NiMH charger recommendations?

[DaveC]

First of all, this is a request for a *recommendation*, not a request for
someone to do Google searches for me.
- - -
I need a charger for AA, AAA, and 9v batteries. Four of the AA or AAA
at a time is OK.

I see very few that support all these batteries (Maha makes a
separate charger for 9v). Of those that do, not all use delta-V
termination (or don't specify).

Of those remaining that qualify, I've not heard of the manufacturers
("Powerlzer"? -- that's not a misspelling), or Chinese no-name ones:

<http://www.horizonbattery.com/battery-chargers/chargers-by-type/12-bay-aa-
aaa-9v-battery-charger.html>

The Tenergy TN190 is the only one I've seen:

<http://www.all-
battery.com/Tenergy_TN190_NiMH_NiCd_Advanced_Universal_Charger_with_LCD_Displa
y-01190.aspx>

Does anybody know of such combo chargers? Can recommend one?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Ecnerwal]

I can recommend the Lenmar Mach1 Speedcharger for the AA/AAA part of
your need - bought mine in 2007 and have been quite happy with it for
4-1/2 years and several dive trips feeding camera and flash lots of AA
batteries.

But, of course, it does not do 9V. Requiring that one box do it all may
be excessively limiting your choices...

 

[William Sommerwerck]

I own an Energizer CHM4FC, which you can get for around $25. It handles AAA,
AA, C, D, and 9V. There's a NiCd / NiMH switch for cell type. I use it for
5400mAh C cells, and it works fine.

http://data.energizer.com/PDFs/chm4fc.pdf

The catch is... The maximum charge current is ~ 500mA, and you have no
control over what the charger does.

Get a MAHA PowerEx MH-C9000. It does only AA and AAA cells, * but you won't
regret it. You can pick the charge rate, and there are functions (such as
refresh and capacity) not on simple chargers. You can see exactly what's
going on.

http://www.thomasdistributing.com/Maha-Powerex-MH-C9000-AA--AAA-Battery-Chargerbr_p_134.html

The current $52 price seems high (I have two, purchased at around $40 each),
but Thomas occasionally has sales.


* MAHA told me it has no intention of making a C adapter. Rats.

 

[Rich Webb]

First of all, this is a request for a *recommendation*, not a request for
someone to do Google searches for me.
- - -
I need a charger for AA, AAA, and 9v batteries. Four of the AA or AAA
at a time is OK.

I like the La Crosse chargers. Got one at home, one at the office. Cells
are charged individually, selectable rates, falls back to trickle charge
when full, reports time/volts/rate/amp-hours. Refresh cycle (discharge,
charge, repeat until stable).

http://www.lacrossetechnology.com/bc1000/index.php

 

[Lord Valve]

First of all, this is a request for a *recommendation*, not a request for
someone to do Google searches for me.
- - -
I need a charger for AA, AAA, and 9v batteries. Four of the AA or AAA
at a time is OK.

I see very few that support all these batteries (Maha makes a
separate charger for 9v). Of those that do, not all use delta-V
termination (or don't specify).

Of those remaining that qualify, I've not heard of the manufacturers
("Powerlzer"? -- that's not a misspelling), or Chinese no-name ones:

<http://www.horizonbattery.com/battery-chargers/chargers-by-type/12-bay-aa-
aaa-9v-battery-charger.html>

The Tenergy TN190 is the only one I've seen:

<http://www.all-
battery.com/Tenergy_TN190_NiMH_NiCd_Advanced_Universal_Charger_with_LCD_Displa
y-01190.aspx>

Does anybody know of such combo chargers? Can recommend one?

Thanks,
Dave

....

I have an older version of the one you linked, without
the fast/smart capabilities. I've had it for three years;
it's been flawless. And the high-capacity Tenergy
D-cells (10,000 mAH) I use are also excellent.

Lord Valve

 

[DaveC]

http://www.all-
battery.com/Tenergy_TN190_NiMH_NiCd_Advanced_Universal_Charger_with_LCD_Displa
y-01190.aspx

I have an older version of the one you linked, without
the fast/smart capabilities. I've had it for three years;
it's been flawless. And the high-capacity Tenergy
D-cells (10,000 mAH) I use are also excellent.

Lord Valve

It turns out that the Tenergy charger uses delta-V termination on all except
the 9v battery. Also, has condition function (discharge before charge) on all
except 9v.

Blast!

Dave

 

[William Sommerwerck]

It turns out that the Tenergy charger uses delta-V termination

on all except the 9V battery.

As a 9V battery uses six cells, it might be difficult to determine an
appropriate dV for the battery as a whole, given that the dV could be only
1/6 of that for a single cell.

Also, it has a condition function (discharge before charge)
on all except 9V.

If you tend to thoroughly run down the cells before recharge, that shouldn't
be a problem.

 

[DaveC]

It turns out that the Tenergy charger uses delta-V termination

As a 9V battery uses six cells, it might be difficult to determine an
appropriate dV for the battery as a whole, given that the dV could be only
1/6 of that for a single cell.

Ah, good point. Series cells difficulty.

If you tend to thoroughly run down the cells before recharge, that shouldn't
be a problem.

Good to know.

Thanks!

 

[DaveC]

http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/technoline/technoline-BL700.asp

Flexible if a little slow. I've found the very fast chargers prone to
killing the batteries after a few cycles.

Chris K

That's the same charger that La Crosse puts its name on:

<
http://www.amazon.com/La-Crosse-Technology-BC-9009-AlphaPower/dp/B00077AA5Q>

With such a wide range of good AA/AAA chargers and a dearth of AA/AAA/9V
chargers, I might get a dedicated 9V charger just to take care of those...

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Mr.CRC]

I own an Energizer CHM4FC, which you can get for around $25. It handles AAA,
AA, C, D, and 9V. There's a NiCd / NiMH switch for cell type. I use it for
5400mAh C cells, and it works fine.

http://data.energizer.com/PDFs/chm4fc.pdf

The catch is... The maximum charge current is ~ 500mA, and you have no
control over what the charger does.

Get a MAHA PowerEx MH-C9000. It does only AA and AAA cells, * but you won't
regret it. You can pick the charge rate, and there are functions (such as
refresh and capacity) not on simple chargers. You can see exactly what's
going on.

http://www.thomasdistributing.com/Maha-Powerex-MH-C9000-AA--AAA-Battery-Chargerbr_p_134.html

The current $52 price seems high (I have two, purchased at around $40 each),
but Thomas occasionally has sales.


* MAHA told me it has no intention of making a C adapter. Rats.

I have that MAHA charger and it can't correctly discharge Sanyo Eneloops
(I think they have a little higher impedance than other cells) and the
charger uses some horrible high current pulse mode.

Then on charge one day it put >3.6Ah into one of my 2Ah cells. I don't
use it anymore.

Then again, I have had troubles with the Lacrosse BC-900 type chargers
too. Only they just break after a while, but work Ok in general.

There are also hobby chargers. I have a Thunderpower at work for some
LiPo cells.

 

[DaveC]

http://www.harborfreight.com/battery-quick-charger-47618.html

No delta-V for end-of-charge detection.

Might be OK for charging 9V or conditioning a bum cell...

Dave

 

[Adam Funk]

Also, if you get an 'intelligent' charger for single cells, they are
often a bit too clever and fail to recognise the presence of a cell that
has been over discharged or reverse charged (can easily happen in multi
cell packs). A quick blast (~1A for a few seconds) gives it enough of a
start for the charger to see it. Either keep a 'dumb' charger or
connect across an alakaline cell for a few seconds.

Aha!

My favourite home battery charger is the one I bought in Tesco in
Korea a few years ago: you can charge any number (up to 4) of AA or
AAA batteries, mixed in any order, independently, and it has a
sensible set of light meanings:

* no light: no battery in this slot
* red: charging
* green: charged
* blinking red: battery doesn't work

and I've been getting quite a few of the last one recently. I guess I
should get those NiMH batteries back out of the bin and try them in a
"less sophisticated" charger to see if they work again after that?

I've used this one for a number of years

http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/technoline/technoline-BL700.asp

I certainly like that one. All the numbers & options have a lot of
geeky appeal. ;-)

Flexible if a little slow. I've found the very fast chargers prone to
killing the batteries after a few cycles.

(The one I mentioned above is fairly fast.)