Energizer "Simple Charger"

[1light]

Anyone heard of the Energizer "simple charger"? I got a $10 coupon from Energizer for some bad batteries and was thinking of using on a charger package. The Simple Charger says it can charge 1-4 batteries, so they don't have to be in pairs. If that's not better, I might get the compact charger that charges in 4 hours. I can't spend a bunch of money on a charger, and I want to use the Energizer coupon. Any thoughts?

 

[Marduke]

Don't get either charger. Neither is smart, they are dumb timed chargers.


I recommend just getting some Ultimate Lithiums instead.

 

[1light]

Are the timed chargers really that bad? It's just too expensive to get something like the La Crosse or some other one that's rated well. I have an old Energizer 8.5 hour charger, but I wanted to see if there was something better to use the $10 coupon on. Of course, Energizer says that their chargers are smart chargers now and they have lcd displays that light up to tell you when they are fully charged, so they shut off automatically and go to a trickle charge when they sense they're done.

 

[lolzertank]

Yep, timed chargers are bad. Small capacity differences can/will cause batteries to be undercharged (not a huge deal, but not that good) or overcharged (not good). The La Crosse isn't too expensive if you consider that it comes with 4 AA and 4 AAA cells, and is far better in charging speed and detecting when to end the charge.

 

[1light]

So, based on the responses, I take it that it doesn't matter that the Simple Charger doesn't charge in pairs? It's just as bad as the ones that do?

 

[Marduke]

Are the timed chargers really that bad? It's just too expensive to get something like the La Crosse or some other one that's rated well. I have an old Energizer 8.5 hour charger, but I wanted to see if there was something better to use the $10 coupon on. Of course, Energizer says that their chargers are smart chargers now and they have lcd displays that light up to tell you when they are fully charged, so they shut off automatically and go to a trickle charge when they sense they're done.

Most of the Energizer chargers are NOT smart chargers, even ones with the LCD displays. There are only a handful that are actually smart. The 2nd generation Family Charger is smart, but has other issues. The USB Duo charger is smart also. The 15minute is smart IIRC, but you generally don't want to use a 15min charger anyhow.

On most all the rest, the display just lights up to tell you they have reached the timer cutoff, not if the cell is actually charged.... or overcharged...

In general, for NiMH cells and chargers, Energizer brings nothing of worth to the market. Duracell, Rayovac, Sanyo, etc all have MUCH better offerings.

 

[1light]

Is the USB Duo charger good? Would you recommend that one to get with the Energizer coupon?

Sorry for all the questions, but you all know so much about these things and I've learned a lot by reading your posts.

 

[Marduke]

It's okay. I would recommend using the coupon for Energizer Ultimate Lithium cells for an emergency stash or something.

 

[1light]

Thanks for the info. I didn't even know about all the problems with Energizer rechargeables until I read this forum after my batteries started going bad.