Eneloops: what charger do I need? (info and discussion thead)

[recDNA]

I finally bought a bqcc16. Been stalling long enough... And the search for cheap eneloops continues...

 

[Phlogiston]

I'm not in the US, but I do have a BQ-CC16 with a UK plug on it, so I thought a couple of photos from a different angle might help.

First up, the BQ-CC16 with the UK plug attached.

Now an annotated version.

The black arrow points to the slot where the retaining latch is. Use a flat blade screwdriver to slide it in the direction of the red arrow, towards the front of the charger. Whilst holding the latch back, slide the plug slightly in the direction of the green arrow, towards the top of the charger. The plug should then fall off.

The latch isn't heavily sprung, so you shouldn't need to force it. I can actually get mine off using a (rather long) thumbnail in place of the screwdriver.

Finally, the BQ-CC16 with the UK plug off.

The US plug prongs actually make the connection to the removable plug; you can see the slots in the UK plug assembly. One nice thing for US users is that the US plug folds down into the body of the charger, which can be handy for travelling. You can see the recesses that the prongs rotate into in the photo.

Getting the UK plug back on is slightly more awkward than getting it off, because there are a couple of tabs that have to hook into place before the retaining latch will engage. More finicky than difficult, though.

Edit: almost forgot: the rating plate on the charger says:

Input 100-240V ~ 50-60Hz 0.2A

 

[recDNA]

Thanks! Great help.

 

[recDNA]

I'm not in the US, but I do have a BQ-CC16 with a UK plug on it, so I thought a couple of photos from a different angle might help.

First up, the BQ-CC16 with the UK plug attached.

Now an annotated version.

The black arrow points to the slot where the retaining latch is. Use a flat blade screwdriver to slide it in the direction of the red arrow, towards the front of the charger. Whilst holding the latch back, slide the plug slightly in the direction of the green arrow, towards the top of the charger. The plug should then fall off.

The latch isn't heavily sprung, so you shouldn't need to force it. I can actually get mine off using a (rather long) thumbnail in place of the screwdriver.

Finally, the BQ-CC16 with the UK plug off.

The US plug prongs actually make the connection to the removable plug; you can see the slots in the UK plug assembly. One nice thing for US users is that the US plug folds down into the body of the charger, which can be handy for travelling. You can see the recesses that the prongs rotate into in the photo.

Getting the UK plug back on is slightly more awkward than getting it off, because there are a couple of tabs that have to hook into place before the retaining latch will engage. More finicky than difficult, though.

Edit: almost forgot: the rating plate on the charger says:

Input 100-240V ~ 50-60Hz 0.2A

Tbere is a star screw in the european head embedded in a hole between the prongs. Must I remove that screw before the steps you've described or does it stay there? It looks like it needs to come out but I will have to buy a star screwdriver to remove it so if it stays there it would be good to know. Thanks

 

[TinderBox (UK)]

I have had a few Fuji digital camera`s and the battery charger had exactly the same US 2 prong clip for the multi-plug type connector, I use to have to use a flat screwdriver to press the little spung button to take the adaptor off the charger.

John.

I'm not in the US, but I do have a BQ-CC16 with a UK plug on it, so I thought a couple of photos from a different angle might help.

First up, the BQ-CC16 with the UK plug attached.

Now an annotated version.

The black arrow points to the slot where the retaining latch is. Use a flat blade screwdriver to slide it in the direction of the red arrow, towards the front of the charger. Whilst holding the latch back, slide the plug slightly in the direction of the green arrow, towards the top of the charger. The plug should then fall off.

The latch isn't heavily sprung, so you shouldn't need to force it. I can actually get mine off using a (rather long) thumbnail in place of the screwdriver.

Finally, the BQ-CC16 with the UK plug off.

The US plug prongs actually make the connection to the removable plug; you can see the slots in the UK plug assembly. One nice thing for US users is that the US plug folds down into the body of the charger, which can be handy for travelling. You can see the recesses that the prongs rotate into in the photo.

Getting the UK plug back on is slightly more awkward than getting it off, because there are a couple of tabs that have to hook into place before the retaining latch will engage. More finicky than difficult, though.

Edit: almost forgot: the rating plate on the charger says:

Input 100-240V ~ 50-60Hz 0.2A

 

[recDNA]

Someone told me to remove the screw indented between the prongs first. It seemed logical looking at it but fortunately it isn't necessary. After stripping the screw trying to remove it (must be lockite in there) I found the European plug popped right off as advertised. In case anybody else tries this leave the screw alone. I hope I didn't damage anything but I doubt it since the screw didn't move at all as far as I can tell.

 

[keithy]

Someone told me to remove the screw indented between the prongs first. It seemed logical looking at it but fortunately it isn't necessary.

That might have been me. Sorry - I thought it had to be removed as well as the latch. Good to know it just pops out without needing to remove the screw as well.

 

[recDNA]

That might have been me. Sorry - I thought it had to be removed as well as the latch. Good to know it just pops out without needing to remove the screw as well.

No problem. Fortunately I couldn't budge the screw.

 

[recDNA]

I have also done a review of CC16: http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review Charger Panasonic BQ-CC16 UK.html

Just received my bq-cc16 today. I'm afraid mine may be defective. It came with 4 Japan white eneloops. I decided to top them off to test the charger. In about 20 minutes the green light turned off in 3 bays but remained on in one. I noticed the 3 charged batteries were room temperature but the one remaining was warm. I measured the charge right off the charger of each. The 3 that finished were at 1.43 volts. The one still charging was at 1.47 volts and still charging. Do I have a defective charger? Now all the batteries have dropped to 1.43 volts.

 

[TinderBox (UK)]

I have many chargers, see my sig for a few, if i want to charge nimh AA or AAA i just slap them in this little wall wart, it only charges at 450ma for AA and 200ma for AAA but its fast enough for me, I have charged Eneloop AA2000ma and AAA 750ma, and a few other brands up to 2300mah and it charges them great, and i like the display it easy to see how my battery`s are charging and when they are done and they stay cool so they do not get damaged.

"Uniross LCD Intelligent AA/AAA Fast Charger 3-5 Hours"

John.

 

[recDNA]

Just got the 16 today. First step is to determine if defective. Is 1.47 volts too high to still be charging? Would it be dangerous to leave it in the bay another hour to see if it ever shuts off? I don't know if eneloops blow up when overcharged like li ions do.

Hmmm. I charged a couple of AAA and the bay I was concerned about actually terminated first at 1.44 volts. Maybe should have let it charge a little longer to see if it would shut off on its own.

 

[TinderBox (UK)]

I like 1.55v but I just feel the cell if it's warm but not too hot that I cannot keep my finger on it let it continue to charger but pull them if they feel too hot and have not terminated, new cells and old cells can miss termination but after one or two charges they are normally fine, if not they are most likely faulty.

John

 

[recDNA]

Ya. It's funny. The first time bay 3 wouldn't stop charging. This time it bay 4. It is hot but not so hot I can't leave my hand on it. The whole reason I bought a smart charger was to put in the batteries and not worry about it. Obviously that was naive. I hate to sit and watch batteries for hours. Just one AAA battery in it now. I will give it another 30 minutes to see if it ever terminates. Never had this problem with li ions.

 

[MidnightDistortions]

1.55v seems normal for Eneloops. But i prefer the C9000 and not worry about missed terminations.

 

[recDNA]

Well it finally terminated at 1.47 volts so I guess charger is OK after all. Charging a couple of enitime batteries now. They came with a rechargeable keyboard. Made in China crap. Supposedly LSD 2000 mAh. I doubt both.

I'm watching for a sale on Eneloop Pros.

 

[Azazel]

Hi all,

This question keeps getting asked but no one seems to respond? I am looking at getting a charger that will charge my existing 18650/16340 batteries and eneloops (AAA and AA). My question is whether the Nitecore I4 or D4 are a good option? Or is there a better option out there at a similar price?

Cheers.

 

[Liber8]

Hi all,

This question keeps getting asked but no one seems to respond? I am looking at getting a charger that will charge my existing 18650/16340 batteries and eneloops (AAA and AA). My question is whether the Nitecore I4 or D4 are a good option? Or is there a better option out there at a similar price?

Cheers.

I'm waiting on a Lii 500 right now. For 25 bucks the price is certainly right. About the same price as an Xtar VC4 but the Lii has features for analyzing. I have a Nitecore D2 and it feels so cheap and flimsy. The display is also really ugly blackish-green.

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Hi all,

This question keeps getting asked but no one seems to respond? I am looking at getting a charger that will charge my existing 18650/16340 batteries and eneloops (AAA and AA). My question is whether the Nitecore I4 or D4 are a good option? Or is there a better option out there at a similar price?

Cheers.

I've got an I4, v.2 and it's a decent charger. The D4 is probably a better option for its feature set. Still better, might be the Opus BT-3100/3400 multi-charger. Does some analyzing, like the Maha C9000 NiMH charger, will charge up all three li-ion chemistries 3.2v, 3.7v and 3.8v cells, will do NiMH, can charge down to 200mA for the 10440/16340 li-ions and can charge two li-ions at 2A each and four at 1A each. Runs on 12v, so you can use it in the car, or with 12v solar and isn't all that expensive at ~$50 with 12v car cigarette adapter.

It also allows you to do a rudimentary internal resistance (IR) test and allows you to discharge for capacity measurements and cycle the cells/batteries, to break them in a bit.

Chris

 

[Azazel]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, unfortunately I cant find these chargers for sale in the UK. :thumbsdow

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, unfortunately I cant find these chargers for sale in the UK. :thumbsdow

Order it from GearBest. We're a global economy now. I once shipped a Mark Levinson DAC to a guy in Nagasaki, Japan and it got there just fine. Imagine that?

Chris