Is there a charger that charges EVERYTHING?

Or such an animal does not exist?

ANY size and ANY type battery. Either setting it manually or it should detect what you charge..

Hello guiri.

No there isn't, there is some cells, lithium Ion rechargeable coin cells, these just want 0,5-1mA. I dont know any chargers that charge these type of cells and a regular 12 Volt car battery.

However, if you look at the chargers RC people use you see that these chargers charge a lot of chemistries, NiCd, Nimh, Li-*** and lead-acid batteries.

If you look at this thread you find some solutions:
Possible new multi cell Li-Ion Universal Balanced charger setup by LuxLuthor
or directly to this one:
Day to Day - DN/Tenergy4P, FMA-Cellpro/HD6S and Voltcraft Balanced Sys. Charging by Petrev

Anders

RC chargers can charge batteries of all chemistries (save for really antique ones such as nickel-iron), but what Anders says is true: some cells require low enough charging current that RC chargers can't charge them. My own Hyperion 5i AC/DC has a minimum charge current of 50mA for lithium and 100mA for nickel.
Then again, there are chargers far more expensive than mine (like, $600). I'd expect one of those to be able to charge everything on the planet, including tiny LiIons, nickel-iron bricks and silver-oxide submarine batteries, or I'd be disappointed

This one?
http://thomasdistributing.com/shop/...html?SP_id=&osCsid=vaci0bmfbg6r7q7mkuh6gfhst7

The Triton (RC charger) does pretty much everything.... NiCD, NiMH, Li-ion, Li-po (balancer sold separately) and also lead acid batteries. It has also a good number of saftyfeatures.
The Triton 2 (which is the current model) was even further improved. There are other manufacturers who make similar chargers (Duratrax comes to mind).
I've been using a Triton for a while now and so far, my experiences are very positive.

Hello kirby.

No, there is a lot of chargers (hundreds) that charge more chemistries than MH-C777PLUS, it doesn't charge lead-acid, [FONT=&quot]. LiFeP04, [/FONT] [FONT=&quot]LiCoO2 (3,0 Volts).

[/FONT]Bantam BC6 is one of the RC chargers I ment, the market is exploding of RC-chargers at the moment, some of them is cheap copies made in China so beware of that before you buy your RC charger.

Anders

Coop said:

The Triton (RC charger) does pretty much everything.... NiCD, NiMH, Li-ion, Li-po (balancer sold separately) and also lead acid batteries. It has also a good number of saftyfeatures.
The Triton 2 (which is the current model) was even further improved. There are other manufacturers who make similar chargers (Duratrax comes to mind).
I've been using a Triton for a while now and so far, my experiences are very positive.

Click to expand...

Coop, how do you connect a AA or CR123 to this thing? Any pics?

Oh yeah, how much is it?

Thanks

George

Well, when i said all batteries, I meant all cell batteries like AA, AAA, D, C, CR123 and so on and all chemistry like Ni-Cd, Ni-Mh, Li-Ion, etc..and all voltages and so on

guiri said:

Well, when i said all batteries, I meant all cell batteries like AA, AAA, D, C, CR123 and so on and all chemistry like Ni-Cd, Ni-Mh, Li-Ion, etc..and all voltages and so on

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Except for the all voltages part, it's possable. I built a charger that will charge NiCad, NiMH, Li-Ion, LiFePo4, Li-Poly, Li Nano Phosphate, Ni-Silver, Lead Acid, AGM, Gell and even Super Caps. I am limited to a full charge voltage of 100V. Charge current limit can be controled from 10mA to 40A. It's basically a computer controlled Lab supply and load that can be programed for up to 4 stages of CV, CC, Ramp Current, Ramp Voltage with voltage, current, time and/or temperature analysis to change from one stage to another or terminate the charge. It can be programmed to just about any charge or discharge profile. I have used it from a single 50mAh button cell up to a 4,000AH Lead acid bank.

What range do you really need?

Ron

Ron, when he asked me about this in PM's, I said "No" because he would also need a universal holder for all various battery types, low resistance terminals and connections that would all be coordinated with a universal charger.

Finding something that would both charge and HOLD xx number of cells, and do things like balance charging of the various voltage ranges of LiPo/Li-Ion (Lithium Cobalt, Lithium Manganese, Lithium Iron/Nano Phosphate), and trickle charge NiCad, NiMH, Ni-Ag, Pb-Acid does not exist. One cell holder solution we came up with just for a balancing Li-Ion cell holder/cradle was modding this Voltcraft that is not sold in North America or Mexico.

Obviously, if enough money was thrown into any project, you could come pretty close to accomodating most non-military, consumer type batteries....but it is really not cost effective.

guiri said:

Well, when i said all batteries, I meant all cell batteries like AA, AAA, D, C, CR123 and so on and all chemistry like Ni-Cd, Ni-Mh, Li-Ion, etc..and all voltages and so on

Click to expand...

Do you mean any individual CELL of any chemistry? That's easier.

*clears throat* Allow me. *cracks fingers*

In the RC car world, the most popular, most flexible, best "bang for the buck" charger is the Duratrax ICE (approx. $130). Click here for a video. (19MB)


It does 1 to 10 cells. NiCD, NiMH, Li-Ion, Li-Po, and I even use it for A123's. Adjustable amperage from 0.1 amps to 10.0 amps. It can also discharge and cycle. (adjustable discharge cut-off voltage )
Charge modes: Linear, Reflex, Impulse, CC/CV (Constant Current/Constant Voltage), and 4-step, and trickle
Adjustable 0-25mV peak sensitivity for NiCd and NiMHs
10 amp motor breakin (which can also be used to power other things like LED's due to it's user selectable voltage).
Stores info for up to 10 batteries in memory

My favorite part is the built in live graph while charging/discharging. It's easy to see exactly where the battery is in the charge, and much easier to determine when it's going to end, and how it peaked, the condition of it, etc..


For a slightly better version, get the Team Checkpoint TC-1030 (approx. $180). Offers built in backlighting, up to 30 amp pulsed discharge, extra charge mode, stonger 20 amp motor breakin, delayed charging, and a few others new features.


Usually the best RC chargers don't have built in power supplies and require you to purchase a 12V-13.8V 14+ amp power supply. Nice inexpensive power supply choice is the Pyramid PSV-200.

I use my Team Checkpoint to charge everything. It's an excellent investment. If you purchase from Tower Hobbies, don't forget to use the coupons listed on their main page. If you have any questions feel free to ask. My recent flashaholic addiction is child's play compared to my RC addiction.

And then there is this cheapie from Kaidomain.:mecry:

A Cadex will charge just about anything.

LEDninja said:

And then there is this cheapie from Kaidomain.:mecry:

Click to expand...

Alright, we're getting somewhere. First of all, could the Kai charger not be made for say 4 cells at one time?

James35 said:

*clears throat* Allow me. *cracks fingers*

In the RC car world, the most popular, most flexible, best "bang for the buck" charger is the Duratrax ICE (approx. $130). Click here for a video. (19MB)

Click to expand...

James, i've seen these but I never managed to find out HOW it connects to the different cells?

Ron Schroeder said:

What range do you really need?

Ron

Click to expand...

Ron, within limits brother. I don't mean car batteries and such. Just AA, AAA, CR123, 18650 and so on. Pretty much all that's been used around here for FLASHLIGHTS. Not the big SPOTLIGHTS and stuff.

Do you have pics of this charger?

RC folks take chargers seriously!
they talk about chargers like we do flashlights...

it's well worth spending time visiting RC forums for charging information.

a little pricey but well regarded by the RC folks are Schulze chargers. isl 6-330 d does all the chemistries I've ran across so far. software is updatable, so any new chemistries that comes along can be supported.

regulated power supply is a Nippon America 22amp DVP-2212
regardless of which charger you end up with. you will need a charging clamp... instructions in my sig

James35 said:

My recent flashaholic addiction is child's play compared to my RC addiction.

Click to expand...

guiri said:

Ron, within limits brother. I don't mean car batteries and such. Just AA, AAA, CR123, 18650 and so on. Pretty much all that's been used around here for FLASHLIGHTS. Not the big SPOTLIGHTS and stuff.

Do you have pics of this charger?

Click to expand...

Do You need to charge multi cell packs or just individual cells?

Pictures won't help much. It's just a cigar box sized box with connectors on the front to go to various battery holders and a power cord and control cable on the back to go to a computer running LabView.

By the way, I use a charging clamp very similar to the one in cy's signature in the previous pose for random cells. I also have various dedicated cell holders for common sizes and a few adjustable holders made from junk chargers.

LEDninja said:

And then there is this cheapie from Kaidomain.:mecry:

Click to expand...

That's an interesting charger. I just might buy a few just to use the housing for cell holders.


As a universal charger, it only has one cutoff for Lithium chemistry and one cutoff for Ni chemistry. So it's not very "universal".

The Lithium cutoff is not suitable for LiFePo4 or Saphion or A123. It may also not have a CV stage, just a Voltage cutoff.

It's Ni cutoff is probably not a very good method, but usable for ocasional use.