What's the best NiMH and Li-Ion charger now?

[oldtimer]

What's the best one now? I'm planning to charge exclusively AA cells but will welcome ones that are compatible with other sizes too.

 

[Black Rose]

I am pretty sure the only way you could charge NiMh and Li-Ion with the same charger would be with a hobby charger.

I am not well versed in them and only know enough about them to know what they are capacble of.

 

[oldtimer]

Oh sorry, I actually meant separate two chargers for the two chemistries. Just trying to get the best quality while keeping the prices low.

 

[vali]

The best one for Ni-MH is, probably, the Maha C9000. The best for Lithium rechargeable chemistries seems to be the Pila IBC charger (but compared to C9000 it just lack a lot of functions).

If you sum the cost of both chargers you will find you will spend the same buying a hobby charger, and with that you will have more "advanced" functions for lithium.

On the other hand, if you already have a C9000 (as I have) buying only a good lithium charger will be cheaper, but according with some tests on cheap chargers there isnt a single "good" one besides the Pila. Thats one of the reasons I am staying away from lithium right now: when I bouth the C9000 I realized how much my Ni-MH were suffering and I dont plant to do the same with lithium (wich is "a bit" more dangerous than Ni-MH).

 

[travelinman]

http://www.dealextreme.com/advsearc.../0/PrimaryCategoryID.c/0/ReleaseDateRange.t/0


DX sku 14885 in case the above link doesn't work for you.

It's performing well on 18650s, 16340s, and AA NiMH so far but I'm just testing it for now. I'm planning on using it as a travel charger for everything I have. I know it only does one cell but it's cheap enough if you want more capacity, buy a couple of them.

 

[oldtimer]

Thanks! Is that last model safe? I mean it's very cheap in terms of price.

How's the La-Crosse model in comparison to the Maha?

What's the best hobby charger then?

 

[travelinman]

There's a thread that gives a very good graph detailing the voltages and current of that cheap little charger. I just spent 5 or 10 min looking and couldn't find it but it's out there.

It has proven to be safe for me. I hooked it up to a small extension cord and put it into my trusty galvanized "ashes" bucket and left it charging a not-so favourite cell of mine and left it on after the green light came on, for a couple of days and the cell still showed 4.18v.

I'm happy with it so far, only had it for a month or so, still testing. Can't very well lose too much just to test it out.

 

[Anders]

Hello oldtimer.

What is best for you?
Is best, a charger with a lot of features, like test of capacity?
It is hard to find a charger that has it all.

Maha has many fine chargers, C-9000 for AA and AAA NiMh with much features like digitally displays capacity. It a ton of info about this charger here at CPF.

MH-808M is another of Mahas chargers, this one take AA, AAA, C and D sizes NiMh and is very trusted but it dont shows capacity.
This is the best review of it on internet:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=102682
From Silverfox of course.

You cant get a cheap charger that is safe and good, like the link above, post #5.

The most recommended Li-Ion charger is Pila IBC charger as vali wrote:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=201323

Flashlight Electronics - Batteries Included - Threads of Interest is a good way to find much important info.


"What's the best hobby charger then? "
It is hard to say what the best hobby charger is, its a waste to use a 360W charger to charge one 10440, li-ion cell.

Anders

 

[matrixshaman]

There's a thread that gives a very good graph detailing the voltages and current of that cheap little charger. I just spent 5 or 10 min looking and couldn't find it but it's out there.

It has proven to be safe for me. I hooked it up to a small extension cord and put it into my trusty galvanized "ashes" bucket and left it charging a not-so favourite cell of mine and left it on after the green light came on, for a couple of days and the cell still showed 4.18v.

I'm happy with it so far, only had it for a month or so, still testing. Can't very well lose too much just to test it out.

Nice test! I've got this one also and have been impressed with it - especially at the price.

 

[Al Combs]

What's the best hobby charger then?

Well maybe not the best, but certainly one of the most popular is the Bantam BC-6. Just do a Google for BC-6 to find a source. The 1st on that list I saw was $140. I have seen it for slightly less but $140 is not a bad price. Some hobby chargers easily cost $500 which makes the BC-6 a good deal. If you bought the Maha C9000 and the Pila IBC that would be $100. So one way of looking at it is this is only a little more and it's the last charger you'll ever buy.

One thing about hobby chargers, since many of them are used in the field, they only run off 12 volts. The transformer so you can plug it into the wall costs another 30 or 40 bucks. The BC-6 will run off your car's cigarette lighter outlet or 100-240 volts and 50/60 hz. Another downside is they don't come with battery housings so you'll have to rig something up for that. You can buy just about any kind of connector you want for them though.

 

[Anders]

Hello oldtimer.

I have this Bantam BC-6, its a good charger.

If you choose this or another RC-Type of charger you must find a way to connect the cells to the charger,

A good way is this: CY:s improved batt charging clamp instructions
This is for single cells, another way is to find a holder for the cells maybe like this:http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=160942

Anders

 

[Mjolnir]

I am very satisfied with my PILA IBC. It actually stops charging when the batteries reach about 4.2 volts, unlike the cheap "DSD" charger from DX that I have, which doesn't seem to cut off reliably. It also has the final stage necessary for Lithium Ion battery charging, in which the voltage is held constant and the current slowly drops to zero. Apparently this fills up the cell more completely, and I doubt the cheap DX chargers do this. It also physically holds cells better than the DX charger. I have had issues with unprotected cells simply popping out of the cheap charger.

 

[T_zero]

hello.

so now what is the best?

Fenix ARE-C2
Xtar VC4
Nitecore D4

or other?

 

[rmteo]

I am pretty sure the only way you could charge NiMh and Li-Ion with the same charger would be with a hobby charger.

I am not well versed in them and only know enough about them to know what they are capacble of.

Many flashlight specific chargers will handle both chemistries such as most (if not all) models from Nitecore and XStar.

 

[WarRaven]

Many flashlight specific chargers will handle both chemistries such as most (if not all) models from Nitecore and XStar.

That's a five year old statement for the record, that you quoted☺

 

[kreisl]

hello.

so now what is the best?

Fenix ARE-C2
Xtar VC4
Nitecore D4

or other?

others are afaik

Maha
Efest
Opus
Soshine
Liitokala

Maybe i forgot one.

 

[T_zero]

thanks for all the brands, but I want to narrow my search to one charger.

if I increase the requirements it would by more hopefully.

So, I'am looking for the best charger for NiMh and Li-Ion with four bays.

Thanks.

 

[markr6]

I like the Opus BT-C3100 because of the analyzing features that also work with Li-Ion. Being able to charge/discharge/test/refresh 1-4 18650s is great. If you want to store some Li-Ions (ideally around 3.6-3.7v) you can pop them in and run them down equally instead of putting them in a flashlight and guessing.

Charge rates of 200mA, 300mA, 500mA, 700mA, 1000mA, (1500mA and 2000mA for 2 slots)...take your pick!

I like a separate charger for my Eneloops, but the Opus works fine with them as well. It's the do-it-all charger for me.

 

[kreisl]

If Xtar comes out with something comparable, I'd be a buyer. I trust them more, but no complaints yet about my Opus.

ah you were thinking of Xstar, i see

i was thinking of some other.

 

[markr6]

one charger for everything, the best 4-bay charger? i'd give my nod to the BT-C3100.

but in a few weeks there will be fierce competition

If Xtar comes out with something comparable, I'd be a buyer. I trust them more, but no complaints yet about my Opus.