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NiMH Battery Chargers that can do it all?

T

tcsenter

Lifer
I am interested in a home/office battery charger primarily for NiMH with the following features (in no order of importance):

[*]will also handle other rechargeable chemistries, if possible (e.g. NiCAD and Lithium)
[*]accept all standard battery sizes AAA through D cell
[*]fully independent charging channels
[*]handle more than one battery size/type at the same time (e.g. AA + AAA or C + D)
[*]intelligent battery health functions + battery conditioning
[*]good warranty (not less than 3 years, preferrably longer)

No particular budget constraints, as long as they back it with a good warranty. I have already looked at those carried by Thomas Distributing, but would like to see more selections. I would appreciate any recommendations. TY!
 
Originally posted by: tcsenter
I am interested in a home/office battery charger primarily for NiMH with the following features (in no order of importance):

[*]will also handle other rechargeable chemistries, if possible (e.g. NiCAD and Lithium)
[*]accept all standard battery sizes AAA through D cell
[*]fully independent charging channels
[*]handle more than one battery size/type at the same time (e.g. AA + AAA or C + D)
[*]intelligent battery health functions + battery conditioning
[*]good warranty (not less than 3 years, preferrably longer)

No particular budget constraints, as long as they back it with a good warranty. I have already looked at those carried by Thomas Distributing, but would like to see more selections. I would appreciate any recommendations. TY!
Click to expand...

I bought one a few yrs back, I can charge 8 AA or AAA, 2x9 Volt, 6x D,6x C in 4hrs full charge. Shuts down when batts are fully charged, don't know what the warranty was I forget who makes it, but when I get home i'll let you know.
 
Originally posted by: Oyeve
I bought one a few yrs back, I can charge 8 AA or AAA, 2x9 Volt, 6x D,6x C in 4hrs full charge. Shuts down when batts are fully charged, don't know what the warranty was I forget who makes it, but when I get home i'll let you know.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I forgot to mention 9V. That too! Thanks.

 
If you want it all, you would probably want a R/C model charger. I doubt you will find the ability to do lithium ion, lithium polymer, NiCd and NiMh in a standard charger.

I use my Triton charger to charge my home batteries. I wired up battery holders for the charger using simple plastic holders that I bought at Radio Shack. I can charge pretty much anything (I've quick charged the batteries from my Canon digital camera and my cell phone battery on various occassions). If you can get a way to hook them up, the Triton can charge some ridiculous number of cells in parallel. The Triton can do multiple drain->charge->drain cycles and keeps track of how much charge is actually going back into it. It comes with a temperature probe to prevent possible fires (a concern in particular when quick-charging li-ion cells). You can charge any pack in times much faster than anything a standard charger can do, and due to better peak detection capabilities than low-end home chargers, the batteries are more fully charged when it's done and last longer.

The Triton - at a bit over $120 - is perhaps a bit much for a typical home user, but if you want something that can do it all, and you don't mind a bit of tinkering you'll want to look to what the R/C guys use. Hobbico's Accucharger Elite, Great Planes Triton, and if you the Rolls Royce of Chargers with ability to track charging on your computer, a Schulze isl 6-330 RS.
Link to Triton: http://www.towerhobbies.com/products/greatplanes/gpmm3150.html
 
That is a very serious battery charger. :Q
Thanks for the info, I would have never known a battery charger like this is available... 🙂
 
Originally posted by: pm
If you want it all, you would probably want a R/C model charger. I doubt you will find the ability to do lithium ion, lithium polymer, NiCd and NiMh in a standard charger.

I use my Triton charger to charge my home batteries. I wired up battery holders for the charger using simple plastic holders that I bought at Radio Shack. I can charge pretty much anything (I've quick charged the batteries from my Canon digital camera and my cell phone battery on various occassions). If you can get a way to hook them up, the Triton can charge some ridiculous number of cells in parallel. The Triton can do multiple drain->charge->drain cycles and keeps track of how much charge is actually going back into it. It comes with a temperature probe to prevent possible fires (a concern in particular when quick-charging li-ion cells). You can charge any pack in times much faster than anything a standard charger can do, and due to better peak detection capabilities than low-end home chargers, the batteries are more fully charged when it's done and last longer.

The Triton - at a bit over $120 - is perhaps a bit much for a typical home user, but if you want something that can do it all, and you don't mind a bit of tinkering you'll want to look to what the R/C guys use. Hobbico's Accucharger Elite, Great Planes Triton, and if you the Rolls Royce of Chargers with ability to track charging on your computer, a Schulze isl 6-330 RS.
Link to Triton: http://www.towerhobbies.com/products/greatplanes/gpmm3150.html
Click to expand...


Wow, Ni-Cad/Ni-MH, Li-ion, and lead acid batteries? Yes, expensive, but it sounds like it'd be the only battery charger you'd ever need.
 
Originally posted by: Jeff7
Wow, Ni-Cad/Ni-MH, Li-ion, and lead acid batteries? Yes, expensive, but it sounds like it'd be the only battery charger you'd ever need.
Click to expand...

It's a wonderful charger. I particularly like the ability to monitor how much current is going back into the battery. So if you have an 800mAh NiMH AAA battery, you can see that's actually getting 670mAh instead of 800mAh. Then I can deep cycle it a few times and see if it comes back - and get a report of how the deep cycling did each time it ran.

And, like I said, it's great to have the ability to charge things like my digital camera's lithium ion rechargeable in about 1/2 of the time that it takes the Canon wall adapter to do it - and it actually puts more charge into the battery too.

I can see that it's not exactly something that would work for most people, but since the original post was for something that does 'everything'... 🙂
 
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