Vanson V6988 max mAH capacity

I just bought a Vanson v6988 10-station charger. It doesn't have much documentation and the small instruction sheet list of charge times maxes out at 1800 mAH. That's not good since I just bought a big pile of 2500 mAH cells, and I'd hope to fully charge them. 10 hours for 1800 mAH means 14 hours for 2500 mAH, and the amondotech.com blurb for this charger says it has a 12 hour timer to prevent overcharging.

I'm not that crazy about the V6988 concept anyway, a 10 hour charger (for 1800 mAH) that holds 10 cells. I like charging 10 cells with no fuss of swapping cells around (my plan is to use it alongside a Mag85), but a 4 hour version would be a lot nicer and probably wouldn't have to cost much more. 14 hours for 2500 mAH is not useable even as an overnight charger (one where you start charging at bedtime and have charged cells in the morning). You really have to start charging the previous day.

I may try to RMA this charger, or unload it on BST (with full disclosure).

Hello Paul,

Let me put a different spin on this...

A cell that is labeled at 2500 mAh may only really be 2200 mAh. When you load the cell up, it's capacity may drop to about 2000 mAh. If you happen not to run the cells all the way down, there will be some capacity left in them as well.

Your charger seems to be capable of 180 mA, so in about 11 hours it should charge the cells back up.

Still not an overnight charger, but perhaps overnight + breakfast... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Tom

The problem here isn't as much the 14 hours, as that the 12 hour timeout seems to prevent some currently-available high capacity cells from fully charging, and this problem will get worse as cell capacity keeps increasing. If I get some CBP 1650's for my Mag85, the Vanson might be good for charging those.

Paulr,

I've been ranting about this type of issue alot lately (too much-sorry everyone) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif
Many manufacturers don't even make the timer specs readily available which I found very frustrating when shopping for my charger. I understand the dilema with cell capacities constantly, quickly rising, but there's alot of consumers out there using chargers that aren't 'filling' their cells and they have no way of knowing otherwise.

It's like an oven that only heats to 200*F
That's fine that it does, just make the information readily avialable to the consumer.

IE, Energizer's only C and D cell charger only charges at the higher rate until approx 2150mA, not even close to the measley 2500mA their C and D cells are rated at. You'll need an additional 7-1/2 hours of trickle charge to top them off. Of course, charging time is listed as "5 hours" for NiMH, and the Trickle Charge is to "keep batteries topped off". Well, at least they list the specs so we can do the math, which is more than some.

Ok - I'll get off my irritating soap box now, but I think there should be a standard listed with chargers these days that lists the 'maximum optimal cell capacity' or something to that effect.

Of course, the argument is that people who really care enough will do things like find this website before they buy a charger, right /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
-jeff

The Vanson trickle charges at 25 mA, which is C/100 for 2500 mAH cells! Usually C/20 is the recommended trickle charge rate. So for AA's, one gets the impression that the Vanson was designed for the old 500 mAH nicads. Or else the 25 mA trickle charge rate was designed for AAA's. Charging 2500 mAH cells sounds like it may take around 30 hours (12 hours of fast charge followed by maybe 18 hours of trickle).

What I do to fully charge 2500mah cells with my Vanson v6988 10-station charger, is after the 12 hour timer kicks it off, just restart it and it will only take a short time before they are fully charged. I leave the cells trickle charging until I need them. The 180ma charging rate is about the same as the LaCrosse BC900 200ma default setting.

Thanks, yes, I guess I could do that, but it defeats the purpose of the Vanson, which is to drop in a pile of cells and charge them with no further intervention. If I wanted to remove cells and put them back again, I could do 8 cells in half an hour with the Energizer 15 minute charger that cost half what the Vanson cost, instead of 10 cells in 14 hours. So, I'm regretting buying the Vanson, unless I get CBP's which I'm not yet sure are worthwhile.

I keep my Vanson and my Lacrosse BC900 plugged into a surge protector outlet strip. To set or reset, I just hit the rocker switch off then on. No removeing the batteries. The Vanson is definately not a quick charger, but for over night, I like it. 10 cells ready to go anytime.

I was thinking about this yesterday after reading and thinking about this thread:
A decent solution could be to use some kind of wall outlet timer or somthing and have it turn off and then right back on in a few minutes based on the approximate time it would need to be reset. Sure would beat having to think about going back to it for a manual reset.
-jeff

The manual reset is only needed if you are in a hurry. After 12 hours, the charger goes into trickle charge mode. I like the LaCrosse BC-900 better though.

Timers just add to the cost and complexity, which the 10 cell charger was supposed to simplify. Most timers cycle after 24 hours anyway, so if I leave the cells in the charger they'd get hit with a new fast charge cycle every day. But anyway, just yanking the AC adapter plug and putting it back is probably a reasonable approach, easier than removing all 10 cells and putting them back.

Hello Paul,

I picked up an Intermatic TN811 timer at the local hardware store. It was under $10 and allows you to set the "on" time in about 15 minute segments.

I have been using it to offset the self discharge rate of cells that are charged, but won't be used until for a few days.

I plugged an extension cord into it and am trying various chargers to see which one keeps the cells topped off the best with a 15 minute boost every day.

It is a bit of work to get it set up the first time, but once it is up and going, you can just forget about it. The nice thing is that you can choose the time for the boost. I set mine for about 4p so the cells are ready for night time use.

If you use a charger with a minimum charge rate, you could set the timer for say 4 boost segments a day. I believe there is little chance of damaging the cells by overcharging using a system like this as long as you match the charger for your application.

Tom

That's just too complicated. It really does look like CBP1650's are the cells of choice for the Mag85. So I think I'll just buy some and charge them in the Vanson.