Please help me pick so NiMH batteries that I can buy locally or even on ebay or online in needed. I have some Duraloops (white tops only), but I need some more for the remotes and stuff in the house. Are any of the the rayovac, energizer, tenergy, or even the turnigy LSD batteries a worthy substitute? this is NOT for HIGH drain stuff like my flashlights just stuff like the kids toys, tv remotes and stuff like that.
If it matters, I will be charging them in this charger:
thanks.
ANY ebay links to some good deals would be an extra bonus since I have some paypal money to spend.
Iirc, the charge current on the i4 is too high for AAA Nimh unless you charge multiple batteries at the same time, and it doesn’t use -dv/dt termination. Be careful.
Hi, I don’t know if you have Aldi stores where you are but if you do, I use a lot of their Batteries (NIMH), and I charge them in the i4 Charger that you have shown. They work well for me in both my Lights and in Remotes etc, and to date, I have had no Issues with them.
Though as mentioned previously, you do have to read the instructions for the Charger though, as you have to Charge the smaller Batteries in Multiples and not on there own. In mine they have to be placed in slot 1 and slot 3 when charging the smaller Cells, thus at least 2 Cells at a time. Hope this is helpful.
Yes, I do have and Aldi’s….I was there today, but I don’t think our carries ANY batteries let alone rechargeable batteries. BUT i will be looking more closely next trip. And Yes, I only charge them 2 at a time and on channel 1 and 3 or 2 and 4 like the manual says. Thanks!
They are labelled "Activ Energy" and are in green/yellow packaging. $6.99 for four pack of AAA or AA.
I've been using some for a while. They test fairly consistently in my C9000 and are within about 10% of their claimed capacity. Supposed to be LSD but I've not done any long-term tests to confirm this. It would probably be a good project.
All the Aldi stores I've been in stock them -but they are at the front checkout as you pay, not in the main store. You may need to join the right line as they may not be on all the checkouts.
EDIT: Sorry, just noticed your location. The above information holds true for Australia but may be different elsewhere.
First and foremost, I own the same charger, and I will NEVER use it to charge my AA, and especially AAA batteries, ever again. The first and only time I tried, after about 20 minutes of charge time, my set of four nearly new AA eneloops were so hot I couldn’t comfortably hold them.
Second, as far as AA batteries, the best deal to be had is the Costco eneloops.
I am new to the rechargeable battery thing, but I have accidentally forgotten about having my batteries in the charger and left them in over night several times lately. When I did notice them in the morning, they where fully charged and not even a little warm. In fact, I would call them “cool” if anything. Could it be because chargers are unique or batteries or unique, or because this combination is better, or was I just lucky!
Thanks for all the suggestions….keep them coming. I am leaning towards trying to find a Target and seeing if they still have the “duraloops” on sale.
BUT, when I charged them, they seemed to take a long time to charge and when i went to check them out, they were warm. I then got out my VM, and they measured 1.41, and the charger was still charging. Does this mean that there is soemthing wrong with the charger, the batteries or my VM? I am confused, because none of my Duraloops or my regular Chinese Duracell batteries (even the aaa) have ever gotten warm. Also, when should the batteries stop charging? Thanks!
I use my i4v2 intellicharger to charge Li-Ion 18650’s 4 at a time, Li-Ion 14500’s in slots 1 and 3, AAA Nimh 4 at a time and AA Nimh 4 at a time. Not eneloops or duraloops just cheap Digimax for the Nimh but Nitecore for the Li-Ion’s. Never had a problem.
The charger gets warm but after being on sometimes for 8 or more hours if I’m charging a batch of Li-Ion followed by a couple of sets of 4 AA Nimh I’d expect it to be.
I’ll second the vote for the Eneloop packs that Costco sells. Either a set of ten AAA’s or eight AA’s and two AAA’s plus adapters for C and D devices. Both packs come with a charger designed for use with the cells. If you don’t have a Costco membership ask a friend who does to buy one for you.
My BC700 charges AA NiMHs to about 1.51V (displayed voltage on the charger). Right now, one is about 1.44V after more than 2 hours at 700mA. Some Eneloops that I recently charged and have rested for a couple of hours still measure 1.46V. So the voltage shouldn’t be a problem. My 2000mAh Eneloops take a bit over 3 hours to fully charge at 700mA. From what I read, the i4 charges with a similar current, so your cells should probably also take around 3 hours. What do you mean with a long time?
When I charge 4 cells at the same time (close together), they get warmer than when I charge 2 in the outside slots. That’s of course because there is less cool air around them when they are packed together. But the charger itself will produce more heat as well when charging more cells. So you could try just charging 1 at a time and see whether that makes a difference. From temperature measurements in another thread, the i4 does seem to produce quite a bit of heat itself: Post your charging temps
