Maha MH-C9000, the Wizard One Charger (Part 2)
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Hello,
Well, I finally purchased a C9000 and have searched the other thread and cannot find anything on this problem I'm having. When I put AAA's in the charger they "kinda" pop back out. Must be something I am doing. I know I read something about this somewhere but cannot find anything. Anyone else have this happen to them? What am I doing wrong? Doug
Well, I finally purchased a C9000 and have searched the other thread and cannot find anything on this problem I'm having. When I put AAA's in the charger they "kinda" pop back out. Must be something I am doing. I know I read something about this somewhere but cannot find anything. Anyone else have this happen to them? What am I doing wrong? Doug
Power Me Up
Enlightened
Hello,
Well, I finally purchased a C9000 and have searched the other thread and cannot find anything on this problem I'm having. When I put AAA's in the charger they "kinda" pop back out. Must be something I am doing. I know I read something about this somewhere but cannot find anything. Anyone else have this happen to them? What am I doing wrong? Doug
You're definitely not alone there.
Although it definitely helps to put the negative end of AAA cells in first, it isn't the solution to the problem. Slot 2 on my 0G0B01 chargers are pretty bad for this, although I've also had the problem in other slots as well. My earlier 0FAB02 charger doesn't have this problem at all.
I think the problem is either to do with the moulding of the plastic shell, or the location of the negative probe itself - the negative ends of the cells are tending to sit either on the ramp (and won't hold in at all) or they're sitting right on the edge and prone to pop out - usually after only a second or so if not straight away, but also sometimes after a while.
Generally, you can persevere until they stay in, but it is a pain...
TorchBoy
Flashlight Enthusiast
I've had an AAA cell or two pop out several times recently on just one particular slot, but never until the last few days. I'm not sure if it's the slot or the plastic wrapper on the cell being just slightly scrunched around the negative end at one point. But that shouldn't be enough to do it. Bad design I guess.
Hi all, noooobie to CPF here. Thanks for all the info.
I am thinking of buying a C9000 and have read a lot of the posts here as well as downloading the 2-page instruction sheet. I have some further Q's that you helpful people may be able to assist with:
I want to run it in my car sometimes. Can I use a simple cigarette lighter cable that I can make for a couple of dollars, or is some sort of voltage regulator required in the adaptor? When the engine is running, the car's voltage will be more like 14V. I can't see car adaptors sold separately on the Australian distributor's site (http://servaas.com.au), though the Maha C401FS comes bundled with one.
Speaking of the C401FS - *if* I don't care about the info that the C9000's display gives me, would the C401FS perform any worse than the 9000 for basic charging, battery longevity, etc? I haven't decided how battery geeky I want to be yet, i.e. whether I want break-in etc. (No offence intended - I'll probably go geeky!) The 401's smaller size is appealing.
I gather that if I want non-default charging rates, I need to program these for each cell, and every time I charge. Is this correct? I will probably use the 1A default most of the time as that seems reasonable, unless I need to charge in a hurry.
Using Eneloops or ordinary NiMHs, does fast charging (e.g. using a cheaper 1 hour "fast charger") reduce long term battery life? There is so much conflicting info on batteries. Is the occasional charge at 2000mA in the C9000 going to hurt my 2000mAh Eneloops (i.e. 1.0 C)?
Thanks!
I am thinking of buying a C9000 and have read a lot of the posts here as well as downloading the 2-page instruction sheet. I have some further Q's that you helpful people may be able to assist with:
I want to run it in my car sometimes. Can I use a simple cigarette lighter cable that I can make for a couple of dollars, or is some sort of voltage regulator required in the adaptor? When the engine is running, the car's voltage will be more like 14V. I can't see car adaptors sold separately on the Australian distributor's site (http://servaas.com.au), though the Maha C401FS comes bundled with one.
Speaking of the C401FS - *if* I don't care about the info that the C9000's display gives me, would the C401FS perform any worse than the 9000 for basic charging, battery longevity, etc? I haven't decided how battery geeky I want to be yet, i.e. whether I want break-in etc. (No offence intended - I'll probably go geeky!) The 401's smaller size is appealing.
I gather that if I want non-default charging rates, I need to program these for each cell, and every time I charge. Is this correct? I will probably use the 1A default most of the time as that seems reasonable, unless I need to charge in a hurry.
Using Eneloops or ordinary NiMHs, does fast charging (e.g. using a cheaper 1 hour "fast charger") reduce long term battery life? There is so much conflicting info on batteries. Is the occasional charge at 2000mA in the C9000 going to hurt my 2000mAh Eneloops (i.e. 1.0 C)?
Thanks!
Last edited:
TorchBoy
Flashlight Enthusiast
:welcome:
No offence, but, um, how do we know you're not a boojum?
Good question. I've got a 12V adaptor with lots of different plugs and voltage settings but it says it's only 800mA. Would it still work on slow charges?
Not so you'd notice with better chargers. With cheap chargers that don't terminate at the right time, quite possibly.
No. The C9000 is a good charger, and SilverFox even recommends fast rates like that. Allow time for the 2 hours of top-up charge if you want them fully charged though.
Power Me Up
Enlightened
As a follow up on what I've already said:
I just bought some Uniross Hybrio AAA cells and I've found that the newer revision C9000s that I've got don't detect the cells even if they do stay in the slot without popping out. The older unit is testing them just fine though. (Actually I did get one cell to detect in one slot of one of the chargers, but it didn't work very well and stopped discharging after only a few minutes)
I'd say that this is because the Hybrios have their wrapper coming a bit further around the corner on the negative terminal and the newer chargers are only making contact right on the edge - the negative terminals on the Eneloops are exposed all the way to the edge, so they still work OK in the newer C9000s.
I wonder if they've fixed this problem in the even more recent C9000s?
SilverFox
Flashaholic
Hello Power Me Up,
I seem to remember something about a slight "tweak" of the AAA contacts on the "improved" units. I just checked a small variety of AAA cells that I have with a newer C-9000 and there were no issues at all.
Tom
I seem to remember something about a slight "tweak" of the AAA contacts on the "improved" units. I just checked a small variety of AAA cells that I have with a newer C-9000 and there were no issues at all.
Tom
Power Me Up
Enlightened
Which "improved" version are you talking about? I've got the 0G0B01 versions as my newer units...
jezzyp
Enlightened
I have the same problem on bay 3. AAA just pops out. The other 3 bays are fine.
I have tried different ways of inserting and had a close look at the terminals but can't see anything wrong.
I have emailed Nevada Radio here in the UK where I bought it to arrange a awap as its only 6 months old.
I have tried different ways of inserting and had a close look at the terminals but can't see anything wrong.
I have emailed Nevada Radio here in the UK where I bought it to arrange a awap as its only 6 months old.
SilverFox
Flashaholic
Hello Power Me Up,
My newest unit is a 0G0E01.
Tom
My newest unit is a 0G0E01.
Tom
Power Me Up
Enlightened
Just out of curiosity, how many C9000s do you have?
SilverFox
Flashaholic
Hello Power Me Up,
I currently have 2.
Tom
I currently have 2.
Tom
Tubor
Enlightened
Mine is fine with some eneloops I've just bought. I had some jumping problems with some Maplin AAA's (a shop to avoid if possible) but it was OK if re-inserted firmly and carefully.
I just noticed this newer Part2 thread, so I am re-posting because I am curious to see any feedback on my thoughts on the unit so far (I just got it a few days ago..)
I recently received my C9000 (0G0B01 revision) from ThomasDist and absolutely love it!!
I thought I would share my idea for a "best of both worlds" charging technique... I start with discharged cells (~2yr old 2000 mah AA for my first test), charge them @ 1C (2 A) with a cooling fan, let them sit for ~30 minutes for topoff charge, cool for a few minutes, then charge them again at 0.2C (400 ma). The reason I like this method is that it can be fairly quick, but also gets them very full. I tested this first charge test by letting them cool a few minutes and then discharging them at 400 ma and 3 of the cells discharged ~97% rated capacity! The last one just isnt done yet and I needed to use the charger for my next set, so I took it out, but it looked like it was tracking towards the same good result.
I have always seen the drawback to fast (1C) charging was that the cells would just not get full, even if the peak detection work perfectly. So, that is why I like the 1C, followed by 0.2C approach. If I recall correctly, the 1C charges input ~1900 mah and the 0.2C charges put in another 350 mah...
My background is in RC cars for several years. My general thoughts on nimh charging are that peak detection charging is definitely a precision business and having trustworthy equipment is a must, like this unit. I think slow (0.1C) non-peak detectection will generally lead to longer runtime and overall life, but, it is no where near as fun or as precise as peak detection... The higher the charge rate in peak detection, the higher the voltage will be under load, and the charging process will be faster, but properly detecting the peak is more important. When charging my 2000 mah cells in this unit at both 1C and 0.2C, I feel like it was doing a great job detecting the peak, and not significantly overcharging...
I now, have 4 of my new 2850 mah Ansmann cells in for a break in cycle at 270 ma and I plan to pull them out after ~16 hrs. I discharged them 1A and then again at 0.4A to get them totally empty.
I am very passionate about my batteries...now, I just need to create some plastic dowel adapters, so I can charge my 4200mah subC monster truck cells, too bad it has 14 cells and I could really use (3) more C9000s...
Take care guys and thanks for the great thread on this machine!
I recently received my C9000 (0G0B01 revision) from ThomasDist and absolutely love it!!
I thought I would share my idea for a "best of both worlds" charging technique... I start with discharged cells (~2yr old 2000 mah AA for my first test), charge them @ 1C (2 A) with a cooling fan, let them sit for ~30 minutes for topoff charge, cool for a few minutes, then charge them again at 0.2C (400 ma). The reason I like this method is that it can be fairly quick, but also gets them very full. I tested this first charge test by letting them cool a few minutes and then discharging them at 400 ma and 3 of the cells discharged ~97% rated capacity! The last one just isnt done yet and I needed to use the charger for my next set, so I took it out, but it looked like it was tracking towards the same good result.
I have always seen the drawback to fast (1C) charging was that the cells would just not get full, even if the peak detection work perfectly. So, that is why I like the 1C, followed by 0.2C approach. If I recall correctly, the 1C charges input ~1900 mah and the 0.2C charges put in another 350 mah...
My background is in RC cars for several years. My general thoughts on nimh charging are that peak detection charging is definitely a precision business and having trustworthy equipment is a must, like this unit. I think slow (0.1C) non-peak detectection will generally lead to longer runtime and overall life, but, it is no where near as fun or as precise as peak detection... The higher the charge rate in peak detection, the higher the voltage will be under load, and the charging process will be faster, but properly detecting the peak is more important. When charging my 2000 mah cells in this unit at both 1C and 0.2C, I feel like it was doing a great job detecting the peak, and not significantly overcharging...
I now, have 4 of my new 2850 mah Ansmann cells in for a break in cycle at 270 ma and I plan to pull them out after ~16 hrs. I discharged them 1A and then again at 0.4A to get them totally empty.
I am very passionate about my batteries...now, I just need to create some plastic dowel adapters, so I can charge my 4200mah subC monster truck cells, too bad it has 14 cells and I could really use (3) more C9000s...
Take care guys and thanks for the great thread on this machine!
I received my C9000 last week and it also is a 0G0D01. I would have thought Thomas Distributing to have the latest versions of these chargers considering they're probably one of the top places selling them. I'd still love to know the differences between each version # myself.
It is really odd that my MH-C9000 from Thomas Dist just last week is a 0G0B01... My biggest concern after reading most of this thread was that it might miss termination at the lower charge rates, and mine has been perfect on my first few ~2000 mah batts(new and old) that I charged at 400 ma, so now I really don't want to chance trading in on a different unit...
Maybe I ended up with the older unit due to having to call them to manually change my order...I had originally ordered a LaCrosse BC-900, but then a few hours later, found the C9000 and definitely wanted to switch... I think what threw me off was that the thomas site search for AA chargers (last week) was not showing the C9000, only the BC-900, but I see that it is fixed now.
Maybe I ended up with the older unit due to having to call them to manually change my order...I had originally ordered a LaCrosse BC-900, but then a few hours later, found the C9000 and definitely wanted to switch... I think what threw me off was that the thomas site search for AA chargers (last week) was not showing the C9000, only the BC-900, but I see that it is fixed now.
