Do I need a new NiMH charger?

[Rexlion]

I've been using a Radio Shack 23-425 battery charger for, oh, about a decade I guess. Its specs say the average charging current is:
AAA 250 mA
AA 600 mA
C/D 900 mA
It has auto shutoff based on Negative Delta V and Zero Slope Detection. Also a safety timer shutoff at 10 hours. It even has a (manual) discharge mode that I can use to condition batteries.

I've been looking at some chargers. Main candidates are the Titanium MD-3000 and the Maha C808M. (I was interested in the Accumanager 20 until I read the manual online and found that the user is supposed to always unplug it after each use...nuts to that.)

I like the idea of having individual charging bays, and my Radio Shack unit requires 2 batteries be charged in tandem. But other than that, will I gain much (if anything) by going to one of the newer units I've listed? Will they charge my batteries significantly better or help them last significantly longer? Speed of charging has never been a big issue to me.

Thanks... lovecpf

 

[Sub_Umbra]

I've got most of my chargers (and a fan) hooked up to a power strip. They all come on when I flip the switch. I've owned two Accumanager 2020s and they don't seem to mind having power when they're not charging. The first AC2020 ran over five years that way. In our litigious society it is often hard to tell whether parts of the manual are written to inform you of how to use the product or just to avoid lawsuits. Many times it is the latter -- but I digress.

I like the AC2020s very much. They are gentle but S L O W. If you charge lots of D cells I'd recommend getting two of them.

I do over 1,000 charges per year. I'm currently using one AC2020 and one Titanium MD3000 for most of my charging. I've been using the MD3000 for about a year and I'm pleased with it for the money. It's faster than the AC2020. One of each has been very handy for me as their feature sets complement each other well.

I had a Maha C808M that went TU after about three years of use. I was completely underwhelmed by the fact that it was far more quirky than any of the other quirky chargers that I've owned and that MAHA can't be bothered to write a comprehensive manual for a charger that is widely billed as 'Professional' and costs $100.

I read this thread because I'm always interested in what others have to say about their chargers -- it's always just a matter of time before I'll have to buy another one... :sigh:

 

[alfreddajero]

Mines also hooked up to power strip that i attached to the side of the dressser...instead of having to bend down to turn it on i just flip the switch on the side. I dont know much about the Titanium but i do hear good things about the 808. I like having my light chargers all at one station, you might want to do a search and just read up on both chargers. Remember in the end the charger has to suit you.

 

[Rexlion]

Wow, that's a bunch of chargers you guys have! My battery charging volume isn't that high. But I'm still interested in knowing if the new models will really top off my batteries more fully or prolong their lives more than the old charger I have now?

 

[alfreddajero]

It should do both since the tech now is better then it was back then. Most chargers that are out now let you adjust the amperage and also let you charge and discharge cells individually. I went with the C9000 because i want more then just charge a battery, i want info like how much mah a cell has, cycle batts when there new, and i also like to group higher mah cells together to use in AA lights.

 

[Rexlion]

Thanks for the encouragement guys, it's for me on a new... [drumroll please] ... Maha C9000! Yep. I had decided against this one earlier because I'd read it was too complex and bothersome to program, but after reading more threads about it and then reading its user manual, I knew it was just the ticket for me. I guess I'll be rigging up some wires and magnets and stuff so I can charge the occasional D battery on it as well.

I need to stop reading these messages, it's too expensive! I also became convinced today of my need for a new multimeter, and ordered a Fluke... ...

 

[brted]

Thanks for the encouragement guys, it's for me on a new... [drumroll please] ... Maha C9000!

You won't regret the decision. I don't know that it charges more completely or terminates better than what you had already, but by charging cells individually, if one of them is messed up it will keep you from ruining the other one. It's also nice to be able to discharge a battery and know exactly what it is capable of and if those discharge and charge cycles are really doing any good.

 

[PeAK]

Thanks for the encouragement guys, it's for me on a new... [drumroll please] ... Maha C9000! ...I need to stop reading these messages, it's too expensive! I also became convinced today of my need for a new multimeter, and ordered a Fluke... ...

Great choice but to add to your "list" you might also consider a portable smart charger witha a fold-out plug and universal AC voltage capability. It would be independent channel but fixed current and no discharge capability. The short list would be:

1. Duracell Mobile Charger (CEF23)
2. Sanyo MQR02
3. Camelion/Meijer BC-905a

 

[Rexlion]

Great choice but to add to your "list" you might also consider a portable smart charger witha a fold-out plug and universal AC voltage capability. It would be independent channel but fixed current and no discharge capability. The short list would be:

1. Duracell Mobile Charger (CEF23)
2. Sanyo MQR02
3. Camelion/Meijer BC-905a

Thanks, but I don't travel in a way that calls for a different charger. I mostly camp in a trailer with hookups, so I can plug my charger into shore power. Even if I couldn't, I have a dc to ac inverter. And the C9000 has a dc adapter available if I ever felt the need for one.

 

[dmdevotee]

(I was interested in the Accumanager 20 until I read the manual online and found that the user is supposed to always unplug it after each use...nuts to that.)

did you see that in the manual? where?

i am interested in this charger, but i need to clarify that

http://www.accupower.at/media/accupower_manual_ap2020.pdf

 

[Rexlion]

did you see that in the manual? where?

i am interested in this charger, but i need to clarify that

http://www.accupower.at/media/accupower_manual_ap2020.pdf

In the English version of that manual, which I pulled up at Thomas Distributing's site, at bottom of page 2 it says: "It is also important to unplug your charger after each battery charging cycle, and then plug it in prior to charging additional batteries." [EDIT: see next post in thread, as this version of the manual apparently is obsolete or otherwise inaccurate.] As someone pointed out, it would be simple enough to plug it into a power strip that has an on-off switch.

 

[Sub_Umbra]

Pull up a chair, ya'll. The story behind this issue goes back at least six years (six years with me anyway) and is a great example of why CPF is such a great asset to those trying to sus out what is really going on in this hobby. NOTE: Please don't take any of my following comments to be attacks on THOMAS DIST. They are not. Misinformation just happens. I don't blame them. In fact I have bought very nearly all of my chargers from them and I have always looked there first when I'm in need of a charger. That has not changed.

In the English version of that manual, which I pulled up at Thomas Distributing's site, at bottom of page 2 it says: "It is also important to unplug your charger after each battery charging cycle, and then plug it in prior to charging additional batteries." As someone pointed out, it would be simple enough to plug it into a power strip that has an on-off switch.

Oh yeah, now it's coming back to me... /Scratches head, blinks...

Wow, this is not an old issue -- it's a very old issue. This story goes back far enough that none of the original postings that addressed it are even still searchable. This is really cool. I was able to find a post that covers the whole story from a thread two years after the original (six year old) thread. This is great. This post means that perhaps in another four years or so I may still be able to access the truth on this just in case Thomas still has that old, wrong from the get-go AP2020 manual still on their site. Instead of linking to the old 2006 post I'll quote it here in it's entirety in the hope of giving the data a little longer life:

The PDF at Thomas is WRONG! I went through this a couple years ago. The thread is somewhere in the archives. There is/was an Austrian with the username Accupower (or something very close to that). He was in the Accupower R&D department and posted on a few threads. I emailed him back then and asked him about that specific PDF on Thomas's site. He read it and got back to me and said it was wrong.

I normally would not post an email but I have communicated with him on numorous occasions and have posted parts of his replies before. He was always more interested in just getting the word out.

Part of my note to him:
> Fri, July 23, 2004 07:38
> Hi Gerhard,
>
> The interesting Candle Power Forums thread, Re: Best universal charger,
> which you posted to a few months ago is back on the subject of the
> Accupower20 again with a new mystery.
>
> THOMAS DISTRIBUTING is distributing a small guide to the Accupower20 on
> PDF:
>
> http://www.batterysupply.com/pdf/AM2020-1.pdf
>
> It contains the following note:
>
> "**(NOTE: Always plug the charger in first BEFORE placing your batteries
> in the charger. The charger must initalize before each charging. It is
> also important to unplug your charger after each battery charging cycle,
> and then plug it back in prior to charging additional batteries.)"
>
> This does not appear in the manual that came with my Accupower20 which I
> bought from THOMAS 2-3 months ago. A couple of us were wondering what it
> was all about, since I never unplug mine and I often remove a cell when it
> has finished charging and I replace it with one that needs charging while
> there are others in the unit still charging. I have never had any problems
> that I am aware of.
>

Here is his response:
> Dear Sub_Umbra,
>
> you sent me a link with a pdf file for AccuManager20. It is not the
> original file, we have on our homepage. Please have a look to:
>
> www.accupower-usa.com and find the pdf.
>
> It does not make sense to unplug the charger after each battery charging
> cycle, it is also not important for normal use, if you put in the cells
> after plugging or before plugging.
> So the charger may always stay on, you put the batteries in, after
> finishing charging you can leave them in the charger until use.
> If you put in a battery and the charging does not start, maybe the
> battery is defective. Now you can try to unplug and again plug but with
> the defective battery in. Maybe the battery works after this. If it
> still will not be charged by the AccuManager20, after two or three
> tries, please do not use the battery, because it is defective.
> The charging time does not depend on the quantity of batteries, that are
> charged:
> For example if you put in three batteries of high quality and one
> battery of bad quality, this bad battery will make the charging time
> lasting longer. But if you use similar cells, the charging time does not
> depend on the quantity of batteries charged simultanuosly by the
> AccuManager.
>
> I hope I could resolve the mystery.
>
> Mit freundlichem Gruss / Best regards
>
> Gerhard
> ACCU POWER Forschungs-, Entwicklungs- und Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH
> www.accupower.at
>

Anyway, the same file is still there. I'm sorry I only just saw this thread this morning.

So that's the real deal direct from the mouth of a guy who worked for Accupower in their R&D department, no less. The manual for DL at THOMAS was never right and while I haven't personally checked it out in a few years it appears to still be there and is well on it's way to having a life of it's own.

To recap:

I just went over the manuals that came with the AP2020 I bought years (and years) ago and the one I bought last year. They not only appear identical but a careful perusal will reveal that charging may be interrupted and cells may be added at any time during a charge cycle. The manual that has been distributed with the charger continues a tradition of totally contradicting the messed up 'alleged' manual at THOMAS.

An actual scan of the real, hard copy manual that shipped with my charger has been online for around ~six years. It may be viewed on my webspace HERE

This is soooo out there -- I posted to this thread and it took me awhile to realize that one of the issues is something that I'd already gone around and around with -- thousands of posts ago....

/Scratches head, blinks

 

[Rexlion]

Very interesting! Thanks for shedding light on this. Hopefully it will save some people from the erroneous info I stumbled into.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Sub_Umbra,

I was searching for that post, but didn't have the time to dig into it. I am glad you remembered and found it.

I was going to delve into the archives today to see if I could find the information, now I will have some free time to charge some more batteries...

Thanks.

Tom

 

[Sub_Umbra]

Hi SilverFox -- Happy New Year! I'm glad that someone besides myself actually remembers that particular exchange of info back then.

I did some more poking around this AM and found that the thread entitled "Best universal charger" is indeed still available. I'm glad. It is a HUGE thread and although it is getting a little long in the tooth it has lots of good info in it and I would recommend it to anyone contemplating their first serious charger purchase. It has some great info and background on quite a few 'old standby' chargers that are still available today. Anyone interested may read it HERE.

I also got a lot out of your detailed comprehensive charger shootout series from a few years ago. That is a great resource. I can't remember the name of it but it is a very comprehensive thread. Maybe you could post a link here for those who haven't seen it. While I'm on the subject, thanks again for that series -- no consumer would ever be able to find all of that real nuts and bolts info anywhere else.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Sub_Umbra,

Yes, that's the one. I couldn't remember the name of it.

This is the comparison I did a while back.

Tom