AAA/AA - CR123a / 18650 chargers - a/c & 12v?

Looking for a reliable/durable charger. One important feature would be the ability to charge via dc 12v/lighter, and a/c standard... or via USB. One reason would be so I can recharge through a nomad 7 solar panel as well as in the car, on the go. Most important is AAA/AA charging, but I have one flashlight that uses 4x cr123a or 2x 18650 batteries.

I'd appreciate some input/suggestions. I've been burned by rechargeable batteries. I last bought duracell "quick charge" and found they didn't keep the charge after a couple dozen cycles.

Thanks,
Geo

The best rechargeable batteries seem to be Sanyo Eneloops or rebranded variations. I have been phasing them in and getting rid of alkaline units. No problems whatever.

I am happy with my Maha MH C401FS which will work off of house current or 12V. Its four independent circuits will do either AA or AAA. I am not sure, but you might need another charger for CR123a's or 18650's.

I have only one light with 18650s. It will charge off my laptop USB port or my Guide 10 Plus and possibly directly from a Nomad panel.

Tons of options out there. FWIW, these are three chargers I use regularly with good results:


Maha C9000 for AA/AAA Eneloops (you can buy a 12V adapter for more flexibility)

http://www.amazon.com/Powerex-MH-C9000-PowerEx-WizardOne-Charger-Analyzer/dp/B000NLUSLM

Sanyo USB Charger for AA/AAA Eneloops (only charges at 400mA so its a little slow, but has independent charging channels and is small enough for travel)

http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-eneloop-Pre-Charged-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B004UAG776


CottonPickers 8 Current setting Li-Ion Charger for 16340, 17670, 18650 (I really like this charger. Very small and charge settings from 50 to 780mA)

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthr...er-with-display

In my experience most chargers are junk. For AA/AAA NiMHs, there are two models that I have been using for a couple of years and can recommend highly:

Powerex Maha MH-C9000 - 4 independent channels, has both charging and battery refresh settings that really work, lots of control over what you're doing, and IIRC can handle a 12VDC car input (cord not included). Not cheap but brings life into old cells you thought were goners, so it pays for itself after a while.

Duracell Mobile Charger CEF23DX4N - 4 independent channels, slower than the Maha but does a good job, has USB out from four charged cells, and includes the cigarette lighter cord. New old stock is still available in the $20-30 range.

Can't help you with the CR123s. But 18650s are Li-ion I think, requiring a different charger.

There is also a slightly cheaper alternative to the MAHA MH-C9000, which is sold under several brandnames: La Crosse BC/RS-700, Voltcraft IPC1L, Accupower IQ128 or Accucell BC-700

Also availible with a optional 12V DC car imput.

The Sanyo USB Charger also mentioned here, is indeed a nice compact (travel) charger.

there is very little difference between the better chargers. some people like gadgets with all kinds of features that serve no real purpose. MAHA has made a bunch of money selling such chargers.

chargers that can charge individual batteries and automatically shut off when the charging is done are probably the best options. most chargers these days have some kind of auto shutoff. don't get the kind that have a timer shutoff as they will destroy your batteries over time.

mine does not charge individual batteries - it does two at a time. For me it is not that big of a deal as all of the devices I use them in use either 2 or 4 of them so it does not matter all that much.

I use the one recommended by AFLM... a Fujicell SCH808F... works with my Goal Zero 7w panel, 12v dc, 120v ac, and 5v USB... with Sanyo AA Eneloops...I've changed my thinking about running my 3500w genset.... invested in a 12v deep discharge trolling motor with a 12v cigarette receptacle attached to run my hurricane electronics (via AA)

protective cap removed from positive terminal for pic
SCH808F charger

A Nitecore Charger will cover a lot a bases for different conventional cell types, has a 12V input. It will charge NiMh and NiCd and rechargeable Lithium Ion for those higher power 18650 flashlights etc. But you will need a consistent 12V 12+ Watt power source. i.e a 20W Solar Panel + Charge Controller + SLA battery system i.e as shown in Les's Photo.

No USB input though as you will only really find these on smaller capacity chargers due to the USB power specification limitations.

The Nitecore charger is very handy to charge 4x18650 cells for a Fandyfire UV-S5 Flashlight for home use, when you need some serious illumination.

http://www.fasttech.com/product/1057203-fandyfire-uv-s5-cree-xm-l-t6-3000lm-flashlight-4

A compact Soshine SC-S7 will also charge the similar range of cells, but only one cell at a time. Useful for portable Solar PVs of 5+ Watt specification for light weight back packing

I respectfully disagree. There are a lot of name-brand chargers being sold that destroy good quality batteries quite quickly. And these are not necessarily the cheapest ones either. There seems to be an absolute, cut-throat cynicism going on, with the bean counters overruling the engineers. The more batteries they fry in these junkers, the more new batteries they can sell.

But amidst the storm of crapola there are some good chargers that will get you decent performance and a decent lifespan out of your rechargeables. It doesn't have to be a Maha, but you really do have to sift the (rare) wheat from the (voluminous) chaff.

As for the Maha in particular, I was a reluctant convert. But I finally found a great deal on one and spent some time working with it. It's not quite as convenient, but when it comes to refreshing older cells and restoring their capacity, it does what it says it does.

If you want to argue the point further, just drop into candlepowerforums for double-barrelled dose of "chapter and verse."

a/c and 12v (lighter) is a good comprimise. I had bad experience with duracell, even after they replaced the batteries/charger I found they were no good. Eneloop seems to have a good rep, but I'll need to order them off ebay. They should work with the nomad powerpack. That answers another question I had, the charger should have a constant charge.. not subject to clouds, shade, etc.. I have a booster pack; I could trickle charge it via nomad 7, and charge batteries off it. It should have same effect as lesnyder's setup using already owned items.


I still have some links to re-read but hey all seem to offer "independent" charging (AA/AAA at same time).. thats a plus. Do any of the chargers have an advantage charging both kinds (NiMh/lithium)?

I agree, most of the Duracell chargers are garbage (though the cells themselves are pretty good). But the charger I linked to (CEF23DX4N) is definitely the exception; I own three and have been using them for years with good results. Naturally they stopped making them.


The Nitecore charger linked by Am_Fear_Liath_Mor looks very promising. It gets a "thumbs up" from the folks at CandlePowerForums -- extensive review here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/show...age-comparisons

What shelf life do the 18650's have for self discharge?

I can't offer a real-world opinion, since I'm not running "proper" protected 18650s and chargers yet. I standardized on AA/AAA NiMHs some years ago and haven't seen a need to change. Have to say, though, that prices on lithiums and chargers seem to have finally come down to earth.

If they're anything like the unprotected Samsung Li-ions I have been charging (very, very carefully) direct from my solar panels, their charge retention should be excellent.

A quick survey of CandlePowerForums suggests that 18650s should retain at least 80% of their charge after a year in storage. If that's correct, it's impressive -- better than LSD NiMHs such as Eneloops.

nitecore is definitely on my shortlist, Maha & LaCrosse seem to have some good offering... but waiting until morning to read some reviews.

thats good to know. I'm going to have to lurk around the forums.. If they retain their power that well, I might go for 18650 instead of cr123a.

I don't have figures, but the high quality 18650s I have exhibit low self-discharge over the medium term. I recharge and cycle them through my devices quarterly; the unused ones top up in a few minutes. I would not recommend 18650s for long-term storage without maintenance.

Thanks. I've got a 2x123 light that sees occasional short use and biannual long use and my supply of 123 batteries is near restock levels. I'm debating whether to add rechargeables to the mix. The last time I bought 123's they were about $1.25 in bulk with an Otterbox for storage.

For CR123A batteries, I've been buying these http://www.batteryjunction.com/tpen-tcr123a-.html exclusively. I get nearly the same performance that I used to get from SureFire batteries at significantly less cost. No affiliation other than as a customer.

Nice price. IIRC that's about what Battery Station house brand was years ago without the case.

I use a Maha C401FS for NiMH. Great little charger that has performed perfectly for many many years. I have several different brands of NiMH's that were bought over the years and still function fine. But when I buy new NiMH's, it is only Eneloops that I buy now.

For my LiIon (14500's in my case), my thoughts are if you buy cheap batteries (no protection circuity) then you need to buy an expensive charger. Conversely, if you buy good batteries with protection circuits (I like AW), then you can get by using a cheap charger (one of the cheap Chinese "UltraFire" models for example). Personally, I use god AW batteries and a cheap UltraFire charger. I only charge LiIon when I am present in the house. And I have a metal box that the charger goes into while in use, so if fire/explosion does occur, well, metal doesn't burn. It's one of those metal tins that fruit cakes and things like that come in around Christmas time.

I know you can get 12v car adapters for the Maha C401FS. I do not know about for the UltraFire LiIon charger (although you might be able to find a generic Radio Shack adapter that will work).

Thats not better than eneloops because eneloops are rated at 80% or better after a year also.

Fair enough, my numbers might be mushy. The impression I got was that Li-ion charge retention generally a lot better better than 80%, but I can't speak with any authority on that.

I'd be the last one to diss Eneloops and Duraloops. They have served me admirably.

I've bought a couple panasonic/energizer cr123a off ebay before.. I want to get a second, edc, flashlight but alot of them are cr123a... so it got me thinking about rechargeables. right now, getting back into rechargeables I might like a pair of cheap rechargeables (aaa/aa) like eneloop, and a decent charger. If eneloop has that good retention then will be good in my book.

One option would be to pick your AC charger of choice and add an DC-AC inverter either connected via the battery or the cigarette lighter depending upon current needs. 150 watts is what I've been told is the max cigarette lighter output.

Having an inverter will give you the ability to run other things in addition to the battery charger (laptop, phone ac charger, etc).

Gives you just a little more flexibility than just having a DC battery charger and gives you more choice in battery chargers. Don't need to confine yourself to the DC chargers.

Using smart Nitecore D2 battery charger is the best choice! It charge for both 18650 battery and CR123A battery. I have own Nitecore D2 for two years and it still works well.

I am very happy with a Nitecore i4 - four independent bays that will charge 18650 batteries,as well as AA nicads - nickel metal hydride - and AAA of those chemistries as well, although the AAA's must be charged in pairs. It is all explained in a good manual.

I actually just ordered a nitecore i4, and some 4000mah 18650's for a cheapie Ultrafire Flashlight I just purchased off of amazon.

I didn't like the charger it came with (and didn't like the 2200mah rating of the battery) it came with, so thought I would try some higher capacity/quality batteries in it.