I'm in the market for a compact (4.5x2.25x1.5 inch or smaller) USB charger for my tech kit to charge AA Ni-MH batteries. I don't need anything fancy like multi-chemistry or the ability to charge different battery sizes, just a 2 slot AA will do me fine. The Sanyo MDU01 or Panasonic BQ-CC14 would be perfect but, unfortunately, they're no longer manufactured and are proving difficult to find, even on Ebay. It looks like IKEA has the VINNINGE charger, but all the reviews say it takes forever to charge. Another option is the Fenix ARE-X2. Anyone have any experience with these, or other chargers, or have any suggestions? Thanks!
Looking for a 2 slot travel USB AA Ni-MH charger
- Thread starter cmenglish
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ChrisGarrett
Flashlight Enthusiast
Just get a Liitokala Lii 202 dual bay, multi chem, multi voltage USB charger. It's small, does everything, is fairly well regarded and costs less than $10. That it does more than you need shouldn't be a concern. 'It's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.'
https://lygte-info.dk/review/Review Charger LiitoKala Lii-202 UK.html
Look to GearBest for one. I have two and two of their single bay 100s and they're stashed away. Good chargers for less than a Value Meal at McCrap burgers.
Chris
tigman_tim
Newly Enlightened
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- Jan 18, 2012
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Hi
You can use 2 olight UC universal USB magnetic chargers with a Anker 2port usb charger.
No single point of failure
You can use 2 olight UC universal USB magnetic chargers with a Anker 2port usb charger.
No single point of failure
dgbrookman
Newly Enlightened
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Yeah, count me as another that laments the discontinuance of those wonderful little Sanyo/Panasonic chargers. Someone else mentioned the LiitiKala Lii 202 and that would be a good option. It's noticeably bulkier than the Sanyo/Pana chargers but on the plus side it can charge at a higher rate. I have a couple and they work fine. They can be had on sale for around US $5 if you're not in a hurry for delivery.
I also have the Olight magnetic charger that someone mentioned. It's VERY compact for travel and the concept is cool, but each unit can only charge one battery and is limited to a non-adjustable 0.75 A charging rate. That's ok for AA NiMH though it would be high for AAA. Unless space is at a premium (e.g., for long-term travel) I'd go with the LiitoKala 202. Be sure to pair it with a charger that delivers at least 2 A so that you can get the full charging rate with two batteries.
Addendum:
The always helpful HKJ did a review of the Olight charger, http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?429485-Test-review-of-Charger-Olight-UC
Apparently the charging current for NiMH is 0.5 A which is within reason for AAA. So I was wrong about that. It's correct that charging current is 0.75 A for lithium ion.
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What makes them so "wonderful"? If you can elaborate on that then perhaps we can point out alternatives that also have such qualities.
ChrisGarrett
Flashlight Enthusiast
I got one of the original Sanyo USB chargers, made in China about 2 years ago from a guy in Hawaii selling his. I paid $5 for the charger and $5 for shipping to Miami. It's a neat little charger, but mine is always a bit inconsistent from slot to slot, on AAs and on AAAs, with good fresh batteries. It's not woefully off, but I might get 1.453v for one slot and then 1.447 for the other, on AAs/AAAs.
Not terrible, but I was a bit disappointed, hoping that they'd be closer.
It's a backup charger and stuff like my Liitokala 202 would be the better choice to pack in the suitcase, since it does everything I have on hand.
For $10 bucks back then, it was a no brainer, but we've moved on in technology.
It is small, smaller than the 100 and 202 that I have here, but I wouldn't pay the $50 for it, that new original versions, were going for.
Chris
WalkIntoTheLight
Flashlight Enthusiast
6mV difference is so close, it's basically identical. The cells drop about that much every couple of minutes, right after they get a full charge (which is somewhere around 1.50v - 1.55v for Eneloops). If you take them off the charger within an hour of finishing the charge, and they're reading over 1.45v, then they're fully charged.
ChrisGarrett
Flashlight Enthusiast
That was just off of the top of my head, since I haven't used it much over the past year.
It's greater than one would expect. Admittedly, it's not the end of the world, but if you were using something like a NiteCore EA8, you probably wouldn't want to charge the batteries up on the Sanyo.
Chris
I have the ikea VINNINGE charger. It's great.
I use it as my daily charger for some really small audio players that use aaa, and rotating between the empty battery in my player and the charger and I've never had a problem.
My mp3 player uses 1 aaa, my headlamp uses 2 aaa and my one travel beard trimmer uses 1 aa battery. The only upgrade is that I've glued a ribbon of fabric to the back and use it to pull the aa batteries out of it which is a bit of a pain.
I had a lacrosse bc-900 that went bad and I thought that I'd have issues with the VINNINGE's lack of information, but like their batteries, this charger is so cheap that I don't care.
The usb is seriously great. It's chained with the rest of my USB devices that require usb power on my DIY usb harness, so I can charge it, along with the 6 other usb devices that need power all occupying just one outlet.
And since my charging station is next to my workspace, it's now much easier to access and change batteries.
What kind of devices do you need to power? How many batteries do you require?
The worst instance usually requires me to pilfer remotes for those batteries, but other than that, I've never run out of power.
If you're trying to power a flash head for a camera, no it won't have enough power for all those batteries, but if you're travelling and have the discipline to change and rotate batteries, I highly recommend it.
Coupled with a 4000mah powerbank, you can easily be charging while on the go, and that's a huuuge plus.
And it's much smaller than the litokala, which is super important in my books.
I don't charge 18650 cells, and after 15 years of monitoring charge capacitys with a la bc-900, I realize that I'm much happier not knowing every little intricacy of every cell I own.
I use it as my daily charger for some really small audio players that use aaa, and rotating between the empty battery in my player and the charger and I've never had a problem.
My mp3 player uses 1 aaa, my headlamp uses 2 aaa and my one travel beard trimmer uses 1 aa battery. The only upgrade is that I've glued a ribbon of fabric to the back and use it to pull the aa batteries out of it which is a bit of a pain.
I had a lacrosse bc-900 that went bad and I thought that I'd have issues with the VINNINGE's lack of information, but like their batteries, this charger is so cheap that I don't care.
The usb is seriously great. It's chained with the rest of my USB devices that require usb power on my DIY usb harness, so I can charge it, along with the 6 other usb devices that need power all occupying just one outlet.
And since my charging station is next to my workspace, it's now much easier to access and change batteries.
What kind of devices do you need to power? How many batteries do you require?
The worst instance usually requires me to pilfer remotes for those batteries, but other than that, I've never run out of power.
If you're trying to power a flash head for a camera, no it won't have enough power for all those batteries, but if you're travelling and have the discipline to change and rotate batteries, I highly recommend it.
Coupled with a 4000mah powerbank, you can easily be charging while on the go, and that's a huuuge plus.
And it's much smaller than the litokala, which is super important in my books.
I don't charge 18650 cells, and after 15 years of monitoring charge capacitys with a la bc-900, I realize that I'm much happier not knowing every little intricacy of every cell I own.
^^^ The IKEA Vinninge doesn't look like a good choice according to HKJ's review He rated it only acceptable (and his ratings are usually generous) due to various issues - see the review.
dealgrabber2002
Flashlight Enthusiast
Does the Liitokala Lii 202 charge Life04 batteries? An Ebay seller has it listed as able to charge Nimh, Li-Ion, and Lifep04
I've read that review. From an enthusiasts point of view (and I was 'one' with a lacrosse BC-900), sure it's just a basic dumb timer with a slow charge but going on 10 years with rechargables, I've saved so much, and really , I don't care that much anymore, and just stick with Ikea for cost an general good quality, as a daily charger, it works fine for me. I buy a pack of aaa batteries once every 5 years and rotate the older ones into temperature gauges. The overcharging isn't thaaat much of an issue for me, and for OP as a travel charger will be fine depending on how many/often they need to charge their batteries.
ChrisGarrett
Flashlight Enthusiast
Affirmative.
A caveat, but not a big one: my two 202s both charge to about 4.22v-4.23v and my two 100s both charge to 4.18v-4.19v, for li-ons (or vice versa.) The 202s are both within spec, but they do both charge a tad higher than the sweet spot of 4.20v (spec is 4.20v +/- .05v).
It may be too much for somebody's OCD, so I get it. They're emergency chargers for me, so not a hardship.
Chris
