What's your favorite battery / charger combo?

[Gwen1011]

I have an old Canon S1 IS that EATS batteries alive. I usually don't even get through two dives with it. I'm tired of lugging batteries and getting ready to invest in a charger and rechargeables. I thought since I'm doing it I may as well look at universals so I can charge the C and D cells for my lights along with the AAs. Any suggestions? The options are many! If you recharge, what type of battery and charger pac do you use?

Gwen

 

[Larry C]

I've had really good luck with the Sanyo Eneloop batteries since I got them. They seem to hold a charge longer (they advertise 90% after a year) and I haven't had any go south yet. My favorite charger is a duracell rechargeable accu 15 minute charger with a built in fan. Model CEF-15ADPUS(Power supply)Model CEF15NC. (NimH charger) It charges fast and the fan stays on after charging to keep the batteries from overheating. It really does charge them in 15 minutes and I haven't seen any damage. It turns off automatically.http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UL3N6C?smid=A3SKJE188CW5XG&tag=shopzilla_rev_189-20&linkCode=asn

 

[Eskasi]

Can you really charge the Eneloops with these without damage? That would be awesome! I use ONLY Eneloops and go on my dive travels with no less than 32 of them and 3 fast (1-2hr) chargers.....

I need 8 on each dive (4 in each strobe).....have 8 topside fully charged and ready to go, and have 8 more in case I fire more shots than I expect.

The pack of 8 comes in a neat little pack with handles and includes a charger and adapters to fit C and D cell sized batts.

 

[Larry C]

Can you really charge the Eneloops with these without damage? That would be awesome! I use ONLY Eneloops and go on my dive travels with no less than 32 of them and 3 fast (1-2hr) chargers.....

So far, so good. I test them with my load tester after charging and they're reading the full 1.2v I haven't had to throw any away yet and I've been using and recharging them weekly for at least 6 months. My other charger, the Sanyo type that comes with them, takes hours and doesn't have a fan. My Duracell charger has a separate power supply and charges at 4 amps. I'm not seeing the power supply in the pictures in the ads, so I'm wondering if they've changed it.

 

[Nocturnal Lights]

Great stuff, I want to try out the Duracell 15 minute chargers then. I've always liked the Eneloops and it's great ot know that there's a faster charger for them.

 

[Gwen1011]

You guys seem to have some great knowledge that I lack... I've been comaprison shopping but having issues because all the specs aren't exactly the same. I found this charger Titanium V4000 Ultra Fast Rechargeable Battery Charger for AA & AAA and it seems to be priced right. Plus this place also sells the adapters for AA to C and D pretty reasonably so I can purchase the AAs in bulk for the camera and strobe and use the same type with an adapter for my lights. Advice welcome, I'm pretty challenged with this stuff. (But trying to learn!)

Gwen

 

[spoolin01]

Switching to NiMH is cheaper and over time saves on travel weight and landfill mass! I take a set of alkalines just for backup. If you use an adapter to size AA batteries up for use in C and D cell lights, you probably won't like the limited burn time. Better to use NiMH C and D cells themselves for their much higher capacity. A good set of NiMH C-cells will give twice the burn time of alkalines. I've used this Vanson universal charger with good results:
Vanson BC1HU Computer Controlled Universal Battery Charger 110V

Accupower makes a unit that looks very similar, my friend has used this one for years, and it may be better made.

For the AAs and AAAs alone the Maha CH-401FS is great because you can select a low charge rate (100 mA/hr) for longer battery lifespan (this is supposed to be true, but a lot of people like the ultra-fast chargers, so I don't know...), or a faster one. Each of the 4 charging slots is independent (the charger you were looking at has two independent charging circuits, each charges two batteries at once - probably less optimal than truly independent circuits).
- Maha MH-C401FS-DC Battery Charger - White Model AA and AAA..

I also like and use the La Crosse BC-900. It provides more information and features than most, and seems very well made. You may or may not use or like the extra features, they're not critical for most users. It's very similar in form and function to the Maha, but the La Crosse' DC power adapter is much lighter which is nicer for travelling. I usually take two so I can charge two sets of strobe batteries at once.

One trick that's served me well with NiMH AA batteries is to always buy a couple of extras. I find there's a fairly high failure rate with any of them, name brands as well, so that after a few cycles you find one battery that isn't charging as quickly or loses voltage faster than the others. For most efficient use, you want the batteries to be closely matched. So if I want two sets of 4, I buy 10 so I can replace any drop-outs. A cheap digital voltmeter - $10 - is a great tool for monitoring batteries after storage, when you have several and can't remember which you just charged and which are drained, to see if one is failing, etc.

I haven't followed recently tech improvements (eneloop, ??) so there may be better choices now but the Maha and LaCrosse (and Accupower) are probably still quality picks.

 

[CUunderH2O]

Another vote for the Sanyo Eneloop batteries. I'm slowly switching to these exclusively, from my older Sanyo rechargeables. I have 6 sets of 4 AAs and 2 Sanyo rapid chargers. They take an hour to charge, but that's fine with me. I also number each set of batteries, so they're all used up evenly. The great thing about the Eneloop batteries is you can charge them several days before a trip and they're still fully charged when you arrive.

 

[Gwen1011]

OMG Spoolin, now I have even more to research. But thank you, I appreciate the info. I wonder if those Eneloops can be used with those chargers? Larry above said he uses a Duracell charger with them. Why would they be damaged, though? Eskasi was asking about damage. I'm so glad this community is out here! I'd probably trash batteries and chargers left and right without your help.

 

[spoolin01]

I wonder if those Eneloops can be used with those chargers? Larry above said he uses a Duracell charger with them. Why would they be damaged, though? Eskasi was asking about damage.

I'm curious about the Eneloops too. I've got dozens of the standard NiMH that work well but they do work best if you charge them just before use. Given that, I'm plenty happy with their performance in my cameras and strobes - I can easily get two long dives' worth of variable power discharges from the Ikelite DS-50/51 strobes, maybe as many as 200+ shots (I haven't really kept track).

I used to see a recommendation to charge at no more than 0.1 times capacity for best service life - so a 2500 mAh battery would be charged at around 250 mA. The higher the rate, the greater the heating, which damages the battery (and I don't know if heating is the only negative issue in rapid charging). I don't know whether that thinking has changed, batteries are made better (Eneloops?), chargers are made better, or folks have just agreed to live with the shortened service life to have faster charging. I will say I'm doubtful if you can expect the 500-1000 charge cycles that you see claimed - without seeing substantial decline in performance - but it is still far and away more economical to use the NiMH batteries. It can take 3 or 4 hours + to recharge a set of batteries with the Maha at 100mA, if they've sat for a long time. Taking twice the number of batteries that I'll need for a day makes the time not an issue.

The thomas-distributing.com website has information about batteries and charging and there are lots of others. At a minimum, getting a 'smart' charger (they limit the risk of overcharging) is probably ... smart! Whether a slow or rapid charger is much of a consideration, I hope to be educated by other comments here.