Easy question about Energizer and Rayovac chargers

[CeilingDweller]

I know most people in here would have nothing to do with the chargers I'm about to mention, but I'm new to the world of using rechargeables. I have a few questions. If someone can help me. I have one of those cheap Energizer 8hr charger that comes with 4 2600mah batteries. The instructions that came with it were some what (very) vague. Will I be able to charge two cells (or even just one) at a time or do I have to charge all four? Can I charge AA Rayovac NIMH cells simultaneously with AA Energizer NIMH? I also a have a similar charger that is Rayovac that came with 2aa and 2aaa Hybrid cells. Is this charger capable of performing the aforementioned questions?

Also does anyone kindly know what the voltage of these Energizer and Rayovac AA batteries are when they come off the 8hr charge.

There's so many chargers and batteries on the market these days...A lot to learn.

 

[johnny13oi]

I have the hybrid charger from rayovac. The hybrid charger is nothing more than an 8 hour charger as well i think. And yes you can charge them together the energizer and rayovacs but you should charge them in pairs with their corresponding brands. The rayovac charger can charge in pairs but not single cells. What you do is load them up into the charger either 2 on one side or all four. The lights below will light and show you which side is charging or both and will go out when the 8 hours are over. The hybrids are pretty nice batteries. Their voltages when coming off the charger are about 1.4V this is completely normal even though the cells state 1.2V.

 

[CeilingDweller]

I have the hybrid charger from rayovac. The hybrid charger is nothing more than an 8 hour charger as well i think. And yes you can charge them together the energizer and rayovacs but you should charge them in pairs with their corresponding brands. The rayovac charger can charge in pairs but not single cells. What you do is load them up into the charger either 2 on one side or all four. The lights below will light and show you which side is charging or both and will go out when the 8 hours are over. The hybrids are pretty nice batteries. Their voltages when coming off the charger are about 1.4V this is completely normal even though the cells state 1.2V.

Thanks for the input Johnny13oi! So I can charge a pair of Rayovacs with a pair of Energizers at the same time so long as I have them paired and separated on opposite sides? Yeah I've had some sitting in the charger (unplugged) for a couple of weeks and they had about 1.2v in 'em (Hybrid). I like the Hybrids much better than the Energizer.

 

[johnny13oi]

yeah you can charge the pair at the same time just place the energizers on one side and the rayovacs on the other side. The hybrids I have stay in the 1.4-1.3V for a while. I have heard a few cycles and the batteries will perform much better. The hybrids are special ones that dont have a high self discharge meaning that the batteries will keep their charge for longer on the self rather than the energizers. I have found that with rechargeables, I have saved so much money and with the new hybrids for cheap i have bought about 16AA's lol.

-John

 

[SilverFox]

Hello CeilingDweller and Johnny,

If you are going to be charging cells in pairs, you should review the information in this thread.

Tom

 

[CeilingDweller]

Thanks guys! Silver Fox - I wonder why they design these chargers to charge cells in parallel or in series and not design them to charge the cells independantly? I'm sorry if I'm missing the obvious here; I just don't get it. I can't remember what I used my Energizer 2500's in last but after I took them off the charger, I observed a slight imbalance (1.430v to 1.421v) is this even considered an imbalance? What constitutes a dangerous imbalance...Like how many volts? I remember reading that if you have say a couple of alkalines one is 1.6v and the other is 1.4v you could have a dangerous situation in that one cell may start to charge the other and cause it to leak or explode. So if we are using two imbalanced NIMH cells the worst thing that can happen is a inefficiency of the cells, correct?

Yeah I really like the Hybrids. Johnny they did come off the charger at 1.4 volts this time. I like the Hybrids because I use them in Fenix regulated flashlights (usually on low) so the Energizer's self discharge rate is not helping me get the most out of my light in my opinion. I like the performance of the Hybrids in my L2T where as I like to use E2s in my L2D. After reading Silver Fox's reviews of the Enloops I might try those when I see some at Fry's or some where. We have a Nintendo Wii with 3 controllers. I think I'll try them in those soon I might have 16 cells too!

 

[SilverFox]

Hello CeilingDweller,

People are more interested in price than they are in value. It is cheaper to make a 2 channel charger than it is to make a 4 channel charger. It is cheaper to charge in series or parallel than it is to set up for independent channel charging.

Given the choice between a $10 charger and a $20 charger, most people will go for the $10 charger based on price alone.

Cell imbalance effects performance, and with NiMh cells it is not a safety problem. I like to have my cells very closely balanced. I use resting full charged voltage as an early indicator of cell damage. I just checked some cells that I have and they all have a voltage difference of less than 0.005 volts. A set of 4 AAA cells had an imbalance of 0.004 volts, but my AA cells are within 0.002 volts.

General matching tolerances are 2%. If you are using cells in a multi cell application, you want them to be within 2% on capacity, and voltage under load. Closer is better.

Tom

 

[CeilingDweller]

Thanks Silverfox!