batteries for a friend

[jasonsmaglites]

i have a friend who is a single mom with three kids, and she came to me with a battery question. she wants the rechargeables since her kids have three remote control cars (3aa each) and that can get expensive. so, after determining she doesn't need a hybrid/eneloop type, i figured on the duracell 2650, making sure she has nine of them.

but also, i was thinking how is she going to charge these up?
charging in two sets of four will leave her to charge one.
if she had three chargers with independent bays, she could use each one for a car, and plug up three batteries in each of the three when the kids are done with the toys. she's not like us, where we will play with our batteries, and even for us, we'd want a convenient way to charge them. but moneywise, how do i get her charger packs for this setup AND get her 9 batteries? any suggestions. she's a single mom so i want to keep the price down.

 

[Stereodude]

What's wrong with using a single 4 bay charger with independent bays to charge 3 at a time(repeating this 3 times)? Or does she need to get all 3 cars running again in a minimum of time (hence 3 chargers)?

 

[nerdgineer]

I haven't done the math but intuitively, I think you need to get her another 3 batteries so she has 3 spares. You keep those charged in a bowl somewhere. Kid needs batteries, he takes those 3 and drops his 3 into the charger (with a quick charger, one should do it). When charged, take them out and drop them into the bowl.

 

[mdocod]

RC cars are "high drain" devices and will wear out cells like the 2650s and other high capacity cells more quickly. I suggest going with the eneloops because they will survive a lot more cycles without the need for "maintenance" cycles.

 

[paulr]

I have a Vanson V-6988 which was around 25 bucks. Not the fastest charger in the world, but it has 10 independent bays. I use it for my 9 cell mag85, basically the same problem your friend has.

http://batteryjunction.com/vav10baysmch.html

 

[LED_Thrift]

RC cars are "high drain" devices and will wear out cells like the 2650s and other high capacity cells more quickly. I suggest going with the eneloops because they will survive a lot more cycles without the need for "maintenance" cycles.

I would go with Eneloops or Ray-o-vac Hybrids also. I have three boys and I always have a few ready. Usually as soon as two get run down, I charge them up and put them in a green plastic bag, ready to go. Look in the flashlight reviews forum: this_is_nascar did a test on the high-drain Photon Pro light... the Hybrids and the Eneloops [rated at 2100mAh & 2000mAh] outperformed a Sanyo NiMH 2600 mAh cell. The LSDs are great because you can charge them before hand and they don't need 'maintenance cycles'.

 

[DM51]

Free bump for you, to put this above the duplicate thread which I just closed.