The latest in Nimh battery chargers
I have a collection of different brands of Nimh batteries and a Maha rapid charger (w/ conditioner), which has served me ok, but I would like something better. Ideally I would like a charger that would charge the batteries as singles, not in pairs, would give me a indication as to the capacity of the batteries.
Does this exist? What’s out there? What do you use and what is your experience?
I think some of these MAHA chargers are close to what you want. I don’t have personal experience with them but I’m thinking about getting a 801D or 808M.
I have a MAHA MH-C777PlusII that I like quite a bit. It shows the current voltage and charge capacity of the battery(-ies) as well as what it’s doing at the moment (ie FULL, DISCHARGE, QUICK). My typical use is to charge 2 2500mAh NiMH AA cells at a time. I have 4 and rotate the depleted ones for freshly charged ones as needed. I use a battery holder for the loose cells and put the supplied alligator clips on the proper terminals.
This may seem like going to a bit of trouble when the 808M or 801D would work fine but I have another use for this charger. I’m a ham and radio enthusiast and I have a bunch of other battery packs that need occasional charging. The MH-C77+II handles these oddbal packs just great. With the capacity displayed, I get a true sense of which packs are going bad. I can discharge the NiCad packs for proper maintenance. It even charges Lithium-ion batts so I can top off my Yeasu VX-7r battery. The ‘floating pins’ make a wide range of battery packs able to be charged. My roommate occasionally does his cellphone battery on it.
My only gripe, and I can hardly blame MAHA for it, is that when doing a discharge>charge routine, the batteries get warm while discharging and then get warmer during the charging. Since there’s a temperature sensor, sometimes this accumulated heat sets it off and I get half charged cells. Better half charged cells than a house fire, I always say.
The 80x models have individual charging circuits for simultaneous charging of difference types of batteries. As long as you only need AAA, AA, C or D, this might work for you. If you have or anticipate having other types of batteries (9v, Li-ion, packs), I suggest considering the C77+II
So far, thanks to the link I found one that meets my needs, but I’m not sure of the brand - La Crosse. Never heard of it. Here is a link:
http://thomasdistributing.com/la_crosse_bc-900_battery_charger.php
The price is right, and it includes 4 AA and 4 AAA batteries. It’s able to give me the AH of the battery if I run a test mode, and can charge cells 1,2,3,or 4 at a time. Also is has slow to quick charging rate, with points inbetween.
