I received 4 new Eneloop AAs today, put them in my "Ansmann" charger, LEDs went wild, little "plop" sound and the typical "something just ceased to exist"-smell. Well, that charger was about 8 years old, so I guess its OK.
Now.. a decent AA charger costs about 15-20 bucks here, so I thought I might aswell get a hobby charger so I can retire my 7 buck 18650 charger from dx.
Does this make any sense? Currently, I only charge 18650s and AAs. I might want to do capacity tests.
How does charging multiple cells work? Serial or parallel? Doesnt everyone always say you shouldnt mix cells when voltage isnt matching?
A hobby charger is not the perfect solution for eneloop (or any NiMH), you can only charger one at a time (To charger more they need to be at the same discharger state).
So.. how do I charge my NiMHs then? The original Sanyo-chargers only charge 2 or 4 cells, do those have to match in capacity?
If I wanted to get a hobby charger anyway (as I have only 4 AA rechargables, I could change one after another) what to buy? Imax seems to be fine after replacing some resistor, but what else do I need? Power supply, charger bay..?
When can we expect your test? :) Looking forward to it, just as usual.
If you want to analyze your NiMH batteries, get one of these (Maha C9000):
To just charge (many) NiMH batteries, one (or two) of these are perfect (Maha MH-C801D):
Some of the really good hobby chargers are iCharger, but they are much more expensive.
Most hobby chargers need a power supply (A few have it build in), a old PC supply or a laptop supply can usual be used.
The actual test will take around two weeks (I need to do many charges). Depending on shipping it will be a few days to a month before I receive the charger. I.e. it will be at least 3 weeks, but might be more.