This household has a proliferation of these cells up to 2600mah but only 1 charger which is years old, bought when we were using 500-800mah cells. Any ideas for a good battery charger for modern cells. Speed is not of the essence, reliability is far more important. Many thanks
Harry
I have the Ansmann Energy 16 and find it very good for processing the cells properly. FWIW I think I got mine from here (no connection etc).
Also, although it will do 12 of your AA's at once (each cell being treated independently) it also does AAA, C, D and PP3's (in any combination).
Not cheap mind but nor are several sets of ruined rechargeable.
The 3 year warranty is quite reassuring considering the cost etc.
HTH
T i m
I'm glad you asked that. I have been wondering the same. Huge price range.
The clever bits I want are:
o Ability to charge 1 to 4 AA or AAA cells at a time. o Indicator of how full each cell is.
Keep seeing Ansmann but they seem very expensive.
I have an Ansman Digispeed 4 (AA and AAA only, came with mains and car powe adapters) and an Ansmann Energy8 (AA, AAA, C, D, PP3) no problems with "normal" NiMH up to 2700mAh or the "eneloop" type cells
It's very good but a whopping £27.
Take a wander into Lidl. They have a decent and clever battery charger f= or the princely sum of =A312.70.
Does up to 6 x AAA or AA cells or 4 x D cells in any combination plus 2 = x PP3's at a time. It uses -ve delta V detection for switching to trickle =
charge rather than just being time based. Also tests and "refreshes" the= cells each time. Charge time for a 2600mAHr battery is about 5hrs.
It's on the to-do list here to build one sometime so I can make it do exactly what I need - I seem to recall many battery charger circuits floating about the 'net and in magazines a few years ago, so presumably they're all still around...
In the meantime I bought a cheapo Rayovac charger a week or so ago - it seems to do cells in pairs (2 or 4) but can handle AA and AAA and cost the princely sum of $5 (which is what, about 3 quid?).
4 x AA rechargeable cells also set me back $5, which wasn't what I expected (I think I last bought rechargeable batteries 20 years ago, and recall them being very expensive) - even if they don't last many charges, it's got to be better than the speed at which the kids go through the non-rechargeables! :-)cheers
Jules
Part of my requirement for a charger was that it could charge 12AA's at a time for RC model radio gear (8 in the TX, 4 in the RX).
In the good_old_days all my RC sets were built_in rechargeable so just plugged the charger into them. The only problem was that all the cells were charged in series so you had to treat them gently (so slow 'overnight' charges).
I also have some 7Ah 'D' Nicads that I use in a radio that is currently in the bathroom. The Energy 16 copes with those as well and I recently worked out they are nearly 30 years old!
Cheers, T i m
Indeed - another Lidl 'steal'.
In message , Harry Lime writes
Maha - without any hesitation. Expensive and you may have to search a bit for UK suppliers, but they are very good. I was persuaded to try a C401FS having trawled through several battery related threads on dpreview and it has lived up to the recommendations. I have not tried the fast charge setting, just the slow and the results during the past couple of years have been excellent.
This is the one I would recommend - the design has been around now for some years so is mature. I will cope with single or multiple charges, does discharge and charge cycle and will refresh cells by charging and discharging until a constant capacity is reached.
The only thing that my early model won't cope with - and may have been addressed now - is coping with cells that have been left in a switched on appliance. I find I have to initiate these in an old fashioned charger first to get some sort of voltage on the terminals.
Rob
But you can buy 5 Lidl Tronic chargers (giving 30 AA slots) and have change from the price on your Energy 16 . B-)
Looking at the flashing light patterns and terminal layout on the Energy
16 I strongly suspect that inside the case there is very little difference between the two.The BL700 mentioned by Mr Jardine looks fun for the techy type but only does 4 AA or AAA cells, no C, D, or PP3. Personally I want a charger that just works and tells me in a simple way what it is doing. It also needs to charge cells singulary(*) and have proper full chrage detection.
(*) Two reasons some of the kit we have that uses rechargeables runs on three cells and it's not good to charge cells in series. The cells will have slightly different capacities so one will end up over charged the other under.
nt
Seems I haven't had one that flat yet. Just checked the charger with a variable power supply and yes it wants to see 0.50V before starting up. I'll keep your point in mind for the future.
Lidl (might be Aldi, if I'm mistaken) They have a nice smart charger for 13 quid that's about six separate output channels. Silverisn case that looks like a roadkill starfish.
NB - this is _not_ the rectangular box dumb charger they also do.
I have currently a Lidl Tronic charger flashing away alongside. Since getting it six or more months ago several of my NiMH cells seem to hold a lomger charge.
Currently two cells are flashing at about 1Hz. the other two (much lower capacity and suspect) are flashing one flash in three. What does this mean?
Colours? The key for the common patterns is on the front of the charger. I've not seen:
I don't have the space nor spare plug sockets for the extra 4 units though. ;-)
There has been quite a bit of conjecture on that one and a denial from the manufacturers, however ...
But, it does do the cycle thing and that I would be interested in. Reading some have had issues with catching fire is less positive though.
Yep, and do 12AA's at a time. ;-)
Indeed.
Yup, and why I chose all the chargers I've recently bought to monitor individual cell positions (of which the Energy 16 has proven the most capable).
Cheers, T i m
p.s. I've just bought 8 x AA Eneloops and it's refreshing to see them all finish their cycle at about the same time. Even though the status display on the Energy 16 isn't as sophisticated as some units that have been mentioned here I have already weeded out a few 'iffy' cells that obviously don't respond the same as their comrades.
Forget rechargeables altogether is my advice!!! Right pain in the rear having to contantly recharge and don't last long anyway..regardless of quoted ratings.....
Get alkalines from Poundland... Probably cheaper than recharging anyway, much much more reliable, last much much longer and pains all gone!!! :)
Except when they leak, though been lucky with their Kodak branded ones so far...
Try buying some decent ones - they are available at near alkaline capacities. But you won't get them in your Poundland shop...
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