Which Battery Charger?

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Zyzzyva

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Simple question really.

Which battery charger should i get? It seems for the last while every item in my home requires a battery of some kind and i'm sick of charging with a cheap AA charger. I think its time to upgrade.

I need to charge AA and AAA.

Any ideas?
 
GP has served me well, tho some people do not like it for some reason.
 
Ellies does a standard charger & a fast charger.

I also recommend you get rechargeable batteries with a higher mA. They last longer before a recharge.

Example my camera. Duracell lasts approx an hour, 2300mA batteries last most of the day.
 
I'm thinking of going for the Uniross Hybrio's (2100mAH).
 
I recommend a dedicated 1.2V charger (Nickel Hydrate or Nickel Cadmium voltages) programmed with the special time / charge limited charging profile.

I have one and by using it, the effective lifetime of NiMH batteries is greatly extended as they are not over-charged and thermally stressed.

Like this:
http://www.mantech.co.za/ProductInfo.aspx?Item=72M3289
OR:
http://za.rs-online.com/web/p/battery-chargers-aaa-aa-c-d-9-volt/0536489/

Why import from Amazon privately and have to pay exorbitant rates for shipping and tolerate the SA Ports and Customs Authority with it's intrusive obsessive-compulsive orifice-probing curiosity (Bless them) when there's an electronics specialist importer who brings these in by the container load?

Plus the so-called top-end charger from Amazon is over-loaded with useless features.
If you cared enough about the cell voltage AND knew what it means and what to do with the value, you'd have a DMM and it would be calibrated to better than 0.001v (0.1%) and you'd have a logger to plot time vs Voltage and profile the battery.

For the purpose a red LED marked "Test Failed" will do which is what the "industrial" versions of these chargers have. Refer to my two examples above.
 
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Have a look at the Sanyo Eneloop batteries / chargers.

Batteries are deep-dwell, rated at 1500 recharges.

Once charged they also tend not to leak their charges very quickly: one reviewer measured the charge on some batteries charged three years before and found the batteries @ 70% of the maximum.

There are a range of matching chargers.
 
jak3 said:
Hehe, i'm not quite that serious. But thanks for the advise, i'm gonna keep looking.
Click to expand...

Well take it from someone who does know batteries*, the R130.00 one from RS electronics is a good one.
http://za.rs-online.com/web/p/battery-chargers-aaa-aa-c-d-9-volt/0536489/
Simple. Effective. Especially on the NiMH and NiCd batteries which require a timer limited trickle charge.
You'd be surprised at how much better this seemingly innocuous looking thing is compared to the "battery destroyer device" that you get supplied with the 4 pack of NiMH batteries in the shops.

And on that note, one more "Pro Tip"™
When purchasing NiMH batteries do not waste money on the packs that included a so-called "battery charger".
By and large these things, which I nickname "battery destroyer devices", do precisely that and dramatically shorten the lifespan (i.e. the number of full capacity charge/discharge cycles available) of the batteries they're shipped with.
A well kept NiMH battery will have a lifespan of at least 50 such cycles but if you use the "battery destroyer devices", you will get no more than 10 to 15 cycles.
Which when you think about it cynically, is precisely why the battery makers provide this thing: So that you will need to keep buying more batteries to replace the dead ones.

Rather buy just the plain batteries on their own and use a proper charger that implements the correct charging sequence / program, like the ones I've mentioned.

*Used to code software for sophisticated battery charge / monitoring logic used in UPSes and standby power systems which are ALL battery based.
 
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EffKay said:
Well take it from someone who does know batteries*, the R130.00 one from RS electronics is a good one.
http://za.rs-online.com/web/p/battery-chargers-aaa-aa-c-d-9-volt/0536489/
Simple. Effective. Especially on the NiMH and NiCd batteries which require a timer limited trickle charge.
You'd be surprised at how much better this seemingly innocuous looking thing is compared to the "battery destroyer device" that you get supplied with the 4 pack of NiMH batteries in the shops.

And on that note, one more "Pro Tip"™
When purchasing NiMH batteries do not waste money on the packs that included a so-called "battery charger".
By and large these things, which I nickname "battery destroyer devices", do precisely that and dramatically shorten the lifespan (i.e. the number of full capacity charge/discharge cycles available) of the batteries they're shipped with.
A well kept NiMH battery will have a lifespan of at least 50 such cycles but if you use the "battery destroyer devices", you will get no more than 10 to 15 cycles.
Which when you think about it cynically, is precisely why the battery makers provide this thing: So that you will need to keep buying more batteries to replace the dead ones

Rather buy just the plain batteries on their own and use a proper charger that implements the correct charging sequence / program, like the ones I've mentioned.

*Used to code software for sophisticated battery charge / monitoring logic used in UPSes and standby power systems which are ALL battery based.
Click to expand...

That charger from Rs Electronics seems quite decent. The only issue i have with it is that it charges at 120mA which would mean 20 hour charge times for a 2000mA battery. Obviously this would extend the life of the batteries, which is a plus, but i'd rather change the batteries a little more often for a better charging time.

I see that the other one you gave me http://www.mantech.co.za/datasheets/products/BC-0906SM.pdf comes in two models (250mA and 360mA). Which one would you recommend and what charging current would you say is optimal when balancing the issue of battery care and charging time?
 
i wondered the same thing, but then those links Effkay gave me are teaching me a thing or two.
 
EffKay said:
If you're truly serious about batteries, then an actual "Top End" charger / tester is something like this:
http://za.rs-online.com/web/p/battery-chargers-aaa-aa-c-d-9-volt/6673092/

[-]R2300.00[/-] Now R4084.98 !!

Cheap for it includes a dedicated DMM and caters for just about any battery.
Go Pro or Go Home....
Click to expand...

I'm looking for a decent charger with the smarts to properly handle Li-Ion AA and AAA. But R4K for a charger is, er, steep. :wtf: :erm:

Anyone know of anything decent but more reasonably priced?
 
Arthur said:
I'm looking for a decent charger with the smarts to properly handle Li-Ion AA and AAA. But R4K for a charger is, er, steep. :wtf: :erm:

Anyone know of anything decent but more reasonably priced?
Click to expand...
For Li-Ion there are many questionable quality chargers but chemistry is very demanding a good charger.

If you like little bit DIY, I recommend very simple TP4056 based board which can take power from USB port. It will charge 1A - capable of charging bigger batteries, but maximum charging current can be customised to accomodate AA/AAA batteries. Charging characteristic is generally recognised CC/CV with proper cut off. The board costs around $1, I saw local on-line offers from R15. Be aware that for that price you probably get inferior "clone of the clone". Look for F-like logo on the chip, which indicate original clone chip by NanJing Top Power ASIC Corp which received very good reviews. Warning: there is no reverse polarity protection, chip will blow up.

Here is a link to Communica store R45: http://www.communica.co.za/catalog/Details/P2214636336

For retail products I suggest to visit the following Website: http://www.lygte-info.dk/info/indexBatteriesAndChargers UK.html
 
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Thanks, sajunky. Much appreciated.

I need a charger to keep in my accessories cupboard in the dressing room, to charge Li-Ion AAs for the oral irrigator, so USB attach won't do ... though I suppose I could connect it to a mains-USB adapter.

What I have learned is that most chargers are really "battery destroyers" when it comes to Li-Ion, shortening recharge cycles from the hundreds to 15-20.

There's so much crap around it's almost impossible to find something one can trust.

RYO is probably the best route, as you suggest. Now where did my soldering iron hide itself...?
 
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Arthur said:
I need a charger to keep in my accessories cupboard in the dressing room, to charge Li-Ion AAs for the oral irrigator, so USB attach won't do ... though I suppose I could connect it to a mains-USB adapter.
Click to expand...
Cut USB cable on the far-end side, usually +5V is a red wire and ground is black and solder to the board. On the battery side two magnets will attach electrical wires to the battery, but there are non-magnetic batteries too. Be careful of polarity, thats all, you have a cheap quality charger. :)
 
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