Im looking for charger that can charge both lithium and NiMH.
what can you suggest?
For now I have a slllooooww eneloop charger for NiMH and xtar Wp2 II for my Li-ion.
Im hoping to replace/give those old charger and buy a new one for my self.
Is it better to buy a separate charger or buy an intelligent charger?
Currently looking for these charger
xtar vp2
lacrosse bc 700 (not locally available)
nitecore d4
xtar xp4c
NiMH charging takes place at typically 0.5 to 1C, unless your eneloop model is way below that there’s no reason to upgrade. Same for the WP2.
Imho hobby chargers like the accucel 6 pose the best option in regard to general versatility, setup options and high output/charging several cells simultaneously. There are some drawbacks, you need an external PSU (like from an old computer), a tray (that’s actually a plus since you can get or make trays for any battery size and they’ll heat up less due to being separate from the main body), the need for a temp sensor for correct NiMH charging and the nebulous shipping cost model of hobbyking. You can also set the charging voltage to 4.1V instead of 4.2V which will increase lifetime of your cells significantly.
I rarely charge 4 batteries at a time. usually 1 or 2. the only time i do this is when i have to charge my 4 eneloops that came from external flash of my camera.
with the technology today is it safe to have just 1 ‘intellgent’ charger? or i should have a charger separate for NiMH and for Li-Ion?
If the above mentioned chargers are not quite what you would like then for probably just a short wait the SkyRC MC3000 should be available soon. It can do virtually all battery chemistries and virtually all sizes of cylindrical batteries. Of course since it has quite a lot of features expect the price to be significantly higher than the above-mentioned chargers.
The XTAR and Nitecore brands are certainly very good brands though.
Have to say, I never really understand the need to have only one charger to do all battery types. It’s not as if torches use NiMh & Li-ion at the same time anyhow.
Me neither, I mean why would you not want two seperate chargers. If you would stick to one unit you could only charge 4 batteries at a time, having two seperete chargers allows you to charge 4 LiIon and 4 NiMH for example, at the same time. That will safe you a lot of a hassle if you need to fill up a bunch of empty batteries in a short period of time.
There are dedicated units that fulfill their job perfectly, for both chemistries and are dirtcheap also. There is no reason not to pick up a few.
I have purchased Opus BT-C3400 V2.1 after reading various reviews. I like that you can charge different types (Lithium, NiMH, etc. ), capacities, and form factors (AAA, 18650, C, etc.) of batteries in each channel independently. My previous charger could only charge 2 or 4 batteries at the same time and only of the same capacity and type. It had to upgrade since I could not charge 1 battery at a time and that is what all my new flashlights use.