Well, I just went ahead and ordered the AccuPower IQ328 from Ebay. I'd say I will report back, but I don't have anything to compare it to really.
-Garry
Mind sharing a link? I’d love to get a 2nd one for price so low.
Garry, post back review, its a must :D!
Shadowww - sure teng, it was sold out after I bought it so I didnt bother to post link but its back up for sale, pretty good deal for those living in Europe and not located in Germany, shipping is reasonable too:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Powerex-Prozessor-Ladegerat-Analyzer-fur-4-AA-AAA-MH-C9000-WizardOne-/261019513258?pt=DE_TV_Video_Audio_Akku_Ladeger%C3%A4te&hash=item3cc5f9b1aa
Hurry up while they last ;)!
Seller description says slightly damaged boxes in transit, I sent him a message and it turns out that those are all brand new and only some of them might come in SLIGHTLY damaged boxes, everything else is top notch and warranty isnt affected.
Mine came in perfect condition ;)!
BTW, guys, while were still on it, anyone tested this one?
http://www1.buyincoins.com/2a-aa-3a-aaa-lcd-rechargeable-battery-quick-charger-us-product-2225.html
I like its somewhat reasonable speed for the price, four individual channels, 1x1800/2x900/4x500 and LCD screen with charge level indication seems like a good deal for 9$.
Im in talks with one Ebay seller to buy 2 or 3 for 7.72$ a piece, so if youre interested shoot me a PM, I'll see if I can hook you up with the seller after he sells me mine, its confirmed that 7.72 is the lowest he will go to.
Seller wrote back informing that he made a "calculation" mistake and that each charger would be around 8.50$. Not that tempting anymore, still cheaper than anywhere else.
Thundercells seller on Ebay.
Id buy it to charge my AA/AAA NiMhs, I should receive 30+ Turnigy's/Eneloops within couple of weeks(HB) and month(DD) thats why I need something cheap, with reasonable charging speeds and at least judging by specs and looks this seems to be better than 5$ Omnipotent charger reviewed by sb56637 :D!
I can post back my comments and maybe test a few cells. I'm not sure what else I can do to "test" it. Perhaps I can verify charging currents. This will be my first "smart" charger.
-Garry
Well, if theres something you can say about it, say it, thats all :D!
Shouldnt be anything scientific, but if you could compare it to other chargers you have and post how good it is build quality wise and how accurate it is at charging and termination then it will be great :)!
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
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.
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 ;)!
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
Interesting, Garry, thanks for the info. Can you, please, check final V when the batt is full? 1,45?
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
Do you measured it just after taking batts out of the charger? 'Coz 0,05V is quite big diff, IMO :|
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
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
I bought this one for $11 back when it was on sale on shnoop
only downside is that it's australian so you need to plug in an adaptor to it
@garry, that's an interesting charger. Thx for sharing your results!
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
Good to know. Thanks, Garry ;)
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
AFAIK, trickle charging current is around 5% of the selected charging current.