Sony BCG-34HLD+2 AA's

[changsn]

Fry's has a sale on the above for $4.99, so I thought I would take a flyer on it. The description indicates that the charger has a voltage monitoring function and safety timer at 7 hrs. Charge rate is 360mah/hr for AA. It will take 1-4 batteries and can be mixed/matched with AA or AAA's. Unfortunately, the 2 AA's that came with the charger - although they are Sony CycleEnergy bats are only 1000mah! But this got me thinking - if the charger was only timed, how could Sony package batteries with only a 1000mah capacity with them. The charger would overcharge these guys and kill'em. So I figured maybe this was really a smart charger and I should test to see when the LED went out when using different capacity batteries.
Test 1 - I took an 1800mah battery which read 0.97v and charged it - ~5 hrs later I noticed the LED was out. The battery was cool to the touch and read 1.41v on my LaCrosse.
Test 2 - I ran down (0.93v) one of the 1000mah CycleEnergy bats which came with the charger and charged it. Sure enough 2 3/4hrs later, the LED was out (1.44v).
This is not conclusive, but sure does suggest that this charger is both individual channel and smart. It may not be the best charger around, but for the price, it looks like a bargain.
Sam

 

[Mr Happy]

It's peculiar. The user guide says this:

Charging time will vary depending on the charging conditions and remaining capacity of the rechargeable battery.

• When the charger is plugged into the AC outlet, the LED indicator will light up and remain lit during the charging process. The LED indicator will turn off in approximately 7 hours after the charging has begun.
• Even if the batteries are fully charged, the LED indicator will remain lit for 7 hours.
• The batteries should be fully discharged before they are recharged.

It seems to contradict itself, so it is hard to know what is going on. Maybe the person writing the user guide was confused?

 

[changsn]

Mr Happy - I agree, when I read that portion of the manual I wasn't sure it would be worth doing the experiment that I described. I suspect that the information got twisted in the translation - these are made in China.

 

[InHisName]

Here is ketchup for this thread.

Re: Sony BCG-34HLD+2 AA's
Written by Ray_of_Light on 11-11-2010 12:34 PM GMT

After the debacle of two IKEA chargers, yesterday I bought one Sony
BCG-34HLD charger. I am looking to acquire some cheap but decent
chargers, to give as Christmas presents together with battery powered
articles.

With respect the Sony charger which is initially referenced in this
thread, the newer Sony BCG-34HLD has undergone some slight
modifications; it is now white in color, and comes bundled with four AA
LSD Cycle-Energy batteries, of 1000 mA/h capacity. The bundle sells here
for 9.99 Euro. It is table standing, and the only gripe is the fact
that the provided power cord is 35 centimeter (1 foot) long.

The instruction sheet has been updated since the previous one. Nowhere
it states that the LED will stay on for 7 hrs, irrespective of initial
state of charge of the batteries.

For what I have been able to understand so far, the charger is a true 4
channels charger. The declared charge current is 360 mA per channel, and
it is independent from the number of channels used. I have measured
about 700 mA flowing through the batteries, which are pulsed with 50%
duty cycle.

The switching power supply provides a total of 1400 mA current, and the
four batteries are pulsed togheter two at time, alternatively.

The safety timer is adjusted on 7 hours. The timer acts correctly, in
the sense it doesn't re-engage after the charge is ended, like the IKEA
charger incorrectly does.

There are no overtemperature sensors.

What took time for me to find out, is the presence and the functionality
of a -dV termination. There is no mention of voltage termination in the
instruction sheet, only a reference to the fact that the charge time is
dependent on the residual charge of the battery.

Well, I just find out. The -dV termination works correctly, and the
batteries read 1.49 Volt when the LED turns off. The voltage keeps
falling afterward, since - surprisingly - there is no maintenance
charge.

Not so surprising - if you think that a LSD battery doesn't need it.

It could turn to be a nasty surprise for the owner of some HSD
batteries: left in the charger for a week after the charge ended, they
could well be totally discharged when removed.

I completely phased out non-LSD battery from my household; and I am
removing my LSD batteries from chargers as soon charge is ended, in
order to spare them the maintenance charge. The Sony charger is just
about perfect for LSD batteries - and my usage.

The half charged Eneloop, which I used as sample to verify the Sony
charger, shows 1950 mA/h discharge capacity in the RS900. The orange LED
was lit for four hours while the battery was charging.

After, I placed a fully charged white top Duraloop, which had been
standing idle from about two weeks. The charge started, and ended in
about 30 minutes. Here, I measured termination at about -5 mV.

OK, I found my good & cheap charger.

Regards

Anthony


Re: Sony BCG-34HLD+2 AA's
Written by Mr Happy on 11-11-2010 01:24 PM GMT

OK, I found my good & cheap charger.

Looks promising. Looks promising.

Have you done any tests with AAA cells? In some of my testing with the
Duracell CEF21 I found that AAA cells can be very poor at providing a
-dV signal at low charge rates.



Re: Sony BCG-34HLD+2 AA's
Written by Ray_of_Light on 11-11-2010 02:15 PM GMT

Looks promising.

Have you done any tests with AAA cells? In some of my testing with the
Duracell CEF21 I found that AAA cells can be very poor at providing a
-dV signal at low charge rates.

Hi Mr. Happy; Hi Mr. Happy;

no, I didn't made any test with AAA batteries.

Since you suggest it may be an area of concern, I will repeat all tests with AAA over the weekend.

Regards

Anthony



Re: Sony BCG-34HLD+2 AA's
Written by hazna on 02-21-2011 01:08 AM GMT

do you have an update with the AAA test?



Re: Sony BCG-34HLD+2 AA's
Written by InHisName on 02-22-2011 09:18 AM GMT

Will it charge 'junk' batteries ? Does it have a "HIGH" rejection type error ?

I am looking for 4 chan charger that charges slow enough to junkier
batteries to be used in remotes etc. After 50-70 cycles my Duraloops
are crossing over to the HIGH side. At low discharge they seem to have
nearly the same capacity as when new. My C9000 shows only a few dozen
minutes at 100ma discharge but led flashlight at 114ma goes for hours
and hours. I have a Maha 204 that needs pairs, now seeking a 4 channel
one. 140ma for AA if not pulsed sounds like a winner.



Re: Sony BCG-34HLD+2 AA's
Written by brted on 02-23-2011 06:42 PM GMT

I got mine today. I don't have a fancy DMM, but it was enough to
tell that there is a pulse charge. Using the AA contacts, the pulse was
up to about 1.4A. With the AAA contact the peak was 0.57A. This was the
first and easiest test to do. I'll do more testing in the next couple of
days. Right now I'm discharging the 1000mA AA (yes, AA) batteries that
came with it. That was with only one battery, so it definitely is able
to charge only one battery at a time.

I put a crappy Energizer 2450mAh battery that reads HIGH in my C9000 in
the charger and got a blinking yellow light meaning it is no good. I put
two good ones in for a few minutes and the light was yellow (charging),
then added the Energizer and it started blinking, so it knew when a bad
one showed up.

 

[beerwax]

mine rejects 'bad' cells. unfortunately. hope that helps. cheers.