Chargers for AA Eneloops & NiMH?

[DHart]

I just bought some AA Eneloops and Titanium Brand NiMH cells. (Are Eneloops NiMH chemistry also? Doesn't say on the packaging.)

The only charger have for AA's is an old, cheapie Maha MH-C204F charger that I bought years ago. Good for use with Eneloops until I can upgrade to a newer, better charger?

Is there a single, good charger that can be use for both Eneloops & other brands of NiMH AA's?

 

[Black Rose]

The Maha C9000 is an excellent charger/analyzer for AA/AAA NiMh cells (which the Eneloops are).

If you don't want the analyzer, the Maha C80x series of chargers is also good.

I have a Maha C9000 and a 8 bay C800S that I use for all my AA/AAA NiMh cells.

If you have NiMh C or D cells or plan on getting some, you may want to look at the Maha C808M instead.

 

[Kestrel]

One cheapskate solution (just ask me why I thought of this ), you can look at the back of a cheapo AA charger to find out the charging rate (output) and calculate what time it will take to charge a NiMH of xxxx capacity (to prevent overcharging). For (my) example, 150 ma / 2400 ah = 16 hours. Good to go!:tinfoil:

 

[DHart]

Thanks for the info, guys. It's good to know that Maha is a reasonably good brand of charger... it's been so long since I bought my MH-C204F that I forgot it is actually considered to be a fairly good charger. I found the model quickly online and see that they're still selling them today. So I guess I can proceed with using my C204F until I can determine what a better way to go will be.

The main thing I wasn't sure about is whether Eneloops needed some special kind of charger or whether any good NiMH charger is fine for Eneloops.

Black Rose... wow the 9000 looks like a heck of a charger! I'm going to look more into your suggestions.

Kestrel... what do you think about using NiMH "C"s in the Fivemega "C" tube we each recently got... (With an M30 lamp, for example) a decent replacement until AW's C Li-Ions come along, or nowhere near the suitability?

 

[DHart]

I wound up ordering a LaCrosse BC900 ($36) and eight more AA Eneloops ($20) from Thomas Dist. Looking forward to checking this popular charger out.

 

[Kestrel]

Kestrel... what do you think about using NiMH "C"s in the Fivemega "C" tube we each recently got... (With an M30 lamp, for example) a decent replacement until AW's C Li-Ions [actually LiMn, I think? Something like that. K.] come along, or nowhere near the suitability?

Did you happen to notice this sale thread:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=193334
Two AW LiIon C's (lightly used) just sold for $84! That's insane!

I think the Accupower LSD NiMH C's could be good, they've gotten good reviews, 4500-5000 mAh. Regarding the emitter, let me take a couple of photos of what I replaced the M30 with in that FM body and start a thread. Need to figure out how to do beamshots w/ my camera first...

Hint: There's a lot that can still be done with 2.4 volts total...

 

[alfreddajero]

I would also recommend the C9000, great charger.......show us a pic of your charging station please. I was planning on getting that charger but when i read the thread about it i decided not too.....something about it melting down. You will need to cycle the titaniums to get there mah up.

 

[DHart]

Alfred... I've read of problems with both the Maha C9000 and the LaCrosse.... but I think whatever charger one gets, things are likely to be fine, with a slight chance of course that there could be a problem of some sort. I always place my charger on a 12"x12" marble tile AND I'm always around to monitor the charging. Under those conditions, I'm not worried about it. The LaCrosse has some features which I much preferred to the Maha... but I'm sure either is likely to do a fine job.

Thanks for the tip on the Titaniums! They arrived with a charge of less than 1v and they've been on my C204F charger for about 3 hours so far. It charges at 500 mAh and they're 2700 mAh, so I estimated they could be on there for 5 hours or so before I get the green light. Any more I should know about those?

Kestrel... I'm looking forward to your news!

 

[alfreddajero]

Yes of course your right, its all about preference. Thought you got the lsd's since they seem to come out of the factory without a forming charge. Dont know much about the 2700's but im sure a bit of cycling would be needed to get it up or close to its mah. I tend to use lsd's now with all my lights that use AA's.

 

[DHart]

Alfred... yes, I think I'll wind up using the Eneloops a lot. But I decided to test out a pair of Titanium 2700's just for the heck of it.

My D10 arrived today, ConneXion X2 arrived last Friday, and a Romisen RC-H3 is en route from HK, so I finally have some nice AA lights to explore! Being a big fan of Li-Ions, I'm running one in the D10 right now bouncing off the ceiling as a soft room light. I will probably run a Li-Ion in the D10 and Eneloops in the ConneXion X2 and RC-H3.

Not sure what I'll put the Titaniums in.... perhaps my wife's and my cordless mice!

 

[Marduke]

I would also recommend the C9000, great charger.......show us a pic of your charging station please. I was planning on getting that charger but when i read the thread about it i decided not too.....something about it melting down. You will need to cycle the titaniums to get there mah up.

That was a previous version YEARS ago. Any of the recent editions are superb.

 

[alfreddajero]

Okay thanks for letting me know that........so it has improved, cant beat the price on the charger.

 

[Black Rose]

BC-900 versions up to V33 suffered from the infamous melt down problem.

I don't think there have been any reports of problems with V34 or V35 units.

 

[JNewell]

Is there a short FAQ or chart somewhere that summarizes the differences between the LaCrosse and the Maha?

 

[JNewell]

Looks like the best answer is here.

 

[Marduke]

Is there a short FAQ or chart somewhere that summarizes the differences between the LaCrosse and the Maha?

The Maha is larger, more customizable, and more expensive. It will however not fully charge Eneloops.

The LaCrosse is smaller, cheaper, and more user friendly.

 

[NightTime]

The Maha is larger, more customizable, and more expensive. It will however not fully charge Eneloops.

Why will it not fully charge Eneloops? Will another good charger do?

 

[TakeTheActive]

BC-900 versions up to V33 suffered from the infamous melt down problem.

I don't think there have been any reports of problems with V34 or V35 units.

AFAIK, it was up to V32 - please point me to some LINKs with V33.

Thanks!

 

[Dan FO]

The Duracell CEF23DX4N works great. You can get them at Office Max or Staples for $32.99. If you find one that has the batteries made in Japan, they are eneloops. It charges 1 to 4 batteries and has a separate LED for each battery channel. Also comes with a car adaptor for mobile use.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000XSA5WW/?tag=cpf0b6-20

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XSA5WW/?tag=cpf0b6-20 Check out all the images.

 

[Marduke]

Why will it not fully charge Eneloops? Will another good charger do?

The Maha C9000 has a Max V termination condition which is below the typical Max V seen when fully charging Eneloops, so it quits charging prior to seeing a -delta V signal.