Enloops in Sanyo charger?

Hey guys, I'm thinking of buying the Fenix Tk41 and 8 Eneloops.
I have an older Sanyo charger. The differences I seen between the one Eneloops come with and mine are that mine has an "input" of 240v and the newer one has a "input" of 230v. Also the "output" of mine is 2.3A, the newer one is 2.3v.
Can I use my current charger for the Eneloops, or am I buying a new one?
Oh, and mine is switchable between Ni-mh, and Ni-cd.

The input is not important, but more details about the output are. What is the model number of the charger? Also, what is everything written on the charger? There must be more than just 2.3 A.

If you can charge a single cell at a time, it will work fine. If you have to put 2 cells in at a time to charge, throw it away.

G27

Here she is!

Hello Newless,

Welcome to CPF.

That's a great charger. I have a couple of them and use them often.

Tom

newless said:

Here she is!

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Nice charger. Lucky you!

In case you have mislaid the manual: if you put AA cells in just the outer two slots it will charge them in about 1 hr. If you fill all the slots it will charge in about 2 hrs. Put one cell in the battery check position and after the light stops blinking the colour will indicate the battery state: green (full), yellow (more than half full), red (less than half full).

Hi newless,

That Sanyo NC-MQH01U charger is definitely a keeper for charging eneloop. It is a fully independent four channels fast charger. This old charger is actually MUCH better than many of the current Sanyo chargers.

The two "QUICK" outside slots will charge at full 2.3A when charging 1-2 battery. If you are charging 3-4 battery, the current is cut in half at 1.15A. The two AAA slots charge at 0.75A.

Maxell rebrand that charger as model P2004. You can find the complete info and usage instructions at their website: Maxell P2004




I got the semi-clone Kodak K6000 version without the battery check feature and the built in AC flip-down plug. It has been working perfectly for my Duraloops.

Wow guys thanks for the helpful info!
Great forum, I was expecting a simple yes or no answer.
You guys really know your stuff, thanks very much.
Now off to order some Eneloops!

I'm trying to find out the ideal charging current for Eneloops, and advice on this site is all over the map. This thread seems to indicate that 2.3A is perfect for charging 2xAA. Is that right? (That seems more than twice as fast as other threads have recommended.)

I'm waiting for my decent charger to arrive: at the moment I have a Duracell Go Mobile, which charges only in pairs, at 2.25A. Is this safe for the time being? (I know it's not ideal, but will it damage the batteries?)

Btw, the charger I've ordered isn't top-of-the-line -- I needed something portable -- but seems to get good reviews: the Sony BCG34HRE4KN. Is this a decent choice? It charges one or two AA cells at 1050mA.

visigoth said:

I'm trying to find out the ideal charging current for Eneloops, and advice on this site is all over the map. This thread seems to indicate that 2.3A is perfect for charging 2xAA. Is that right? (That seems more than twice as fast as other threads have recommended.)

I'm waiting for my decent charger to arrive: at the moment I have a Duracell Go Mobile, which charges only in pairs, at 2.25A. Is this safe for the time being? (I know it's not ideal, but will it damage the batteries?)

Btw, the charger I've ordered isn't top-of-the-line -- I needed something portable -- but seems to get good reviews: the Sony BCG34HRE4KN. Is this a decent choice? It charges one or two AA cells at 1050mA.

Click to expand...

There is no single ideal charging current as it depends somewhat on the design of the charger. A good rule of thumb is to pick a charger that takes about 2 hours, but such chargers are not very common so many variations around that are possible.

The way to tell if the batteries are being damaged is to see if they get too hot at the end of charging. If they get so hot they are uncomfortable to hold, then it is probably best not to use that charger. Toasty hot or cup of coffee hot is sort of OK, but not hotter.

Thanks! Good to know. Experimenting a few times isn't going to destroy a battery, I take it.

Ideal Charging Current

visigoth said:

I'm trying to find out the ideal charging current for Eneloops, and advice on this site is all over the map. This thread seems to indicate that 2.3A is perfect for charging 2xAA. Is that right? (That seems more than twice as fast as other threads have recommended.)...

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1. Independent Channels - i.e. can charge 1, or 2, or 3, or 4 cells; not 2 or 4.
   .
2. 0.5C Charge Rate - where 'C' = C)apacity:
   1. 2000mAh AA - charge @ 1000mA
   2. 800mAh AAA - charge @ 400mA

If you're finding advice that is 'all over the map', you haven't read enough threads. There are CERTAINLY plenty of opinions, but, what I've listed is the most common / manufacturer's recommendation.

Look at the STICKY at the top of the page and read some of the excellent FAQs within.

Re: Ideal Charging Current

Unfortunately, even the threads you refer me to don't agree upon that advice: they're much less specific. Here, for instance (linked to from "Best Answers"), you find this from Silverfox: "The battery manufacturers recommend two charging rates. 0.1C for 16 hours, or charging in the range of 0.5 - 1.0C with proper charge termination."

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...op-Self-Discharge-study&p=2293058#post2293058

Your advice identifies the low end of that second range, but I've found lots of people here recommending the higher end as preferable.

This Duracell Go Mobile charger I'm stuck with for a week is obviously not ideal, as I say, in that it charges in pairs, but I can't even figure out what the charge rate is. On the back it says: "Output AA - 2x (2.8v -- 2.25A)". Does that mean the charge rate is 2.25A (which would be over the maximum 1C for Eneloops), or half of that: 1.125A per cell? And if it it *is* slightly over 1C (1.125C), how damaging is that?

I truly appreciate the effort to curate Best Answers, but it still falls far short of an FAQ: a rank newbie (me) still has a lot of interpreting to do.

It Still Falls Far Short of An (sic) FAQ...

visigoth said:

...This Duracell Go Mobile charger I'm stuck with for a week is obviously not ideal, as I say, in that it charges in pairs, but I can't even figure out what the charge rate is. On the back it says: "Output AA - 2x (2.8v -- 2.25A)". Does that mean the charge rate is 2.25A (which would be over the maximum 1C for Eneloops), or half of that: 1.125A per cell? And if it it *is* slightly over 1C (1.125C), how damaging is that?

I truly appreciate the effort to curate Best Answers, but it still falls far short of an FAQ: a rank newbie (me) still has a lot of interpreting to do.

Click to expand...

If you're a rank newbie, you need to read the Definition: and Theory: LINKs to get at least a basic knowledge of the topic at hand.

visigoth said:

...Unfortunately, even the threads you refer me to don't agree upon that advice: they're much less specific. Here, for instance (linked to from "Best Answers"), you find this from Silverfox: "The battery manufacturers recommend two charging rates. 0.1C for 16 hours, or charging in the range of 0.5 - 1.0C with proper charge termination."

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...op-Self-Discharge-study&p=2293058#post2293058

Your advice identifies the low end of that second range, but I've found lots of people here recommending the higher end as preferable.

Click to expand...

Everyone's entitled to their own opinion - you know the old saying about opinions, don't you? oo: :huh:

Since your Duracell Go Mobile Charger charges in pairs, the cells are in SERIES - thus, the Voltage is doubled (2.8VDC vs 1.4VDC) but the Current is constant (2.25A, or 1.125C). If the 2 cells you insert aren't EQUALLY discharged, the one with more charge remaining will be OVERCHARGED until the one with less charge remaining is fully charged.

There's a LOT of good Newbie information in that post - if you read *EVERY* LINK, you'll certainly be in a much better position, knowledge-wise, than you are now.

Grab your favorite beverage and dive in!

Re: Ideal Charging Current

visigoth said:

This Duracell Go Mobile charger I'm stuck with for a week is obviously not ideal, as I say, in that it charges in pairs, but I can't even figure out what the charge rate is. On the back it says: "Output AA - 2x (2.8v -- 2.25A)". Does that mean the charge rate is 2.25A (which would be over the maximum 1C for Eneloops), or half of that: 1.125A per cell? And if it it *is* slightly over 1C (1.125C), how damaging is that?

Click to expand...

There's no single right answer for what the best charging current is, so this is why you see so much conflicting advice.

I happen to think that 1000 mA or 1 A is "best" for AA cells like eneloops, but it doesn't mean 1 A is "right". Depending on the charger, 500 mA or 750 mA or 1500 mA could be fine too. It all depends, and possibly it only matters how impatient you are...

It appears that the Duracell Go Mobile is catering to the impatient crowd, by trying to charge in 1 hour. This is marketing at work, overriding the wisdom of engineers perhaps? I personally think a 2.25 A charge rate is pushing it too far and I would not like to use that charger. On the other hand, occasional use of that charger with eneloops probably won't harm them very much. Eneloops are quite robust and tolerant of abuse. Silverfox once tried to kill some eneloops by charging them repeatedly on a 15 minute charger (that's called battery torture), and the enleloops survived it surprisingly well.

What you must do with that charger is charge and use the batteries in matched pairs. Don't mix two batteries in the same channel if they have not been equally discharged.

Based on the Eneloop FAQ, the highest recommended charge rate for long cell life is 0.5C/h (about 1000mA for the AAs and 400mA for the AAAs).