Charging Eneloops in basic Energizer Charger

[lonesouth]

Stupid newbie question for sure, but I suppose we all start somewhere.

I just picked up some Dura-loops (eneloops) and am looking for advice regarding my existing energizer charger.

http://data.energizer.com/PDFs/chvc.pdf

this is a link to the datasheet for the charger. I see that it has a slow charge rate, but do not know about the turn off, timer or charge complete? I plan to use the batteries in remotes and LED Fenix flashlights.

Question is: Will this charger work for the basics of charging a pair of batteries that no longer power my flashlight or 360 controller, or is it imperative that I get a better charger in the $20-$30 range?

TIA!

 

[CliveBurt]

As far as I can tell this is a timer only charger. The LEDs don't change to tell you that it's finished charging or any other sign of intelligent charging. From what I read it will just carry on charging until it times out after 24hrs and then stop. So if you put a AA Eneloop on there that was empty then this charger would dump 4800mAh (200mA x 24hrs) into it. Even if it wasn't empty it's going to do the same thing. I don't believe this kind of over charge will do much damage. However, at this time in rechargeable battery history we have these wonderful Eneloops that in my experience work very well and to make the most of them it would be a shame not to spend a little money on an intelligent charger that wont over charge them. Here in the UK there are a few really cheap yet intelligent chargers that cost less than the $20 you'd like to spend. I'm sure someone who's more familiar with the American market can make some suggestions.

 

[Mr Happy]

Yes, as Clive says, it will work.

The charge rate of 200 mA for AA cells is 0.1C for eneloops and that charge rate is low enough to be in the safe overcharge region.

I recommend you only charge cells that are fully empty, and do not let them charge for the full 24 hours. Set a timer and pull them from the charger after no more than 16 hours, but 12-14 hours preferably. If you have a DMM you can measure the voltage. eneloops or Duraloops are done when they reach about 1.5 V. Figure out how long it takes them to get there and use that as your ideal charging time.

If you only have a few cells and little use for rechargeables the investment in a better charger might seem uneconomical. However, if you have other uses and get more batteries, then the Duracell Mobile Charger is a good reasonably priced choice for a smart charger with individual charge control.

 

[Marduke]

Technically, it'll work, but it's a bad choice to charge any NiMH cells. Simple "dumb" timed chargers will eventually kill your cells in short order. A cheap smart charger will do a MUCH better job.

 

[CliveBurt]

I have no experience with this charger but I found it in a couple of minutes of looking and I'm in no way suggesting that it's better than the one Mr Happy recommended. It is intelligent and can even charge a single cell unlike most where you have to charge 2 at a time. Single cell charging gives each cell what it needs. All for $12.95.

http://www.batteryjunction.com/chcochfornin.html

 

[scottaw]

If you want a cheap, awesome charger, get the energizzer 15 minute charger. I hate waiting hours and hours for batteries to charge, i do all fast charging and just replace my batteries more often.

 

[Mr Happy]

If you want a cheap, awesome charger, get the energizzer 15 minute charger. I hate waiting hours and hours for batteries to charge, i do all fast charging and just replace my batteries more often.

At about $40 few would call it cheap?

 

[Grog]

At about $40 few would call it cheap?

Maybe compared to what some on here spend on light-related items :grin2:

 

[dgrogers]

If you want a cheap, awesome charger, get the energizzer 15 minute charger. I hate waiting hours and hours for batteries to charge, i do all fast charging and just replace my batteries more often.

Don't 15 minute chargers fry your batteries quickly or is there a trick for purchasing only certain brands when using this charger?

 

[Mr Happy]

Don't 15 minute chargers fry your batteries quickly or is there a trick for purchasing only certain brands when using this charger?

Yes they fry your batteries quickly, but if you are prepared to buy replacement batteries more often there is a certain convenience to compensate for that.

SilverFox tested eneloops and found they were good for 100 cycles on the Energizer 15 minute charger, whereas they might be good for several hundred cycles on a gentler charger.

 

[CliveBurt]

I wouldn't recommend a 15 minute charger as the first intelligent charger that you buy. I own one the Energizer version. I got it for a really good price. The batteries that came with it were crap. I would buy a slower charger that is kinder to the batteries and try to do a little bit of forward planning so that you're never in that much of a rush to charge your batteries. I'm not saying that I'll never use my Energizer 15 Minute charge again, just that I would use it very sparingly. Once I learnt to trust these new Low Self Discharge (LSD) batteries it didn't take long before I started buying more sets of them and so I now have an investment in them that I want to protect. The Scottish blood in me wants to get every last cycle out of these things that I can get!:thumbsup:
So my recommendation is start with a slower (1-2 hours for an AA Eneloop) charger and see how often you wish you had a charger that could charge them much faster. If that's often then at least you have a way to charge your batteries while you're waiting for a 15 minute charger to come on sale.

As an example of how good these Eneloops are: The first set that I bought only lost an average of 14.62% in 136 days. What I mean is that I fully charged them and then discharged them after 136 days of sitting on the shelf and they only lost 14.62%. I recently retired the Energizer 2200mAh batteries that came with my 15 minute charger because they lost over 40% in 7 days!!!

 

[lonesouth]

Charge times really don't matter. I'm planning on having enough eneloops around that I won't be waiting on a charger. I'd like most to be able to put them on the charger and take em off the next day, so a smart charger is a must.

 

[Brad]

I have a BC-700 charger. My charging choices are 200, 500 or 700 mA. When charging Eneloops AA and AAA should I just stick with the 200 mA or can I safely use the higher settings without shortening the life of the batteries?

Thanks,

Brad

 

[rickd]

You are more likely to shorten the battery life using lower currents due to overcharging caused by missed termination. Use at least 0.5C or above; Sanyo recommend 1C for Eneloops.

 

[Brad]

You are more likely to shorten the battery life using lower currents due to overcharging caused by missed termination. Use at least 0.5C or above; Sanyo recommend 1C for Eneloops.

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm not quite sure what is meant by 0.5C and 1C.

Thanks,

Brad

 

[Mr Happy]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm not quite sure what is meant by 0.5C and 1C.

"1C" is the charging rate that would supply the cell capacity in one hour. So for a 2000 mAh cell, 1C would be 2000 mA, 0.5C would be 1000 mA, etc.

My personal preference for eneloops would be to charge the AA at 700 mA and the AAA at 500 mA, but I have to qualify that by saying I don't own the BC-700. When you charge them the first few times, observe the progress, make sure they stop charging about when they should, and check the cell temperature when they do stop charging. The cells can be warm, even quite significantly warm, but should not be hot. If they seem too hot, reduce the charging rate.

 

[Brad]

"1C" is the charging rate that would supply the cell capacity in one hour. So for a 2000 mAh cell, 1C would be 2000 mA, 0.5C would be 1000 mA, etc.

My personal preference for eneloops would be to charge the AA at 700 mA and the AAA at 500 mA, but I have to qualify that by saying I don't own the BC-700. When you charge them the first few times, observe the progress, make sure they stop charging about when they should, and check the cell temperature when they do stop charging. The cells can be warm, even quite significantly warm, but should not be hot. If they seem too hot, reduce the charging rate.

Mr. Happy,

Thank you very much. I will do that.

Brad