I have seen some people on here use a Turnigy tocharger. I have something similar, see below.
How would I use something like what I have to charge ?
The Pro-Peak Mercury EX from Ripmax heralds a new era in simple-to-use feature packed charger technology.
Main Features Include:
€¢ Delta Peak detection/Zero current voltage check
€¢ Fast charge/discharge: 1~25 Cell NiCad/NiMH packs
€¢ 2~12v Lead Acid batteries, 3.6~11.1v Lithium batteries
€¢ 100~5000mA fast charge current
€¢ 20 watt discharge rate
€¢ User definable memories for: battery pack type, number of cells, capacity, charger/discharge currents
€¢ 2 line LCD display
€¢ On line charge/discharge status check
€¢ Audible alarm function
€¢ Integral cooling fan
€¢ DC 12v input voltage
€¢ Reverse polarity protection
I have just started testing a more advanced AA charger, the only result I have now is that it uses -dv/dt detection (This is better than NiteCore). I will be a few weeks before I am ready with the review (I do have some other that needs publishing first).
It is a nice feature to be able to charge one cell at a time (or 3 if convenient). The charger in the OP seems able to do this. (You might have a single cell light.)
The Sony BCG-34HRE seems only capable of charging 2 or 4 cells. Edit: It will charge 1, 2, 3, or 4 cells.
The Sanyo charger charges 2/4AA at 300ma, and 2/4AAA at 150ma. I guess the moral to this story is that the Eneloop cells will take a range of charging currents.
Eneloops seem pretty hardy but I wouldn’t want to leave them in one of those dumb wall chargers. I like my Angeleyes charger (see my review). It’s not the quickest (my Soshine SC-F3 can charge an AAA eneloop in an hour @ 800mA) but it can discharge, refresh, shows capacity etc. and stops when charged.
If I was charging eight cells every day I’d simply get another Angeleyes. Best is relative to your needs and budget.
+1 for many of the Maha chargers. The La Crosse smart chargers are similar to Maha 9000 but the Maha tends to get better reviews.
The Maha 8xxx and 9000 series of chargers are very good, having adjustable charging current and discrete channels for each cell, as well as many other functions. Ideally you want to charge NiMh cells at .5C to .8C to provide a nice delta V signal to tell the charger when to terminate the charge.
Lower powered chargers that only charge at ~500mA will work fine for younger cells in good condition, but as the cells age they need a higher charge rate to provide a good delta V signal to the charger.
Your hobby charger can charge one or more NiMh cells in a serial configuration, but if you use the cells in different combinations in different devices they will age differently and a dedicated multi-bay charger will be better for them.
OK, thanks. I have my Hobby charger which I will try out once I get a battery holder to use with it. It should be good for discharging and refreshing the batteries.
It seems the cheap 'Fast Charger' I have might do the job as an addition to the Hobby charger.
It has discrete circuits for each of the 4 charge slots (so you can charge 1, 2 3 or 4 batteries) and will charge 4 at 500ma. As they age, I can charge 2 at a time to get a 1000ma charge.
I’m surprised it took 10 posts for anyone to mention the La Crosse BC-700. I’m also surprised that so many people recommend the MAHA C9000.
For the purposes of charging, testing, reconditioning, and other common needs, they’re more or less the same. However, the BC-700 costs less than half as much, is smaller, displays more info at once, and requires far fewer key presses to access the same functions. I mean, like, maybe 6 keypresses versus 150.
I already mentioned the BC-700 in the first reply In Germany its sold als “Technoline” - The BC-700 seems to be a OEM devices under many different labels… So you get this thing from “Voltcraft” too.
In Germany its sold als “Technoline” - The BC-700 seems to be a OEM devices under many different labels… So you get this thing from “Voltcraft” too.