Travel Charger Needed...Please Advise

[trekker]

Okay, I've searched the forums, but couldn't find an answer for my situation.

I am going to be traveling in a couple of weeks and need a AA charger to carry with me. I will not be able to baby the charger since I will only be at my camper for a couple of hours each day. Therefore, I need something that will allow me to charge 8-12 Eneloops each day either all at once, or 4 quickly so that I can switch out the batteries.

I would like to be able to put the batteries on charge at night and take them out the next morning when I leave for the day (we will basically only be at the camper to sleep).

In addition (if possible), I would like to have a charger that will perform and/or meet the following tasks/requirements. They are listed in order of importance.

• Be able to detect bad batteries
• Show me which batteries are "best" so that I can match them for usage
• Be able to condition/renew old batteries (to the extent that is possible)
• Cost $50 or less (I can pay a little more if absolutely necessary)

I know I may be "asking for the moon," but I thought I might as well start with everything that I want and lower my expectations from there. :grin2:


Thanks for the help!

 

[jhellwig]

An maha c-9000 will do all that. It only charges 4 at a time though. But you can get a 12v adapter for it.

 

[Mr Happy]

To charge 8-12 batteries a day in the field, I would skip the "advanced" features and just buy two or three ordinary 4 bay chargers, or an 8 bay charger like maybe one of these:

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

Don't worry excessively about matching them or conditioning them, you won't have time. Just charge them up and use them.

 

[trekker]

An maha c-9000 will do all that. It only charges 4 at a time though. But you can get a 12v adapter for it.

Thanks, I thought that one might meet my needs with the exception of not being able to charge them all at once. That might be a good unit for home use though...what do you think about the LaCrosse BC-900 instead? I've read that it might be easier for a beginner to use.

To charge 8-12 batteries a day in the field, I would skip the "advanced" features and just buy two or three ordinary 4 bay chargers, or an 8 bay charger like maybe one of these:

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

Don't worry excessively about matching them or conditioning them, you won't have time. Just charge them up and use them.

Thanks for the recommendation! I followed the link and am trying to learn about it now. Would it be safe to leave the batteries on that charger overnight? Will it shut off when it is done? Is it okay to mix dead and partially charged batteries on it?

I also acknowledge that I want be able to use all the features of a charger on vacation...I was just trying to keep from buying two, one for travel and one for home.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Trekker,

You need to match your cells and pick the "best" ones to use before you go. Once you have that figured out, you will simply use them during your trip. Checking capacity and matching is time intensive and is best done before the trip.

Here is a basic charger that would work well for what you are doing. It has both AC and DC input.

If you can get by with only AC input, this charger will also work very well. I use this one when I travel and it has worked out very well.

Conditioning and renewing is also best done at home. I would not worry about that unless your trip lasts over 3 - 4 months, and you are recharging every day.

Tom

 

[trekker]

Hello Trekker,

You need to match your cells and pick the "best" ones to use before you go. Once you have that figured out, you will simply use them during your trip. Checking capacity and matching is time intensive and is best done before the trip.

Here is a basic charger that would work well for what you are doing. It has both AC and DC input.

If you can get by with only AC input, this charger will also work very well. I use this one when I travel and it has worked out very well.

Conditioning and renewing is also best done at home. I would not worry about that unless your trip lasts over 3 - 4 months, and you are recharging every day.

Tom

Thanks Tom, I have 8 new Eneloops (marked) and 4 that are a little older so matching right now isn't a big problem. I was actually thinking about some older rechargeables that I own and down the road. Essentially, I was trying to buy a "one size fits all" charger to keep from buying two different ones (one for home with features and one for travel). Nevertheless, I understand and appreciate your input.

You're the second person to have recommended the Titanium chargers. Mr. Happy also recommended one...an 8 bay. I've scoured the internet and cannot find much information about that particular one. I like the idea of having 8 bays so that I'm not sitting up at night waiting to change them out, so can you tell me will it perform the same job as the ones you recommended? Is there something that I do not know that should steer me away from it towards one of the ones that you recommended? Thanks for your input.

 

[Mr Happy]

You're the second person to have recommended the Titanium chargers. Mr. Happy also recommended one...an 8 bay. I've scoured the internet and cannot find much information about that particular one. I like the idea of having 8 bays so that I'm not sitting up at night waiting to change them out, so can you tell me will it perform the same job as the ones you recommended? Is there something that I do not know that should steer me away from it towards one of the ones that you recommended? Thanks for your input.

I believe that the 8 bay chargers are essentially like two 4 bay chargers in a single enclosure. The performance will be much the same. If you have any questions about them you could contact Battery Junction and ask, I am sure they will be glad to help you select the best charger for your needs.

Any of those chargers will automatically shut off when the batteries are charged, so they are safe to leave running overnight.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Trekker,

I recommend charging at 0.5 - 1.0C rates. With Eneloop cells that means having a charger that can charge in the 1000 - 2000 mA range. I don't believe the 8 bay charger is capable of that.

With a 2 hour charger (0.5C) you can charge 4 cells early in the evening, then charge the other 4 overnight. You may also be able to pick up 2 chargers, have redundancy, and still stay within your budget.

If you take good care of your cells, they should last until you can budget an analyzing charger. If you are still not ready for a more advanced charger, and find that your travel charger is doing a good job, you can simply replace the cells and go on. While not ideal, this strategy works very well.

Tom

 

[trekker]

I just thought I would let everyone know my decision. I ended up ordering a Maha MH-C9000 from Thomas Distributing because I wanted to be able to analyze some older batteries that I wanted to use the break-in feature. I really appreciate everyone's input and I started to order one of the Titanium models, but then realized that if I did, I would be ordering the Maha sooner or later, so I just skipped the later...:whistle:

Nevertheless, I really appreciate the advice! Would it be best to charge the Eneloops at .5c? If so, about how long will it take to achieve a full charge for a set of 4 batteries?

Thanks again.

 

[Mr Happy]

Nevertheless, I really appreciate the advice! Would it be best to charge the Eneloops at .5c? If so, about how long will it take to achieve a full charge for a set of 4 batteries?

The default charge rate on the C9000 is 1 amp, and this works very nicely for AA cells (but you will probably want to use 500 mA for AAA cells). At the default charge rate of 1 amp, AA eneloops will take about 2 hours to charge. If you want to squeeze the last 5% of charge into the cells you should leave them on the charger for 2 hours after Done appears, but this will not make a lot of difference in practical terms (e.g. it will add 3 minutes of extra use to a 1 hour run time).

 

[trekker]

The default charge rate on the C9000 is 1 amp, and this works very nicely for AA cells (but you will probably want to use 500 mA for AAA cells). At the default charge rate of 1 amp, AA eneloops will take about 2 hours to charge. If you want to squeeze the last 5% of charge into the cells you should leave them on the charger for 2 hours after Done appears, but this will not make a lot of difference in practical terms (e.g. it will add 3 minutes of extra use to a 1 hour run time).

Thanks for the information!