Battery charger for 3x AA - charging one AA at a time.

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Battery charger for 3x AA - charging one AA at a time.

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Scott3

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#2745858 17-Jul-2021 17:04

neb: Pretty much any third-party charger that's a step above cheap junk should be able to charge any number of cells of any type at the same time. In fact I'm surprised that there exist chargers where you need to charge cells in pairs, this is the first time I've heard of it.

They are typically an ultra economy option that allows brands to sell 4x rechargeable batteries and a charger for a price competitive with a bulk pack of batteries.

The Panasonic one I got by accident comes in a pack costing $32. Batteries alone are worth $21.

So $11 for that charger.

Of course it is not ideal if you have more than one set of cells or care about their health.

Kiwifruta

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#2746826 19-Jul-2021 20:48

I have this maha battery charger, works a charm, half the price of the 8 cell one listed previously here.

https://mahaenergy.com/mh-c401fs/

gzt

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#2813229 15-Nov-2021 13:27

I eventually purchased the PowerEX Maha MH-C808M. PhotoShack NZ. In stock and the price was close enough to avoid the wait. They called and advised pickup if possible due to courier queues.

So far it's excellent. It supports up to eight DD which I didn't realize when I purchased. The picture shows two. Bonus. As a result tho it takes up more bench space than I anticipated. Default is one hour charge. I prefer the softer two hour charge. That's an additional button press. No wall mount. Knowing the size maybe I would have stayed with AA only maybe not.

Overall - it's excellent and the batteries are lasting longer in devices than my previous cheapo charger. It's pricey but will pay for itself over 10 years in batteries we don't kill and needing less total batteries with one hour charge available.

wratterus

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#2813236 15-Nov-2021 13:43

MAHA/Powerex are good but a little dear. I use a Nitecore UM4. It is a little fiddly with smaller batteries but works well.

I don't like the included Panasonic chargers. Had issues with the connection between the plug & the charger. The older Sanyo ones were OK, but have to charge in pairs and doesn't give you any idea of the capacity etc.

If you need to charge a lot of batteries that 8 bay Maha charger is awesome.

timmmay

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#2813308 15-Nov-2021 14:26

gzt: It supports up to eight DD

Batteries are D size rather than DD, you're thinking of a bra ;)

I have the 801D and C9000 chargers, because I sometimes had to charge a lot of batteries quickly. Both work well.

insane

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#2813313 15-Nov-2021 14:36

Another vote for the Panasonic BQ-CC55, good solid middle of the range fast charger, and most importantly, allows charging of as little as a single AAA

Think it was about $50 from PB-tech with 4 AA's included.

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Handle9

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#2813340 15-Nov-2021 15:53

Another vote for Nitecore D4. Inexpensive from AliExpress and very good.

Shindig

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#2813348 15-Nov-2021 16:21

Is the analyser element that comes with the Powerex one useful?

The little things make the biggest difference.

1101

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#2813767 16-Nov-2021 10:04

Shindig:

Is the analyser element that comes with the Powerex one useful?

I used to have a charger with a capacity test function
If you have alot of rechargeable batts (more than 10) , it can be good to weed out the underperforming batts , and check actual capacity
of new batts to weed out fakes .
Otherwise, if you only have a few batts , just replace them when you think they are getting tired

If you can, get a charger where you can select the charge current.
Avoid chargers where charge current isnt given in the specs.
And check that the max charge current spec for 1 batt is about the same for 4 batts (sometimes is considerably less)

I no longer bother with rechargeable. A 30pack of single use AA's is so cheap .

timmmay

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#2813778 16-Nov-2021 10:28

1101:

Shindig:

Is the analyser element that comes with the Powerex one useful?

I used to have a charger with a capacity test function
If you have alot of rechargeable batts (more than 10) , it can be good to weed out the underperforming batts , and check actual capacity
of new batts to weed out fakes .
Otherwise, if you only have a few batts , just replace them when you think they are getting tired

If you can, get a charger where you can select the charge current.
Avoid chargers where charge current isnt given in the specs.
And check that the max charge current spec for 1 batt is about the same for 4 batts (sometimes is considerably less)

I no longer bother with rechargeable. A 30pack of single use AA's is so cheap .

The Maha C9000 is great for that. You can set charge / discharge current and it shows the capacity of each cell charged. AAA and AA. The current model is C9000 Pro.

nitro

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#2813836 16-Nov-2021 12:47

1101:

Shindig:

Is the analyser element that comes with the Powerex one useful?

I used to have a charger with a capacity test function
If you have alot of rechargeable batts (more than 10) , it can be good to weed out the underperforming batts , and check actual capacity
of new batts to weed out fakes .
Otherwise, if you only have a few batts , just replace them when you think they are getting tired

If you can, get a charger where you can select the charge current.
Avoid chargers where charge current isnt given in the specs.
And check that the max charge current spec for 1 batt is about the same for 4 batts (sometimes is considerably less)

I no longer bother with rechargeable. A 30pack of single use AA's is so cheap .

those cheap AAs aren't very good for high-drain stuff, e.g. speedlights for flash photography.

yes, i have put the refresh/analyze, and even the break-in feature of the (original) C9000 to use. also have (somewhere in a cupboard) a C-401FS. because of the C9000 i have eneloops that are over 10 years old that are still usable - remotes, game controllers.

as mentioned above, you can group batteries that have similar capacities together... if you use good cells, and serve them with a good charger, they stay very similar throughout their useful life - assuming you use them for the same purpose together, of course.

i mostly use a skyrc mc3000 now as i also need li-ion charging.

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