# Best Nimh charger (for Eneloop / Energizer / Rayovac batteries)



## waltereo (Oct 16, 2008)

Hi,

I just bought some Eneloop batteries and I wonder what is the best charger that won't harm them ? (and also won't harm my Energizer NImh batteries)

Thanks


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## SilverFox (Oct 16, 2008)

Hello Waltereo,

Welcome to CPF.

I have had very good luck with the Maha C9000...

If you do a search you should be able to find what others are using and how well it is working out for them.

Tom


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## Anders (Oct 18, 2008)

Hello waltereo, :welcome:.

Or you can just listen to our guru here, Tom :wave: , Maha C9000 is one of the best if not the best, it is also very mild to the cells.


Anders


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## zband (Oct 18, 2008)

maha 808m in my opinion is probably the most idiot proof charger out there. Best part is that it too is gentle and can do c and d sized batteries.


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## waltereo (Oct 20, 2008)

SilverFox said:


> Hello Waltereo,
> 
> Welcome to CPF.
> 
> ...




Thanks I think I will go for C9000 ... but it is a little bit expensive ... Weell I ll wait for a bargain !! ...(hopefully)


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## Bones (Oct 20, 2008)

waltereo said:


> Thanks I think I will go for C9000 ... but it is a little bit expensive ... Weell I ll wait for a bargain !! ...(hopefully)



If you reside in the United States or Canada, this eBay vendor will deliver one to your door for 62.50:

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/rdana

Caveat Emptor, of course, applies; but the vendor's 100% positive feedback rating is as good as it gets.


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## Turak (Oct 20, 2008)

Well......

It really depends on exactly what you want to do with your charger.

If you want to be able to charge, discharge, analyze, run multiple charge/discharge cycles, test capacity, etc.....

Then one of the more expensive analyzer/testers would be the choice, such as a Maha MH-C9000 ($60) or a LaCrosse BC-900 ($40).

If you are really just interested in plugging them in and charging them, possibly have a discharge function too. Then there are a quite a few other choices in the $20-$40 range.

Besides the above items, decide whether you just want to charge AA/AAA cells or are you/will you be interested in charging C, D, and 9V cells too.

If you want a good all in one (AA, AAA, C, D, 9V) charger, then a good choice might be an Accupower Accumanager 20 ($50)

Once you have decided the above, go to a site like the following and check out the various chargers that fit your needs. Generally speaking, STAY AWAY from any of the so called 'Fast' or 15-minute chargers. 

Here are some chargers sorted by Battery size...

http://thomasdistributing.com/shop/...47_149.html?osCsid=fhaqugjj4vksu34jb89b34qq15

At this time, I am only using AA, AAA, and 9v cells, besides various 12V SLA batteries. But, I may have to add a charger that can do C and D cells in the future.

I have a quite a few different chargers. Currently I am using the following;

2 - Lacrosse BC900's (AA/AAA only)
2 - Maha MH-C9000's (AA/AAA Only)
1 - Maha MH-C490F (9v Only)


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## Rayne (Oct 29, 2008)

Would using the Maha C808M shorten the life of Eneloops or is it okay? I've been using the charger that came with them (Eneloops) for fear of damaging those cells...hehe.


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## snakyjake (Nov 27, 2008)

I have the same question.

I've been looking at the Maha 9000. However, it seems more complicated than what I want. Why can't the charger just figure out what the best way is to charge my battery? Or best way to keep the battery fresh?

Something like the ACCUPOWER ACCUMANAGER 20 Battery Charger might be a good way to go:
"As soon as the AccuManager20 is powered and the rechargeable batteries are then places in the compartments, the charging process is automatically triggered. Then communication between the batteries and the charger starts. Initially, the LED's are on for 3 seconds (Battery Diagnosis). During this time, the main battery parameters are recorded. The appropriate charging algorithm for each battery chemistry is defined."

"Battery-Maintenence -System (ACX Intelligence) Complete refreshing function prevents memory-effect in new batteries and overridden in older batteries. The regeneration of your batteries is conducted automatically without prior discharging."

But I'm not entirely sure the charger can figure out all the parameters. Will it know when to switch into trickle mode when it reaches a 1800 mAh cell vs. 2700 mAh cell? Or does it guess? How will it know if the battery needs to be refreshed vs. "broken-in"? What is marketing hype vs. technology vs. hype?


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## mdocod (Nov 27, 2008)

Smart chargers, like all the chargers being recommended in this thread, use a peak detection method that will properly terminate the charge of any capacity cell within the range of cell sizes the charger is designed to handle. It doesn't matter if you are charging a 900mAH NiCD AA cell, or a 12,000mAH NIMH D cell in an 808, it will look for the same signals during charging to determine when the charge is complete and terminate the charge accordingly. 

Many cheaper chargers just use a timer, or heat, or combination of the 2 to decide when to stop charging, the result is almost always over-charged slightly "cooked" cells. 

The only cell parameters a charger could determine through any short "few second" test, would be cell resistance and initial voltage, based on cell resistance, a charger could determine an appropriate charging rate. A charger that performs this test can not determine the capacity of the cell with this test, as there is not a direct correlation between resistance and capacity. Some chargers may check for abnormally low voltage on the cell, and use a different charging method to attempt to restore the cell from it's over-discharged state, or just refuse the cell all-together. There is no "few second test" that could ever determine the capacity of a cell, unless the charger had some sort of optical system that could read the label of the cell being installed (but even that is not always a reliable indicator, to say the least, such a system will probably never exist).


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## snakyjake (Nov 27, 2008)

When I think of "smart charger", I think of something like a 3 stage charger that is used to charge 12v lead acid/gel batteries. The charger will keep charging until the battery can't take the charge on bulk, the switch down to absorb, then finally switch to trickle. I never had to tell the charger what battery group, or how many parallel batteries, or what the amp hours are. It just does its job, and does it well.

I'd like to find a similar type of charger for the NiMH. Something that will charge the NiMH battery to it's optimum capacity every time, with me doing the least amount, and without damaging the battery. 

Battery testing that provides remaining capacity would be a nice bonus.

I don't have the Maha 9000, it seems ideal. I'm just not sure about the UI. How much playing around am I going to have to do with the charger/batteries to get my optimum charge? Is there another charger that can do all the thinking for me?


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## Mr Happy (Nov 27, 2008)

snakyjake said:


> I don't have the Maha 9000, it seems ideal. I'm just not sure about the UI. How much playing around am I going to have to do with the charger/batteries to get my optimum charge? Is there another charger that can do all the thinking for me?


It's really not hard to use. You just put the batteries in it like you would any other charger and it charges them quickly and effectively using the default 1000 mA charge setting. You don't need to do anything except walk away and let it do its stuff.

The UI gives you access to other features like discharging and conditioning that you really don't want the charger to start choosing automatically. If you use those features you really do want it to be under manual control, and then the UI makes it pretty simple to select the settings you want.


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## SilverFox (Nov 27, 2008)

Hello Jake,

Several of the hobby chargers feature an Automatic setting that pretty much does what you are looking for. Some are more effective than others.

I checked the Triton and felt it did a horrible job of getting a full charge into the cells. On the other hand the Schulze did very well. Others may have experience with other of the hobby chargers and chime in on this, but this may be another area of charging for you to consider.

Tom


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## njbirder (Jan 10, 2009)

Hello Everyone, 
This is my first post to CPF. 
I have the MQN05 Eneloop charger, but do not have the instruction sheet. 
The Sanyo website presently shows only the instructions for MQN06. 

I need to know how the charging indicator light works. 
What does the light show when the uncharged batteries are first inserted? 
What does the light show when the charging is complete? 
How long does it take to charge 2 AAs?
How long to charge 4 AAs? 

Can someone please post a scan of the MQN05 sheet? 

Many thanks, 
Tom


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## StandardBattery (Jan 10, 2009)

njbirder said:


> Hello Everyone,
> This is my first post to CPF.
> I have the MQN05 Eneloop charger, but do not have the instruction sheet.
> The Sanyo website presently shows only the instructions for MQN06.
> ...


 
- I can't scan the page right now, but basically Sanyo says load the batteries BEFORE you plug it in. When you plug it in the charge light should go ON.

- When they are charged the light goes OFF.

- No Light, means not charging.

- Blinking every 2 seconds, means temerature too high, change room temerature to 32-104F

- Blinking every .5 second, something wrong with battery


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## Hondo (Jan 11, 2009)

More generally, the MQN05 charges at 300 mA, so you can calculate the charge time by dividing that into the battery capacity, and add about 10-20%. It is four independent channels, so there is no need to insert even numbers or matched cells. It will terminate each bay independently, but you won't get feedback until the last battery is done (light goes out). It is a good, gentle charger for set-it-and-forget-it use.


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## JNewell (Apr 6, 2009)

So, is the following correct?

1. You can safely charge Eneloops in any good NiMH charger?

2. The Sanyo MQN05 charger is an independent channel charger, even though the LED only illuminates if you have both slots in a pair filled?


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## Hondo (Apr 7, 2009)

1. Yes.

2. The Sanyo MQN05 charger is an independent channel charger, and the light SHOULD come on when any number of batteries are inserted, even just one.


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## JNewell (Apr 7, 2009)

Thanks. I may have gotten the wrong # for the Sanyo. I'll check tonight. I think what I've got is a 4 slot, dual channel charger.


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