Maha MH-C9000 or C401FS for average user?

[Max Silver]

I am currently shopping for a new charger. I'm going to purchase a Maha brand charger, I just need to choose between the MH-C9000 and C401FS. I like the advanced features of the C9000, but I do wonder if it's overkill for myself. The C401FS sounds much simpler to use, but the techno nerd in me is salivating over the C9000. I get the impression from my fiance she would prefer the cheaper model (imagine that!!), so I also have that to keep in mind. The batteries will see general use, in summertime I'll be using a digital camera (doesn't get used much other times of the year), and other uses include a couple 2 way car remotes (both chew through batteries, although my fiance's is worse than mine), as well as various electronic remote controls and a digital scale. I do have quite a few existing batteries that I am interested in testing and reconditioning as necessary, although I'll likely be buying new batteries with the charger when I make the purchase. One other question I have is regarding whether to purchase ultra low discharge batteries or the normal high capacity batteries. The vendor I plan to purchase the charger from has a special on a charger plus 8 AA powerex batteries, and I can't seem to decide which style of batteries to get. Unfortunately I don't believe I can mix and match the batteries with the current promotion.

 

[NiOOH]

Welcome to CPF Max Silver.
In a word: get the C9000. You'll be able to test all of your old cells and perhaps salvage some of them. Also, the C9000 will charge your cells even at 2 amps charging current much more gently than 401 on fast mode, so your newly purchased cells will stay in good condition longer.

To me, the 401FS is the worst product Maha is currently selling. On fast mode, it overcharges badly, on slow mode it is no better than Sanyo MQN05 that can be had cheaper.

About the cells, get Sanyo Enellop. These are LSD cells that work great together with the C9000.

 

[Bones]

Welcome to CPF Max Silver.
In a word: get the C9000. You'll be able to test all of your old cells and perhaps salvage some of them. Also, the C9000 will charge your cells even at 2 amps charging current much more gently than 401 on fast mode, so your newly purchased cells will stay in good condition longer.

To me, the 401FS is the worst product Maha is currently selling. On fast mode, it overcharges badly, on slow mode it is no better than Sanyo MQN05 that can be had cheaper.

About the cells, get Sanyo Enellop. These are LSD cells that work great together with the C9000.

I'm going to echo NiOOH's post.

Although there may well have been improvements since it was posted in January of 2005, SilverFox's review of the MH-C401FS is troubling:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com ... post814177

I too prefer the Eneloop above all other cells, including the Imedion low self-discharge cell from MahaEnergy.

Providing you are situate in their ship-to areas, the following are usually viable choices for sourcing the MH-C9000 and the Eneloop:

http://wiredqube.com ... products_id=9

http://www.amazon.com ... B00198BF9W

I hyperlinked WiredQube because their pricing is competitive and they are currently offering forum members a 5% discount and a genuine MahaEnergy model MHS-CC150 bag with the MH-C9000:

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com ... post2253039

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com ... post2246314

Also, the Eneloop bundle being sold on Amazon is actually from Costco. So if you have access, Costco will usually have the best pricing. They also carry an Eneloop bundle that excludes the charger.

The charger, while not the best, can still be used for basic charging duties. Cells charged with it though, should be routinely conditioned with the MH-C9000.

 

[PeAK]

I am currently shopping for a new charger. I'm going to purchase a Maha brand charger, I just need to choose between the MH-C9000 and C401FS..
.
.
.

The C401fs is well spec'd but was (is?) short of implementation. For a great introduction to the evolution of chargers, look at a post by Tom which covers the evolution of charging technology and the challenges that the industry faced in changing over to NiMh by Tom (a.k.a as SilverFox).

Last there have been a number of threads (also here) that basically boil down the eneloop to being the perfect battery for digicam operations due to higher overall voltage over the use/discharge period.

I purchased a off-brand charger with 4 independent charging channels at 1amp (0.5C) charging and "negative delta-V" and it works great. The MQHO2 mentioned earlier is a fine example of continous evolution and probably (don't have one) better executed than the Maha 401FS.

PeAK

 

[GarageBoy]

Theres different versions of the C401, IIRC

 

[Hoggy]

I echo replies 2&3 with the caveat that you could also just get the BC-700 (or 900). You mention 2-way car remotes, which I'm guessing take AAA's - and there are some issues with charging AAA batteries on the C9000.. Namely the 2-hour 100ma top-off charge. And you might not want to babysit the charger and pull them off as soon as they say "DONE" - and even if you do, you might forget.

Plus, as far as reviving old cells, the bc-x00 would be better as it doesn't reject so many cells for having high internal resistance. And can even revive them enough that they'll no longer be rejected by the C9000!

My opinion is get the bc-700/900 first for $32/38. With LSD cells, you won't need to charge directly before using them, so the lower rates of the BC-700 aren't so bad. Later on, you could also get the C9000 if you want.
There is good reason for owning both chargers (I own both the BC-900 and C9000) - they definitely complement each other, not cancel each other.

 

[Hawkeye5]

I'm new here also.
When I did research into AA chargers the Maha MH-C9000 seemed to be the gold standard. I purchased one, based solely on recommendations and comments here. So far, and I anticipate well into the future, it should be all the charger I need for the eneloops I'm breaking in. The eneloops were also purchased after research here.
I'm not that knowledgeble yet, and the 9000 knows what to do as long as you set it up correctly. I'm very pleased with the charger.