Charger with capacity readout?

[Ty_Bower]

I've always wanted a charger that can tell me how many mAh went into the cell during charging (or how many came out during discharging). It's fine if it'll only work on a single cell (or single pack of cells) at a time. I'd say it needs to be able to charge li-ion cells as well as NiMH.

Are there any good choices out there besides the Great Planes ElectriFly Triton Jr? Anything less expensive?

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Ty,

Check out the Maha C9000 or the La Cross BC-900.

Tom

 

[Mr Happy]

Is there anything like the C-9000 that will do Li-ions as well?

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Mr Happy,

The Schulze and most of the other hobby chargers do Li-Ion cells in the same way that they do the other chemistries. They are more flexible than the C9000, but are limited to 1 or 2 packs or cells at a time.

Tom

 

[Mr Happy]

Whoah! They are more expensive too!

I see about $300 for the least expensive model, plus you need a big fat 12 V power supply on top (buy a car battery and 12 V charger, and stick the whole set on a trolley in your garage?)

I'm sure they are good quality and worth the money for those who will get intensive use out of them, but what about a more economical solution for those of us who might just want to charge one or two Li-ions for a flashlight?

I can see opportunities here for the home constructor.

 

[Ty_Bower]

Check out the Maha C9000 or the La Cross BC-900.

The BC-900 looks nice. I really like its price, too. But it doesn't do li-ion, does it? I guess the C9000 doesn't do li-ion either.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Mr Happy,

Well... you didn't mention a price range...

Some of the hobby chargers are capable of plugging into your PC for graphing and data information, and they have a transformer built in. I believe the Bantam 6 is like that, and it is more reasonably priced.

I am afraid there is nothing for Li-Ion in the $10 - 20 range.

Tom

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Ty,

You are correct. Both of those chargers only do NiCd and NiMh AA and AAA cells. If you go to the reviews section and do a search on the C9000, there is a very detailed review of it and a post that compares the features of the BC-900 with the C9000.

Tom

 

[Anders]

Hello.

I bought Bantam BC-6 today



Here is a good review.

Anders

 

[Mr Happy]

Well... you didn't mention a price range...

Well no, maybe I didn't myself, but I was just following up on Ty's opening post, where he asked for both Li-ion and NiMH capability, and also for less expensive than the Triton Jr. The Triton seems to be about $80 plus 12 V power supply.

 

[Ty_Bower]

Yes, it's funny how it is OK to spend $300 on a flashlight, but $80 is too much for a battery charger. :lolsign:

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Anders,

Let us know how you like the Bantam.

It seems like a pretty good charger.

Tom

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Ty,

My point exactly...

People need to remember that their flashlights are only as good as the batteries in them, and in the case of rechargeable batteries, they are only as good as the charger used to charge them.

Tom