NiMH charger recommendations?

First of all, this is a request for a *recommendation*, not a request for 
someone to do Google searches for me.
- - -
I need a charger for AA, AAA, and 9v batteries. Four of the AA or AAA 
at a time is OK.

I see very few that support all these batteries (Maha makes a 
separate charger for 9v). Of those that do, not all use delta-V 
termination (or don't specify).

Of those remaining that qualify, I've not heard of the manufacturers 
("Powerlzer"? -- that's not a misspelling), or Chinese no-name ones:

<http://www.horizonbattery.com/battery-chargers/chargers-by-type/12-bay-aa-
aaa-9v-battery-charger.html>

The Tenergy TN190 is the only one I've seen:

<http://www.all-
battery.com/Tenergy_TN190_NiMH_NiCd_Advanced_Universal_Charger_with_LCD_Displa
y-01190.aspx>

Does anybody know of such combo chargers? Can recommend one?

Thanks,
Dave

I can recommend the Lenmar Mach1 Speedcharger for the AA/AAA part of 
your need -  bought mine in 2007 and have been quite happy with it for 
4-1/2 years and several dive trips feeding camera and flash lots of AA 
batteries.

But, of course, it does not do 9V. Requiring that one box do it all may 
be excessively limiting your choices...

-- 
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by
Please don't feed the trolls. Killfile and ignore them so they will go away.

I own an Energizer CHM4FC, which you can get for around $25. It handles AAA,
AA, C, D, and 9V. There's a NiCd / NiMH switch for cell type. I use it for
5400mAh C cells, and it works fine.

http://data.energizer.com/PDFs/chm4fc.pdf

The catch is... The maximum charge current is ~ 500mA, and you have no
control over what the charger does.

Get a MAHA PowerEx MH-C9000. It does only AA and AAA cells, * but you won't
regret it. You can pick the charge rate, and there are functions (such as
refresh and capacity) not on simple chargers. You can see exactly what's
going on.

http://www.thomasdistributing.com/Maha-Powerex-MH-C9000-AA--AAA-Battery-Chargerbr_p_134.html

The current $52 price seems high (I have two, purchased at around $40 each),
but Thomas occasionally has sales.


* MAHA told me it has no intention of making a C adapter. Rats.

On Tue, 3 Apr 2012 23:12:53 -0700, DaveC <invalid@invalid.net> wrote:

>First of all, this is a request for a *recommendation*, not a request for 
>someone to do Google searches for me.
>- - -
>I need a charger for AA, AAA, and 9v batteries. Four of the AA or AAA 
>at a time is OK.

I like the La Crosse chargers. Got one at home, one at the office. Cells
are charged individually, selectable rates, falls back to trickle charge
when full, reports time/volts/rate/amp-hours. Refresh cycle (discharge,
charge, repeat until stable).

http://www.lacrossetechnology.com/bc1000/index.php

-- 
Rich Webb     Norfolk, VA

On Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:12:53 +1000, DaveC <invalid@invalid.net> wrote:

> First of all, this is a request for a *recommendation*, not a request for
> someone to do Google searches for me.
> - - -
> I need a charger for AA, AAA, and 9v batteries. Four of the AA or AAA
> at a time is OK.
>
> I see very few that support all these batteries (Maha makes a
> separate charger for 9v). Of those that do, not all use delta-V
> termination (or don't specify).
>
> Of those remaining that qualify, I've not heard of the manufacturers
> ("Powerlzer"? -- that's not a misspelling), or Chinese no-name ones:
>
> <http://www.horizonbattery.com/battery-chargers/chargers-by-type/12-bay-aa-
> aaa-9v-battery-charger.html>
>
> The Tenergy TN190 is the only one I've seen:
>
> <http://www.all-
> battery.com/Tenergy_TN190_NiMH_NiCd_Advanced_Universal_Charger_with_LCD_Displa
> y-01190.aspx>
>
> Does anybody know of such combo chargers? Can recommend one?
>
> Thanks,
> Dave
>
>

I have this one. Used for a couple of years and it is great. SoShine make  
good stuff - the only problem is the crappy name. Only AA and AAA though.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/soshine-hi-tech-lcd-nimh-nicd-super-quick-charger-6152

for another poster:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/soshine-aa-to-size-c-r14-um-2-battery-converter-cases-5-pack-13814

AA is a little bit longer than C so it can be a tight fit.

-- 
We have failed to address the fundamental truth that endless growth is  
impossible in a finite world.
 

DaveC wrote:

> First of all, this is a request for a *recommendation*, not a request for
> someone to do Google searches for me.
> - - -
> I need a charger for AA, AAA, and 9v batteries. Four of the AA or AAA
> at a time is OK.
>
> I see very few that support all these batteries (Maha makes a
> separate charger for 9v). Of those that do, not all use delta-V
> termination (or don't specify).
>
> Of those remaining that qualify, I've not heard of the manufacturers
> ("Powerlzer"? -- that's not a misspelling), or Chinese no-name ones:
>
> <http://www.horizonbattery.com/battery-chargers/chargers-by-type/12-bay-aa-
> aaa-9v-battery-charger.html>
>
> The Tenergy TN190 is the only one I've seen:
>
> <http://www.all-
> battery.com/Tenergy_TN190_NiMH_NiCd_Advanced_Universal_Charger_with_LCD_Displa
> y-01190.aspx>
>
> Does anybody know of such combo chargers? Can recommend one?
>
> Thanks,
> Dave

...

I have an older version of the one you linked, without
the fast/smart capabilities.  I've had it for three years;
it's been flawless.  And the high-capacity Tenergy
D-cells (10,000 mAH) I use are also excellent.

Lord Valve

http://www.all-
battery.com/Tenergy_TN190_NiMH_NiCd_Advanced_Universal_Charger_with_LCD_Displa
y-01190.aspx

> I have an older version of the one you linked, without
> the fast/smart capabilities.  I've had it for three years;
> it's been flawless.  And the high-capacity Tenergy
> D-cells (10,000 mAH) I use are also excellent.
> 
> Lord Valve

It turns out that the Tenergy charger uses delta-V termination on all except 
the 9v battery. Also, has condition function (discharge before charge) on all 
except 9v.

Blast!

Dave

> It turns out that the Tenergy charger uses delta-V termination
> on all except the 9V battery.

As a 9V battery uses six cells, it might be difficult to determine an
appropriate dV for the battery as a whole, given that the dV could be only
1/6 of that for a single cell.


> Also, it has a condition function (discharge before charge)
> on all except 9V.

If you tend to thoroughly run down the cells before recharge, that shouldn't
be a problem.

>> It turns out that the Tenergy charger uses delta-V termination
>> on all except the 9V battery.

> As a 9V battery uses six cells, it might be difficult to determine an
> appropriate dV for the battery as a whole, given that the dV could be only
> 1/6 of that for a single cell.

Ah, good point. Series cells difficulty. 

>> Also, it has a condition function (discharge before charge)
>> on all except 9V.

> If you tend to thoroughly run down the cells before recharge, that shouldn't
> be a problem.

Good to know.

Thanks!

On 04/04/2012 16:59, DaveC wrote:
> http://www.all-
> battery.com/Tenergy_TN190_NiMH_NiCd_Advanced_Universal_Charger_with_LCD_Displa
> y-01190.aspx
>
>> I have an older version of the one you linked, without
>> the fast/smart capabilities.  I've had it for three years;
>> it's been flawless.  And the high-capacity Tenergy
>> D-cells (10,000 mAH) I use are also excellent.
>>
>> Lord Valve
>
> It turns out that the Tenergy charger uses delta-V termination on all except
> the 9v battery. Also, has condition function (discharge before charge) on all
> except 9v.
>
> Blast!
>
> Dave
>

Suspect delta-V sensing would never work on a 9v battery as it is seven 
cells in series which would reach charged state at different times. 
Best strategy is to charge at a low rate for the maximum time to ensure 
all cells are catered for.

Also, if you get an 'intelligent' charger for single cells, they are 
often a bit too clever and fail to recognise the presence of a cell that 
has been over discharged or reverse charged (can easily happen in multi 
cell packs).  A quick blast (~1A for a few seconds) gives it enough of a 
start for the charger to see it.  Either keep a 'dumb' charger or 
connect across an alakaline cell for a few seconds.

I've used this one for a number of years

http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/technoline/technoline-BL700.asp

Flexible if a little slow.  I've found the very fast chargers prone to 
killing the batteries after a few cycles.

Chris K