The 8 bay Maha is still my favorite dedicated nimh charger (there’s different versions)
The 800S is fine if you don’t need fast charge
What he said.
808M.
Chris
The Miboxer C8 (8-bay charger for Li-Ion/NiMh) might be a bit over the budget, but is versatile. It’s one of my favored go-to charger.
Uses DC-input 12v/3A power adapter which is included.
HKJ’s technical review of the Miboxer C8 here:
https://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%20Charger%20Miboxer%20C8%20Smart%20charger%20UK.html
Hi there, we recently made a new version of VC8 charger, named VC8 PLUS, added a DC jack on it, with input power 12V 3A. Based on all the features of VC8, this new version can reach 8 x 1A charging current. The charging speed is more faster. It can charge 10400-26650 li-ion batteries, also Ni- MH/Ni-CD batteries: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003303035530.html
I got 2x 801d maha chargers. are they reliable long term?
why might my vapextech (OP) take forever to charge my ikea ladda 2450 batteries? sometimes, they overheat so badly, I can smell them cooking. im worried they may pop
I will never buy from aliexpress again. ive been screwed WAY WAY too many times with items being said they were shipped and they were never shipped or arrived or signed for. there is no buyer protection from AE. they always take the sellers side. im sick and tired of getting screwed so no more. waste of money. and I lost money with no product in hand. tons of seller scammers on aliexpress
in fact ive already stopped 4 family members from buying from Aliexpress. only ebay or amazon. they are the ONLY ones who will return money if the item doesnt come back. with AE, I have no one to talk to. with amazon and ebay, I get my money back. and no paypal with aliexpress so no way im buying anymore. I got screwed over way too many times.
thanks but I very much hate those pull back spring chargers. pain in the arse to use. I much prefer a charger I can slip in with an easy fit.
I bought 2x maha 801d and plan to get 2 more once I test them. im tired of buying no name junk. only reputable products. maha powerex have been around for a long time.
if theyre good, ill recommend them to other pro photographers I work with and know.
Be very clear. The VC8 plus can sustain 8 x 1A for Li-Ions, the whole charge duration? This is uncommon.
Assuming that your chargers are not malfunctioning, if your cells are getting uncomfortably and and/or not reaching termination, it’s highly likely that they have built up high internal resistance after extended cycles or improper use/care. This is really common with NiMH - lifespan depends a bit on quality and what you do with them.
Aliexpress has a lot of buyer protection and generally it works great and they take care of the customer…they’re a bit like ebay in that they allow the seller to respond and try to work an amicable deal but it’s not uncommon at all for them to give a full refund to the customer in a number of scenarios. You can always just message the sellers directly to do the same without contacting Ali direct, if you want. That said, there are lots of very small sellers on there, and sure there are lots who are not the most honest or honorable, but there are also tons of great stores and sellers. If you stick with some of the many “known great” stores you’ll probably have a great shopping experience like most of us do, other than the long shipping times.
Those spring contacts not only accommodate varying length cells but they also apply good strong mostly-consistent spring pressure for solid electrical contact, too. Press-fit type contacts fall short there sometimes for one reason or another.
I don’t have that one from Maha but have a couple others. They’re great quality and well designed, and if you have a problem they will usually take care of you even if your warranty period has expired.
Xtar also makes some great models and you can buy their products on amazon or ebay and at a number of different smaller companies/websites.
friend, you jumped the gun, assuming this or that. get more information before you come to a conclusion. I bought 12 new 4 packs of ikea ladda 2450 cells since june. at different stores too and at different times. its the chargers for sure. they are garbage those vapextech. on some chargers they get so hot you cant touch them. on others it doesnt pass 1 bar and flashes. it takes hours and hours to charge when it should take 2-5 hours at most.
im not buying from them. they can goto hell aliexpress. never once had I been refunded for many items that never arrived. dont tell me about how great it is. its garbage and you get no protection. they always take the sellers side. I buy from ebay or amazon. I dont have to stress. the item doesnt come I opened a dispute get my money I dont need to do back and forth endless conversations. easy peasey. tons of money lost with aliexpress. A LOT. they can goto hell. yes, very angry and a bad experience. also get bombarded way way too many sms that “my item is on its way” “it in the country” “it will be released soon:” “on its way” too much nagging. get it to my house and stop harassing me with sms. only ae orders are like this. annoying .
I like how you try to coinvince me what I want. if you like those pull back spring chargers, then buy then. but telling me or trying to convince me what I know from experience what I want is not relevant. I have the opus 3100. I absolutely hate using it so me having to charge so many cells each time and using 2 hands to install each cell is not going to happen. I want comfort not flexibility and the maha fit the bill. ill deal with the failures of non pull back chargers. I say I dont want x y z and here your comment is suggesting everything I dont want, why?
Xtar-I dont know them so wont buy. I got screwed once with the vapextech so will stick with maha and powerex I know
im sure theyll deliver.
have a look at HKJ charger reviews.
then you know what to buy and what to avoid.
ok, resurrecting this post. I have 2 powerex MH-C801D Chargers ive had since around summer time 2021 when the brand was recommended by garageboy. nothing against you. I think powerex has a good rep but ive not had a good experience.
not happy with them.
they use this terrible connector that has a specific connection with many tiny pins inside. I just bent one pin in it. it wants to come out quite easily. not knowing it was bent, I connected it. it seemed to make a bad scent (I guess a short) and screen didnt turn on. took it out. with magnifying glass, realized a bent pin in the plug. used small tools to bend back. used some dielectic grease to connect. connected. out of 8 cells, its flashing on 3 and doesnt seem to cooperate. it doesnt seem to be charging.
flawed design issues. the lcd is barely legible. you can hardly tell if youre in slow mode or not. you have to look close at a certain angle.
badly designed for ergonomics. I use a lot of aa batteries for flashes I use when shooting weddings. the housing is far to high, so you cant get you fingernail on the edge of the batteries to pull them out because the height is almost as flush with the body.
it doesnt slip in smoothly either. its not comfortable to use. also, trying to get aaa batteries in its slot warrants a crash course on technique. out of 20 attempts, youll finally succeed. the vapextech was FAR FAR better with this. easy in and out. easy legible lcd. I think the fat power brick shows the powerex is more complex and capable for fast charging. I dont need such a fast charger though. I dont think its healthy to quick charge my batteries long term.
also, to be sure it has charged the battery, (the display shows nothing) I take one out and put it back in…it takes forever to give feedback on it. the vapextech charger give IMMEDIATE feedback on its charge level. you dont need to wait forever to know.
Ive had quiet and consistent work with the vapextech for years. this maha, not even 1 full year. badly designed. yes, charges fast. who cares. charges too fast imo.
I tend to avoid stuff with needlessly proprietary power supplies.
On a charger of that class it must take 12v dc via a common barrel plug.
I have solar and want to use it mobile.
And you just figured out the other reason.
What voltages does the charger need?
I dont underdstand what you mean what voltages?
I am not a tech geek in terms of electricity. plug in and go is my knowledge level.
I figured out what the problem is and why it bent in the first place. this is a design flaw. the lcd is not legible when its on the table. you look down and it cant be read. it has very bad viewing angle and can only be read viewing it straight on. its angled 45º to the tray so if you want to read it, you need to either bend down to look at it. or grab the tray and turn it upwards to see what its showing. the angle of view for the screen is horrible. you can only view it straight on to understand what its showing. and some of the writing is so small, its useless for them to include it.
so when you tilt the body up, slowly but surely over time, the plug which is connected at the back, gets bent little by little, and slips out. then you come to connect it when it falls out and there, you go, bent pins, and shorting. the connector is quite long and protrudes out the back so there is leverage when its pressing up against the connector and you dont really notice the problem till its too late.
bad design. the vapex tech charger power connection is on the side so it never bends when you turn the charger or even lift it. but the powerex is badly designed. this is not a user fault. this is a design flaw.
I contacted powerex. well see what solution they offer.
I guess he mean what´s the output power of the original power supply?
This is a really bad design
I try to avoid chargers with USB oder USB-C because I don´t trust the small pins for such current; and you can plugin a lot kind of power supplies which are not to recommend for the charger. But the C801D with this DIN-connector is even more worse.
The successor C980 have a standard connector
sorry for late reply
brick says
input 100-240v
output dc 2000ma
output 2 dc 20v 100ma
I think the tray is fine and not ruined. when I swapped it with the other good power brick, it worked fine…so I think the power brick is bad. maybe theres a fuse inside?
so to check it, I slip 4 batteries and watch it, and it seems to work decent enough. then I start to add another 4 and then I get to slot 8 and the tray doesnt even recognize ive added one…and after a few seconds, slot 7 also stops showing and then both slots 7 & 8 “charge” symbol flashes.
looking at it recently, reviews on amazon said the same things as ive said here. and I didnt buy through amazon. through ebay. had I read the reviews and known of the stupid proprietary connector, I would not have bought it
will get some tenergy 8 bay chargers. I cant stand chargers with fans in them or ones that have a slingshot, pull back and insert design. had to rip the fan out of the opus 3100. I have massive misophonia issue with stress. the sound and whine just annoys the shet out of me.
anyone can tell me what this charger is for?
I asked the seller about the charger brick. if its for their 8 cell charger, Ill get 2 of those and try them with the vapexcell trays I have and see if theyre good. will get another new vapextech charger (tray/brick) and call it aday. I wanted peace and quiet and this powerex effed everything up.
seeing tons of chargers from amazon. 2 things I notice. those 4 cells have fans in them and thats a big no no for me and those pull back, to insert battery slots are a no no for me.
I think the size of the power brick makes a difference too. im certain the powerex brick is good, but the stupid connector fecked up the whole thing. and the crappy non legible screen is a huge fail too. I use a magnifying glass to see what its showing. and the dumb connector that sticks out the back, not the side is terribly designed. so you cant see what the hell it says, then you turn it up towards you…so slowly that wiggles the back connector out AND it bends some of the pins. you then try to connect it again and you have a short circuit. powerex and maha, never again.
ok so wrote to powerex/maha
no help or support. complete design fail on their part. I asked if I could buy the battery tray.
they dont send intl but got a “hey eff off and buy a whole charger from ebay” kinda message.
so have posted a message on facebook groups for pro photogs and on whatsapp telling other protogs of my experience and not to buy powerex or maha chargers.
I did my part. if I stop 1 person from buying, then well worth the effort. waste of time and money with then. regretting every cent I spent on it. going back to vapextech . they at least lasted many years. not even 6 months with this powerex fail.
ive also bought a Tenergy 8 charger. lets see what it can do.
goto hell maha energy
My plan for charging a lot of AA at once, which I have yet to implement, is to buy a bunch of the “Panasonic K-KJ17MCA4BA” kits that come with 4 eneloop AA + the BQ-CC17 charger for $18, then buy one of those long commercial power strip / surge protectors with 12 outlets, one with 2.6” or greater spacing between outlets. I think 2.6” spacing would accommodate the chargers side by side but I would need to verify. It would be a tight squeeze. There are power strips with very wide spacing such as 3.75”. So with that I could charge 48 cells at once. Total cost would be $250 for the chargers, strip, and 48 Eneloop AA. For a 36 cell setup it would run$196. This suggestion doesn’t meet your criteria because it isn’t cheap if you already have the cells, and there is no charge progress bar on those chargers. I think it’s a good option though for someone who needs a lot of cells and a charging solution.