Ni-MH batteries and a "good enough" charger...

[roboboticus]

I'm trying to decide on some low-self-discharge Ni-MH batteries (AA) and a decent charger. I'm new to all this, but a little research has me leaning toward the Sanyo Eneloops and a La Crosse BC-700 charger. The charger seems to get mixed reviews, though positive overall (an Amazon, at least). At about $25, it seems like a good fit for my modest needs.

What do you think? Is this a good way to go?

Oh, and hello CPF! My first post.

 

[Mr Happy]

I guess that's not a bad choice of charger. If you get the BC-700, always charge Eneloops on the 700 mA setting.

I was going to suggest looking for one of the Sanyo Eneloop-plus-charger bundles, but it looks like the only charger Sanyo USA wants to see on the market is the unsatisfactory MQN06. Might I suggest you move to Canada, where a proper selection of good Sanyo chargers is available?

BTW, :welcome:

 

[leeholaaho]

I thought I read some good comments on CPF about this one

http://www.batteryjunction.com/8800.html

 

[roboboticus]

Cool, thanks guys. That Titanium charger is very tempting, but somewhat larger than I was shooting for (thinking about travel). But the Titanium TG-2800 looks perfect! I can bring it with me on my trip to Canada.

Thanks for the warm welcome!

 

[tandem]

When you come to Canada to visit us, you might want to check the Canada Good Deals thread on the CPFMarketplace forum. From time to time "Duraloops" are on sale here at prices ranging from 6.99 to 8.99 a four pack. They seem to go on sale every 4 to 6 weeks at Shoppers Drug Mart, a national chain here. Last on sale 1 week ago, so it'll be a few before they reappear if the trend holds up.

 

[roboboticus]

Although I was kidding about a trip to Canada, I might actually make it up to BC one of these days (I'm in Seattle), so I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Ayeaux]

I've had a bc-700 for about 3 years now and have had no problems charging eneloops in them. I've been charging them at 500ma and haven't had an eneloop or duraloop miss termination yet, even a few of the abused ones.

I have had some non-eneloop, older, cheaper, much more abused cells occasionally miss a termination however.

 

[alpg88]

i bought a smart charger from battery space, for 4,8-14.4v.
i charge all my nicd\nimh packs, had no problem with it. works great with every batteries i have.

 

[roboboticus]

Got the goods today. Here's a question though: Should I pop the new eneloops right into my camera, or should I top them off in the charger first?

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Got the goods today. Here's a question though: Should I pop the new eneloops right into my camera, or should I top them off in the charger first?

you can do either, eneloops can sit for a year and still have 80% capacity left so charging them may give you an extra 200-300mah in them or up to 20% more runtime. If you wanted to use the camera right away you can charge them later. The nice thing about nimh is you can charge them as often as you wish but with LSD nimh you can let them sit for a long time and not have to worry about charging them before use.

 

[roboboticus]

Sweet. Thanks for the info.