Learning more about rechargeables; what works for what, when to re-charge...etc

Here are the battery chemistries I pay the most attention to:

NiCd sucks.

LiCoO2 AKA ICR (you probably know them as Lithium Ion batteries) are used in most cellphones, laptops, and so on. Great capacity and cycle life, with low self-discharge rates. Prone to "vent with flame" when damaged or discharged too quickly. Don't use these unless they have built-in protective circuitry. I use these in most non-AA/AAA devices.

LiMn2O4 AKA IMR are used in vapes and other high-discharge uses like high-performance flashlights. Significantly safer than ICR chemistry but has less capacity and cycle life. Most think they don't need protective circuitry. Great in high-discharge devices. I use these in one specific device.

LiNiMnCoO2 AKA INR supposedly combine the best features of ICR and IMR. I don't have any of these.

NiMH is the chemistry used by Eneloops. I use these extensively in place of primary (non-rechargeable) batteries in AA and AAA devices.

None of these (other than NiCd) have a "memory" effect and handle top-up charges well.

Long-term storage of rechargeables is best, supposedly, at around 40% of charge to prevent degradation over time. I keep most of my rechargeables in "ready to use" mode, fully charged or nearly so.

Eneloops is such a superior technology to conventional batteries that I'm amazed it's not more commonly known. You start saving money in the not-so-long run. It holds a charge well. You create less garbage. It shouldn't be a niche product.

I suspect their market share is growing - it certainly should be. I am a very satisfied Eneloops user,and I am starting to use lithium ions, as well.

Make REALLY REALLY sure that your charger is designed to work with not just your battery's size, but its chemistry. Also, whatever charger you use should probably be a "smart" charger that analyzes the battery to charge it the safest way, and cuts off the charge when it's full.

The chargers I've seen that come in some Eneloop packages is safe to use but not "smart", so I don't use them.

I am not listing items but, I am putting significant resources to updating equipment and increasing my long term food storage amounts.

I am finally making a little progress towards building a community and have established a long range rendezvous pt.

I am looking for a location to establish a bushcraft base to practice and share bushcrafting skills.

What do you recommend that we use instead for our Eneloops, chaosmagnet?? I have a number of chargers that came with my various types of rechargeable batteries, and I always just made sure to use the manufacturer's charger for any set of batteries. It sounds like there may be a better solution.

Here's one I would nominate - a Nitecore Intellicharger i4. It will accept a variety of battery chemistries - nimh, Li-ion (what I am currently using) in AA.,AAA, C, and 18650 configurations. It stops charging automatically and I have had no problems, but I have been using only protected li-ions. There are other units that will do even more, but this model is working well for me. The cost was somewhere around $40, as I remember.

I am sure Chaos can add more to this.....

For other than D cell NiMH, I use a Nitecore D2 Digicharger.

Wildman800...you may already be familiar with the LDS storage method, but if not this video of Wendy DeWitt changed the way I stored some long term staples... the PDF file has some pretty good information also

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOLuIApyNPc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B06YYNupBx59QnpYd3BTdndpTzQ/view

instead of vacuum sealing in bags, I use quart canning jars with the lid sealing attachment... store the filled jars in the original boxes under my bed