Looking for quality charger for my AA/AAA Ni-Mh's

Batteries and Chargers Chargers
21

Used my AccuPower IQ-328 for the first time today to "Test" 3 batteries, 2 Sanyo 2700mAh and 1 Energizer 2300 (green top made in Japan).

Quick overview:

1) Independent charging channels, but selections for charge rate or mode (Test, refresh, charge, discharge) take affect on all channels.

2) Selectable charging rates: 200, 500, 700, 1000, & 1800mA. 1800mA only available while charging 2 cells in channels 1&4. After inserting battery(ies) you have 4 seconds to select the charge rate (defaults to 200mA, after 4 seconds it locks the charge rate and you can't change it without removing the battery and re-inserting).

3) A/C adapter is rated 3V 4A.

4) According to the specs, the charger automatically switches over to a "trickle charge" and has overheating protection.

5) The "Display" button toggles through status displays of voltage, time (which resets to 0 with change from charge to discharge & vice versa), current (mA), and charged capacity (mAh or Ah - mine only showed Ah with 2 decimal places during my AA test). The current display seems to be the real "true" current and not just the "500" or "1000" etc. . . (ie. you'll see 998mA or 1001mA)

6) "Test" mode always discharges at half of the charge current with a max of 500mA discharge rate for a 1000mA charge rate.

7) "Test" mode first fully charges, then discharges, then displays the mAh capacity while recharging.

8) The 3 cells I tested never got hot nor did the charger (just slightly warm).

Results for my 3 cells tested:

Cell Tested Capacity Ending Voltage
1. Sanyo 2700mAh - 2,440 mAh down to ___v (didn't see ending voltage)
2. Sanyo 2700mAh - 2,510 mAh down to +/- 0.95v voltage (this was the last voltage seen just moments before it kicked into charge mode)
3. Energizer 2300mAh - 2,270 mAh down to +/- 0.91v (this was the last voltage seen just moments before it kicked into charge mode)

I believe the charger charged all the cells up to about 1.45v (by charger display between the charge & then discharge modes) - they are still recharging now, so I am not at the end of the cycle to verify fully charger voltage. (Will try and update on this.)

Some photos:

Channels 1&2 charging while channel 4 is discharging:

Elapsed Time during discharging:

Showing Voltage Status:

Resulting Tested Capacities:

Recharging charge currents:

These cells have been through just a few discharge/charge cycles on "dumb" timer-based chargers. The two Sanyo's look ugly on the bottom because they had briefly been used in a homemade battery pack.

Hope this information is useful. I like this charger, but it is only my first "smart" charger. Someone (or many) once said that adding the ability to test batteries only adds to the joy of collecting flashlights and I have to agree with them. I'm not sure why I didn't get one of these sooner! I'm really curious to now test my cheap Harbor Freight 2000mAh cells! I will report back on those as I know others have them too.

-Garry

22

Will add this thread to favs, really interesting and usefull :p

Hey, Garry, thanks for that detailed review. My friend and I actually were searching for a new, individual charger. That's what I found:

1) MAHA C9000 - yeah, the "best" one, but the most expensive.

2) LaCrosse BC-700, aka Technoline, etc. About 20 Euros cheaper than MAHA (can get it for about 28 Euros, ~$35-36 with shipping). Does anybody knows if all clones of LaCrosse (this model in particular) are the same? I mean charging rates, functions, etc.

3) New version of Intellicharger v4 (Sysmax/Nitecore). About $25, if I remember well. Particularities: no display, much simpler Maha/LaCrosse.

4) GP chargers, i.e. H500. Less that $30, individual, lets say, displays, 2 h. charging time.

5) SANYO NC-MQR06. for less that $20!! :O No display though (and no charging, discharging modes, etc.)

Which one of these would have the best "price-quality" tag? I was thinking on LaCrosse clone: charging, discharging, refreshing, testing, display, just what I wanted. And AFAIK, latest versions has overheating problem solved (i.e. melted buttons).

The new charger for me is that Accupower IQ328, reviewed here by Garry. I can't see those 4 extra/individual buttons for every channel (see BC-700 model). And, after read the specs, it slightly differs (again, from BC-700). And eBay tests prove that. Will need to investigate more. Any comments are welcome. Thanks.

23

Intellicharger costs around 23 with best offer option on Ebay, I dont have it, but it seems like a decent universal charger with great price, not the fastest one, but hopefully very reliable.

BTW, thanks for your impression Garry ;)!

24

Tested a few more cells today. Can't post the pics from my phone right now (will do later). Found that the trickle charge that it goes into when it reaches "Full" is between 50 to 65mA. I think that's a bit high for leaving them on the charger (i.e. overnight). When I put fully charged batteries back in it won't even start charging, just says "Full".

-Garry

25

Interesting, Garry, thanks for the info. Can you, please, check final V when the batt is full? 1,45?

26

I didn't check the cells today, but yesterday's charged up to about 1.50v by the charger's display, but measured 1.45v with a meter.

-Garry

27

Do you measured it just after taking batts out of the charger? 'Coz 0,05V is quite big diff, IMO :|

28

Yes, I did check it immediately after pulling out of charger. The cell had been sitting in "trickle charge" mode for quite awhile. I probably should do a better check between the chargers voltage display and a meter.

-Garry

29

Few followup photos from my second set of tested cells:

Capacities of the cells. The far left one has some "white stuff" at the positive terminal under the wrapper, so perhaps it had leaked some and lost some capacity. I read in the Harbor Freight reviews that someone tested the cells to be around 1600mAh. The far right cell is a cheap Rayovac LSD cell which I later learned to be rated at 1400mAh.

This photo shows the "trickle charge" current after the charger reaches "Full" status.

It takes about 8 hours to test cells at the 500mA discharge (1000mA charge) setting with cells that are between 50% to 75% charged to begin with.

-Garry

30

I bought this one for $11 back when it was on sale on shnoop

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004B9ZK4M/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_d2_g23_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=03A2VEJKY33D14YKH8CD&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938811&pf_rd_i=507846

only downside is that it's australian so you need to plug in an adaptor to it

31

@garry, that's an interesting charger. Thx for sharing your results!

32

I really like this charger. I used it just the other night again - charging 3 cells. Note that when the cells were fully charged the voltage level was displaying about 1.50v but then during the "trickle" charging the level had dropped down to about 1.45v. I think I remember seeing the trickle charging at about 30 to 35mA, so I don't know if it gradually decreases or why it was different than my first results. It also displayed the mAh that was put back into the batteries (I wasn't doing a "test", just charging) and it displayed about 2600mAh for each of three 2300mAh Energizer's (these are the other 3 that match the 1 in post #20). I'm assuming this 2600mAh is not right and if I were to "test" these cells I'd probably see 2300mAh. (FWIW - these 3 cells have seen a lot more use than the 1 tested in post 20 [that one was hardly ever used] and therefore I guess could be more "broken in".)

Charger still only gets warm and sometimes has a faint noise coming from it, but nothing I'm concerned about.

-Garry

33

Good to know. Thanks, Garry ;)

34

Slight update on my AccuPower IQ-328. I left some batteries on charge overnight (+/- 8 hours) and the next morning the unit was displaying about 13mA charge rate (trickle charge). So the "trickle charge" level seems to drop downward and I'd guess 13mA is the lowest trickle charge rate it drops to.

-Garry

35

AFAIK, trickle charging current is around 5% of the selected charging current.

36

Any more updates on the AccuPower IQ-328? How’s it doing now?

37

BUMP

Ok, folks, I need another charger with capacity test function and it should be 30$ shipped worlwide or less, so far Ive found the cheapest ones to be these from Fasttech:
SPX-936C
https://www.fasttech.com/product/1136302
Not too much much info about this or its “upgraded” model SPX-936D which has data output port and software available for it:
https://www.fasttech.com/product/1136303

That one/two review/reviews that I was able to find sided with Angeleyes charger as considerably superior in quality over SPX-936 chargers:
https://www.fasttech.com/product/1136306
Available in either white or transparent blue.

So, is there anything else, better for that price?
I wish Fasttech would lower price for these for buck or two :D!

38

garrybunk, My apologies for too many questions, because I’m also interested in this charger that might replace my Maha C9000. I wanted to know if you think this charger is charging and terminating charge properly.

My Maha C9000 (when it was still working properly and the function display was not messing up yet) was charging and terminating charge on good and crappy cells. Now its time for it to retire, replaced, but I’m not willing to spend more on a charger if another one - four independent charging bays, charge and discharge function, charging current selection, terminates charging properly, with illuminated display - can be had for lesser price than Maha C9000.

What’s your conclusion about its charge termination? Do you think its doing it properly and according to its charge termination program?

When those 2300 mAh cells were charged up to 2600 mAh, did they feel hot to the touch? Do you think the charger failed to terminate charging in that case? Have you tried discharging and charging those cells again, what was the result?

Does it have any quirks like not properly charging or terminating charge on certain cell conditions?

39

To pricey, IMHO. For that price you can buy BC-700 or IQ-328 alike chargers from Amazon (I’d recommend to check various EU Amazons, i.e. Spanish, German, etc)

40

No go, their shipping charges are exorbitant, brits and germans ask 10ukp/eur and up for shipping random goods, this is out of question :wink: