Oh yeeah, another charger thread! I've done plenty of searching and feel I have a pretty good idea of what's out there. What I'm looking for is a charger with single cell capability, discharge or conditioning option and would like a display to check capacity...but this isn't completely necessary, more of a frill. On the high end there is the Maha C9000, which everyone seems to love. It's $50, which is more than I'd care to spend...but I can do it. Next I see there is the Lacrosse BC-500 for $29...I like the price much better...not as capable however but I don't suspect I need the bells and whistles. I don't really want to get into the battery hobby, so to speak. There is also the Titanium 8 bay charger and a similar Tenergy model at batteryjunction.com. Of course they have no display, but seem like a good buy at about $30. I don't need 8 cell capacity, so I'd be more inclined to get the Lacrosse. Finally, there are the lower end options, Sony has one for about $10 and there are many Chinese options on Ebay for $5-$10. These cheaper models have no discharge option but do charge single cells. At the moment I'm ready to buy the Lacrosse...I'm aware of the meltdown problems some have had with the BC-700 or a higher model. Am I missing any other options? Anyone care to offer an opinion??
I'm on my second bc-700 ($40 from amazon). It runs constantly, but I leave set to 200/100 discharge refresh (didn't w/ the first one, hoping it will last longer this way).
If it lasts, it is a great charger. If it dies, I'll buy the powerex.
If I could start again, I'd buy it first...spend the $50 and get the better brand/warranty (good luck w/ lacrosse warranty...).
If possible, get MAHA. Ok, it is bigger and more expensive but I find it also far more easy to use in “everyday” use than lacrosse. Never really liked its UI…
I use MAHA 90% of the time just slabbing those AA-loops in it and considering it done. Sometimes it is nice to be able to check what you hav ebought in reality…batterywise.
I have had it now for almost two years I guess. I think I did the right thing when I bought it being a total newb in everything battery and flashlight related.
Maha C9K FTW. I realize it's more than you care to spend but it truly is an outstanding all-in-one battery computer (calling it just a charger would be like calling a hot rod just "a car"). Also, I've noticed that it provides a fuller charge than my C808M.
Lacrosse is also great functionality-wise but as dthrckt mentioned, there may be warranty hassles. Also, I've read that the earliest batches had some meltdown issues which to the best of my understanding, have largely been addressed w/the latest versions.
Good luck in your hunt!
I have had my La Crosse BC-900 for more than 4 years now. Every thing worked fine until the current, display and mode buttons started to fail (not always responding to pressings). Considering this issue I bought a Maha MH-C9000. This is almost three times larger than BC-900. I mean, is huge.
When I received my MH-C9000 I inserted and charged some Eneloops and everything went fine. The problem started when I tried to charge several (more than 50) old batteries I have for my daughter's toys, some AA flashlights and some other devices including phones (for caller id display). These batteries are working fine for the purpose. MH-C9000 refused to charge all my old batteries because of High (apparent resistance). I could not be more disappointed.
Finally I replaced those failing buttons with PCB mountable ones soldered to cables soldered to BC-900 board and everything is working fine. Now I charge all my batteries using my old BC-900.
My MH-C9000 is only used to charge Eneloops (less than 40% of my total batteries). What a shame.
BC-900 displays each slot information independently, something I really like. MH-C9000 displays each one at a time.
If you have old batteries and want to keep them, go for La Crosse BC-900. I you have new/fresh batteries go for MH-C9000.
EDITED: In fact I have had my La Crosse BC-900 since February 2006 when I bought it from Amazon. So, 6 years old.
well there's three votes for the same thing
we're really good at spending somebody else's money lol
once you know the capacity of every cell you use you'll never think of buying a 'cheap' charger again. I write it right on the cell w/ a fine point sharpie...and I tally the # of cycles
edit: i had that post sitting there for awhile and didn't hit enter. I'd read of others having a high resistance issue w/ the maha. That would suck!
So the MH-C9000 will work perfectly fine for newer batteries and beyond? If I'm spending up to $50 for a Ni-MH charger then this one tops my list so far. I'm still hunting for the right charger as well. I'm ready to ditch my Sanyo eneloop charger for something more capable (discharging/conditioning mostly).
look at ccrane.com's "orphans" page, their quickcharger2 (which looks a lot like something else out there, I forget which one) is an improvement over an old standby that works pretty well; also look for their products via Amazon at some discounted price.
It will sometimes seem not to recognize a flat zero cell, but you can just leave the cell in for a while and it seems to eventually notice it, maybe trickle charges it up to where it gets detected
But I'd recommend the Maha MH-C9000 if you can manage it.
I also write capacity numbers right on the cells with a sharpie.
The C. Crane QuickCharger 2 looks great! I love the flexibility of battery sizes. Why do you recommend the Maha over the QuickCharger 2?
Do you happen to have any experience with this solar powered charger?
http://www.ccrane.com/more-categories/batteries-chargers/solar-powered-battery-charger.aspx
For a lot less money, but fewer features take a look out for the Vanson BC1-HU or BC2-HU. They are pretty good chargers and will do discharge. I've had one for years now and it has never given me any trouble.
For all that it comes from the Other Place and is now 7 years old, this is worth a look. I have a lot of time for its author.
I can vouch for the LaCrosse BC-500. I have one and it has been great. It does everything I wanted in a charger; discharge, charge and capacity test without needing to set charge or discharge rates. My only problem was the solder joint for te first two bays broke on the cathode side of the charger. Took a whole thirty seconds to fix but that is a bit unnerving. Even so, I will still recommend it.
Maha
Spend a few extra bucks and get the Maha C-9000. You won't regret it.
So, is everyone trying to tell me something? lol, I'm leaning towards the Maha...I appreciate the other interesting offerings...I may even pick up a cheap single cell capable travel charger as well.
I bought a LaCrosse BC-700 a month ago. So far it works great. I got it for $35 at the time.
Get the Maha C9000. It never runs hot, and has a large easy to read backlit display. I've never had any issues charging dozens of Eneloops.
I say the C9000.
I've owned mine for 6 years and use it daily, still going strong. I also trust it not to burn the house down.
The BC900 has horrid buttons, making it quite clunky to use. The C9000 is much more user friendly, with a large backlit screen and nice clickly feedback buttons.
The BC900 does however have an advantage over the Maha C9000, when it states the cells are charged they actually are 100% charged. The 'done' notification which appears on the Maha C9000 is misleading, as the cells require around another hour to reach 100% with a slow top off charge, due to the charging algorithm being more gentle on the cells. This isn't a problem if you aren't in a hurry for your cells.
I own both the C9000 and BC900, I always choose the C9000 purely due to ease of use. The BC900 is however a lot more compact and would be my charger of choice to travel with.
The C9000 is quite a bit more expensive, but it is worth it IMO.
WRT to cells that read HIGH on the Maha, in my personal experience, even though I've been able to use/charge these cells on a dumb charger (timer) they really are cr@p (<- I really wish the forum wouldn't hyperlink this everytime I try to use that term) cells by this time and really didn't offer much good life cycles. I mean, they'll likely be OK in low drain devices (wall clock, remote, etc) but I think you can trust Maha that they knew what they were doing when they implemented this feature.
Also, again based on my personal experience, I've found that the break-in feature will kill certain old cells. Better to try refresh/analyze cycles on them instead.
Cheers,
Tim
I have also had some of my friends cells tested and MAHA gave High resistance warning.
...but then again, they were absolutely no Eneloops those ones :D
With an Eneloops priced about 2€ or under 3$ a piece, it is really hard for me to justify buying any other cells even when on budget.
Well, some cheap LSD´s are fun to test and some even work very well.
My oldest Eneloops are now only at about 2 years of age, used only by MAHA. Recharged about 60 times or some more but they still hit the New -spec.
Just as a follow up, I ordered the Maha. I had the money and it felt right. Thanks for the input!