Charging dilemma!?! What charger to charge (To my Credit Card)?

[D-an-W]

Hi folks, recently stumbled across this place when looking for information on batteries for my new Camera (Canon SX1IS) and have learned a great deal so far.

I currently have a Maha C9000 (0H0DA) and a La Crosse BC-900 (v33 afaik), both of which can be returned.

They will be used for Eneloop AA's in the Camera and my Wii (Inc Wii Fit) controllers, the question is which should I keep or do they both have plus points that should make me keep both of them?

The size of the BC-900 is certainly preferable over the C9000 but to see the C9000 in action is great :naughty:

Any information and advice is much appreciated...

 

[Black Rose]

I personally can't give you a performance comparison between the two chargers, since I only have one of them.

From the reading I've done here, they both have their strengths and weaknesses.

Before I bought a charger, I compared these two chargers and opted to buy the Maha C9000 in the end.
For me, the break-in feature of the C9000 is worth the additional cost.

 

[StandardBattery]

It's always nice to have a second charger, for travel, for work, for the car, for backup, to use while the other is conditioning cells, etc... you have them both now, so I say you might as well keep them both.

 

[45/70]

I'd keep them both. I've been using both of those chargers for a while now. The C-9000 is superior in quality and features, but the bottom line is, the BC-900 is quicker and easier to use for simple charging. Also, when the BC-900 says "DONE", the batteries are pretty much fully charged. The C-9000 (all but the very early version) only charges cells to about 85% when it says "Done". It relies on an additional 2 hr "top off" charge to complete the charge.

Dave

Oh, and welcome to CPF!

 

[D-an-W]

Thanks follks, I was kind of thinking along those lines

I only have 8 Eneloops so far, all have been discharged by the C9000 (@100mAh) and 4 are currently undergoing breaking in, in the C9000 (After research on here).

I did also get the car adapter for the BC-900 so I guess that could be my "Out and about" charger!

 

[D-an-W]

Just a quickie asking here to avoid another thread, my first set of Eneloops are in the 1st charge phase of their 1st Break-In (Following a 100mAh discharge).

The current on them all is above 2600mAh (@ 200mA / 1.50v / 873mins), is this normal?

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Dan,

Welcome to CPF from me as well.

The Break-In charge is an attempt to match the industry standard charge. That is 16 hours at 0.1C.

At low charge rates, the charge effiency is not all that good and it takes about 60% more charge to end up with a full charge.

Tom

 

[D-an-W]

Gotcha, thanks.

Woke up this morning, three were resting and one had just started the second charge.

They are all charging again now (I seem more excited over a charger than the new camera!)...

 

[Perfectionist]

For me, the break-in feature of the C9000 is worth the additional cost.

What does Breaking-In mean and why is it worth doing ?

 

[Black Rose]

What does Breaking-In mean and why is it worth doing ?

It's worth doing since it potentially allows you to get more/optimal capacity out of your cells compared the capacity you would get if you don't do a break-in cycle.

Here's some info about the break-in cycle from the manual.

- Applies a 16-hour 0.1C charge (0.1 times the capacity of the
battery), rest of one hour, followed by a 0.2C discharge, rest again,
and finally a 16-hour 0.1C recharge again.
- Recommended for brand-new batteries. This process is also known
as "Forming Charge." Also recommended with batteries that cannot
be rescued by the Refresh & Analyze mode.
- Recommended once every 30 cycles for NiMH batteries.
- Requires 39 to 45 hours to complete.
- The process follows the IEC standard for determining battery capacity.

 

[D-an-W]

The C-9000 (all but the very early version) only charges cells to about 85% when it says "Done". It relies on an additional 2 hr "top off" charge to complete the charge.

Dave, is that why now the C9000 says DONE (At the end of Break-In of four brand new Eneloop AA's) for them all but the capacitites are all below 2000mAh (1993, 1964, 1938, 1986)?

 

[Yoda4561]

No, thats the proper capacity rating of your eneloops. Due to small variations in charge current and voltage from unit to unit those numbers may not be the last word in "actual" capacity, but the break-in charge is 100% full. The c9000 is consistent but the readout values aren't individually calibrated for maximum accuracy.

On a normal charge the charger will cut off at 1.47 volts, which is usually less than 95% charged, I think 85 may be a bit low. I've noticed it's much gentler on the cells, even my old high internal resistance 2500's don't heat up like they did near the end of charge on the 204w.

**edited for clarification

 

[D-an-W]

Cheers, Yoda

So, charged are your batteries ...would you say :thumbsup:

 

[45/70]

Dave, is that why now the C9000 says DONE (At the end of Break-In of four brand new Eneloop AA's) for them all but the capacitites are all below 2000mAh (1993, 1964, 1938, 1986)?

Well, actually, when you use the break-in mode on the C-9000, that's the one exception where it does fully charge the cells. Using the other charge methods however, in most cases, it will say "DONE", short of a full charge.

Yoda may be correct about the 85%. I do think though, that if you ran a charge at 1C (2000mA for an AA eneloop for example), 85% would be close, IF you pull the cells as soon as "DONE" shows up. On the other hand if you dialed in say, 0.3C, you may get 95%. In either case when charging, and "DONE" shows up, the C-9000 appears to not be doing anything. Actually though, it is still charging the cells at 200mA (I think that's right, maybe it's 100mA) for 2 additional hours. After the additional 2 hrs, the cells are as near to 100% as you can get, and the C-9000 goes into a trickle charge.

It sorta bugs me that you can't tell that it's doing this. The early versions do not, but they are harder on cells I guess, and some other bugs were fixed on the newer versions as well.

Dave

 

[D-an-W]

Thanks for the in-depth explanation.

I left them in the done state overnight just to be sure and have just swapped them for the second discharged set this morning.

 

[zakanrg]

Hi

Sorry for posting here but it seemed the most recent thread relating to the Maha C-9000. I have been reading about this charger and they sound very good.

Is it possible to charge/refresh laptop batteries with this charger?
If yes, how would I attach the battery to the charger as the connections are tucked away in what I would call plastic "fins"?

I have Dell Inspiron 6400 that is just over 2yrs old and the battery seem to have less and less capacity. The battery type is KD476 with a rating of 11.1V and a capacity of 85Wh (when new).

Thank you

 

[45/70]

Is it possible to charge/refresh laptop batteries with this charger?

Welcome to CPF!

The Maha C-9000 is a charger for individual NiMh/NiCd cells. Your laptop uses a lithium ion battery pack.

I'd recommend using the charger that comes with the laptop to charge it. That would probably be the best way to go, as it's designed specifically for it.

Dave

 

[zakanrg]

Welcome to CPF!

The Maha C-9000 is a charger for individual NiMh/NiCd cells. Your laptop uses a lithium ion battery pack.

Dave

Ahh Ok, thanks for that Dave, obviously not reading enough info

I use the Dell charger that came with the laptop however was wanting something that might "refresh" the battery as it shows in Linux that the battery it broken and only holding about 30% of what it is capable of.
Still works for about an hour but it used to last closer to 3 hours.

Are there any chargers for Li Ion batteries that would do this?

 

[Yoda4561]

As far as I know, there's no "refresh" for lithium ion batteries. The lithium chemistry is memory free, and doesn't react to charging and discharging cycles like nicd/nimh. Once the battery has aged for a couple years or has been overcharged/discharged a few times it's done.

 

[45/70]

Yoda is correct. Li-Ion is a very different chemistry. The best bet would be to just get a new battery. Laptops are hard on batteries, it's part of the price you pay for the convenience.

Dave