# Battery Chargers .....



## GadgetJim (Jul 25, 2016)

What kind(s) of battery chargers do you use ?

These are the four main battery chargers that I use now. I quit using my two Energizer dumb chargers.

1) PowerEX Maha MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger-Analyzer
2) LaCrosse BC-1000
3) Opus BT-C3400 V3.1 (AA/AAA NiMH/NiCd/Li-ion)
4) NiteCore Digicharger D4 (IMR/Li-ion/LiFePO4/AA/AAA/AAAA/C)

I have several dozen old rechargable batteries that I would like to try and bring back to life ..... 

I would like to add one or two more chargers to my collection ... Any recommendations .... ? My LaCrosse and PowerEX chargers show many of my old batteries as "HIGH". My Opus charger was able to resurrect some of those batteries however. Is there a better charger for reviving old batteries ... ?

I need lots of batteries for my bicycle gadgets, mostly AA, AAA, and 18650. We also have many other devices around the house that use rechargable batteries. I am charging batteries almost everyday.


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## obg12 (Apr 9, 2016)

I ues this one 








http://www.illumn.com/batteries-cha...-superb-charger-li-ion-nimh-nicd-charger.html

And this one









Both from here http://www.illumn.com/batteries-chargers-and-powerpax-carriers/efest-luc-charger.html


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

Our electronics are purposely limited to AA or AAA

We use Sanyo Eneloop chargers.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VLAEPQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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## forluvofsmoke (Jan 27, 2012)

I keep a 3-4hr dumb charger on hand for those occasions when I discharge a set of batteries too deep and a smart charger refuses to charge them due to battery voltage being too low. This allows me to put some juice back into them for an hour or so before doing a complete charge with a rapid-rate smart charger. I have (1)15-min 4AA/AAA and (3)2-hr 4-AA/AAA chargers...I have charged dozens of batteries in just a few hours. I also have a efest LUC 500mA/1amp Li-Mn charger for 2-18650 on down.

As for recovering trashed batteries...don't kid yourself...they're not like a sulfated flooded lead acid battery which can be recovered with heavy use of a desulfator. You can play with them all you want...in the the end, you'll still have a 5-6 year old battery with no capacity and a very high self-discharge rate. As soon as they won't take or hold a charge (unless it was just a deep discharge) it's time to retire them for recycling.

The only exception is NiCad, which can be damaged due to lack of use or from shallow discharge/recharge cycles. NiCad can be recovered with a lot of charge and deep discharge cycles, if you have several weeks to play with them, but it's still usually a waste of time if they're older batteries. If your NiCad batteries are suffering from this, you really need to consider a different battery chemistry...they're not suited to the type of use you're giving them, or they wouldn't fail prematurely. 

Rechargeable batteries have a shelf life...they may last for several hundred cycles, in a short time period, but expected cycle life means nothing if they are reaching the end of their shelf life due to just laying around with infrequent use. BTW, NiCad is the most out-dated and most environmentally unfriendly battery chemistry. I phased out every NiCad I had about 10 years ago...as they died off I replaced in sets with NiMH and never looked back.

The only advantage NiCad used to have is a high output current...now days so does Li-Mn...can we say 10+ amps per 18650 3.7 volt battery? I'm not sure NiCad can muster that from a comparably sized battery, or pair...they have a good punch, but maybe not that much. I guess my loyalty lies with what works best for my applications, which is lighter use cycles with low self-discharge for longer storage periods. And I also like to be able to top-off the charge at any convenient opportunity without damaging the battery...NiCad HATES that...they're designed to work hard, often, and run 'em 'til they're dead, then fully charge. Leave a NiCad laying around for 3-4 months after you started cycling it and chances are you will have a useless battery.


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

the one in the 1st pic.i bought in march of 2009.it's what i consider as a cheap wal-mart special.only 2 draw backs i have with it.is the tabs that butt up against the back end of the batteries,can bend out if not careful while putting D batteries in.and i have to recharge 2 or 4 at a time.other then that.it's been a good one so far.the 2nd charger,i bought at harbor fright 2 summers ago.i can recharge what batteries i need to.be it,1-2-3- or 4..and it'll recharge NiCad and nimh alike.it's just a matter of flipping a switch.the switches on them,i bought and spliced into the cords.so i can shut them off when not in use.the black and red object in the 3rd pic,is the power converter,that i got at harbor fright 3 summers ago.it works great with both chargers,while plugged into the car.i've used it on camping trips.and 2 power power outages.


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