Energizer 15 minute charger VS. Maha MH-C801D

[john2551]

Other than the obvious, that the Maha charger can charge 8 cells at once is there any other reasons to spend alot more $ on the Maha C801D over the very inexpensive, very fast 15 minute charger? Actually you can charge more cells quicker in the energizer because you can charge 4 in 15 minutes, put in 4 more & have 8 charged up in 30 minutes vs the C801D that would take over an hour to charge eight 2500mah AA's.

You thoughts are welcomed,

John

 

[SilverFox]

Hello John,

In true CPF style - Buy Both... :nana:

The Maha charger will do a discharge/conditioning cycle. Also, you can leave the cells in the charger for an extended amount of time and they will be ready to go when you need them and you don't have to worry about cooking them.

The Energizer 15 minute charger is really fast... and has a smaller foot print.

The price you pay for speed is hotter cells (temperature wise). If you would normally get 500 cycles from a cell, fast charging and heating may (but it has not been fully tested yet) reduce your cycle life to around 400 cycles. Energizer is in the middle of testing the long term effects of fast charging. So far the feel that the benefits of fast charging are an acceptable trade off to the loss of cycle life, whatever that means.

Tough choice.

Tom

 

[wptski]

Darn CPF crashed IE on my post!

I had more to say but I ain't going to retype! I just checked the temperature on my Energizer 15 min. charger using the supplied 2200mAh cells and the max was 120F. I had checked the C808M using Duracell 2300mAh and got a max of 117.3F, so there's no difference in heat generated.

 

[john2551]

Tom,

In true CPF style, i probably will buy both!

Regards,

John

 

[john2551]

Bill,

Thanks for the info. Also keep me posted on the smoke detector test results.

Regards,

John

 

[jayflash]

The 15 min. Energizer has two PCBs absolutely packed with componants. The one I use at work does as claimed and charges four cells in 15 min. At home with my cells I use a C. Crane charger and condition the cells overnight.

 

[wptski]

I'm wodering how the Energizer charger detects the difference between a AA or AAA installed? I'm just guessing but I wonder if it's in the amount the spring loaded positive is depressed with a switch on the inside?

 

[john2551]

Bill,

Like the Maha 808, the AAA's may go into smaller slots lower into the charger & the larger AA's stay up higher in the bigger slots. Just a guess though because i don't have one yet.

John

 

[wptski]

Bill,

Like the Maha 808, the AAA's may go into smaller slots lower into the charger & the larger AA's stay up higher in the bigger slots. Just a guess though because i don't have one yet.

John

John:

I have one and there is only one postive and negative contact point! I even emailed Energizer the same question too. No answer yet but today is a Holiday for some.

 

[TinderBox (UK)]

my question is with the Energizer charger do all the cells have to be the same capacity and at the same charger level as it only has one led.

or does it wait until the last cell is final charged before it indicates full.

can you mix aaa + aa cells at the same time.?

regards.

 

[wptski]

The instructions state that it's designed to charge 2200mAh AA and 800mAh AAA. It states that you can charge from one to four AA or AAA cells. It really doesn't say if you can mix anything!

It has one Full/Charge green/red LED. It also states to leave cells in for a addtional ten minutes or is it fifteen minutes for maximum charge.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello TinderBox,

Let's see now... No, No, Yes, Yes.

I prefer to charge the same capacity cells at the same time and not to mix AAA and AA cells, but the charger has independent channels.

Tom

 

[TinderBox (UK)]

hello tom

managed to get 812mah out of those 1000mah RC123.
have a look and tell me what you think.

in the Highest mAh Rechargable CR123A? 1000mAh?? post.

regards.

 

[wptski]

hello tom

managed to get 812mah out of those 1000mah RC123.
have a look and tell me what you think.

in the Highest mAh Rechargable CR123A? 1000mAh?? post.

regards.

Wrong thread? :huh2:

 

[wptski]

I posted a few questions at the Energizer site. I asked about mixing cells and also how does it detect a AAA cell.

I guessed right on the AAA question. It is the amount that the spring loaded positive contact is depressed or the cell lenght.

They said not to mix cells by size, capacity, brand, etc. They mentioned something if the capacity was different the lower capacity cell would get deep discharged! I then asked if the charger discharges also if they meant capacity or state of charge of charge too. That's when I got the short answer that it doesn't discharge, end of conversation! Maybe I got too techy and they just didn't know they were talking about as I didn't think that the charger discharged first.

I wonder though, if it has truely seperate charging channels, should it really matter?

 

[bcwang]

It sucks when charger manuals aren't very detailed and clear about specifications. Maybe some testing will reveal this information since the manufacturer won't give us the info.

wptski,
your pm box is full

 

[rodmeister]

Got my Energizer charger yesterday. I also presumed the charging stations were independent, but as a quick experiment I inserted one aaa and one AA battery. Every few minutes the charging light mysteriously cycled between red and green. This went on for about a half hour, so I removed the AAA cell - then the AA cell charged normally. I then charged the AAA cell seperately and it charged normally. This makes me suspect the machine will not charge a mix of AAA and AA simultaneously.

 

[Ray_of_Light]

My findings are different.

The 15 min. charger will charge a mix of AA and AAA. The channels and the associated sensors are completely separate.

The charger is very well done... the uP checks separately each battery for various dynamic parameters to decide if the battery is charged or not.
This methodology, I believe, has left -delta V in the dust.

One single LED for all batteries is a pity thing. Also, there are wrong information in the user manual, like the indication of removing the batteries at the end of the charge cycle without saying why, or turning off and back on the charger when putting in batteries.

I noted that putting NiMH cells at their end-of-life in the charger can cause erratic behavior.
Also, if you remove and reinsert a battery as the LED has turned green, the charger will not recognize it and will start charging again, with a risk of explosion of the battery. This doesn't happen if you allow the charged battery to cool down.
The most annoying aspect of the charger is the fact that it doesn't provide trickle charge. Leaving the battery in the charger, after a week, they read 1.3 Volts.

Anthony