Can anyone here recommend a universal and intelligent battery charger that can charge / repair a Ni-CD, NiMH, and Alkaline AA/AAA battery? I searched through Google and found this Universal and Intelligent Alkaline Battery Charger RC999, but it is a bit pricey. However, this Green Solutions JB5411 looks very promising, but without any LCD to display the charging status. Nevertheless, I wonder if anyone out here has used any of these two chargers and/or can recommend some other brand/model.

actions · 2014-Apr-12 6:43 pm ·

public
join:2002-01-19
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public

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2014-Apr-12 7:09 pm

said by mazilo:

universal and intelligent battery charger that can charge / repair Alkaline AA/AAA battery?

Alkaline batteries are not rechargeable.
It is possible to extend battery life by passing small current to redistribute the reactants, but the chemistry is not reversible.

actions · 2014-Apr-12 7:09 pm ·

dib22
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2014-Apr-12 7:28 pm

to mazilo

I am partial to the Maha PowerEx MH-C9000

»www.amazon.com/PowerEx-M ··· 00NLUSLM

JoelC707 picked up a BT-C2000 good info here:

»rechargeable batteries?

Alkalines should not be re-charged.

actions · 2014-Apr-12 7:28 pm ·

TheMG
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2014-Apr-12 9:31 pm

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said by public:

It is possible to extend battery life by passing small current to redistribute the reactants, but the chemistry is not reversible.

said by dib22:

Alkalines should not be re-charged.

I don't know if they're still sold these days, but there are special alkaline cells that are designed to be recharged. They have fewer charge-discharge cycles than NiCD/NiMH but have the main advantage of a much slower self discharge rate comparable to primary alkaline cells.

When a charger is specified to be able to charge alkaline cells, it is the special rechargeable alkaline not the normal non-rechargeable kind.

actions · 2014-Apr-12 9:31 pm ·

mazilo
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mazilo

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2014-Apr-13 1:34 pm

Many thanks to everyone.

The Maha PowerEx MH-C9000 certainly is one of the best intelligent Ni_CD/NiMH AA/AAA battery charger. But, it is too expensive. Right now, I narrowed down the the following three intelligent charger and see if anyone has any thought.

Universal and Intelligent Alkaline Battery Charger RC999

BM110 Multifunction Intelligent Digital Battery Charger Tester LCD

Green Solutions JB5411

Compared to the Maha PowerEx MH-C9000, the BM110 Multifunction Intelligent Digital Battery Charger Tester LCD seems to be more affordable.

Currently, I am using this RayoVac PS23B to charge my AA/AAA NiMH (LenMar 2200 mAh) and/or Alkaline (any brands) batteries. Although the a RayoVac PS23B isn't rated to charge Alkaline batteries, it seems to be able to charge any AA/AAA Alkaline batteries without a problem. To make sure the liquid from a battery leak (if there is) doesn't propagate to the circuitry, I always turn the charger holster up-side-down (lid at the bottom). Several time I forgot and left the charger over night to charge 4 AA Alkaline batteries and they didn't leak.

actions · 2014-Apr-13 1:34 pm ·

mazilo

mazilo

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2014-Apr-13 4:18 pm

Does anyone here have some hands on experience with this LaCrosse Alpha Power Battery Charger BC700? How is it compared to the Maha PowerEx MH-C9000?

actions · 2014-Apr-13 4:18 pm ·

SparkChaser
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SparkChaser

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2014-Apr-13 4:31 pm

I've used the LaCrosse BC-900 for several years and it's still working as advertized. Never had a MaHa, so I can't compare it

actions · 2014-Apr-13 4:31 pm ·

mazilo
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mazilo

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2014-Apr-13 5:36 pm

said by SparkChaser:

I've used the LaCrosse BC-900 for several years and it's still working as advertized. Never had a MaHa, so I can't compare it

Thank you.

According to this 10 TopTen Reviews, the LaCrosse Alpha Power Battery Charger BC-9009 is rated as the best while the Maha WizardOne Charger-Analyzer MH-C9000-0000GS is rated at #3.

actions · 2014-Apr-13 5:36 pm ·

Inflex
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2014-Apr-13 9:11 pm

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Nothing but a Maha ever touches my batteries.

actions · 2014-Apr-13 9:11 pm ·

dib22
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2014-Apr-13 10:17 pm

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said by mazilo:

According to this 10 TopTen Reviews, the LaCrosse Alpha Power Battery Charger BC-9009 is rated as the best while the Maha WizardOne Charger-Analyzer MH-C9000-0000GS is rated at #3.

I don't know how much value I would put in their opinion... the 2nd place charger doesn't have most of the features of the mahas and the lacrosses. I suspect they rank the real popular choices and the let sponsors insert their products into higher positions

lacrosses are good as well.. have friends with the BC1000 and they love em.

actions · 2014-Apr-13 10:17 pm ·

mazilo
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2014-Apr-13 11:47 pm

said by dib22:

said by mazilo:

According to this 10 TopTen Reviews, the LaCrosse Alpha Power Battery Charger BC-9009 is rated as the best while the Maha WizardOne Charger-Analyzer MH-C9000-0000GS is rated at #3.

lacrosses are good as well.. have friends with the BC1000 and they love em.

You've some points there.

actions · 2014-Apr-13 11:47 pm ·

mazilo

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2014-Apr-13 11:49 pm

I dig further and found this SKYRC NC2500 Charger and also pricey. Is anyone using this charger?

actions · 2014-Apr-13 11:49 pm ·

lutful
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2014-Apr-14 1:59 am

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I used original MAHA many years ago and then a La Crosse 9009 model.

2011 thread with lots of info: »Re: nicd / nimh battery lifespan

actions · 2014-Apr-14 1:59 am ·

mazilo
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mazilo

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2014-May-14 10:57 pm

Finally, I got me a free (counterfeited?) intelligent battery charger BM-100 from China. A month ago (after the above post), when I was about to order a unit from AliExpress, my friend from China called to inform her trip to visit. So, I asked her to buy me this intelligent battery charger BM-100. Instead, she brought one as a gift.

Anyway, the small manual that comes with this charger isn't very helpful, but rather confusing. I have some dead LenMar 2300mAH NiMH rechargeable batteries that I want to revive. Can anyone here give some advice what charging mode should I use to revive a dead NiMH battery?

actions · 2014-May-14 10:57 pm ·

cowboyro
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2014-May-15 8:28 am

said by mazilo:

an anyone here give some advice what charging mode should I use to revive a dead NiMH battery?

You use the trash can mode. Or the recycling can if you want... Dead is dead, the chemistry is ruined and can't be reversed.

actions · 2014-May-15 8:28 am ·

lutful
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2014-May-15 8:29 am

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You can try the DISCHARGE/REFRESH mode and then TEST.

actions · 2014-May-15 8:29 am ·

mazilo
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mazilo

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2014-May-15 11:17 am

said by lutful:

You can try the DISCHARGE/REFRESH mode and then TEST.

I will give that a try. Many thanks.

actions · 2014-May-15 11:17 am ·

leibold
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2014-May-15 11:46 am

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That has been my experience with NiMH as well. Any recovery attempts would invariably end up with a very hot battery that is not taking on any charge.

said by cowboyro:

You use the trash can mode. Or the recycling can if you want...

Definitely recycling for us here in California

actions · 2014-May-15 11:46 am ·

mazilo
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2014-May-15 4:58 pm

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said by lutful:

You can try the DISCHARGE/REFRESH mode and then TEST.

My dead LenMar 2,000 mAh batteries have been refreshed. The charger said FULL with 1.43 VDC. I switched to TEST mode @1,000 mA. After a few hours, I noticed the Voltage has reached to and/or remained at 0.98 VDC while the mAh gradually increases while the charging current is around 495 mA. According to the manual, discharging current is always 1/2 the MAX current setting. In this case, I set it to 1,000 mA. If that is the case, how could the mAh rate shows an increase and not decrease?

actions · 2014-May-15 4:58 pm ·

lutful
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lutful

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2014-May-15 6:26 pm

The algorithm to guess capacity does not work very well on batteries that sat below 0.9V for a long time.

I am happy with any extra life I get out of such "zombie" batteries. I find equivalent performance pairs and mark each pair like Z1, Z2, etc.

actions · 2014-May-15 6:26 pm ·

mazilo
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2014-May-17 9:36 am

said by lutful:

The algorithm to guess capacity does not work very well on batteries that sat below 0.9V for a long time.

That's my understanding, too. However, I bought some of these new BTY 1000mAh AAA batteries and my BM-100 charger said they are full when I put them in the charger after 1/2 minutes. So, I changed the setting to TEST mode. The preliminary voltage showed around 1.42V. After it had been there for 24 hrs, the voltage dropped to 0.99V. I power cycled my charger and the voltage showed 1.42V. Then, I did a DISCHARGED @200mA and it took about 4hrs to END. If the batteries are not good, then the DISCHARGED @200mA will drain the batteries very fast. Yet, the TEST mode shows the batteries voltage around 0.99V after 24hrs. I suspect my BM100 is flaw.

actions · 2014-May-17 9:36 am ·

lutful
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lutful

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2014-May-17 2:25 pm

Here is a graph of the test mode of such chargers ... you should not do that for 24 hours!

Quick observations:
a) 200mA for 4 hours = 800mAH so the capacity is lower than typical 1000mAh batteries.
b) The internal resistance is probably higher than typical 1000mAh batteries, leading to the drop in observed voltage.

actions · 2014-May-17 2:25 pm ·

mazilo
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2014-May-17 2:29 pm

said by lutful:

Here is a graph of the test mode of such chargers ... you should not do that for 24 hours!

Noted and thank you. So, when do I need to pull the batteries out of the TEST mode, i.e. right before its voltage starts to deep?

a) 200mA for 4 hours = 800mAH so the capacity is lower than typical 1000mAh batteries.

Yes. I was told by some friends that don't believe those unfounded rated mAh labels on any Chinese made rechargeable NiCD, NiHM, LiON, etc., batteries.

actions · 2014-May-17 2:29 pm ·

lutful
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lutful

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2014-May-17 2:51 pm

yes, you can exit test mode after 5 minutes.

actions · 2014-May-17 2:51 pm ·

mazilo
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mazilo

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2014-May-17 4:01 pm

said by lutful:

yes, you can exit test mode after 5 minutes.

Is this particularly for a BM100 charger ONLY? The reason I asked because a friend who has a La Crosse BC-9000 (?) told me that his charger will show FULL after a few hours and the he pulls out the batteries.

actions · 2014-May-17 4:01 pm ·

lutful
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lutful

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2014-May-17 10:35 pm

The TEST mode is really designed for new batteries to check capacity. The algorithm does not work very well for zombie batteries which have been refreshed.

Use those batteries with normal load for several cycles and then try TEST again.

actions · 2014-May-17 10:35 pm ·

mazilo
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2014-May-17 11:20 pm

said by lutful:

The TEST mode is really designed for new batteries to check capacity. The algorithm does not work very well for zombie batteries which have been refreshed.

I did that and the TEST showed the capacity is around 800 (not 1,000) mAh with the voltage dropped to 0.99V.

Use those batteries with normal load for several cycles and then try TEST again.

I will do the TEST again after several normal loads.

actions · 2014-May-17 11:20 pm ·

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mazilo

mazilo

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2014-May-26 10:09 am

Re: Intelligent Ni-CD / NiMH / Alkaline battery charger

said by mazilo:

said by lutful:

Use those batteries with normal load for several cycles and then try TEST again.

I will do the TEST again after several normal loads.

The batteries have been used/recharged several times and no problems. What is weird is the TEST mode show the batteries voltage is around 1 VDC. I think this is the charger issue.

actions · 2014-May-26 10:09 am ·

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