NimH battery chargers that charge cells individually?

I think the Energizer 15 minute charger is the best.

NM


"Daniel Prince" <neutrino1.TakeThisOut@ca.rr.com> wrote in message
news:a5i343hm4k8eil4g2vi9lfg8ih8jlhm365@4ax.com...
> Of all the NiMh battery chargers that charge cells individually on
> the market, in your opinion, which one is the best if money is no
> object?
>
> Which one is the best value for the money?
>
> What is the lowest cost one that does an acceptable job?
>
> Thank you in advance for all replies.
> --
> Whenever I hear or think of the song "Great green gobs of greasy
> grimey gopher guts" I imagine my cat saying; "That sounds REALLY,
> REALLY good. I'll have some of that!"
 >> Stay informed about: NimH battery chargers that charge cells individually? 

"Daniel Prince" <neutrino1 RemoveThis @ca.rr.com> wrote in message
news:a5i343hm4k8eil4g2vi9lfg8ih8jlhm365@4ax.com...
> Of all the NiMh battery chargers that charge cells individually on
> the market, in your opinion, which one is the best if money is no
> object?
>
> Which one is the best value for the money?
>
> What is the lowest cost one that does an acceptable job?
>
> Thank you in advance for all replies.
>

I like my LaCrosse charger. Not cheap, but definitely one of the better
chargers out there. Batteries are charged individually, and you can vary
the charge rate.

Mark
 >> Stay informed about: NimH battery chargers that charge cells individually? 

"Daniel Prince" <neutrino1 DeleteThis @ca.rr.com> wrote in message
news:a5i343hm4k8eil4g2vi9lfg8ih8jlhm365@4ax.com...
> Of all the NiMh battery chargers that charge cells individually on
> the market, in your opinion, which one is the best if money is no
> object?
>
> Which one is the best value for the money?
>
> What is the lowest cost one that does an acceptable job?
>
> Thank you in advance for all replies.

I've been happy enough with the RayOVac model PS4 One Hour Charger. The
battery cells do get hot while charging, but the battery cells also seem to
recharge reliably over and over again.

For slower charging, I've also used the XG Charge Pro model CHB-7NSS, but
note that this charger does NOT charge individual battery cells, it only
charges them in pairs (pair A, pair B).

However, the other reason I mention the XG Charge Pro charger is that the
one time I completely used up a set of XG 2400 mAh AA batteries (battery
operated holiday lights left on overnight)... I put all four of them in the
XG Charge Pro charger and they simply would not charge (i.e., the charger
light remained yellow after 10 seconds which indicates there is a problem).

But, when I put the same batteries in the RayOVac one hour charger, every
battery cell lit up green which indicates charging in progress. All of the
battery cells took a bit longer than an hour to charge because they were
completely drained, but they were all fully recharged when all of the green
lights went out.
 >> Stay informed about: NimH battery chargers that charge cells individually? 

Circuit and a photo of homade assemby built under a high shelf in
utility room :

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/pictures?a=67b0de21b3299c0984d3&sid...csWTNs5

120 V AC is fed directly to the cells charging in series, through a
full wave rectifier bridge. Current is limited by the two, 1 mF
capacitors that are switched in parallel or series by the DPDT switch,
each half position indicated by the corresponding "P" and "S". The
neon lamp is just to indicate current flow but also adds a bit more to
the total charging current. The capacitors run "cold" since they are
purely reactive. An equivalent resistor would cook along at about 10
watts. The fuse in the hot leg is very important to prevent a fire
hazard and should be as small and fast acting as possible. The cells
must be in the series configuration. The capacitors must be the non
polarized type and rated at least 200 volts. The ones available from
Radio Shack are the metal film type. The 100 ohm resistor is to
protect the switch contacts and capacitors from the potential surge
when switching from the S to the P position. The rectifier bridge
diodes must have a high peak inverse voltage rating. The ones
available from Radio Shack are 1 Amp 400 PIV. The P position charging
about 80 mA is for the first 24 hours or so, then switch to the S
position for ongoing trickle charging at about 20 mA. Since
essentially all the series voltage drop is across the capacitance and
neon lamp with it's 33K ballast resistor, the charging current will be
constant and essentially independent of the number of cells charging
in series, even if the output is shorted. The fuse and the series
battery holder are outside the photo, and power in is the line from
the lower right while the line to the battery holder is at the upper
left. The Neon ballast resistor is indicated as 22K in the circuit but
33K is more typically correct and will depend on the lamp rating. TAKE
CARE OF THE INHERENT SHOCK HAZARD OF THIS CIRCUIT ! THERE IS NO
ISOLATION FROM FULL LINE VOLTAGE. WITH THE CELLS REMOVED, THE VOLTAGE
AT THE HOLDER CONTACTS INSTANTLY BECOMES FULL 120 V RECTIFIED DC. KEEP
OUT OF THE REACH OF KIDS AND PETS, AND AWAY FROM WATER. USE THIS
CIRCUIT AT YOUR OWN RISK ! The circuit assumes 120 VAC 60 Hz and other
supplies will require adjustments in the component ratings.

On Wed, 09 May 2007 06:16:53 -0700, Daniel Prince
<neutrino1.TakeThisOut@ca.rr.com> wrote:

>Of all the NiMh battery chargers that charge cells individually on
>the market, in your opinion, which one is the best if money is no
>object?
>
>Which one is the best value for the money?
>
>What is the lowest cost one that does an acceptable job?
>
>Thank you in advance for all replies.
 >> Stay informed about: NimH battery chargers that charge cells individually? 

On Thu, 10 May 2007 01:02:49 -0700, Daniel W. Rouse Jr. wrote:

> I've been happy enough with the RayOVac model PS4 One Hour Charger.
> The battery cells do get hot while charging, but the battery cells also seem
> to recharge reliably over and over again.

I agree, the PS4 is a good charger and is very well built. But
are they still available? About two years ago they started
disappearing from all of the stores that formerly sold them,
appearing briefly at great discount in surplus stores. Also, they
aren't really 'One Hour' chargers any more. Included with the
chargers in the package was a pair of 1,600 mAh NiMH AA cells and
these could be charged in one hour. With today's higher capacity
NiMH cells the PS4 is more like a 'One and 2/3 Hour' charger.
 >> Stay informed about: NimH battery chargers that charge cells individually? 

Daniel Prince <neutrino1 RemoveThis @ca.rr.com> wrote:
> Of all the NiMh battery chargers that charge cells individually on
> the market, in your opinion, which one is the best if money is no
> object?
>
> Which one is the best value for the money?
>
> What is the lowest cost one that does an acceptable job?
>
> Thank you in advance for all replies.

What looks to be a good one is a Sony charger with 4 2700mAh AA and 2 900mAh
AAA batteries. The charger is advertised as one that can refresh the
batteries, thus removing the plateau effect and getting the maximum life from
your batteries. I haven't tried the charger personally to say how well it
works, but since that is not a new technology, I suspect it will work just
fine. $24.95+tax.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: D281 77A5 63EE 82C5 5E68 00E4 7868 0ADC 4EFB 39F0
 >> Stay informed about: NimH battery chargers that charge cells individually? 

Daniel Prince wrote:
> Of all the NiMh battery chargers that charge cells individually on
> the market, in your opinion, which one is the best if money is no
> object?
>
> Which one is the best value for the money?
>
> What is the lowest cost one that does an acceptable job?
>
> Thank you in advance for all replies.

See http://nordicgroup.us/chargers

The bottom line is that the Maha MH-C401FS is your best choice for
several reasons, including the lifetime warranty, something not
available with any other charger.

Look for a charger that not only charges cells individually, but that
has a selectable charge rate (lower rate charging lengthens battery
life, but sometimes you want a high rate charge), and can be powered
from AC or DC, without the use of a funky inverter.
 >> Stay informed about: NimH battery chargers that charge cells individually? 

John Ortt wrote:
> I bought a 3in1 charger from 7 day shop.
>
> "Offers 3 ways to charge your up your AA or AAA batteries. Use with the
> supplied universal mains adapter (100~240V) anywhere in the world, or use
> with the supplied 12V car lead or use with the supplied USB lead for
> charging direct from your computer - the choice is yours ! "
>
> It is a standard 4 x AA battery side-by-side layout and it is nice and
> compact but with three ways to charge batteries it is ideal for people who
> are on the move.

That's the Vanson V-3380, and it doesn't charge batteries individually.
Avoid it at all costs.

There used to be a Sanyo that was 3 in 1, but it had overheating
problems and was recalled.
 >> Stay informed about: NimH battery chargers that charge cells individually? 

In article <4643a2d5$0$27254$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>,
SMS <scharf.steven.RemoveThis@geemail.com> wrote:

> Daniel Prince wrote:
> > Of all the NiMh battery chargers that charge cells individually on
> > the market, in your opinion, which one is the best if money is no
> > object?
> >
> > Which one is the best value for the money?
> >
> > What is the lowest cost one that does an acceptable job?
> >
> > Thank you in advance for all replies.
>
> See http://nordicgroup.us/chargers
>
> The bottom line is that the Maha MH-C401FS is your best choice for
> several reasons, including the lifetime warranty, something not
> available with any other charger.
>
> Look for a charger that not only charges cells individually, but that
> has a selectable charge rate (lower rate charging lengthens battery
> life, but sometimes you want a high rate charge), and can be powered
> from AC or DC, without the use of a funky inverter.


I have the Maha MH-C800S. It charges 8 AA or AAA cells individually.
It will charge them in either 2 hours or 4 hours. They have another
model that is the same but has 1 and 2 hour charge times. I opted for
the longer times to lengthen the cell life. In looking around the Maha
is the best charger.

--
Clark Martin
Redwood City, CA, USA Macintosh / Internet Consulting

"I'm a designated driver on the Information Super Highway"
 >> Stay informed about: NimH battery chargers that charge cells individually?