Help! What "smart" charger for AA NIMH LSD?

[Marlinaholic]

Hi all, I have become a flashaholic in the last couple years, but have put a lot more effort into learning about lights rather than battery chargers so I need your help. I use AA and AAA NIMH batteries, mostly Duracell LSD (Eneloop) and a few regular NIMH Energizers/Duracells. Who makes a good quality charger that can charge BOTH LSD NIMH and regular NIMH cells of either brand without cooking them? Preferably one cell at a time as I have a lot of single cell lights. I don't need something fancy, just something reliable and kind to my cells. The only chargers I own right now are an Energizer CHDC-CA dumb charger that I think has cooked most of my Energizer cells and a Duracell CEF-20 that seems to be smart enough to shut itself off if the cells are charged, but only charges two at a time (how does that work, does it shut off when one of the cells is full, or does it wait until they both are, possibly cooking the one that was already done?). Please help me out guys, I don't want to be overcharging my NIMH cells and killing them! Any info GREATLY appreciated.

 

[45/70]

Well, there are a lot of possible choices. Everybody has their own personal preferences. You might try SilverFox's Charger Comparison to get more of an idea of what you're after.

There are also a lot of other threads of interest, in the sticky at the top of this forum, pertaining to batteries etc.

Dave

 

[Hondo]

The King, as you can see looking down this forum, is the Maha C9000, and it is a fair investment, but has come down in price lately. The LaCrosse BC700/BC900 can do almost as much for a bit less $$, and are a little easier to use "dumb", as in you can set all four batteries charging at once, but that is not a big deal. The BC700 only charges up to 700 mA rate, but if you are never in a big hurry, it does everything else the BC900 does. Neither has the "forming", or break-in, function of the Maha, or as many different charge rate choices. I have found occasional deals on the BC700 under $30 shipped, just got a spare from Amazon last week (that one has ended now, though).

For brick and mortar, the Duracel "Power Guage" ($20 typical) and "Mobile" ($20-25 typical) models are really very good if you don't ever want to cycle or measure the capacity of your cells. I use them a lot for routine charging all the time. The Power Guage model charges at 400 mA (AA) and 175 mA (AAA). The Mobile charges all cells at 550 mA, which I thought was a bit rough for AAA's, but it nails the termination so well every time, I don't worry about it at all. Silverfox will tell you that you should be using this high a rate for AAA, at least, for definitive termination signal, and this charger seems to validate what he says. It is availble in a cheap pack with two AA's, or a more deluxe one which also has two AAA's (all LSD "Duraloops", BTW) and a 12V car adaptor.

 

[likeguymontag]

For brick and mortar, the Duracel "Power Guage" ($20 typical) and "Mobile" ($20-25 typical) models are really very good if you don't ever want to cycle or measure the capacity of your cells.

Do either of these models charge cells individually, or only in pairs? The Power Gaugue model has four indicator lights, but doesn't explicitly say that it has four independent channels.

 

[Marduke]

The Duracell Mobile charger is a good deal at $25, and includes 4 LSD cells.


FYI, there is no difference with respect to charging between regular and LSD cells. Any NiMH charger can do either.

 

[UnknownVT]

Yes, the most recommended chargers on CPF seems to be the Maha Powerex C9000 and the La Crosse BC900.

There was a rush for the Maha C9000 over the last couple of weeks because of a previously unheard low price of $40 (usual low price was $60) I think the offer may be over but using Froogle.com I found at least one place still pricing at $39.50 - this is a bargain price for the Maha C9000.

However coming more down to earth, other smart chargers that can be considered are:

Soshine SC-C3 Intelligent Rapid Charger $13.98 shipped I have this and like it a lot - BUT a couple of caveats - ships from Hong Kong, no UL listing (but does have European CE mark).

Kodak K6200-PC-C+4 1-Hour Charger ~$20 includes 4x Kodak Pre-Charged LSD AA batteries - beware not to confuse this with the "Value Charger" which is a dumb timed charger.

Sony BCG-34HRMF4 Battery Charger price fluctuates on Amazon can be <$30 with 4 NiMH batteries - but it's now ~$35 - which puts it up there in price with the top recommendations.......

 

[LightScene]

Do either of these models charge cells individually, or only in pairs? The Power Gaugue model has four indicator lights, but doesn't explicitly say that it has four independent channels.

Yes. They charge individually. You can mix and match battery sizes and capacities.

The mobile model also provides a USB port for charging devices that can be charged via USB. It will also let you charge via USB using 4 AA or 4 AAA primary or rechargeable. It can also be powered via cigarette lighter adapter, which is not included.

 

[Marduke]

Yes. They charge individually. You can mix and match battery sizes and capacities.

The mobile model also provides a USB port for charging devices that can be charged via USB. It will also let you charge via USB using 4 AA or 4 AAA primary or rechargeable. It can also be powered via cigarette lighter adapter, which is not included.

That depends where you buy it. Target and Walmart versions include the car charger. Walgreens for example does not, but it is cheaper there.

 

[coppertrail]

Yes, the most recommended chargers on CPF seems to be the Maha Powerex C9000 and the La Crosse BC900.

There was a rush for the Maha C9000 over the last couple of weeks because of a previously unheard low price of $40 (usual low price was $60) I think the offer may be over but using Froogle.com I found at least one place still pricing at $39.50 - this is a bargain price for the Maha C9000.

However coming more down to earth, other smart chargers that can be considered are:

Soshine SC-C3 Intelligent Rapid Charger $13.98 shipped I have this and like it a lot - BUT a couple of caveats - ships from Hong Kong, no UL listing (but does have European CE mark).

Kodak K6200-PC-C+4 1-Hour Charger ~$20 includes 4x Kodak Pre-Charged LSD AA batteries - beware not to confuse this with the "Value Charger" which is a dumb timed charger.

Sony BCG-34HRMF4 Battery Charger price fluctuates on Amazon can be <$30 with 4 NiMH batteries - but it's now ~$35 - which puts it up there in price with the top recommendations.......

I noticed Friday morning that the C9000 special offer ended on Wiredqube.com, but Thomas Distributing still has it for 39.97.

 

[Turbo DV8]

The mobile model... will also let you charge via USB using 4 AA or 4 AAA primary or rechargeable.

I have two of the mobile chargers. Has anybody successfully used the Duracell mobile charger's USB-out to charge a device using four internal cells? Using freshly charged Eneloops, devices I hook up to the USB initially appear to begin charging, but then it terminates the process. I tried with alkalines, and the same thing happens.

 

[Marlinaholic]

Thanks for all the info guys! I went ahead with the MaHa C9000 after doing some research. It really doesn't seem that complicated if you look at each operation it does individually, so I think I can figure it out, and there seems to be lots of info on recommended charge/discharge rates, so hopefully I'll be able to figure it out without too much trouble. It was still on sale too at Thomas Dist. Anyway, thanks for all the info, you guys sent me in the right direction! :thumbsup:

 

[Hondo]

The mobile model also provides a USB port for charging devices that can be charged via USB. It will also let you charge via USB using 4 AA or 4 AAA primary or rechargeable. It can also be powered via cigarette lighter adapter, which is not included.

Just to be complete, the Power Gauge model also provides the USB charging port, but it only operates when plugged in to AC. Sounds like the option to charge from 4xAA batteries on the Mobile model may not work well anyway.