Quick AA battery charger

I'm looking for a charger that will charge NiMh in a few hours instead of most chargers that are overnight etc
and I want one that is Individual (meaning 1 or 3 batteries in it would work) and cut-off the battery based on voltage
and not a timer.

I'm using a Rayovac PS-1 charger and Its output is DC 2V 200Ma X 4.

Hello TheComputerMeiser,

Welcome to CPF.

I use the MAHA C-9000 and the SKY RC MC9000 with excellent results.

Tom

TheComputerMeister said:

I'm looking for a charger that will charge NiMh in a few hours instead of most chargers that are overnight etc
and I want one that is Individual (meaning 1 or 3 batteries in it would work) and cut-off the battery based on voltage
and not a timer.

I'm using a Rayovac PS-1 charger and Its output is DC 2V 200Ma X 4.

Click to expand...

As Tom points out, the Maha C9000 with do 4 bays at 2000mA (2A) each. Most of us charge up at a modest 1000mA, or 1A. This means a standard 2000mAh standard AA would take 2 hours to charge at 1A, and 1 hour at 2A, which isn't all that advisable if you want your batteries to last.

Your PS-1 should take 10 hours.

Chris

ChrisGarrett said:

As Tom points out, the Maha C9000 with do 4 bays at 2000mA (2A) each. Most of us charge up at a modest 1000mA, or 1A. This means a standard 2000mAh standard AA would take 2 hours to charge at 1A, and 1 hour at 2A, which isn't all that advisable if you want your batteries to last.

Click to expand...

They should still last a long time, even at a fast 2A charge. This old thread on Japanese vs Chinese Eneloop cycles uses 2 amp charge and 2 amp discharge to cycle the batteries, and the Japanese Eneloops last a thousand cycles!

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...nese-Vs-Chinese-Eneloop-Cycle-Testing-Results

I sometimes use a 2 amp charge on my Eneloops, and it's fine. They do get a little hot, so obviously a slower charge is better, but if I only get 1000 cycles out of them, I'm okay with that.

Yeah, no problem with 2A.

I use my Opus 3100 which can do 4x1000mA or 2x2000mA...or even 2x1500 if you want to split the difference.

I have a Powerex MH-C801D which is perfect, but I just don't use NiMH much anymore so it sits collecting dust. But it's nice to charge up to 8 cells at a time at 1000mA or 2000mA.

Nice. i'll probably go for the Powerex one.

I guess a wiser solution would be not to stress NiMH cells at high charging currents, but to have spare cells. When one set is being used, another is calmly being charged at optimal current to extend their life time.

vadimax said:

I guess a wiser solution would be not to stress NiMH cells at high charging currents, but to have spare cells. When one set is being used, another is calmly being charged at optimal current to extend their life time.

Click to expand...

Yes, most of the time I use the small BQ-CC17 charger that comes with Eneloop kits. I have 3 of them. It's slow, but I can charge up to 12 batteries overnight, and they'll be ready to use in something else in the morning. And, it's a multi-channel smart charger, so I don't have to worry about leaving batteries in it.

Other times, for whatever reason, I'll use a fast-charger. It might be slightly harder on the batteries, but Eneloops last so long anyway I don't worry about it.

If you don't need something as fancy as an analyzing charger like the Maha C9000 or the SkyRC, the cheap and cheerful Ikea Ladda 4 slot charger works well, as long as you are near an Ikea, of course.

https://lygte-info.dk/review/Review Charger Ikea Ladda YH-990BF UK.html

It will charge AAs at 1A, so will be 5 times faster than your current charger.

A fast charger to avoid would be the chargers that call themselves "Ultra fast chargers", like the Varta Ultra Fast Charger for example. http://www.varta-consumer.com/en/products/chargers/overview/details/lcd-ultra-fast-charger

These will charge 2 AA cells at 8A (which, with 2000mAh NiMH AA, is 4C, which is significantly higher charge rate than recommended). 4 AA cells will charge at 4A (which again is still high IMHO at 2C).

As HKJ also says in his review https://lygte-info.dk/review/Review Charger Varta LCD Ultra Fast Charger UK.html, charging at 4A or 8A would be quite hard on your batteries. If you are someone who needs batteries charged in a hurry, it may be a good charger for you, but you will be replacing your batteries a lot sooner than with a lower charge rate.

The Panasonic BQ-CC55 can charge completely depleted AA batteries (2000mah) in 1.5 hours for 1-2 batteries, and 3 hours for 3-4 batteries. Also have pretty lights so you can see when they are almost done charging