Rate Your Battery Charger!

[KE0GXN]

As the thread title states, post your charger make, model and what you like or dislike about it.....

I am looking at purchasing one soon and have been doing extensive research on reviews for the various brands out there like, Maha, La Crosse, Ambient Weather, Opus, etc...

During my research I came across this forum:

CandlePowerForums

This guys are all about anything battery related, just like we are all about anything radio related. With that said, there is some pretty good info on batteries and chargers there. The guys there seem extremely knowledgeable and thus seem to know what they are talking about.

However, I still feel I need feedback from fellow scanner hobbyists you can relate to my/our needs. So let me know what you got and why it's great for you.

Personally from my review/research I have decided to rank my potential purchase choices as follows for 4 cells smart chargers:

1. Ambient Weather BC-2000 - Ambient Weather BC-2000 Intelligent Battery Charger for AA / AAA Rechargeable Batteries

2. Maha MH-C9000 - MH-C9000 - Maha Energy

3. La Crosse BC 1000 (700 would work too) - BC1000 by La Crosse Technology - Tomorrow's Weather Today

4. Opus BT-C2000 - http://www.amazon.com/BT-C2000-charger-set-100-240V-Battery-Analyzer-Portable/dp/B00JL3XL2G (Could not find this manufacturer's website, which makes me wonder if they have any customer support)

FYI....I purposely posted links to the actual manufacturers, so as to enable folks to see the company's profile and or customer support mechanisms. Which to me at least helps me decide whether I want to invest in a company's product.

Looking forward to what you guys have to say!

 

[johnmblack]

Battery Charger

An interesting topic. One can make a whole hobby out of batteries and chargers!

My first good one was a Tenergy T6278. Simple but reliable, I still use it a lot. It does up to D cells. I got a later Tenergy charger that was nowhere as good as this one. Dumped it.

I have two LaCrosse BC-900's. They both work well and do a good job of bringing back batteries that need exercising. Only downside besides AA/AAA only charging is that they won't charge a completely dead battery. You need a dumb back up charger to bring them up to a level the BC-900 can detect.

I have the Maha C9000, and it works well. Its default charging rate is 1000ma, which is a bit much for older cells, so you can't just throw them in without doing some setting. It will charge a battery from zero. I think the LaCrosse is still better at rejuvenating. Maha is a good company; my charger lost one channel and they just sent me another one gratis.

I also have a brand x BM200 charger which looks like the BT2000's you mention. I like the C/D adapters it can take, but sometimes it refuses to charge more than two batteries at a time. It seems like a knock off of the LaCrosse, and somewhat shoddy in workmanship and reliability. Later versions might be better.

Finally, I got an Ansmann Energy 16, which is cool because you can charge up to 16 AA cells at a time. Downside is that it won't charge a battery from zero, and calls many of my batteries defective, when other chargers will happily charge them. Also, it can really heat up the batteries before it pronounces them charged, almost too hot to touch. I don't leave that one unattended.

But one of my favorites is a "Juice" JR-CHG-4. It looks like an egg and does up to 4 AA's. No bells and whistles, but it always charges my batteries, and it will even do the rechargeable alkalines, which in some cases have worked really well for me.

So I use all of them, because I have hundreds of nicad and nimh batteries for everything around the house. Even so, I still seem to go through several 36-packs of AA and AAA alkalines every year!

Was that too much information?

John

 

[N5XTC]

As the thread title states, post your charger make, model and what you like or dislike about it.....

I am looking at purchasing one soon and have been doing extensive research on reviews for the various brands out there like, Maha, La Crosse, Ambient Weather, Opus, etc...

During my research I came across this forum:

CandlePowerForums

This guys are all about anything battery related, just like we are all about anything radio related. With that said, there is some pretty good info on batteries and chargers there. The guys there seem extremely knowledgeable and thus seem to know what they are talking about.

However, I still feel I need feedback from fellow scanner hobbyists you can relate to my/our needs. So let me know what you got and why it's great for you.

Personally from my review/research I have decided to rank my potential purchase choices as follows for 4 cells smart chargers:

1. Ambient Weather BC-2000 - Ambient Weather BC-2000 Intelligent Battery Charger for AA / AAA Rechargeable Batteries

2. Maha MH-C9000 - MH-C9000 - Maha Energy

3. La Crosse BC 1000 (700 would work too) - BC1000 by La Crosse Technology - Tomorrow's Weather Today

4. Opus BT-C2000 - http://www.amazon.com/BT-C2000-charger-set-100-240V-Battery-Analyzer-Portable/dp/B00JL3XL2G (Could not find this manufacturer's website, which makes me wonder if they have any customer support)

FYI....I purposely posted links to the actual manufacturers, so as to enable folks to see the company's profile and or customer support mechanisms. Which to me at least helps me decide whether I want to invest in a company's product.

Looking forward to what you guys have to say!

remember, i am following your lead. when u order a charger, i will also. you really are doing your research. keep at it. enjoy reading the responses.

 

[LeSueurC]

I like the newer Panasonic charger that come with Eneloop Pro. Batteries are always fully charged.Last plenty long.

 

[KE0GXN]

An interesting topic. One can make a whole hobby out of batteries and chargers!

My first good one was a Tenergy T6278. Simple but reliable, I still use it a lot. It does up to D cells. I got a later Tenergy charger that was nowhere as good as this one. Dumped it.

I have two LaCrosse BC-900's. They both work well and do a good job of bringing back batteries that need exercising. Only downside besides AA/AAA only charging is that they won't charge a completely dead battery. You need a dumb back up charger to bring them up to a level the BC-900 can detect.

I have the Maha C9000, and it works well. Its default charging rate is 1000ma, which is a bit much for older cells, so you can't just throw them in without doing some setting. It will charge a battery from zero. I think the LaCrosse is still better at rejuvenating. Maha is a good company; my charger lost one channel and they just sent me another one gratis.

I also have a brand x BM200 charger which looks like the BT2000's you mention. I like the C/D adapters it can take, but sometimes it refuses to charge more than two batteries at a time. It seems like a knock off of the LaCrosse, and somewhat shoddy in workmanship and reliability. Later versions might be better.

Finally, I got an Ansmann Energy 16, which is cool because you can charge up to 16 AA cells at a time. Downside is that it won't charge a battery from zero, and calls many of my batteries defective, when other chargers will happily charge them. Also, it can really heat up the batteries before it pronounces them charged, almost too hot to touch. I don't leave that one unattended.

But one of my favorites is a "Juice" JR-CHG-4. It looks like an egg and does up to 4 AA's. No bells and whistles, but it always charges my batteries, and it will even do the rechargeable alkalines, which in some cases have worked really well for me.

So I use all of them, because I have hundreds of nicad and nimh batteries for everything around the house. Even so, I still seem to go through several 36-packs of AA and AAA alkalines every year!

Was that too much information?

John

No way Sir! The more the better.

Just to give you an idea of what the guys at Candle Power get into, here is one member's test of the Maha MH-C9000:

Test/Review of Analyzing Charger Powerex MH-C9000

These guys are serious over there!

 

[KE0GXN]

Got you covered!

remember, i am following your lead. when u order a charger, i will also. you really are doing your research. keep at it. enjoy reading the responses.

I just hope you have the same patience as me....

 

[KE0GXN]

I like the newer Panasonic charger that come with Eneloop Pro. Batteries are always fully charged.Last plenty long.

Yep...good reviews for a small inexpensive charger indeed. I personally got to have more bells and whistles though. Like John suggested, this whole battery charging deal is starting to become a second hobby for me

 

[N5XTC]

Yep...good reviews for a small inexpensive charger indeed. I personally got to have more bells and whistles though. Like John suggested, this whole battery charging deal is starting to become a second hobby for me

Most of us ham radio, scanner types are a tad on the obsessive compulsive side, so give us battery chargers and you have another hobby with websites, blogs, groups, t shirts, web pages, forums, etc etc. Count me in! I need another hobby!

 

[Blackswan73]

I use an AccuPower IQ328. Very similar to the LaCrosse, but at half the price. I have had it for about six months, and I like it a lot. Does a fine job.

 

[KE0GXN]

I use an AccuPower IQ328. Very similar to the LaCrosse, but at half the price. I have had it for about six months, and I like it a lot. Does a fine job.

I haven't looked this one up extensively, but the few reviews I have come across make mention of some over heating issues, other that, its German engineered, so I would expect it to be of good quality. My only personnel con, just by looking at it is much like the La Crosse chargers, there is not very much spacing in-between the batteries for maximum heat protection/dissipation. I take it you have not had those issues?

Thanks for the input!

 

[KE0GXN]

Well guys in effort for full disclosure and to pass along some information I have found I am now admitting I have always been on the fence on my number one and number two choices....

I can attest the Maha is the most preferred, commonly used/owned and extensively "positive" reviewed battery charger out there. However, I did fall into the trap of taking one guy's review and almost letting it form my purchase choice, or in this case my number one choice. However, while researching tonight I found this thread on Candle Power (CP):

Maha C9000 NLee the engineer Misleading review

I too was one of the ones that relied heavily on NLee's reviews on Amazon. He as of this writing is an Ambient Weather BC-2000 (ultimate #1) charger supporter/endorser. He has enormous cred there and seems extremely knowledgeable about all things battery related. However, the CP thread, along with reviews I found on CP and even here on RR from fellow scanner users have now convinced me to take an even harder look at the Maha MH C9000.

I may have to make it my number one choice.

Now don't get me wrong, I still think the Ambient Weather (AW) charger is a great looking charger and again in an effort for full disclosure, I have already tested the waters at AW by both emailing customer support (CS) with a question and then asking a different question on Amazon. Both my inquires were answered by the same CS guy (Ed) promptly and accurately. I have no doubt AW's CS is more than likely top-notch in regards to product owner support and as in my case potential product buyers. Just to emphasize....this guy answered my e-mail I sent late on a Friday night at 0830 the following Saturday morning. My Amazon posted question was answered by him within an hour at 10:30 pm on a Sunday!

CS or lack thereof is very important to me when evaluating a company's product. While I have not had the need yet to call on Maha's CS, I have read it is top notch as well. Another thing that has had me on the fence is the Maha line has a proven track record where, AW's is still kind of being formed or at least is not as extensive as Maha's.

Also for those that may not know, Maha and AW both provide 3 year warranties. Which indicates to me they both standby their products.

@N5XTC...feel free to want to strangle me...LOL!

 

[Blackswan73]

I haven't looked this one up extensively, but the few reviews I have come across make mention of some over heating issues, other that, its German engineered, so I would expect it to be of good quality. My only personnel con, just by looking at it is much like the La Crosse chargers, there is not very much spacing in-between the batteries for maximum heat protection/dissipation. I take it you have not had those issues?

Thanks for the input!

I have not had any problems with mine. I use it to charge 3 sets of the RS 2500 batteries. I have used all functions, recondition, test, charge. Only issue I have found is if you use the recondition function, it takes forever. For just charging, I set it for 500ma, and it takes about five hours. No overheating of the charger or batteries.

 

[N5XTC]

no worries, you really really did your homework. so, the Maha MH-C9000 it is? now tell me what batteries you are ordering. lol

 

[N5XTC]

think i like the display better on the MAHA. think thats the one for me. now, the batteries? eloops? if so, which brand? this could take awhile. lol. once we fig that out, we good. lol

 

[SOFA_KING]

I purchased the MAHA and use it exclusively. Besides the good reviews, I wanted the ability to charge on 12 volts in the car. It does that. But sometimes I get annoyed at all the button pushing I need to do to get the two basic functions I need to do done. First, I want to fully discharge all the cells I'm charging at 100 ma. Second, I want to charge at 400 ma. And that means I need to setup a discharge at the desired rate for each cell and wait for it to finish, then come back and set up the charge for each cell. And I have to keep coming back to the charger to check if they are done discharging. I don't like doing all that work and keeping track of the discharge so I can set up the charge. With all those fancy programmed modes, you would think they would have a mode that does this most common basic function, but they don't. This has me looking for another charger. I just want to stick the cells in and have it discharge and then recharge at the best rates for both. Come back later and it is all done. Maybe a "user programable" setup or two...and also run on 12 VDC for when I have to charge in the car. Is that too much to ask?

My /\/\ Impress chargers do just that. Drain first, then charge. That keeps the batteries in good shape and maximizes their use. Anyone who bothers to discharge the batteries after the Uniden BCD436HP shuts down for low batteries can tell you that there is quite a bit of power left in at least one cell (if not two or all three) and it can take some time to drain them out before you can charge them. Sure, you could skip the discharge routine, but you will not get the most out of your batteries.

So who makes a AA charger that automatically does what I would like to do?

Phil

 

[KE0GXN]

no worries, you really really did your homework. so, the Maha MH-C9000 it is? now tell me what batteries you are ordering. lol

Batteries may up being a whole other thread

Right now, Eneloops 2100 cycle

 

[KE0GXN]

think i like the display better on the MAHA. think thats the one for me. now, the batteries? eloops? if so, which brand? this could take awhile. lol. once we fig that out, we good. lol

See and that's one thing (the screen/programming) that has been keeping me on the fence with the Maha. The AW BC2000 has four screens for instantaneous monitoring of the cells. However I do like that the Maha has such a huge screen and that it stays backlit all the time, for easy reading in the dark and light. As far programming, (button presses/navigation), the Maha intimidates me big time....therefore I am hoping some members here who own the Maha can offer some insight on it and their experiences programming it.

 

[KE0GXN]

I purchased the MAHA and use it exclusively. Besides the good reviews, I wanted the ability to charge on 12 volts in the car. It does that. But sometimes I get annoyed at all the button pushing I need to do to get the two basic functions I need to do done. First, I want to fully discharge all the cells I'm charging at 100 ma. Second, I want to charge at 400 ma. And that means I need to setup a discharge at the desired rate for each cell and wait for it to finish, then come back and set up the charge for each cell. And I have to keep coming back to the charger to check if they are done discharging. I don't like doing all that work and keeping track of the discharge so I can set up the charge. With all those fancy programmed modes, you would think they would have a mode that does this most common basic function, but they don't. This has me looking for another charger. I just want to stick the cells in and have it discharge and then recharge at the best rates for both. Come back later and it is all done. Maybe a "user programable" setup or two...and also run on 12 VDC for when I have to charge in the car. Is that too much to ask?

My /\/\ Impress chargers do just that. Drain first, then charge. That keeps the batteries in good shape and maximizes their use. Anyone who bothers to discharge the batteries after the Uniden BCD436HP shuts down for low batteries can tell you that there is quite a bit of power left in at least one cell (if not two or all three) and it can take some time to drain them out before you can charge them. Sure, you could skip the discharge routine, but you will not get the most out of your batteries.

So who makes a AA charger that automatically does what I would like to do?

Phil

The AW BC2000 has a 12V adaptor you can purchase for in car use too.

I too am not digging all of the button pushing involved with the Maha, hence my indecision on what to get thus far

To answer your question......

I have not looked this charger up much, mainly because I have no desire to charge C, D or 9V batteries, but I think it "may" fulfill your "I just want to stick the cells in and have it discharge and then recharge at the best rates for both. Come back later and it is all done." request:

EBL® 906 LCD Universal Smart AA/AAA/C/D/9V Battery Charger

They offer other models that are AA/AAA only, but I have not extensively delved into what their capabilities are.

If I could impose on some of your time and ask you to elaborate on your Maha some, I would greatly appreciate it. I too have read all the good reviews, but without knowing what those guys use their charger/batteries for, I have come here to get a more informed picture in regard our applications.

With that said and being a current Maha owner, if you could do it all over again, would you still stick with buying/owning the Maha and if not....what charger would you get now and why?

Thanks for the feedback so far!

 

[baayers]

I have owned the lacross, the Maha, and the ambient weather / Opus chargers.

When it comes to the lacross charger overheating I can say from personal experience that it does happen. That being said it appears to be more of a quality control issue than an issue that affects every charger. I went through two chargers in a six month period. The first unit I noticed was overheating right away so send it in for an exchange and the second unit made it about six months. The second time I placed some batteries in the charger to be recharged and walked away to fix dinner. About a half an hour later I started smelling a burning smell and came back to find a battery charger mess. On the flipside I have friends who have been using theirs for years with no issues. Out of all the people I know who have had this charger the success rate has been around 50%.

The Maha charger is a very well-built and excellent performing machine. My C 9000 is almost 4 years old and still charging like the day it came out of the box. This charger is great but there are a few things to be aware of. When you charge batteries in the 9000 it will charge the batteries up to approximately 90-95% then it will rely on what they call a top off charge which lasts an hour to finish charging the cells. Four example if you set the charger to charge at 1000MaH it will charge to approximately 95% and relies on a 250MaH top off charge to finish the job. Even though the display reads done it may still be in the top off charge mode so you need to allow for extra time. The charger has a backlight that is very bright and is always on while the unit is operational. I swear you could use this thing as a night light. You definitely want to keep this in mind when choosing where to place the charger. I will repeat what previous posters have said about the amount of button presses necessary. You have to set each individual battery to the required setting. The last thing is more of an observation but this unit is size wise the biggest one out of all the units you are comparing. If you are using it only at home this is obviously not an issue but if you will be traveling with it it is something to keep in mind as it will require a little extra space in the suitcase.

The Opus / Ambient Weather Chargers are probably the newest of the bunch. The first generation of chargers did have some overheating and software issues but the newer units thanks to hardware and firmware changes no longer have this problem. If you purchased through Amazon you will be getting the newest version. As of the time of this post you know you have the newest version by plugging it in and observing the number in the far left column. This number is the current firmware version and should read 2.1. I saw a lot of the same post you did in the other forums but after doing a lot of the research found the majority of them to be from the previous generation. I've had this charger for just over nine months and really like it. The minor issues I had with the Maha do not exist with this one. Batteries are charged to 100% based on the current you select so no more worrying about extra time for top off charging. If you place all of your batteries in the charger prior to plugging it in it will default to all four batteries so you only have to set the settings one time. The backlight even though it is dimmer is still fully usable and goes off after a few seconds of no buttons being pressed. The size is smaller than the Maha but bigger than the Lacross. I travel quite a bit so this means a little more room in my suitcase for other things which is a plus for me. The only thing I have found so far that is even close to a complaint is that when the battery reaches a full charge the display reads full. You have to hit the display button to toggle through the different information and after five seconds the display reverts back to full.

Lastly for rechargeable batteries I am now using the Amazon basics high capacity rechargeable batteries. These batteries are rebranded Panasonic Eneloop Pro batteries for half the cost

http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-...id=1443454860&sr=8-1&keywords=aa+rechargeable

In short you really can't go wrong with either the Maha or Opus / Ambient Weather chargers. Along with the Amazon batteries above it's a winning combination.

 

[N5XTC]

My /\/\ Impress chargers do just that. Drain first, then charge. That keeps the batteries in good shape and maximizes their use. Anyone who bothers to discharge the batteries after the Uniden BCD436HP shuts down for low batteries can tell you that there is quite a bit of power left in at least one cell (if not two or all three) and it can take some time to drain them out before you can charge them. Sure, you could skip the discharge routine, but you will not get the most out of your batteries.

So who makes a AA charger that automatically does what I would like to do?

Phil

so, you recommend the impress charger instead? this is what i got from your msg. can u post a link or at least a model # so we can look at it?