NiMh and Li charger

[cos4]

Hi

I'm currently looking for a charger for NiMh and Lithium cells. As good charges are expensive anyway I thought about investing a little more to get a charger that can charge both. The problem is that I want to charge multiple NiMh cells in different charging states at the same time. Is there any hobby charger which is capable of doing that?
The hobby folks usually have got an pack of cells in the same charging state and haven't got these problems - therefore I haven't found any information on that issue yet.

If that isn't possible, I'll probably go for a NiMh-only charger like the BC-900 or so and an additional Lithium charger which will probably be much more expensive.

 

[Marduke]

Your 2nd option is probably the best. There really is no basic quality chargers that do both. Lithium-Ion 2-bay chargers are actually quite cheap, <$15 at DX

A hobby charger than can do both in 4 channels is getting up there in $$$

 

[mitch79]

Have you seen the La Crosse BC-700? It's available for $22.40 as per this thread.
Cyberguys will ship USPS First Class International. I don't know what the cost is to Germany but shipping cost me about $10 to Australia.

The Ultrafire WF-138 is a popular cheap Li-Ion charger.
If you want something better the Pila IBC is regarded as one of the best Li-Ion chargers around. Not cheap though.

 

[cos4]

Thanks for the info.

@mitch79:
Thank you for the link, $22 wow. I only have got to make my mind up whether to get the MC-700 or the C-9000.

 

[MrAl]

Hi there,


I thought you wanted a charger that would do BOTH
NiMH and Li-ion cells?
Anyone can recommend one that does BOTH ?

 

[Mr Happy]

I thought you wanted a charger that would do BOTH
NiMH and Li-ion cells?
Anyone can recommend one that does BOTH ?

I don't believe there is such a charger. To be specific, I don't believe there is a charger than can charge 2 or 4 cells individually on separate channels, and can charge either NiMH or Li-ion, and costs sensible money.

If such a thing existed someone would have mentioned it on this forum by now.

 

[MrAl]

Hi,

MrHappy, there are chargers that do both NiMH battery packs
and Li-ion cells, so i thought someone here might have some
experience with at least one of them.
What do you mean by sensible money? Fifty dollars tops?

 

[Mr Happy]

MrHappy, there are chargers that do both NiMH battery packs
and Li-ion cells, so i thought someone here might have some
experience with at least one of them.
What do you mean by sensible money? Fifty dollars tops?

I understand about pack charging, but pack chargers are excluded from consideration. The charger has to be able to charge individual cells on individual channels, like the C9000, but with the capability to charge Li-ion as well as NiMH. The nearest anyone has mentioned is a multi-channel hobby charger costing $100's.

 

[MrAl]

Hi Mr Happy,

Wow, really? That's a little bit above my budget he he.
Geeze.

 

[mdocod]

We had a similar discussion arise in the middle of another thread awhile back. I think the general conclusion is that you can spend about $200-600 or more on a hobby style pack charger, that often has 2 channels of output. With those 2 channels you can charge any "pack" of NIMH cells that are of the same capacity and resistance and state of charge, or any individual cell that is sort of a loner, or any single li-ion cell, or often, a group of li-ion cells in parallel, or in series with balance taps installed. This sounds good on paper, until you have to figure out how you are actually going to make this work for you....

The capability of one of these chargers is awesome, and the flexibility is also very useful, however, it's still just a 2 channel charger, and there will be limitations to the number of different cells that can be charged at the same time depending on what the situation is. Loose cell charging will require various external adapters and clamps and wires and configurations. To have a complete setup that can "do it all" will often require not just the cost of the charger, but a hundred or more dollars worth of accessories and adapters stuff. It also will never be *quite* as simple as just sliding some cells into a slot and walking away. Most people who own the expensive and complicated option, who have learned how to use it, prefer it to "normal" chargers as hey often do a better job charging.

My feeling is that if you are already planning on doing a lot of pack charging, (like for super powerful flashlight mods, or RC cars, or whatever) then buying one of these expensive pack chargers and setting up a charging station around it is a logical choice. If you are only planning to charge loose cells, then I would not personally bother.

Get a good 4 or more channel NIMH charger, and a Pila IBC. The price will be far lower and it will be a lot simpler to use.

 

[cos4]

Thanks a lot for your detailed answer. I'll compare the cheaper NiMh-only chargers and think about what I really need. BC-700/900 C-9000 or the Pila you mentioned.
In the end I'll probably just plug some Eneloops into the charger and wait until they're charged correctly, therefore I'm currently tending towards the BC-700.

 

[Mr Happy]

Note that the Pila IBC is for lithium ion cells rather than NiMH, and is regarded as one of the best chargers out there when you need to charge Li-ion cells.

 

[cos4]

Ah ok thanks.

 

[MrAl]

Hi again,

I guess we are not in the age of chargers that do everything yet

Actually, i meant to build my own charger that does 4 cells of ANY type
myself, up to about 4 amps for each bay, but i have yet to get to it.
Been planning for a long time now just never seem to get to actually
doing it. I have enough parts on hand to try some ideas out too.

Perhaps someday...