Suggestion for good Eneloop charger?

[lordraiden]

Okay, I have a question, and this may be more of a situation where YMMV as there are several good choices. However, now that my surplus of Alkalines is finally running low (I've gotta stop bulk buying stuff, lol) I'm looking at getting some 12 packs either Amazon Basics 1k's or Eneloop 2100s in AA and AAA sizes and an appropriate charger to go with them. I've seen a few mentioned on the site, but I'm not sure which one is gonna be best. I don't want to break the bank buying a charger, yet at the same time I want one that's good and reliable. I also have seen a few that charge each cell individually for maximum efficiency and best possible charge, as well as report what the final capacity is. I like that feature and would like to get one with that ability. But, since I'm a battery noob, I'm up for suggestions from you professional battery experts on what way to go on both accounts.

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Maha C9000 Wizard One. Just does NiMH batteries, not li-ion cells. The KING...long live the KING.

Opus BT-3100/3400 v. 2.2, or 3.1. Excellent multi chemistry charger and not too expensive.

SkyRC MC3000 if you want the best of the best and don't mind paying for it.

Liitokala Lii 500 Engineer. Multi Chemistry charger, not too spendy.

This new Xtar Panther, but only a few have it and it's too new to tell.

Chris

 

[Treeguy]

I bought my Eneloops, standard and Pro, in the package that came with the BQ-CC17 charger. HKJ said the charger was slow but good in his review.

And it's a good price for the package.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JHKSMJU/?tag=cpf0b6-20

http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review Charger Panasonic BQ-CC17 UK.html

 

[stephenk]

The Panasonic BQ CC 16 and 17 chargers will charge Eneloops well.

 

[lordraiden]

SkyRC, lol. Sounds like the cousin of Skynet. Thanks for the suggestions guys, I'll check these out.

 

[Tachead]

Maha/Powerex MH-C9000 Wizard One.

 

[campingnut]

Maha/Powerex MH-C9000 Wizard One.

Nothing comes close. This is the charger.

 

[StorminMatt]

Nothing comes close. This is the charger.

As long as ALL you need to charge are NiMH AA/AAA batteries.

 

[filibuster]

...This new Xtar Panther, but only a few have it and it's too new to tell.

Chris, I'm not familiar with the Panther charger and can't find any reference to it other than two posts where you have mentioned it. Is that a correct name/model or do you have a link that discusses it?

 

[Climb14er]

Nothing comes close. This is the charger.

Agree! Been charging and conditioning all of my Eneloops in the Maha C9000 charger for years. Does a great job all the time!

 

[major_works]

I just picked up a Nitecore i2 (2014 version). It seems to do a good job. $11 or so on Amazon.

 

[StorminMatt]

Chris, I'm not familiar with the Panther charger and can't find any reference to it other than two posts where you have mentioned it. Is that a correct name/model or do you have a link that discusses it?

Maybe he means XP4 Panzer? If so, that's not a very new charger.

 

[iamlucky13]

The main thing you want in a NiMH charger is one that charges each cell individually, and intelligently, as opposed to simple timed charging, and definitely as opposed to charging in pairs.

The Panasonic BQ-CC17 with 4 batteries kit is one of the cheapest you'll find that meets those criteria. It is slow, but other than that, there don't seem to be many complaints about it. Costco has a larger kit with the same charger and a bunch more batteries, but if I remember right, the price is about the same as buying the 4 battery kit, plus buying the additional batteries separately, so you can go either way.

The Maha C9000 and the Lacrosse BC-1000 are high end chargers. They're expensive and large, but do pretty much everything. Variable charge rates, capacity measurements, refresh cycles, etc.

The high end units are the best option there is if you are going to be using your cells a lot and want to maximize the utility. If you're going through multiple sets of alkalines a month, I'd consider getting a fancy charger when you get your NiMH.

If you're a low to moderate battery volume user, I'd stick with the BQ-CC17 or similar.

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Maybe he means XP4 Panzer? If so, that's not a very new charger.

Hahaha...

Actually, I meant the DRAGON.

Damn Xtar and their ANTs, Dragons, Panzers, Hummingbirds and Rockets.

I tried editing things last night before crashing, but the site was up/down.

Thanks!

Chris

 

[snakyjake]

I got the Panasonic BQ-CC55 because it is SIMPLE and anyone can use it.Not sure if any of the others are going to be that much better for AA/AAA NiMH.

 

[iamlucky13]

I got the Panasonic BQ-CC55 because it is SIMPLE and anyone can use it.Not sure if any of the others are going to be that much better for AA/AAA NiMH.

It's a step up from the BQ-CC17. The main difference is charge times less than half as long, and red, orange, or green lights to show approximate state of charge. Unfortunately, it looks like a BQ-CC55 + batteries kit is $15 more than the equivalent BCQ-CC17 kit on Amazon.

It's still a different class of charger than the Maha or Lacrosse. Those chargers are for people who want to manage their NiMH cells carefully because they use them heavily and need to maximize long term performance, and don't mind spending a little bit of time learning about the extra features.

 

[Cekid]

personally, i would avoid any fancy lcd super smart charger as a plague...nothing but problems with them all...false bad battery warnings, missed termination, broken battery slots after a while, batteries too hot to handle, you have to manually add some extra time for charging, you name it...i would especially avoid any charger who has voltage based termination...

all of them are over engineered for the task...

better stick with something simple like panasonic bq series, or even ikea ladda charger...simple, reliable, cool batteries, proper termination...refresh is over rated anyway, and if you want to check batteries buy some digital multimeter...

 

[ronniepudding]

personally, i would avoid any fancy lcd super smart charger as a plague...nothing but problems with them all...false bad battery warnings, missed termination, broken battery slots after a while, batteries too hot to handle, you have to manually add some extra time for charging, you name it...i would especially avoid any charger who has voltage based termination...

all of them are over engineered for the task...

better stick with something simple like panasonic bq series, or even ikea ladda charger...simple, reliable, cool batteries, proper termination...refresh is over rated anyway, and if you want to check batteries buy some digital multimeter...

My experience has been different... Like others above, I've had no issues with the Maha/Powerex MH-C9000 NiMH charger. For someone who has a lot of batteries to manage, I think the extra features and data provided by the charger can make a difference.

That said, most people most of the time just want to charge a few batteries without any hoopla... In which case, I agree there is nothing wrong with the Eneloop-branded BQ-CC17 chargers.

 

[HKJ]

In which case, I agree there is nothing wrong with the Eneloop-branded BQ-series chargers.

Depends on model!

 

[ronniepudding]

Depends on model!

Fair point... I suppose there could be some dumb, timer-based chargers in that line... Edited previous post to specify BQ-CC17.