Hi All,

We seem to get an ever expanding rage of portable kit that can use
rechargable batteries.

I have a really old 'overnight' chargers that can take 4 x D cells
and has been doing so (4 x 4000mA Nicads) for my 'used daily' National
Panasonic GX 300 radio (for I've just worked out the last 20 years ..
they don't make em like that any more) ;-)

Anyroadup, along with many RC pack / programable chargers I have an
"Ansmann Power Line 5" (4 way, AAA to 4) auto chargers that seems ok
for *some* cells but has issues with others (like cooking them or
spiting them out etc).

So I've been looking for a 'bulk' (12 x) / individually monitored
charger that would cover AAA and AA's and treat them gently .. charge
them in a 'few' hours rather than a few mins!

The frustrating thing is the range of (miss)information you find for
the same product .. some sites saying it's a 'fast' charger and others
'.. specifically designed to charge your batteries slowly and gently
..." shrug.

I noted from a previous thread a Vanson charger sold by 7 Day Shop
(under another brand) that seems to do what I need but is only 4 way
(and I wanted (say) 12 way (eg RC TX = 8 + RX = 4 x AA or her CD
Walkman 2 x AA + portable speakers 4 X AAA or 12 x AAA for the
daughters MP3 player g etc). Ok, at 7DS prices I could buy 3 of
these for less than the price of say an "Ansmann Energy 16" but that's
more clutter in our small house? ;-(

But the 'technical details' from Ansmanns own site for that model are
far from 'technical' ..

http://www.ansmann.co.uk/en/index.ht...&pr2id=&appid=

So it shows for an AA a charge current of 700mA but on Vanson 1800,
Panasonic 2000, GP 1800 or even a Uniross 2300mA NiMH, they all
suggest a 'Quick Charge' current of ~ 450mA?

Hmmm ..

They also have a little charge calculator ..

http://www.ansmann.co.uk/en/calculator_chargingtime.htm

And for a 2300mA NiMH AA it shows for the 'Power Line 5' a charging
time of 3.1 hrs and the Energy 16 = 3.9 hours (so there *are*
differences between models at least g).

So, anyone found a decent charger for (mainly, now) NiMH AA and AAA's
that does the job from flat in 4-5 + hours then drops to trickle with
individual cell monitoring etc please? I don't mind spending a bit of
money on it as an investment ...

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. I have also built many chargers in the past (constant current /
voltage limited etc) and have seriously considered doing so again just
to give these cells an easy ride .. ;-(

In article ,
T i m wrote:
So I've been looking for a 'bulk' (12 x) / individually monitored
charger that would cover AAA and AA's and treat them gently .. charge
them in a 'few' hours rather than a few mins!

http://www.mascot.no/uk/

They do models that will charge more than 12 cells and different sizes
(not mixed) - NiMH and Ni-Cad all automatically. Reasonably fast charge
followed by float charge if required. CPC have about the best prices.

--
*To err is human. To forgive is against company policy.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Sat, 11 Feb 2006 12:51:40 GMT, T i m wrote:


|So, anyone found a decent charger for (mainly, now) NiMH AA and AAA's
|that does the job from flat in 4-5 + hours then drops to trickle with
|individual cell monitoring etc please? I don't mind spending a bit of
|money on it as an investment ...

http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/item.asp?idproduct=203
http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/item.asp?idproduct=178
http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/view...?idProduct=408

I got my Maha in the UK works fine.
--
Dave Fawthrop dave hyphenologist co uk
Freedom of Speech, Expression, Religion, and Democracy are
the keys to Civilization, together with legal acceptance of
Fundamental Human rights.

In article ,
Dave Fawthrop wrote:
|So, anyone found a decent charger for (mainly, now) NiMH AA and AAA's
|that does the job from flat in 4-5 + hours then drops to trickle with
|individual cell monitoring etc please? I don't mind spending a bit of
|money on it as an investment ...

http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/item.asp?idproduct=203
http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/item.asp?idproduct=178
http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/view...?idProduct=408

I got my Maha in the UK works fine.

You missed the part about it needing to charge 12 cells at once.

--
*I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Sat, 11 Feb 2006 13:39:03 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

|In article ,
| Dave Fawthrop wrote:
| |So, anyone found a decent charger for (mainly, now) NiMH AA and AAA's
| |that does the job from flat in 4-5 + hours then drops to trickle with
| |individual cell monitoring etc please? I don't mind spending a bit of
| |money on it as an investment ...
|
| http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/item.asp?idproduct=203
| http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/item.asp?idproduct=178
| http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/view...?idProduct=408
|
| I got my Maha in the UK works fine.
|
|You missed the part about it needing to charge 12 cells at once.

http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/view...?idProduct=408
does eight independently, so two would be a slight overkill.
--
Dave Fawthrop dave hyphenologist co uk
Freedom of Speech, Expression, Religion, and Democracy are
the keys to Civilization, together with legal acceptance of
Fundamental Human rights.

On Sat, 11 Feb 2006 13:16:16 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
T i m wrote:
So I've been looking for a 'bulk' (12 x) / individually monitored
charger that would cover AAA and AA's and treat them gently .. charge
them in a 'few' hours rather than a few mins!

http://www.mascot.no/uk/

They do models that will charge more than 12 cells and different sizes
(not mixed) - NiMH and Ni-Cad all automatically. Reasonably fast charge
followed by float charge if required. CPC have about the best prices.

Thanks Dave,

Interesting stuff ..

I had a quick look thought the PDF's and it looks like they are bulk
chargers as in for 'packs' (batteries) rather than cells?

I can do some of what they offer with my RC Model 'Field Charger' but
it's not 'fool proof' enough for everyday 'family' use.

I'm looking for something they (we) can:

1) Use easily
2) Mix cell types / charge conditions
3) 'Indicates' individual cell issues (reverse / faulty etc).

Because of the cycling / camping / boating / camera / mp3 needs we
have tried to focus on AAA and AA cells (there are a couple of C / D
celled things as well but the existing charger can't seem to cook
them!) so that's why we need tobe able to do 'a lot' of cells at the
same time (but in different charge states).

Eg, if we were all going cycling on our solos and might need to come
home in the dark (along a towpath) I would like to know all 12 (3 x 4
cells) AA's in the headlamps were ready to rock .. (the tail lights
are LED so not such an issue).

All the best ..

T i m

On Sat, 11 Feb 2006 13:24:22 +0000, Dave Fawthrop
wrote:

On Sat, 11 Feb 2006 12:51:40 GMT, T i m wrote:


|So, anyone found a decent charger for (mainly, now) NiMH AA and AAA's
|that does the job from flat in 4-5 + hours then drops to trickle with
|individual cell monitoring etc please? I don't mind spending a bit of
|money on it as an investment ...

http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/item.asp?idproduct=203
http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/item.asp?idproduct=178
http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/view...?idProduct=408

I got my Maha in the UK works fine.

That last one is close (at 8 cells) but again seems to 'boast' that
even in 'soft' mode will fully charge a cell in 2 hours? I was looking
at double that to ensure everything stayed cool and hence lasted as
long as poss? ;-(

The RC electric car guys were nearly all fan cooling their cells when
we last raced. I'd prefer to have more sets and charge them slower
(but not too slow). ;-)

Possibly why the Nicads in my big radio are nearly 20 years old .. ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

In article ,
Dave Fawthrop wrote:
http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/view...?idProduct=408
does eight independently, so two would be a slight overkill.

The Mascot one which does 6-10 or 12-20 depending on version is about 40
quid - although it's designed to charge a pack so has no battery holder.
But these can be bought from Maplin etc for about a couple of quid. Of
course this doesn't do each cell independently, but his doesn't seem a
problem in practice - unless you were charging single cells used for
various different applications and therefore in vastly different states of
charge or condition, etc.

--
*Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
T i m wrote:
I had a quick look thought the PDF's and it looks like they are bulk
chargers as in for 'packs' (batteries) rather than cells?

Yes.

I can do some of what they offer with my RC Model 'Field Charger' but
it's not 'fool proof' enough for everyday 'family' use.

I'm looking for something they (we) can:

1) Use easily
2) Mix cell types / charge conditions
3) 'Indicates' individual cell issues (reverse / faulty etc).

Because of the cycling / camping / boating / camera / mp3 needs we
have tried to focus on AAA and AA cells (there are a couple of C / D
celled things as well but the existing charger can't seem to cook
them!) so that's why we need tobe able to do 'a lot' of cells at the
same time (but in different charge states).

I'm with you. Looks like you're into using more than one charger to do
this.

Eg, if we were all going cycling on our solos and might need to come
home in the dark (along a towpath) I would like to know all 12 (3 x 4
cells) AA's in the headlamps were ready to rock .. (the tail lights
are LED so not such an issue).

--
*Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
T i m wrote:
That last one is close (at 8 cells) but again seems to 'boast' that
even in 'soft' mode will fully charge a cell in 2 hours? I was looking
at double that to ensure everything stayed cool and hence lasted as
long as poss? ;-(

The RC electric car guys were nearly all fan cooling their cells when
we last raced. I'd prefer to have more sets and charge them slower
(but not too slow). ;-)

Possibly why the Nicads in my big radio are nearly 20 years old .. ;-)

Yes. Most of mine are charged at the 1/10th capacity rate and via a timer
which shuts off after this. Definitely the best way for the longest life.
I keep the Mascot as a field charger just in case.

--
*Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Sat, 11 Feb 2006 14:50:59 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

|In article ,
| Dave Fawthrop wrote:
| http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/view...?idProduct=408
| does eight independently, so two would be a slight overkill.
|
|The Mascot one which does 6-10 or 12-20 depending on version is about 40
|quid - although it's designed to charge a pack so has no battery holder.
|But these can be bought from Maplin etc for about a couple of quid. Of
|course this doesn't do each cell independently, but his doesn't seem a
|problem in practice - unless you were charging single cells used for
|various different applications and therefore in vastly different states of
|charge or condition, etc.

Which is why I like the Maha! each cell gets as much charge as it will
take. I have rechargables of many capacities all over the house running
*many* different things. Marking them in pairs does not always ensure
that they get used in pairs.

--
Dave Fawthrop dave hyphenologist co uk
Freedom of Speech, Expression, Religion, and Democracy are
the keys to Civilization, together with legal acceptance of
Fundamental Human rights.

On Sat, 11 Feb 2006 14:47:04 GMT, T i m wrote:

|On Sat, 11 Feb 2006 13:24:22 +0000, Dave Fawthrop
wrote:
|
|On Sat, 11 Feb 2006 12:51:40 GMT, T i m wrote:
|
|
||So, anyone found a decent charger for (mainly, now) NiMH AA and AAA's
||that does the job from flat in 4-5 + hours then drops to trickle with
||individual cell monitoring etc please? I don't mind spending a bit of
||money on it as an investment ...
|
|http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/item.asp?idproduct=203
|http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/item.asp?idproduct=178
|http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/view...?idProduct=408
|
|I got my Maha in the UK works fine.
|
|That last one is close (at 8 cells) but again seems to 'boast' that
|even in 'soft' mode will fully charge a cell in 2 hours? I was looking
|at double that to ensure everything stayed cool and hence lasted as
|long as poss? ;-(
|
|The RC electric car guys were nearly all fan cooling their cells when
|we last raced. I'd prefer to have more sets and charge them slower
|(but not too slow). ;-)
|
|Possibly why the Nicads in my big radio are nearly 20 years old .. ;-)

I have the first one and it has a switch on the side for fast or slow
charge, which works fine. Charging stops when each cell individually is
full. I assume the big one works the same. I may get the big one for
*my* 20 year old Nicads.
--
Dave Fawthrop dave hyphenologist co uk
Freedom of Speech, Expression, Religion, and Democracy are
the keys to Civilization, together with legal acceptance of
Fundamental Human rights.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
T i m wrote:
That last one is close (at 8 cells) but again seems to 'boast' that
even in 'soft' mode will fully charge a cell in 2 hours? I was looking
at double that to ensure everything stayed cool and hence lasted as
long as poss? ;-(

The RC electric car guys were nearly all fan cooling their cells when
we last raced. I'd prefer to have more sets and charge them slower
(but not too slow). ;-)

Possibly why the Nicads in my big radio are nearly 20 years old .. ;-)

Yes. Most of mine are charged at the 1/10th capacity rate and via a timer
which shuts off after this. Definitely the best way for the longest life.
I keep the Mascot as a field charger just in case.

Timer based chargers are a nuisance though, because after a couple of
years and you start using the latest new cells, they only get 2/3
charged because the charger was designed for when 1300mAh was state of
the art!

In article
T i m wrote:
snip
Eg, if we were all going cycling on our solos and might need to come
home in the dark (along a towpath) I would like to know all 12 (3 x 4
cells) AA's in the headlamps were ready to rock .. (the tail lights
are LED so not such an issue).

Always carry a spare set of fully charged cells?

On Sat, 11 Feb 2006 23:06:22 -0000, Rob Morley
wrote:

In article
T i m wrote:
snip
Eg, if we were all going cycling on our solos and might need to come
home in the dark (along a towpath) I would like to know all 12 (3 x 4
cells) AA's in the headlamps were ready to rock .. (the tail lights
are LED so not such an issue).

Always carry a spare set of fully charged cells?

I generally do (as well) .. but I don't want to carry 3 sets ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

In article . com,
wrote:
Yes. Most of mine are charged at the 1/10th capacity rate and via a
timer which shuts off after this. Definitely the best way for the
longest life. I keep the Mascot as a field charger just in case.

Timer based chargers are a nuisance though, because after a couple of
years and you start using the latest new cells, they only get 2/3
charged because the charger was designed for when 1300mAh was state of
the art!

I've got a charger 'bay' with a couple of 4 way 13 amp outlets fed from
the timer. And obviously use the correct charger for the particular
batteries.

--
*The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.