I can't decide on an AAA and AA charger for my Eneloops. Can you help?

[Wil]

I have pretty much all Eneloops and I need to replace the charger that came with one of the packs.


I don't need much in the way of features. Just an ability to properly charge the batteries, a test/analyze mode and a maintenance/recondition feature.
I'd like the slots to charge independently so they each get the type of charge they need but I don't need to charge AAAs with AAs (bonus if I can though).
Obviously an overcharge and overheat protection would be good.
I don't want something I need to constantly attend to or is overly complicated to use. A "set and forget (for 24 hours)" is the sort of thing I'd like.
I'm not sure if there are any other features I need.


I'd like to spend the least amount as possible but quality and reliability comes first. ~$50 to ~$60 would be what I'm aiming for if I can, less would be a bonus.


If it has a fan, noise isn't an issue since it will be in my study on the other side of the house from our bedroom.




The La Crosse BC-900 and Maha PowerEx MH-C9000 are two I have been looking at. Are there any other recommendations?

 

[TinderBox (UK)]

The Maha C9000 is the only one i can recommend, there is nothing else as good and as reliable at the moment, though i only use mine for break-in and discharge, I use my Accumanger 10 for charging AA and AAA cells

John.

 

[Planz]

Obviously an overcharge and overheat protection would be good.
I don't want something I need to constantly attend to or is overly complicated to use. A "set and forget (for 24 hours)" is the sort of thing I'd like.
I'm not sure if there are any other features I need.

If it has a fan, noise isn't an issue since it will be in my study on the other side of the house from our bedroom.

The La Crosse BC-900 and Maha PowerEx MH-C9000 are two I have been looking at. Are there any other recommendations?

This is to just share that there's a new kid on the block.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?366538-Anyone-have-the-SkyRC-NC2500-charger

It looks very similar to the Maha but has some improvements like defaulting to 400mA charge for AAA. You don't need to set like the Maha which defaults to 1000mA regardless of whether it's AA or AAA.

 

[TinderBox (UK)]

Looks like a nice charger if you don't already have an Maha C9000, as it`s a lot of money for an nicd/nimh charger.

John.

This is to just share that there's a new kid on the block.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?366538-Anyone-have-the-SkyRC-NC2500-charger

It looks very similar to the Maha but has some improvements like defaulting to 400mA charge for AAA. You don't need to set like the Maha which defaults to 1000mA regardless of whether it's AA or AAA.

 

[Serenity]

From what I read when I picked a charger, the Maha C9000 uses a pulsed 1A discharge when discharging at lower currents, which is a bit much for some AAA cells. Because of that, price, and possibly a bit easier UI, I picked a BC-700 (clone). You do need to press some buttons after starting the charge to select a charging that is higher than the default 200 mA current though.

My charger recently developed an issue where it terminates charges very early in 1 slot though, possibly due to voltage readout fluctuations, so it might not be all that reliable (mine is not an original La Crosse, so it doesn't necessarily apply to that brand).

 

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond]

I have heard good things about the Maha chargers, but also some heat mentions over a few threads here and there.

I would recommend either a LaCrosse BC-700 or a LaCrosse BC-1000. The only difference in models is max charge rates of 700mA or 1,000mA. I had the BC-1000 for a few years and it worked great until I accidentely plugged a 12V charger into it - poof. I replaced it with a BC-700 because of the cost difference and the fact I never charged cells using any setting higher than 200 or 500mA.

The cost difference is about $30 at the moment. I just checked Amazon and they have the BC-700 for sale for only $30 with Prime shipping - that's a steal of a price.

 

[Wil]

This is to just share that there's a new kid on the block.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?366538-Anyone-have-the-SkyRC-NC2500-charger

It looks very similar to the Maha but has some improvements like defaulting to 400mA charge for AAA. You don't need to set like the Maha which defaults to 1000mA regardless of whether it's AA or AAA.

Heh, I did see that one but it's a little bit more than I wanted to spend.

From what I read when I picked a charger, the Maha C9000 uses a pulsed 1A discharge when discharging at lower currents, which is a bit much for some AAA cells. Because of that, price, and possibly a bit easier UI, I picked a BC-700 (clone). You do need to press some buttons after starting the charge to select a charging that is higher than the default 200 mA current though.

My charger recently developed an issue where it terminates charges very early in 1 slot though, possibly due to voltage readout fluctuations, so it might not be all that reliable (mine is not an original La Crosse, so it doesn't necessarily apply to that brand).

That's an issue I've read about with the La Crosse BC-900 too.

I have heard good things about the Maha chargers, but also some heat mentions over a few threads here and there.

I would recommend either a LaCrosse BC-700 or a LaCrosse BC-1000. The only difference in models is max charge rates of 700mA or 1,000mA. I had the BC-1000 for a few years and it worked great until I accidentely plugged a 12V charger into it - poof. I replaced it with a BC-700 because of the cost difference and the fact I never charged cells using any setting higher than 200 or 500mA.

The cost difference is about $30 at the moment. I just checked Amazon and they have the BC-700 for sale for only $30 with Prime shipping - that's a steal of a price.

I'm in Australia so with where I can buy it and the cost of shipping, they work out almost the same price. ~$7 different if I recall correctly.

 

[ChrisGarrett]

I bought a BC-700 and a C-9000 at the same time. If I could only have one, it would be the Maha. The BC-700 is the charger that I travel with and it does 90% of what the C-9000 does, to my mind. Both chargers have some quirks and the LC BC-700 only charges at a max of 700mA, so things take longer. The LC is smaller and things are a bit more cramped, especially if you have fat fingers, but I have girly hands, so it's not an issue. Being smaller, cramped batteries can trip the thermal sensor and shut things down for a bit, but I like it and I like having two chargers, as I'm into 'back-ups'. The BC was cheaper by about $20, as well, in Jan. of '12, when I bought both.

Chris

 

[Wil]

I bought a BC-700 and a C-9000 at the same time. If I could only have one, it would be the Maha. The BC-700 is the charger that I travel with and it does 90% of what the C-9000 does, to my mind. Both chargers have some quirks and the LC BC-700 only charges at a max of 700mA, so things take longer. The LC is smaller and things are a bit more cramped, especially if you have fat fingers, but I have girly hands, so it's not an issue. Being smaller, cramped batteries can trip the thermal sensor and shut things down for a bit, but I like it and I like having two chargers, as I'm into 'back-ups'. The BC was cheaper by about $20, as well, in Jan. of '12, when I bought both.

Chris

To be honest, I've very tempted to buy them both after reading what everyone has said. I too like backups and am having a lot of trouble deciding on which one to get.

I'm curious though, you listed a few things about the BC-900 you didn't like. Is there anything about the MH-C9000 you don't like?
I'm just after some prospective on them both really.

 

[TinderBox (UK)]

I bought the BC-900 years ago, but stopped using it after a few melted, the problem will have been fixed by now but i would not buy one again, i will stick with my C9000

John.

 

[Serenity]

A minor issue with my BC-700, pressing the buttons sometimes creates a double contact, when means I need to check that it has the right setting, and sometimes press the button a few more times.

One thing that I miss is the ability to just discharge a cell and see the capacity that was in the cell (like initial capacity of LSD cells). When using the discharge function, it starts charging automatically after it has discharged, and at the end, the display only indicates the charged capacity. It is mentioned in the manual though, and it says the function is meant to remove the "memory effects". It is still possible to get the discharge capacity by checking often or by calculating the discharge time and estimating it from that.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the maximum charge current is determined by the current that's used for the first cell that's put in it. So if you're charging an AAA at 200 mA for example, you can't add a AA and start charging that at 700 mA. I've run into that only once or twice, but it wasn't really a problem.

 

[ChrisGarrett]

To be honest, I've very tempted to buy them both after reading what everyone has said. I too like backups and am having a lot of trouble deciding on which one to get.

I'm curious though, you listed a few things about the BC-900 you didn't like. Is there anything about the MH-C9000 you don't like?
I'm just after some prospective on them both really.

It might be a typo on your part, but I've got the BC-700, not the BC-900.

The Maha C-9000 has a backlit display that can't be turned off. I take a sheet of paper and fold in half and tape it over the display, while charging in the kitchen and smoking a cigar on the patio, mostly in dim lighting, as it's pretty bright and an on/off function would be nice.

If you were trying to sleep with the charger in the same room, it would be an issue.

The Maha C-9000 takes up about twice the space in a suitcase, as the BC-700.

The balancing feature on the Maha C-9000 takes two hours and it would be nice if that could be cut down a bit, or a timer added, that once a cell is DONE, or the last one is DONE, you see a 120 minute timer start counting down.

Not all batteries finish at the same time, so if you're not standing there monitoring the time that the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th cells finish, you have no way to really know when the last one is done and the two hour 'balance' begins, if you understand me? I might need to wait four hours, just to be sure.

Like I said, if I could only have one, it would be the C-9000 and it wouldn't really be a close call. If you handed me the BC-700 and told me that that would be the only charger I could use, going forward, I wouldn't be crying in my beer, compared to some of the other chargers I have.

Chris

 

[N8N]

C9000 needs to be left on a UPS, if the power drops out it will default to 1000 mA charge, not good if you have it loaded with AAAs. Also max discharge current of 1000 mA so break in on D cells takes forever. Finally max charge of 4000 mAh so D cells might take 2-3 charge cycles to be fully charged. But it was not intended for >AA cells anyway so hard to get mad at them. I just wish there were a charger that had all the capabilities of the C9000 that was intended to be used with C and D cells. Today I might buy the SkyRC charger for the extra features but I'm overall satisfied with the C9000.

Sent from my XT897 using Tapatalk 4

 

[PS4]

Hi.

Would very random possibility of one charge at 1.25C for set of AAAs matter ?

Depending your location, you may have frequent power outs. But enough to matter ?

I would think that UPS main purpose is to give assurance, and not depend on chargers ability to detect full, or near full cells - and terminate properly on them. I don't use UPS but have tested and retested terminations with near full cells on all my chargers.

Regards

 

[N8N]

Well that isn't ideal but probably not the end of the world... the other reason to have on UPS is if you are running a break in cycle... takes 39 hours, don't want to have that messed up in the middle!

Sent from my XT897 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Rosoku Chikara]

...Depending your location, you may have frequent power outs. But enough to matter?...[excerpted]

Yes, this really depends on where you live.

Thankfully, power outages are quite rare where I currently live (unless there is a major earthquake), but I once lived for a few months in a part of central Florida known as the "Lightning Capital of the World." And, extremely brief, yet often destructive and/or extremely annoying power outages were literally almost a daily occurrence. (We got small, but very powerful lightning squalls almost every afternoon. Even if you didn't see a drop of rain in your immediate area, the power grid was receiving enough lightning hits to cause those momentary outages.)

So, if you live somewhere with a lot of power outages, a small (therefore low cost) UPS would probably be a wise investment for a Maha c9000 charger.

 

[Wil]

It might be a typo on your part, but I've got the BC-700, not the BC-900.


The Maha C-9000 has a backlit display that can't be turned off. I take a sheet of paper and fold in half and tape it over the display, while charging in the kitchen and smoking a cigar on the patio, mostly in dim lighting, as it's pretty bright and an on/off function would be nice.


If you were trying to sleep with the charger in the same room, it would be an issue.


The Maha C-9000 takes up about twice the space in a suitcase, as the BC-700.


The balancing feature on the Maha C-9000 takes two hours and it would be nice if that could be cut down a bit, or a timer added, that once a cell is DONE, or the last one is DONE, you see a 120 minute timer start counting down.


Not all batteries finish at the same time, so if you're not standing there monitoring the time that the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th cells finish, you have no way to really know when the last one is done and the two hour 'balance' begins, if you understand me? I might need to wait four hours, just to be sure.


Like I said, if I could only have one, it would be the C-9000 and it wouldn't really be a close call. If you handed me the BC-700 and told me that that would be the only charger I could use, going forward, I wouldn't be crying in my beer, compared to some of the other chargers I have.


Chris

Oops, I actually misread that :/ Sorry.


None of that would be an issue for me I think.
I would have the charger in the study away from our bedroom and charging would most likely be over night and then while at work.

C9000 needs to be left on a UPS, if the power drops out it will default to 1000 mA charge, not good if you have it loaded with AAAs. Also max discharge current of 1000 mA so break in on D cells takes forever. Finally max charge of 4000 mAh so D cells might take 2-3 charge cycles to be fully charged. But it was not intended for >AA cells anyway so hard to get mad at them. I just wish there were a charger that had all the capabilities of the C9000 that was intended to be used with C and D cells. Today I might buy the SkyRC charger for the extra features but I'm overall satisfied with the C9000.


Sent from my XT897 using Tapatalk 4

This however, bothers me a little. We don't have power cuts but that's not to say we don't have other things that could interrupt the power. Pets, stupid people, etc.
The only Ds I use are AAs in adapters.

---

I want to thank everyone for the advice, it really helped a lot!
I'm going to go with the La Crosse BC-900 for now and if later I feel like I need the PowerEx MH-C9000, I'll get that as well so I have options if I need them and also a back up.


Again, thank you all very much!


-Wil.




(Edit: Looks like I can't get the new version of the 900, specifically the 9009. 700 it is!)

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Oops, I actually misread that :/ Sorry.

(Edit: Looks like I can't get the new version of the 900, specifically the 9009. 700 it is!)

Don't know where you live, but I believe that the current model is the BC-1000. The BC-900 and the upgraded BC-9009 are older iterations.

Chris

 

[PS4]

Many people charge their batteries all the time at ~1C. Thats the ballpark that every "1 hour charger" uses.

 

[Wil]

Don't know where you live, but I believe that the current model is the BC-1000. The BC-900 and the upgraded BC-9009 are older iterations.

Chris

It's all good. The differences aren't enough to justify +~$30 for the BC-1000 given what I'm after. I appreciate it nonetheless