How important is it to have a quality charger?

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r_x

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Just getting into this hobby and so far I have been using a basic Panasonic BQ-390 charger that I got as a set with a Canon digicam. I have been charging eneloops on it without issues for a few months now and I figured a charger is a charger until I started reading CPF! So the question is how much will I benefit from a quality charger like a Maha or Lacrosse? Will I get significantly more runtime off a cell that has been charged with one of these? Better overall cell lifetime?

Thanks
 
r_x said:
Just getting into this hobby and so far I have been using a basic Panasonic BQ-390 charger that I got as a set with a Canon digicam. I have been charging eneloops on it without issues for a few months now and I figured a charger is a charger until I started reading CPF! So the question is how much will I benefit from a quality charger like a Maha or Lacrosse? Will I get significantly more runtime off a cell that has been charged with one of these? Better overall cell lifetime?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hello r_x and welcome to CPF.

You will not get more runtime from cells charged on one of these chargers. Getting a quality charger like C9000 is mostly about getting the information about the state of health of your cells, and being able to maintain them properly. Thus, you can match your cells closely and discover weak cells. IMO, if you use rechargeable NiMH daily getting a good charger is 100% justified.
 
r_x said:
Just getting into this hobby and so far I have been using a basic Panasonic BQ-390 charger that I got as a set with a Canon digicam. I have been charging eneloops on it without issues for a few months now and I figured a charger is a charger until I started reading CPF! So the question is how much will I benefit from a quality charger like a Maha or Lacrosse? Will I get significantly more runtime off a cell that has been charged with one of these? Better overall cell lifetime?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Exact specs for the BQ-390 are hard to come by but a current of about 550mA can be found via google. For 2000mA-hr batteries like your eneloop, this is a 0.25C versus the current recommendation of 0.5C to 1.0C (ie. 1 amp to 2 amp average charge current). The upside is a shorter wait (1hr for the 2C/2amp rate) versus the 4 hour wait you have now.

Some of the troubles with the "fancy" chargers are the ability to set any current and sometimes the user is misguided by low currents used for NiCad of the past. In those cases, flexibility leads to problems. You can get a negative delta-V charger with a independent channel 1 amp charge rate for under $20...near state of the art if you can live without the discharge, analyze and refresh features that for the bulk of users is overkill and mainly for hobbyists.

PeAK
 
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If you find yourself needing to charge your cells - let's say more than twice a week, I would look for a better charger. If your cell get hot to the touch in the charger, I would look for a better charger. Otherwise I would stick with what you've got and carry a few AA Energizer Lithium Batteries along with the camera.
 
Thanks for the answers people. I think I'll pickup a Maha C9000 charger within the new few weeks. I don't see this hobby fading away any time soon, so I may as well have a good charger!
 
Nothing wrong with getting that charger, but if all you doing is Eneloops, it is more than you need. If you plan on doing Lithium, then I would recommend eStation BC-6 instead, as otherwise you will need another charger.

You don't want to know how many chargers I have at this point....over 20. I only use a few of them.
 
I, too am considering buying a charger. I will not have a lot of volume, just looking for something that will charge reliably, without overcharging or harming the cells. I don't know if I need something like a BC900 or C9000, or if I would be better off with something with less features-Vanson,Titanium,Accumanager. Refresh would be nice, with about a .5C rate for 2000mah cells. Or is a lower rate-700ma or less OK? Charging time is not really an issue. Where can I find more info on these various chargers, as well as user reviews? Sorry about the long post, butI really am a noob at this. Thanks!
 
LuxLuthor said:
Nothing wrong with getting that charger, but if all you doing is Eneloops, it is more than you need. If you plan on doing Lithium, then I would recommend eStation BC-6 instead, as otherwise you will need another charger.

You don't want to know how many chargers I have at this point....over 20. I only use a few of them.
Click to expand...

Do you have a preferred source for this charger ?
 
Perfectionist said:
Would y'all consider this a good charger worth buying ?? = http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_3&products_id=105029
Click to expand...
Answer: possibly...

Good features:

Individual charging channels with individual progress monitoring.
Built in power supply without external power adapter (not certain but seems so).
Car charging adapter included.
Can be powered by USB cable (included -- but expect slow charging this way).
Has refresh function.

Bad features:

Details of charging current/charging time not given. How fast will it charge an 2000 mAh AA cell? You are not told. (Faster is better.)

So like I said, possibly. Mostly it seems like a good charger but the information on the web site is lacking.
 
From experience, a good charger and equally good cells are a must.

Around 5 years ago I was woken in the middle of the night by the sound of my fire alarm. After running downstairs I discovered my plug-in wall charger and batteries had self combusted. Fortunately the chargers was plugged in above a granite kitchen worktop with tiled wall so there was little else that could catch fire. It did however completely melt the plastic wall socket, utterly destroy the charger and batteries, and scar my newly installed (and expensive) worktop.

I do not know whether the cause was a faulty charger or faulty cell. I considered myself lucky because I usually charged my batteries in the Dining Room above a wooden floor and next to a Sofa. I do not buy cheap chargers or batteries anymore.
 
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I see you've ordere da c9000 already but WRT the original question, I was using what i thought was a decent charger, smart chargeer, smart termination method, etc. After a couple years it seemed like the camera didn't take as many pictures and if we'd wait a week or two it would come up with battery low as soon as we turned it on. Bought some new batteries and the same thing happened not long after. I gave up on rechargeable for a few years considering them not reliable. Then I came back a couple years ago and ordered a maha c401 and some eneloops and started betting lithium like performance out of the eneloops and charged those old batteries and they worked better than ever. Turned out my "smart" charger wasn't all that smart that I had before.
Now I have a c9000 and take my batteries and at least once a year analyze them just to see how well they are performing hoping to catch any that may be going bad before they cause a missed picture. thats where the anlyzer functions come in handy, no more wondering which of the batteries in the camera may be the problem.
 
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