Chargers
NiMH Battery Chargers
When shopping for nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) chargers it is important to find a charger that will do three things: 1. Charge the cells independently instead of in pairs (this is important in case one battery is bad, which happens frequently), 2. Charge at an appropriate rate --taking at least 1-2 hours (no 15-minute fast chargers!), and 3. Correctly stop charging when the battery is full (rather than charge for some number of hours regardless of the charge currently in the battery). Very few chargers you see in stores will do all of these.
NiMH cells will last more cycles if they are charged at an appropriate rate. The ideal charging rate is 0.5C, where C is the capacity of the battery in mah. For example, a 2700 mah cell (C=2700) should be charged at about 1350 mA (there is some debate about whether lower rates or a rate up to 1.0C is better). Therefore chargers with a charge rate that can be selected by the user are preferred. For capacity testing, the discharge rate is usually 0.20 to 0.25C.
AA/AAA Chargers which can Measure Cell Capacity
- Maha Powerex MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger-Analyzer charges 4 AA or AAA NiMH batteries. It charges cells individually at a user-selectable rate and cuts off when the battery is full (actually it has a small topping off charge and a very slight trickle charge to keep the battery full). It can also discharge batteries to determine their capacity (has LCD display), or apply a "break-in" charge. It is often recommended in the CPF forums. About $50. Manual Review by Silverfox
- La Crosse Technology BC-1000 AlphaPower Battery Charger is similar to the Maha MH-C9000, but it is smaller and usually comes packaged with 4 AA and 4 AAA NiMH batteries (see caveat later). It lacks the "break-in" charge and can not discharge a battery without subsequently recharging it. It is usually about $60. It was formerly called the BC-900, then the BC-9009, but all three models are essentially the same. The BC-700 charger is a less powerful version, usually less than $40. Some Amazon reviewers reported problems with the BC-9009 chargers melting a few years ago, summarized in this CPF thread, but the BC-1000 appears to have been redesigned on the inside to avoid this problem. Manual
AA/AAA Chargers which Cannot Measure Cell Capacity
- Panasonic BQ-CC17 - 4 cell compact AA/AAA charger charges cells individually with indicator lights when charging is complete for each cell. Applies a small topping off charge and no trickle charge. Recent price at Amazon was around $13 without batteries. Review: HKJ
- Maha MH-C800S - 8-cell smart charger with LCD display. Has fast (1000mA) or gentle (500mA) charging mode (lower rates for AAA cells), conditioning cycle, 100-240V power. $57. MH-C801D is similar but has twice the charging rate (2000 mA default rate is too high for most batteries) and costs a little more. CPF thread Manual
- Titanium M-8800 Smart Fast 8 Bay AA/AAA charger - 8-cell smart charger with individual channels, LCD indicators, 500 mA charging rate (for 5-8 cells, otherwise seems to be 1000mA which is high for AAA batteries), and ability to discharge cells. $30. Helpful post on CPF. Includes AC (100-240V) and car adapter.
AAA/AA/C/D 9V Chargers
- Ansmann Energy 8 - A consistent award winner in Photography magazines. 1-6 AAA/AA, 1-4 C/D, 1-2 9V. Ni-Cd or NiMH. Ansmann Energy 16 is similar but has twice as many bays. Auto discharges to avoid memory effect. Charges each battery individually, based upon readings taken once each minute. Charge rate is not user-selectable, but rates are appropriate (300 mA for AAA, 700 mA for AA, and 1000 mA for C or D). Manual
- Maha MH-C808M - 8-cell for AAA, AA, C, or D (no 9V). Has fast (2000mA for AA, 700mA for AAA) or gentle (1000mA for AA, 350 mA for AAA) charging cycle. This could be too fast for some batteries. Sanyo recommend a maximum charge rate of 950mA for their Eneloop AA cells for example. Can condition batteries and has LCD display. $90. Review: CPF thread Manual
- Rayovac PS3 Rechargeable Battery Universal Charger - Has four bays with independent charging, but you can put two AA or AAA batteries in one bay (which you would want to avoid). As long as batteries are charged individually, this should work. It is a very old model charger (introduced no later than 2001). $22. CPF thread manual
- Energizer Family Charger (CHFC) - Like the Rayovac, has 4 independent bays. As long as you charge one battery per bay, you are charging independently. Though it uses smart termination, it also automatically cuts off after a few hours, so high capacity D cells will take multiple charging cycles to actually get full from empty. 1100mA is a little high for some AA cells. It is available online but also bricks and mortar stores like Walmart. CPF thread manual
Not Recommended
The following chargers either charge cells in pairs(¹), use too high a charging rate (²), or use a timer (³).
Duracell: CEF14DX¹, CEF24¹, CEF26¹²
Energizer: CH15MN², CH15MN2², CH1HR², CHCC³, CHCVM¹, CHDC¹³, CHDC8¹, CHFCV¹, CHFCV2¹³, CHFM¹, CHP4¹, CHP42¹, CHVC3¹³, CHVCM¹³, CHVCM3¹
Kodak: K620¹, K6200², K6600¹
Lenmar: MSC815², PRO120¹, PRO290¹, PRO32A¹, PRO541¹, PRO78¹, R2G804U¹, R2G808U¹, R2GE04¹
Maha: MH-C204F¹, MH-C204GT¹, MH-C204W¹
Rayovac: PS131C¹, PS131D¹, PS13-4BC¹, PS13-4BD¹, PS32-2BC¹, PS4²
Sanyo: MQN06U¹
Sony: BCG-34HH¹, BCG-34HUE²
Most Vanson chargers
Any 15 or 30 minute charger. These cook cells and dramatically shorten cell life.
Lithium Ion Chargers
Li-ion chargers aren't as commercially widespread as NiMH chargers. Precautions must be taken to avoid overheating cells and they should be monitored while charging. Some people only charge li-ion cells in their fireplace or in a steel bucket! For tips on safely using Li-ion cells refer to this post. The important thing for li-ion chargers is to correctly stop charging when the battery voltage reaches 4.2 volts (for a typical 3.7 volt cell) and not to charge at a rate exceeding the capacity of the cell (e.g. "1C" for an 800 mAh battery is 800 mA). See this article from Battery University for information about properly charging li-ion cells. A good charger will slow the charge rate as the battery gets closer to being fully charged.
- Nitecore Intellicharger i4 - 4-bay 2-channel charger (Bays 1 and 3 share a channel, as do 2 and 4). Charges li-ion cells as well as NiMH. Usually around $15-20. Reviews: HKJ, Selfbuilt. Similar 2-bay model.
- Nitecore Digicharger D4 Nitecore makes a 4-bay charger similar to the I4 above, but with a digital readout for voltage and current (about $25-30) as well as a 2-bay D2. Also has an option for low current (150mA) for charging 10440 an 14500 batteries. Review by HKJ.
- Opus BT-C3400 4-bay charger that can test capacity of cells as well as charge them (about $45, shop around). The BT-C3100 appears to be the same charger ($34 at Gearbest).
Hobby Chargers
Hobby chargers are built to charge battery packs that are often used with remote control cars, planes, boats, etc. They will charge packs of multiple cells and therefore must have higher power and typically have 12V input (RC users will charge from their car or a battery in the field). Due to the variety of cells they charge, they do not usually include battery holders, however most users will use strong neodymium magnets to hold the alligator clips to the ends of a battery as shown here. They can be used to charge a wide variety of battery chemistries and combinations of cells. Here is a good introduction to hobby chargers. Hobby chargers can test the capacity of a battery by discharging it. When charging, they will tell you how much charge is going into the battery, reading out voltage and current during the process, and cut off when the battery is full, or cut off based on time or amount of charge applied. They can also charge a li-ion battery to 3.8V for storage (it is not good to store li-ion batteries fully charged or discharged). They are not as easy to use, but do a lot more than just give you a green light when the battery is done.
- Turnigy Accucel-6 60W 5A Balancer/Charger. Very popular and not as expensive as the Bantam charger that it copies. Has a maximum discharge rate of 1A. Seems to work well with this power supply though it can also be found on eBay for less (seller toymodel888 sells 12V 5A adapters for IMAX B6 which work great for $8 shipped). Can also be used with this temperature probe to make sure battery is not overheating (set to 45°C from default of 80°). Manual Review.
- Turnigy Accucel-8 150W 7A Balancer/Charger. More power than you really need for charging flashlight batteries and requires a heavier duty power supply like this one.
- iCharger 106B+ - Multifunction battery balance Charger (250W 6s Balance/Charger/Discharger).
- Available here - HobbyKing
- You can buy it in USA - ProgressiveRC
- Support forum - RCGroups
- Manual - Shenzhen Junsi Electronic Co. LTD
- Upgrading software (Firmware) - Shenzhen Junsi Electronic Co. LTD
- The iCharger 106B+ supports the "Open Format" data of the LogView software and can display, plot and analyze the charge and discharge data by it. (See detail information about logview on the following website: LogView Shows Your Serial Data...)
- iCharger 1010B+ - Multifunction battery balance Charger (300W 10s Balance/Charger/Discharger)
- Available here - HobbyKing
- You can buy it in USA - ProgressiveRC
- Support forum - RCGroups
- Manual - Shenzhen Junsi Electronic Co. LTD
- Upgrading software (Firmware) - Shenzhen Junsi Electronic Co. LTD
- The iCharger 1010B+ supports the "Open Format" data of the LogView software and can display, plot and analyze the charge and discharge data by it. (See detail information about logview on the following website: LogView Shows Your Serial Data...)