I'm leaning toward the MQN06...

I am very new such that I don't even have a full cycle (beyond break-in) on any of my batteries.

But, from what I read here, you really don't have to worry too much about discharging fully and recharging. The common forum recommendation seems to be do a refresh/analyze (like on the C9000) every 10 cycles or so to refresh the battery and get an idea of its capacity trend.

 

[brted]

how important is the discharge/recharge cycle with eneloops? I was hoping that they actually don't need much "maintenance", and I will find a way to cope with the fact that you have to charge two batts with same discharge level at the same time, so I'm leaning toward the MQN06...

The best thing about discharging is finding out how good your batteries are, whether they are still (or ever) charging up to their full capacity. Otherwise you are pretty much guessing.

With eneloops, it doesn't seem that important to do a discharge cycle on them, but if you had a situation where the batteries sat around for a long time with very little use, such that they never discharged below 50-75% before you charged them again, I can see how it would be important to do a discharge from time to time. However, you can get the same result by sticking them in a flashlight and letting it run down (not all the way, but until the light is falling off pretty fast), then charging the batteries again.

 

[march.brown]

I have several chargers for AA and AAA cells ... I think it is preferable that whichever charger you buy , it should have individually monitored slots ... I have two with individual monitored slots and they get far more use than the ones where you have to charge in pairs.

My first charger was a "pairs" type by Uniross that plugs into the wall and my second pairs type is also a Uniross but with a seperate wall power unit ... These two chargers are usually only pressed into service if I feel the urge to charge a large number of cells at the same time.

I usually use a no-name four slot charger that has four independant LCD displays to monitor individual cells ... I have used this for well over three years and it is my first choice whether for a single cell or four cells ... If I am in a hurry , I would use my Hama Delta four independant slot charger ... This is fan-cooled and is a quick charger and has an LED for each slot ... In all fairness, this is the best one though it was also the most expensive.

So, my priority would be for individually monitored slots ... I am not saying that the "pairs" type are no good, because I used them for years ... It is just that I can put any combination of AA and AAA cells in any state of discharge into my favourite chargers without any worries.
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