Quick question: Panasonic BQ-395 + eneloop = good?

[RepProdigious]

Like the title suggest, id love to know if the Panasonic BQ-395 makes a good charger for eneloops!

The eneloops are a present for my dad (who still lives in the 1200mAh NiCD world and gets pissed that modern cameras drain his cells too fast) so a simple no-brain charger with NO BUTTONS is a must, and since i still have on of these old Panasonic chargers just laying around collecting dust i was wondering if this would make a nice addition to this 'present'. Or in other; will my dad be able to charge the cells and will this charger not shorten the lifespan of the eneloops too much (remember, hes of the type that if you lock him in a rubber room with just an anvil he'd manage to lose or break it!). I already tried to put the cells in backwards but this wont work... So thats a good start :whistle:

Thanks! lovecpf

 

[Mr Happy]

Seems good to me. Do you have any Eneloops of your own to test it with? You should run a charge cycle or two and see if the charge finishes on time without the batteries getting excessively warm. Try it with two cells and with four cells.

 

[McAllan]

Have the potential to be fine. Can't see why there should be anything wrong with that. Haven't had any experience with Panasonics chargers but in the past they made som of the best NiCads.

If it's bundled with their infinium then a bonus too - then you don't need to buy eneloops unless you want more sets. And to differentiate them so they won't get mixed up that's an easy way to do it - buy different brands ;)

 

[RepProdigious]

Seems good to me. Do you have any Eneloops of your own to test it with? You should run a charge cycle or two and see if the charge finishes on time without the batteries getting excessively warm. Try it with two cells and with four cells.

Thanks for the fast reply!

I have plenty eneloops (i just bought a whole bunch to give out as presents) so i will do these tests! Thanks for the tip!

The only problem in having is that the back of the charger reads:
OUTPUT: DC1.5V 2.2A/0.86A

I guess these are the fast charge (2 cells) and normal charge (4 cell) currents and i just cant figure out is this is the current per bay or in total..... If its total this would mean just over 200mA on normal charge and in that case im pretty certain that the charger wont pick up any −∆V signal because at charge-rates like that there wouldn't be one! In the end the time-circuit should kick in but i dont think this will do the cells any good....

Could i just measure the charging rate with my DMM or would this mess the whole lot up (because of added resistance in DMM and such).

 

[Mr Happy]

The only problem in having is that the back of the charger reads:
OUTPUT: DC1.5V 2.2A/0.86A

Most likely those are the charging currents for AA and for AAA cells. That is the normal case (since AAA cells have lower capacity and need lower charging currents).

Assuming 2.2 A is for AA cells, then two cells on charge would get 1.1 A each and charge in about 2 hours, whereas four cells on charge would get 550 mA each and would take about 4 hours.

 

[RepProdigious]

Most likely those are the charging currents for AA and for AAA cells. That is the normal case (since AAA cells have lower capacity and need lower charging currents).

Assuming 2.2 A is for AA cells, then two cells on charge would get 1.1 A each and charge in about 2 hours, whereas four cells on charge would get 550 mA each and would take about 4 hours.

That sounds logical! The AAA's have their own bays so the current difference on the back could very well be that!

I charged 4 and 2 cells like you suggested and in both cases they get nice and warm (not hot). Also, after a full charge on the Panasonic i checked how much grunt was in the cells and all checked out at the same capacity as they got in my smart-charger.

So i guess this is a good combination then! Thanks for all the info guys! lovecpf