Finally getting some Eneloops, but will my old charger work?

[surapon]

Dear Friends
Here are my Eneloop package
Surapon

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

The energizer charger fast charges batteries and has a reputation for overheating them and ruining them. A battery that should last for several years may die in 6 months. Its good for selling batteries.
The Sanyo Charger works fine. Maha has a reputation for producing good chargers, except for the one I got which melted down.

I have 4 or 5 Sanyo chargers now, and still have 3 or 4 Maha Chargers that I don't want to use for fear of a fire.

 

[Bob Howland]

http://www.mahaenergy.com/mh-c9000/

If you have rechargeable batteries, this charger is a no brainer.

If you have eneloops, how is this ~$60 charger better than the ~$6 charger from Sanyo?

Update: Some days you get the bear and some days the bear gets you.

First, what is the model number of the Sanyo charger? (Update: NC-MDU01 for the 2-battery unit powered from a USB port and MQN04 for the 4 battery unit powered by mains.)

Second, does the Sanyo charge each cell individually or does it connect them in series pair and charge the pair, a strategy which eventually destroys the weaker of the two batteries? (Update: The NC-MDU01 charges them individually while the MQN04 charges them in series.)

Third, what is the normal charging current of the Sanyo charger? (Update: 850mA for a single battery plugged into the NC-MDU01 and 450mA when two batteries are plugged in. 250mA for the MQN04) My LaCrosse BC700's normal current is 100mA (Update: 200mA) and my Maha MH-C800S 8-battery model defaults to 500mA (Update: 1000mA) but can be reduced to 200mA (Update: 500mA). More current is worse since it heats up the battery and damages its internal structure.

Anyway, I use the LaCrosse almost exclusively. The Maha is used when I have a lot of batteries that need to be charged in a hurry, but that's why I bought it.

 

[hawaiisunsetphoto]

http://www.mahaenergy.com/mh-c9000/

If you have rechargeable batteries, this charger is a no brainer.

If you have eneloops, how is this ~$60 charger better than the ~$6 charger from Sanyo?

depends on your usage i guess if you would see a difference in performance over time.

i have sets of powerex batteries that i killed over time due to the amount of usage they got. even rechargeables dont last forever. the maha charger i have has multiple charge modes that allow for quick charge, slow charge (better for long term health of the batteries), and a refresh charge that can actually improve the performance of older sluggish batteries. a standard charger may not offer these extra features.

the 60.00 higher end chargers can increase the life and performance of your batteries. they can prevent you from having to spend on additional batteries over time at a clip of 30-40.00 per set. my charger has saved me a ton of money.

but again...it depends on your usage. i use my batteries heavily and have seen the difference of charging modes 1st hand.

^ Agree.

 

[cocopop05]

Hi neuroanatomist, I believe the Sanyo charges batteries in pairs rather than individually like the C9000. This means that if you pair up a battery that has an actual capacity of say 2200mAh with one that has a capacity of 2500mAh, then the charger may damage the weaker battery.

Other advantages over Sanyo are:
- You can select the charge and discharge rates for more gentle battery charging and discarging.
- It doesn't just charge batteries, it can discharge them as well (better for battery conditioning)
- Refresh older batteries to improve their capacity (I gained over 50% increased capacity in many of my older batteries).
- The C9000 allows you to see the actual capacities of each batter, that way you can group the stronger batteries together. Remember, when the weakest battery dies first, the device no longer operates, even if the rest of the batteries have capacity left.

 

[Loswr]

Thank for the info, everyone!

 

[jdramirez]

The energizer charger fast charges batteries and has a reputation for overheating them and ruining them. A battery that should last for several years may die in 6 months. Its good for selling batteries.
The Sanyo Charger works fine. Maha has a reputation for producing good chargers, except for the one I got which melted down.

I have 4 or 5 Sanyo chargers now, and still have 3 or 4 Maha Chargers that I don't want to use for fear of a fire.

I'm aware that the slower the charge, the better the life span of the battery. It also doesn't over heat which can be important as well. But the Energizer charger I have was a slow charging charger. Generally it was an overnight proposition.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

The energizer charger fast charges batteries and has a reputation for overheating them and ruining them. A battery that should last for several years may die in 6 months. Its good for selling batteries.
The Sanyo Charger works fine. Maha has a reputation for producing good chargers, except for the one I got which melted down.

I have 4 or 5 Sanyo chargers now, and still have 3 or 4 Maha Chargers that I don't want to use for fear of a fire.

I'm aware that the slower the charge, the better the life span of the battery. It also doesn't over heat which can be important as well. But the Energizer charger I have was a slow charging charger. Generally it was an overnight proposition.

In that case, it should work. The comment you made about what seemed like a relatively short battery life caused me to remember the issue.

 

[jdramirez]

thanks for the help all. I decided to go for some bang for the buck and I got this:

eneloop NEW Power Pack, 2000mAh Typical, 1900mAh Minimum, 1500 cycle, 8AA, 2AAA, 2 "C" and 2 "D" Spacers, 4 Position Charger, and Storage Case

I'll throw the aaa's into my intervolometer, I'll have a charger I can trust and backup batteries for my flash. all for 34 bucks.

 

[eli452]

The Sanyo charger I got with the eneloops is 560mAh for 4 batteries 1120 for 2. That is quit aggressive. A charge at 200 mAh is better. Also it charges 2 or 4 batteries in pairs. But not all devices use even number of batteries. Canon GP-E2 uses 1 AA, my small flashlight uses 1 AAA, another uses 3xAAA, so does few of the remotes. So how do you charge 3 batteries? You wait for a fourth. But that not a pair. One pulls a battery from a device when it do not supply the necessary juice. The demand of a motorized tooth brash is not the same as remote. So a charger that charge only pair will stop when the first of the two is at capacity leaving the other at less the full capacity or, worse, continue, causing overheat in the first battery to charge to capacity until its pair reaches that mark.
A high end charger charges each battery individually! It also allows you to choose slow or fast charge if necessary. If you keep two simple chargers (a slow one and a fast one) beware, the "pairs" can be different (1+2, 3+4 or 1+3, 2+4) so do not "pair" different kind (AA/AAA, low/high capacity etc)

 

[jdramirez]

The Sanyo charger I got with the eneloops is 560mAh for 4 batteries 1120 for 2. That is quit aggressive. A charge at 200 mAh is better. Also it charges 2 or 4 batteries in pairs. But not all devices use even number of batteries. Canon GP-E2 uses 1 AA, my small flashlight uses 1 AAA, another uses 3xAAA, so does few of the remotes. So how do you charge 3 batteries? You wait for a fourth. But that not a pair. One pulls a battery from a device when it do not supply the necessary juice. The demand of a motorized tooth brash is not the same as remote. So a charger that charge only pair will stop when the first of the two is at capacity leaving the other at less the full capacity or, worse, continue, causing overheat in the first battery to charge to capacity until its pair reaches that mark.
A high end charger charges each battery individually! It also allows you to choose slow or fast charge if necessary. If you keep two simple chargers (a slow one and a fast one) beware, the "pairs" can be different (1+2, 3+4 or 1+3, 2+4) so do not "pair" different kind (AA/AAA, low/high capacity etc)

Generally speaking, I charge 4 at a time. They go into my 580 ex ii. Maybe I will just use the 260 mA energizer charger after all. HUFF!!!

 

[wickidwombat]

The Enloops are not cheap. I recommend a slow charge, preferable charger is one with 4 different charge circuit. I use (and recommend) LA CROSSE.

I got one of these too
best charger EVER
I wish they did an 8 battery version though

 

[winglet]

I have two of the Maha MH-C801D chargers, and I have found them to be rock-solid. Rapid charge, soft charge, and conditioning modes, individual charge per cell (x8) seems to have extended the life of my batts and with 4 speedlites each with external battery packs, it does make a difference to the wallet when you can get some longevity out of your AA's. Just like everything else you get what you pay for - I get that budgets are important, but I think I can safely say going with a cheaper charger with premium batteries is probably false economy. The Powerex site lists the MH-C801D as 90 bucks but B&H has them for $65.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=MH-C801D&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=

For the cells I use all Powerex, a mix of Imedions in the flashes ready to go

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/883811-REG/Powerex_MHRAAI4_IMEDION_Ready_When.html

and Powerex for the external packs and to replace the ones in the strobes.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/883816-REG/Powerex_MHRAA4_Rechargeable_AA_NiMH.html

(Amazon is good for Powerex too).

Having said that I wouldn't hesitate to use the Eneloops as well as many of my colleagues swear by them. But I can honestly say the Powerex stuff has been bulletproof.

Oh, and pick up a proper battery tester while you're at it - the cheap ones don't properly "load" the cell to give you an accurate reading of the charge remaining. But a proper one can save you a lot of hours trying to find a dead cell. I love this one:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/321271-REG/ZTS_MINI_MBT_Mini_MBT_Multi_Battery_Tester.html