Maha CF-777Plus][

[Willmore]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JollyRoger:
Are you guys talking about the 3-in-1 Rayovac Charger (plugs into the wall) that is around $10?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Nope, that's the "I charge all cells badly" charger. I'm suggesting that people look at the PS4 which is a NiCd/NiMH only charger. Does AA and AAA cells. Charges 1 to 4 cells at a time--each is completely independent. Has a Cd mode and a MH mode. The charge current for the MH mode (for AAs) seems to be a bit above 1.6Ah, but the charge control alg. seems very good. Cells get hot (they should, as NiMH chaging is exothermic), but not *hot* and they only start to get hot right at the end before charge shuts off.

And, yes, jmm, I only 'suggest' "checking out" the charger as I know how crazy some people on these boards *cough*darell*cough* can get and I don't want to be responsible for giving anyone any more crazy ideas.

But, IANAL, of course.

More 777+ gripes:
Maybe it only seems to be such a slow charger because all of the smaller cells get charged by other chargers which are specific for them and the only cells left for charge on the more flexable 777+ are the odd things--large Li packs, large NiMH/Cd packs, etc. I'd like a 777+][ultra which cranks up the charge current to 2A (Ni mode), 1A (Li mode), and the discharge current up to 1A.
It's not like I hook N cells to it....

 

[Saaby]

AH but my next charger needs to be one that will charge D and C NiMh...C Crane is knocking at my door I believe.

 

[JollyRoger]

Willmore, I believe the 3-in-1 Rayovac Charger charges each cell individually. Why do you say it charges all cells "badly"?

I'd like to know why you think this. Have you done test/ruined some batteries with this charger?

I was interested in this charger, since it costs only $10, was advertised to charge nimh, nicad, and renewal alkaline, and is a simple plug-in type. It charges slowly and batteries get warm, but if I want to charge fast, I'll use my Quest Q2.

I requested the data sheet for the Rayovac charger (all of them, actually) and the 3-in-1 seemed good to me...

Thoughts?

EDITED LATER:

Okay, I'm starting to have second thoughts about the Rayovac (3-in-1). I was charging two different capacity AAA nimh to see if it would take different times to charge each...Well, after about 4 hours, I decided to see how warm the batteries were. I opened the cover and touched the batteries. They were HOT! Not hot enough to burn, of course...but hot. I didn't know batteries could get that hot with just 200mA charging current.
Well, I took them out...came home early, and then put them in my Quest Q2. It finished one in about 10 min. and the other in about 12 min. I really like the Q2. Got it for around $22 plus shipping, too.
I'll have to do more tests on the Rayovac. I don't want to give up on it yet (in all fairness, I didn't let it "complete" the charging of the two AAA's....so....)

I'd be interested to know if/how the Maha 777 plus charges individual li-ion cells (the 3.6V kind that laptop batteries are made of)...

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I think this answers your question, and your next

Q: Will C. Crane's 10 watt solar panel power the QuickCharger?
A: Yes, the 10 watt solar panel will power the QuickChager under full sunlight.

Q: Can I run the QuickCharger on my DC system?
A: Yes, it takes a 12V, 2.1 mm, center tip positive plug.

Q: Why does my QuickCharger have a scrambled display?
A: It may be caused by plugging in the AC adapter when the lid is closed or batteries are in the QuickCharger. The QuickCharger's lid must be open before plugging in the AC adapter. Also, the AC adapter must be plugged in before batteries are put in the QuickCharger. Unplug the QuickCharger and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Then plug it back it and it will be working fine.
-------------

 

[Saaby]

Awesome! I started looking around and everything took like forever to charge and they were just "dumb chargers" anyway so I was trying to find a solar panel that would power the MAHA but maybe C Crane will get my buisness

How big is it? It looks HUGE! The charger that is.


**EDIT**
That solar panel is EXPENSIVE! Maybe I'll opt for the significantly slower $15 charger. I had seen it other places but seeing it on their site makes me much more confident in it...and that's the cheapest I've seen it too. Look on the Quickcharger and tell me what it's voltage and amperage requirements are would ya? Maybe I can find a cheaper panel that will power it or the Maha. Probably not as cheap ag the $15 charger but I'll pay a little more for a panel I can power anything (to a point) with

***EDIT 2***

Anyone know where to get a 12 V .5 Watt panel for a reasonable price? Both the MAHA and Crane take 12 V 500mAh (.5 watt right?)

 

[vcal]

Ryan-my CCrane's xformer sez: input:14 Watts.. -output:12V.-500mA
BTW-the charger's size is 8"D x 6W x 2.4"H

 

[Saaby]

Ok it's the exact same requirements as the MAHA which means I even already have a DC cord that would probably work. Do you think I could hook it up to a 5 Watt paper-sized solar panel or would that roach it?

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

any one know a machine I can dial up any voltage and current I desire? say, 1 to 15 volts, 1 ma to 2 amps, and with a nice read out panel ???

Willmore, thanks for the update on the ][..is there a link to go with it?

Saaby, maybe 2 ccranes to keep up with you?

 

[Saaby]

Naw because I'll keep my MH-C204 too. Does the C Crane come with a car adaptor? Anyway I am slowly (key word...slowly) increasing my supply of NiMh batteries but the main reason for my getting them was so that I could use them to power FRS radios on vacation. Maha fits the bill perfectly for that, charge the dead cells using the car adaptor...nice small charger.

I am also considering some time getting one of those solar chargers for camp and stuff when I don't have access to outlets. Any experiences anyone? I know they're slow but it would only be used when it was my only option

 

[Willmore]

Okay, we've been busy, here.

jmm:
The Ray-O-Vac 3 in 1 doesn't impress me as it has to auto sense what the chemistry of the battery is and it has three very different types to pick from (rechargable alk., NiMH, and NiCd). They have different charging/charge termination requirements. Throw in the possibliity of putting in a partially discharged cell and you've guaranteed that the device will guess wrong eventually--and likely cook some cells.
Additionally, I don't believe in slow charging NiCd and NiMH cells--the end of charge is much harder to detect and the cells (NiMH at least) *prefer* higher charging currents--as judged by charge retention and charging efficiency.

Sabby:
No idea what to recommend to you for C and D cells other then the MAHA charger and a cell holder from radio shack. That's a bit sub-optimal, though. Also, keep in mind that the MAHA charges will not charge as many cells when running on car power. There is a table on their web site that shows how drastically it is reduced. Don't wait until you're on vacation to find out.

IMHO, the Ray-O-Vac fast charger (PS4) is great for this as you can get a version with a car kit. I don't believe that its performance is impaired by car use--1 hour charge of 1.6Ah NiMH.

Ted:
You *can* get current and voltage limited/regulated power supplies with little digital displays on them. Heck, they're not all that hard to build. I've been thinking along those lines. I have, also, recently gotten back into PIC programming and this might make a good project--don't hold your breath.

JollyRoger:
(Good song by Adam and the Ants) See the part above for jmm about the 3 in 1 to start with. It comes down to 1) detecting chemistry is very difficult to do reliably for all cell states and 2) it's a slow charger which makes end of charge hard to detect anyway. Yes, I've destroyed cells in these. I used to be a big fan of the renewals, so I got this charger when it first came out to 'bridge the gap' with my NiCd/NiMH collection. In chargers, you really do get what you pay for. Oh, yes, the 777+(both the straight and the ][) charge Li cells and packs from 1 to 4 cells.
A 12V .5W solar pannel is P=I*V, .5=I*12, I=.5/12 = .041mA--which shouldn't be hard to find. 12V at .5A is a 6W pannel. These can be had at hamfests for around $40. So, sorry, Mr.Glow, but you're wrong, it's not 2.4A That would be 28.8W!

I hope I didn't miss anything. OH, WRT solar pannels: Good luck. I would recommend--if it's possible to use the largest practical solar cell you can afford/carry and charge up a Lead Acid or gelled LA cell with a proper charge controller and use *that* as a power source for your small battery charger. I've done this before and been happy.

 

[Saaby]

What do you mean by charge less cells...charge them slower? If so that's fine. I have (on vacation) like 3-4 days to charge 6 batteries...I could probably even get by with a slow charger if I wasn't so impatient

The idea of the solar panel is ideally something I can carry with me backpacking. I don't do a lot of backpacking but that's kinda the size I am aiming for. Ideally I'd get something that could power the MAHA or CCrane in sunny and mostly sunny conditions. Then I'd still have a quick charger, even if quick means slow.

Doesn't the CCrane do Cs and Ds?

 

[JollyRoger]

Hi, Saaby. The problem with charging cells with a quick charger that is powered by a solar cell(s) is that it will take tooooo darn long! Either that or you will have to carry along a very sizable solar panel, which kind of defeats the purpose.

Charging 2 AA's, etc. might be ok. You might find a good combination (either a solar charger or a quick/smart charger powered by a solar cell) that will do the trick. But I really don't know about C and D cells. If you're on a long journey, living out in the back country, etc. for an extended period of time, it might seem like a good idea. But if you're on a week vacation, etc....if it takes you 3 days to charge your batteries, well....you know..

Thanks for letting me "see the light" about the Rayovac 3-in-1, Willmore. I guess it was really too good to be true. Yeah, I think that even though it "tries" to be smart...it might charge too slowly to do it effectively.

I've been looking for some compact 2 or 4AA solar chargers for nimh and nicad...haven't been looking too hard lately, but it's always a thought. I'd like to use them on a yearly week-long bike ride I do with some friends. It would be cool to charge batteries during the day (batteries for my bike light to use at night, digital camera, etc.) Usually, though, I just plug the batteries in at night wherever we're staying (motel, etc.)

I really like the Quest Q2. It charges each cell individually and is *truly* smart. Very nice. I think I'll buy another (why? I don't know... It's just something we obsessive flashaholics do....)

 

[Saaby]

Well 90% of my vacaions include ready access to a car's DC plug so not too many worries I guess...but why would it take so long to charge the batteries if I was supplying the charger with the same ammount of power it gets from the car...am I missing something somewhere

 

[Wingerr]

The 12V/0.5A from the AC adapter is 500mA; which may coincidentally correspond to the actual charging current on the C204F, but the two current ratings (input and output) aren't necessarily the same on all chargers. On the 777 Plus, the voltage from the AC adapter is actually higher than the 12-13.8V you get from a car, which allows it to charge the full number of cells at the 800mA (avg.) current. The limiting factor is the voltage, not current input to the charger, since the car can supply 10A or more through the lighter socket, compared to the relatively piddling amount from the AC adapter.

 

[Saaby]

So if I were to get a solar panel to power it (This is all theoretical now here) what would I have to get to make the charger think it was plugged into a wall or a dash?

 

[Wingerr]

The 12V/0.5A required by your charger would translate to a 6W panel; it would probably be way too big to backpack without looking like a walking science project- If you go for a direct connection from the panel to the battery pack and keep track of the charging current and charge time yourself, it may be more feasible. That way maximize the use of the power without losing the power to the charger circuitry-

 

[Saaby]

Ok...well there goes that idea out the winjdow. Guess I'm back to a super slow charger, but anything is better than nothing

It should be ok as I would (Tops) have to charge 6 batteries in 48 hours. That comes out to...8 hours per AA battery, that's feasable I think. Even if they don't get a full charge in the 8 hours it's probably ok.

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Saaby, did you see this one at ccrane? I would say it is packable, and can charge 4 nicads at 4 watts and 6-9 volts, (4watts divided by 6-9 volts = amps) $50.-- http://www.ccrane.com/sangean_solar_panel_in_radio_accessories.asp
I keep this panel in the window and plugged into my ccrane radio (with nicads in it,) never runs out of batteries

(oh ps I'm baaack!)

 

[Wingerr]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Saaby:

Anyone know where to get a 12 V .5 Watt panel for a reasonable price? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

If you're referring to a solar panel, Harbor Freight currently has 1.5W solar panel chargers for $9.99, reg. 19.99.

I bought two of them, and they seem to work pretty nicely. They're rated at 12V and 120mA. Open circuit voltage is significantly higher, 19V or more, so if you're intending to directly power something, you'll need some buffering or regulation.
They have a lighter plug output, and an LED indication that it's receiving power from the panel.

edit:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> The idea of the solar panel is ideally something I can carry with me backpacking. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Well, that kinda rules this out, because it's not exactly small. Good for other applications though. It's supposed to be plugged into the car for a maintenance charge when it's not driven for long periods, to compensate for something like an aftermarket alarm draining current from the battery.

If you have to quick charge batteries in the car without the usual restrictions, you could just get a small power inverter and use the AC adapter for the charger as usual. Kind of a roundabout way to go, converting dc up to 115VAC and then back down to DC again, but then you should be able to get full charging capability.
Power is more likely to glitch with all the extra connections, though, so I wouldn't recommend using it unattended, keeping in mind the problems some of these chargers apparently have with interrupted power.

 

[Saaby]

Well that's the size target because something that small will pack easy wherever I go. The charger requires 12V/0.5A. Is .5 A the same as 500mAh? I think I am confused

The charger, when it is in quick mode, charges at 500mAh.