Help choosing a Maha charger

[limecc]

Hi all,

I need to get a charger for AA and AAA cells and had made up my mind to get the Maha C9000, but then I spotted the Maha C777 Plus II and now I am torn between the two.

I have 18650 and 16340's which I have been charging with my 'trusty' Trustfire unit and figure the C777 would be able to do a great job with these cells also, however I like the idea that the C9000 can do battery break-in's and capacity matching which I don't think the C777 does.

Does anyone have any thoughts please? Does the C777 cook single NiMH's or is this just battery packs? Should I be considering something else? £80/$120 is about the max price I am willing to outlay.

 

[Mr Happy]

The C777 Plus II seems like an interesting charger that I hadn't taken much notice of before. As far as I can see it is not an alternative to the C9000 but something different. It is more like the so called "hobby chargers" for charging battery packs with all the batteries in series.

If you want to analyze, condition, and do a kind job of charging AA and AAA cells then the C9000 is the one you want. Charging several batteries in series like the C777 does is only suitable when the batteries are well balanced and used in a single application as a pack. Also the C777 doesn't seem to provide selectable charging currents or balancing facilities for Li-ion packs. Neither can it discharge single cells for conditioning purposes.

 

[aussiebob]

Cant comment on the C777 but the C9000 is da bomb.:thumbsup:

You control everything it does, i like being able to select a charge current that will have the batts ready when i want, like full if you want them right away and lowish if you need them for next morning etc.

Cheers

 

[limecc]

Thanks for the replies.

I downloaded the product manual for a closer look and it seems individual lithium cells could be discharged and their capacity measured but not individual 1.2v cells.

I am unsure if a 4.2v 18650 would be detected correctly as lithium cells are quoted in multiples of 3.6 volts to 14.4v. Can anyone help on this?

I like the remote temperature sensor though and the fact it could do camera batteries, but I will probably get the C9000 after all as it has separate channels and undoubtably does AA's better. Is there nothing similar for 4.2v cells? There is a massive market opportunity if not.

 

[Mr Happy]

I am unsure if a 4.2v 18650 would be detected correctly as lithium cells are quoted in multiples of 3.6 volts to 14.4v. Can anyone help on this?

In this context 3.6 V and 4.2 V are basically describing the same kind of cell. The voltage is 4.2 V when charged and 3.6 V when discharged, and they quote the cells as "3.6 V" as it is assumed that is the nominal voltage during discharge.

 

[Closet_Flashaholic]

Hi all,

I have 18650 and 16340's which I have been charging with my 'trusty' Trustfire unit and figure the C777 would be able to do a great job with these cells also, however I like the idea that the C9000 can do battery break-in's and capacity matching which I don't think the C777 does.

Does anyone have any thoughts please? Does the C777 cook

single NiMH's or is this just battery packs? Should I be considering something else? £80/$120 is about the max price I am willing to outlay.

I have the C777 Plus II and the C9000. I would not recommend the C777 for recharging AA batteries or packs of AA batteries. It is extremely easy to overcharge/overheat battery packs with the C777 (even when using the temp sensor). The C9000 is more appropriate for AA and AAA batteries. That's what it was designed for. The C777 is a general purpose charger that does ok with AA batteries but it is much better for LiOn batteries. It will work "in-a-pinch" for AA's but I have fried more than one AA battery with this charger..

Also, the C777's discharge function will not discharge a single AA battery. It will only work with voltages above 2.4 volts (i.e. 2 or more AA batteries in series).

I would recommend to get the C9000 and use it for AA/AAA and use your current charger for the LiON's.

The '777 is a funny beast. It has attempt to detect/figure out what the voltage of the pack is supposed to be. It's weird.. The one really good thing about the '777 is that if the AC power is removed, when it's restored, if a battery is attached to it, it will generate an error condition and not charge the battery until the battery is disconnected and then reconnected.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Limecc,

The 777 also has issues with determining the correct number of Li-Ion cells in a pack. It does OK with 1 cell, but if you have a pack with multiple cells, it sometimes will pick the wrong number of cells.

I think you would be better off with the C9000 for AA and AAA cells, then pick up a Pila IBC charger for your Li-Ion cells.

Tom

 

[limecc]

Thanks for your comments. I'm really grateful. C9000 it is!