Yet even another Eneloop charger thread

[KC2IXE]

Hey Gang,
OK, got my 1st set in, and have the CC17 charger, but have come to the realization that with the way I use the batteries, a 4 bay charger isn't going to cut it, as when I go out on a shoot, I'll be draining at LEAST 16 in a day (Luckily I don't go out that often)

So, now we are talking 8 bay units, for AA/AAA cells

The main charger thread seems to cover all 4 cell units

How are the various Maha 8xx (aka 800/801/808) series chargers, and is there anything to recommend one model over the others for JUST doing AA/AAA LSD batteries?

Charlie

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Hey Gang,
OK, got my 1st set in, and have the CC17 charger, but have come to the realization that with the way I use the batteries, a 4 bay charger isn't going to cut it, as when I go out on a shoot, I'll be draining at LEAST 16 in a day (Luckily I don't go out that often)

So, now we are talking 8 bay units, for AA/AAA cells

The main charger thread seems to cover all 4 cell units

How are the various Maha 8xx (aka 800/801/808) series chargers, and is there anything to recommend one model over the others for JUST doing AA/AAA LSD batteries?

Charlie

Nothing wrong with the 808 charger and if I had the funds to blow, I'd probably have one.

For the price of an 808M, however, you could buy a couple more CC17s, or a Maha C-9000 and 4-5 extra quads of Duracell Ion Core (Eneloop Pros?) 2400s.

Then there's this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/16-Slot-16-...bay-Refresh-/331477581876?hash=item4d2d9a8034

rdana has pretty good prices on Maha/LaCrosse/Opus chargers.

Chris

 

[HKJ]

Hey Gang,
OK, got my 1st set in, and have the CC17 charger, but have come to the realization that with the way I use the batteries, a 4 bay charger isn't going to cut it, as when I go out on a shoot, I'll be draining at LEAST 16 in a day (Luckily I don't go out that often)

As long as you uses eneloop you do not need to charge them before you go out, but can just charge them after and then store them.

I have tested many chargers, but I have not really looked at 8 or 16 bay units. My reviews are not in any single thread, you will have to used advanced search and search for titles with "charger" and threads started by me.
Or you can look at my website, but then you will miss the comments.

 

[Phlogiston]

You could also look into the BQ-CC16 charger, which charges at twice the speed of the BQ-CC17 (and you'd get some more Eneloops into the bargain).

For anyone who wants to compare in detail, HKJ has reviewed both the BQ-CC16 and the BQ-CC17.

The Maha C808M (SilverFox review) will be the fastest, but most expensive option, with the BQ-CC16 coming in the middle and the BQ-CC17 being the slowest.

 

[KC2IXE]

As long as you uses eneloop you do not need to charge them before you go out, but can just charge them after and then store them.

...snip...

Yeah, but having to swap batteries in and out of the charger 4+ times (for just 16 cells) is a bit of a dog. Wasn't thinking of the 808m, more the 800s - cheap enough

 

[bykfixer]

Why not just have a buncha extra batteries?
You do carry a buncha extra memory cards, right?

Say 16 extra eneloops wouldn't weigh very much.
I can see if you're photo op is after a 3 day vertical hike, that the extra weight would matter.

But if you're using all those batteries for slaves, well just carry extras and charge 'em between shoots.

 

[KC2IXE]

The problem isn't really on shoots, the problem is say I use 16 batteries at a shoot. Charge 4 batteries at a time, changing 2x/day, it's a couple of days with the CC17. YES, I could get a bunch of 4 cell chargers (heck, I'm running 2 chargers just for camera batteries, and usually have 4 to do - 2 for each camera)
I'm NOT worried about weight. It's just the PITA factor. I hate having to remember to charge, so a 8 bay will save mental effort
The one real question was "should I use the Pro batteries for the 25% extra life", but decided at this time, no. THAT is an interesting question, because when batteries go dead during the event, changing can mean missing shots, and sometimes if one of the remote units is mounted where you can't get to it during the event, it can be 'fun' (getting a 7Ah SLA pack for that...)

 

[ChrisGarrett]

The problem isn't really on shoots, the problem is say I use 16 batteries at a shoot. Charge 4 batteries at a time, changing 2x/day, it's a couple of days with the CC17. YES, I could get a bunch of 4 cell chargers (heck, I'm running 2 chargers just for camera batteries, and usually have 4 to do - 2 for each camera)
I'm NOT worried about weight. It's just the PITA factor. I hate having to remember to charge, so a 8 bay will save mental effort
The one real question was "should I use the Pro batteries for the 25% extra life", but decided at this time, no. THAT is an interesting question, because when batteries go dead during the event, changing can mean missing shots, and sometimes if one of the remote units is mounted where you can't get to it during the event, it can be 'fun' (getting a 7Ah SLA pack for that...)

You're a pro, so your gear should be of the best quality that you can afford, right?

The Maha 800S will charge AAs at 1A and 500mA, so Eneloops will take two hours if depleted and Eneloop Pros/Duracell Ion Core a little longer. It's ~$39 shipped on Ebay.

The Maha 801D will charge AAs up at 2A and 1A, so you have a fast charge option there. It's ~$68 shipped.

The Maha 808M is closer to $94 and has similar rates as the 801D, but offers C and D support, as well as conditioning.

As far as the Eneloop Gen. 4s vs. Pros, you're getting a bit more capacity (25%,) but only 25% of the cycles 2100 vs. 500, so weigh those before you buy.

Personally, you can get two 800S chargers for less than one 808M, so that might be the way to go?

Chris

 

[KC2IXE]

Semi-pro, but yes, pretty much the best I can get
I tend to be conservative on things like charge rate (my lead acid charging for other stuff).
Really it comes down to, not knowing which IS the best. the 808 worries me a tad, because besides the charge rate issue, I know that my family will occasionally want to charge batteries, and I work about them forgetting to put it in soft mode

IF the 808 defaulted to soft mode, would be a no brain buy
As it is, leaning towards the 800, and usually running THAT in soft mode. I'm used to SLA batteries, where C/10 is fast IMHO

Basically, the question of the thread is - Assume you were going to be charging batches of 8 or more AA/AAA LSD NiMh batteries, which charger, the 800, 801 or 808? Not IF to buy one, but WHICH to buy and why. The $60 from one to the other makes very little difference in the long run

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Maha will tell you that they like a minimum charge rate of .3C, which is 600mA for standard Eneloop. The reason for this is charging at too low a rate can keep the battery temperature from rising and lead to missed terminations, which has me scratching my head, since the low rate for the 800S is 500mA for AAs, or .25C.

Most of us here, charge our Eneloops up at 1A, which is .5C and this is safe for the batteries.

Try out the 800S and use the 1A rate, for starters, would be my advice.

Chris

 

[KC2IXE]

...snip...Try out the 800S and use the 1A rate, for starters, would be my advice.

Chris

OK - that's the way I'm leaning. If the 801 or 808 defaulted to low, and could be set to high, it would be a totally different answer BTW

 

[Kouryu]

You're a heavy user... the BQ-CC17 is the wrong charger for you. It is foolish to use it in this type of usage situation.
You need a quick charger... affordable 4 cell ones would be the BQ-CC21, BQ-CC16, or the old Sanyo NC-MQR06 (NC-TGR01), or NC-MQH03 or NC-MQH02
Sanyo did make a 8+4 bay charger, but it's slow (same speed as the BQ-CC17 basically) and was only sold in Europe, Japan, and Asia.... it's expensive and rare, and not to be bothered with unless you have real Eneloop C or D cells

Really, a single official Eneloop quick charger will do you just fine. They charge fast enough so that you can just switch to the next batch of cells to charge.
I'd go with Chris's Maha recommendations otherwise if you just want to slap in all the drained cells to recharge and "forget it".

 

[KeepingItLight]

I don't really know about 8-bay chargers, which is the question you asked, but as your Eneloops age, I do know you will need a charger/analyzer such as the Maha MH-C9000 or the Opus BT-C700.

You need an analyzer so that you can occasionally test the capacities of your batteries. You do that by running a discharge test (on a fully charged battery). Regular chargers do not have that capability. You also can use an analyzer to cycle a battery, i.e., discharge and charge it several times. The Maha MH-C9000 has an additional mode that is used to break in new batteries by cycling them at a very low charge rate.

The reason you want to test your batteries from time to time is so that you can match them based on capacity. As batteries age, their capacities will decline, and even those that were bought in the same package can begin to drift apart from each other as far as capacity goes. When groups of batteries are used together, it is important to match them for charge state and capacity.

 

[BVH]

I've used the 808 for going on 4 or 5 years now on my 160+ Eneloops. No causalities and I charge them on the default 2 Amp setting.

 

[MidnightDistortions]

You can go for the cheapest model, it looks like they are all good. The 808 charger has C and D cell support. I think the 801D version has 1 hour charging in which i would prefer to get the 800 model in that case for cell longevity.. but since i just got some D cells, my first pick is the 808 charger.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Charlie,

I have 2 of the 808's. When I need a number of Eneloop cells I throw them in an 808 and go with the default charge rate. My Eneloop cells are some of the original cells brought over from Japan. No problems so far...

I don't use the 808 for AAA cells, but all the other sizes seem to do quite well at the default charge rate.

Tom

 

[KC2IXE]

Haven't picked up the 8 cell charger - YET (will probably wait a couple of weeks). Going through the 32AA and 12AAA cells and charging them 4 at a time with the nice but slow CC17. Got a couple of ammo boxes to store the batteries. Other than the strobes AND A Wii-mote, no use on them yet. Just put the cells in my grab and go strobe (aka the one that sits in he bag ready to go)

 

[KC2IXE]

And I'm actually wondering - OK, I have the CC17 (yes it is slow). Do I get one of the 4 cell analyzers, and I can still charge 8/time, just over two chargers - a PITA, but...

 

[KeepingItLight]

And I'm actually wondering - OK, I have the CC17 (yes it is slow). Do I get one of the 4 cell analyzers, and I can still charge 8/time, just over two chargers - a PITA, but...

That works for me.

I would probably test the voltage the first few times the batteries came off the chargers just to make sure they are both terminating at similar levels. Hopefully, a real expert like SilverFox will correct me if this is wrong.

One other caveat: after the Maha MH-C9000 shows "Done," you still have to leave your batteries on the charger for an additional 2-hour top-off. Otherwise, you won't get fully charged batteries. Total charging time is about 4 hours.

If you record the start time, and then note how long charging took (as reported by the C9000), you can determine when the "Done" message first appeared. From that, you can add 2 hours, and figure out the earliest time at which charging will be finished.

With the C9000, the top-off uses a tiny current. You don't have to be overly precise about charging times. You can let it run for as much as 12-24 hours after it reports "Done" without damaging your batteries.

 

[recDNA]

Is there a voltage at which the NiMH battery is too drained to recharge as with li ion batteries? What is the best voltage at which to recharge?