Any recommendations on smart chargers for/and NiMh AA and AAA rechargeable batteries? I have a portable A/V recorder that uses regular AA batteries, and the Alkaline types run out fast. So I really need to use NiMh instead. But I don't know much about these batteries in general, especially things like discharge rates etc.
On Amazon.com, you will find Sanyo Eneloop NiMH rechargables, and also check out the La Crosse charger which is great. The Eneloops have the property of low discharge rate when sitting. Costco also has the Eneloops (for a good price) if you are a member. The Lacrosse charger comes with high capacity NiMH batteries also, so you will end up will a good collection of batts and adapters for the C and D sizes. Link below shows Eneloops and charger (see Customers also buy...). See the Lacrosse charger version that comes with the extra battas and C/D adaptors. It's worth it. http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B004UG41XW?tag=priuschatcom-20
Do NOT buy THESE: If you do . . . . you will NEVER be able to look at another battery with out being disgused. We have a gal who does some of our photography. I asked her what she uses in her Speedlite Flash (they can use a LOT of power) . She couldn't say enough about the above. Yes, they're crazy high priced, and difficult to find. But: 1) They'll sit and sit and sit ... and STILL hold a charge 2) Tons of power Their smart charger is great and has a good amount of flexability too. They've lasted a long long time. I think I had to import them from Korea back when we bought 2 sets of 4. Well worth the wait and the cost. .
On Amazon there seems to be two camps: LaCrosse and Maha. Both appear equally good with pros and cons of each. Does anyone have experience using either one of these, or something else?
I bought one of these a few months ago and like it a LOT: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RSOV50 Prior to the above, I never had any sort of fancy NiMH charger. I had a now very old Maha MH-C204F charger (worked fine but doesn't hold a candle to the above in terms of features) and a bunch of chargers that came w/batteries but all charged in pairs (very annoying when using an odd # of batteries). I ended up using a Lenmar Egg charger to charge single batteries, since it had two independent channels. Eventually, one channel broke anyway.
Any flavor of the Eneloop AA will be a great upgrade to the alkaline cells you're using now. One caveat though, many devices that were designed to use the higher voltage of alkaline (1.5 V/cell) will appear to run out of juice earlier on NiMh. Sometimes you get lucky and there's no problem. I have both the LaCrosse BC-900 and Maha MH-C9000 chargers. Actually, I have two of the Maha...infer what you will from that. I've been into rechargeable cells for longer than I can remember. I've seen lots of crap cells, lots of crap chargers, and have no desire to use anything else since finding the Eneloop when they came out. Unless you need the extra capacity, save your money on the XX 2500's and get the regular 2000 mAh Eneloop's, they have better long term durability.
I have the LaCrosse BC-900 which was the original popular version on Amazon ~3 years ago. The newer BC-700 has some less capability, but I do not use the super-rapid charge feature much anyway. Cannot comment on Maha. But the older BC-900 came with case + C/D adpaters + 4 AA 2500 NiMH and + 4 AAA. These are good batts too (high capacity). I have no problem with the SANYO basic charger but it is slow and need 2 or 4 batts, often you have 3 so its a pain when cannot charge the odd one out. Caution too is some devices specify no rechargables. Although voltage is lower, I think sometimes current draw can be higher.
I have an older Maha MH-C9000. I think it's more versatile than the the LaCross BC-900 but both are top end consumer hobbyist chargers that will let you do a lot of things the average charger won't. Google mh-c9000 vs bc-900 , there are lots of posts all over the net comparing the two. You won't go wrong with either so pick the one with the features that matter most to you.
After lots and lots of reading on Amazon, including some very meticulous reviews by a certain NLee the Engineer, I've come to the conslusion that what I really need is a Mobile Charger since the one device I will use this for the most is my Zoom Q3 recorder which I take on the road a lot. So I need something light but versatile. A really nice charger is the now discontinued Duracell CEF23DX4N, which comes with both a 12V power input (w/ cable) and a USB port. The USB port can play two different roles: 1) for input power, e.g. charge your NiMH batteries from your PC or USB wall socket; 2) for output power, i.e. charge a mobile device (e.g. phone/tablet) from the NiMh batteries in the unit. Fortunately I was able to find some left on eBay for $35. BestBuy in Canada is also having a sale on this model (ending 10/20/11) for only $19.99, in case anyone is interested. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XSA5WW/ref=cm_cr_asin_lnk
I have a little Duracell wall charger (CEF14NC) that works for AA and AAA sizes. I haven't run any comparison tests, but the batteries seem to work well for the wireless mouse. The one you found sounds pretty good, Zen. I should get one, too - it would be really handy to charge batteries in the car, too.
On this note, I got a price alert for the Amazon.com: La Crosse Technology BC-700 Alpha Power Battery Charger: Home & Kitchen being $30. I've had mine since late 2011 and like it at lot. I paid a little less back then but $30 is a decent price.
^^not bad...we rejoined Costco and they have the eneloops, believe 10 AA for $20 about as cheap as you can get. Hill's prior post above is good too, I should try some of those super Eneloops. Also Costco has some nice FEIT reflector LED bulbs for <$20 I will get some if reviews are good. Quite a bit cheaper than the EcoSmarts at Home Depot and now I have one of those failing on me.
