# Finally getting some Eneloops, but will my old charger work?



## jdramirez (Sep 14, 2013)

So I bought this set of rechargeable batteries last year -

http://www.hhgregg.com/energizer-nimh-aa-and-nimh-aaa-battery-charger/item/CHVCMWB4

and they worked more than well enough in my 430 ex ii and my 580 ex ii. But they are finally not holding much of a charge and I know it is time to move into the big leagues with Eneloop. 

I'm cheap... I know it... and while I have a ton of cash invested in gear, if I can save $4 by not having to buy an Eneloop branded recharging station, that is exactly what I will do. 

So will there be a performance drop off? Will the voltage overheat the batteries and reduce their lifespan? Should I just bite the bullet and not worry so much about $4? 

Thanks a bunch.


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## Janbo Makimbo (Sep 14, 2013)

jdramirez said:


> So I bought this set of rechargeable batteries last year -
> 
> http://www.hhgregg.com/energizer-nimh-aa-and-nimh-aaa-battery-charger/item/CHVCMWB4
> 
> ...



I have about eighty eneloops and about eighty other various nimh batteries, I have about eight different chargers none of them enelopp and I have never had any issues charging them in whatever charger is available.


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## jdramirez (Sep 14, 2013)

Janbo Makimbo said:


> jdramirez said:
> 
> 
> > So I bought this set of rechargeable batteries last year -
> ...



Awesome to hear. Sign me up for an 8 pack.


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## scottkinfw (Sep 14, 2013)

Some things I don't recommend cheap. The Enloops are expensive so I want to protect the investment. I have two of these (one in the office, one at home):

http://www.osibatteries.com//p-806-maha-mh-c800s-aa-aaa-8-bank-smart-battery-charger.aspx?gclid=CMi82tqSyrkCFcvm7Aod7GoAaQ


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## jdramirez (Sep 14, 2013)

scottkinfw said:


> Some things I don't recommend cheap. The Enloops are expensive so I want to protect the investment. I have two of these (one in the office, one at home):
> 
> http://www.osibatteries.com//p-806-maha-mh-c800s-aa-aaa-8-bank-smart-battery-charger.aspx?gclid=CMi82tqSyrkCFcvm7Aod7GoAaQ



what makes it worth 80 bucks?


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## eli452 (Sep 14, 2013)

The Enloops are not cheap. I recommend a slow charge, preferable charger is one with 4 different charge circuit. I use (and recommend) LA CROSSE.


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## Rat (Sep 14, 2013)

Eli452 has it right. Rule of thumb: charge current is about a third or a quarter (opinions very) of the capacity. 500-700mAh is good for your Eneloops. I use a cheap La Crosse BC700, there's a few rebranded versions out there too. Not the best charger in the world though, you might want to spend a little more for convenience.


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## AdamJ (Sep 14, 2013)

I use the European version of the La Crosse charger (Technoline BL-700).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Technoline-Intelligent-battery-charger-Version/dp/B003S4JQS2

The main benefit is that it has separate charging circuits for each battery so it ensures each battery is charged to full capacity - no more, no less. You can also set the charge current for each battery at 200mA, 500mA or 700mA (low is healthier for the battery but slower).

If required, it can also discharge before recharging, and to revive the capacity of old batteries, it can do the discharge / charge cycle repeatedly until it detects that the battery has reached its maximum capacity.


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## AdamJ (Sep 14, 2013)

This is nerdy but informative.

AA/AAA Battery Charger Review


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## verysimplejason (Sep 14, 2013)

I have a generic charger (Base) + an original eneloop charger. I use them both and I didn't notice any difference.


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## neuroanatomist (Sep 14, 2013)

My eneloop (OEM) chargers work well. A 4-place charger adds ~$6 to the cost of a 4-pk of AA's. Two chargers are fine for my many batteries (>40).


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## cocopop05 (Sep 14, 2013)

I had an Energiser charger and had been using it to charge my Eneloop XX batteries. It all appeared to me to work well but I purchased the charger below just because I read good things about it online.

http://www.mahaenergy.com/mh-c9000/

Well what a difference, using the C9000 improved capacity lost, my batteries last ~20% longer now. The eneloop XX's were not very old which leads me to believe the Energiser charger was robbing them of capacity.

If you have rechargeable batteries, this charger is a no brainer.


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## surapon (Sep 14, 2013)

Dear Jdramirez.
Last years, I am very luck to buy 4 packs of Eneloops( 1 pack = 8 Batteries) from closed( Bankrupted) Ritz camera stores---The Reg. Price = $ 24.99 Per pack of 8 AA., Finial Sales price =$ 6.25( at 25% of original cost), and use my Old Chargers---Out put from 200 mA ( the slowest charger-over night) to out put 1500 mA super Fast Charger.
Yes , When I have the time, I use slow charger, But When I am in hurry, I use the fast charger.
So far, It work great for the Awesome Eneloops.
Nice to talk to you.
Surapon
PS. I buy the Sandwich Plastic Box = $ 1.00 US Dollar from Walmart to keep my Eneloops, and use the rubber strip to separated between them.


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## agierke (Sep 14, 2013)

> I had an Energiser charger and had been using it to charge my Eneloop XX batteries. It all appeared to me to work well but I purchased the charger below just because I read good things about it online.
> 
> http://www.mahaenergy.com/mh-c9000/
> 
> ...



+1 to this. i have something similar that allows for more control over the charging process and it increases the life and performance of my rechargeable batteries. its worth it to spend a couple extra bucks now as it will save you alot of money in the long term. a high end charger can even rescue a seemingly dead set of batteries.

dont cheap out on a charger.


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## alexanderferdinand (Sep 14, 2013)

Recommended chargers:
The Maha 9000, c801d, c808m
The AV4m, the LaCrosse 700/1000 (different countries-different names; I know them as Technoline)
The MEC AP8.
Important for suvivi g/good charging: a good cutoff at the end of charging; with delta peak cutoff and temeprature control not to overheat.
My first, not cheap, Ansmann Energy 8 killed several cells. Costed my some energy to realize it is expensive crap.


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## neuroanatomist (Sep 14, 2013)

cocopop05 said:


> http://www.mahaenergy.com/mh-c9000/
> 
> If you have rechargeable batteries, this charger is a no brainer.



If you have eneloops, how is this ~$60 charger better than the ~$6 charger from Sanyo?


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## Joe M (Sep 14, 2013)

I've seen Eneloop themselves state that you can use any reputable charger without issue. I understand that everyone has gear budgets but in the big scheme of things, an investment of $4 which will last you many years can't be considered outrageous. The old sales ploy of "costing pennies a day" would actually be very appropriate for this expenditure. 
I too many years ago started with energizer and quickly realized they didn't cut it. They had no shelf life and I didn't have the time to charge up sets before heading out for a day. When I went to eneloop I dumped the energizer charger along with the batteries. I admit I don't have the expertise that some here do with using different brands and knowing much about charging rates but such a small expense means you don't have to worry or think about it. Enjoy the eneloops.


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## agierke (Sep 14, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> cocopop05 said:
> 
> 
> > http://www.mahaenergy.com/mh-c9000/
> ...



depends on your usage i guess if you would see a difference in performance over time. 

i have sets of powerex batteries that i killed over time due to the amount of usage they got. even rechargeables dont last forever. the maha charger i have has multiple charge modes that allow for quick charge, slow charge (better for long term health of the batteries), and a refresh charge that can actually improve the performance of older sluggish batteries. a standard charger may not offer these extra features.

the 60.00 higher end chargers can increase the life and performance of your batteries. they can prevent you from having to spend on additional batteries over time at a clip of 30-40.00 per set. my charger has saved me a ton of money.

but again...it depends on your usage. i use my batteries heavily and have seen the difference of charging modes 1st hand.


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## drmikeinpdx (Sep 14, 2013)

*A timely topic for me!*

I had a shoot in the Columbia River Gorge on Wednesday that would need some portable lighting. The hike to the photo spot is a bit tricky, so I decided to take a speedlight instead of my usual Alien Bee w/battery pack, umbrella and stand. The amount of light was fine as you can see in the test shot below...







Unfortunately, my rate of fire was a bit limited with the YN568EX. I was only using 1/4 power (on manual) but I was shooting about one shot every second or two and exceeded the recycle speed. So I lost about one of every three or four shots when the flash didn't fire. 

I haven't been a big speedlight user, so I've just been using disposable alkalines purchased in large quantities at Costco. 

Some research on the net tells me that speedlights will cycle faster with Eneloop type batteries, so I'm making the switch to Eneloops with a Maha 8 circuit charger. Adorama and B&H had the best price on the C801d model, which has lots of good reviews on the net, including one by a Strobist contributor that was pretty convincing. 

I'm anxious to try out the Eneloops and see just how much faster they can make my speedlight cycle.


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## jdramirez (Sep 14, 2013)

the charger I have is 260-300 mA. someone was selling a fifty dollar/&h gift card on Craig's list for 35 and I really wish I had bought it because this would be perfect to get.


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## surapon (Sep 14, 2013)

Dear Friends
Here are my Eneloop package
Surapon


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 14, 2013)

The energizer charger fast charges batteries and has a reputation for overheating them and ruining them. A battery that should last for several years may die in 6 months. Its good for selling batteries.
The Sanyo Charger works fine. Maha has a reputation for producing good chargers, except for the one I got which melted down.

I have 4 or 5 Sanyo chargers now, and still have 3 or 4 Maha Chargers that I don't want to use for fear of a fire.


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## Bob Howland (Sep 14, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> cocopop05 said:
> 
> 
> > http://www.mahaenergy.com/mh-c9000/
> ...



*Update: Some days you get the bear and some days the bear gets you.*

First, what is the model number of the Sanyo charger? *(Update: NC-MDU01 for the 2-battery unit powered from a USB port and MQN04 for the 4 battery unit powered by mains.)*

Second, does the Sanyo charge each cell individually or does it connect them in series pair and charge the pair, a strategy which eventually destroys the weaker of the two batteries? *(Update: The NC-MDU01 charges them individually while the MQN04 charges them in series.)*

Third, what is the normal charging current of the Sanyo charger? *(Update: 850mA for a single battery plugged into the NC-MDU01 and 450mA when two batteries are plugged in. 250mA for the MQN04)* My LaCrosse BC700's normal current is 100mA *(Update: 200mA)* and my Maha MH-C800S 8-battery model defaults to 500mA *(Update: 1000mA)* but can be reduced to 200mA *(Update: 500mA)*. More current is worse since it heats up the battery and damages its internal structure.

*Anyway, I use the LaCrosse almost exclusively. The Maha is used when I have a lot of batteries that need to be charged in a hurry, but that's why I bought it.*


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## hawaiisunsetphoto (Sep 14, 2013)

agierke said:


> neuroanatomist said:
> 
> 
> > cocopop05 said:
> ...



^ Agree.


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## cocopop05 (Sep 15, 2013)

Hi neuroanatomist, I believe the Sanyo charges batteries in pairs rather than individually like the C9000. This means that if you pair up a battery that has an actual capacity of say 2200mAh with one that has a capacity of 2500mAh, then the charger may damage the weaker battery.

Other advantages over Sanyo are:
- You can select the charge and discharge rates for more gentle battery charging and discarging.
- It doesn't just charge batteries, it can discharge them as well (better for battery conditioning)
- Refresh older batteries to improve their capacity (I gained over 50% increased capacity in many of my older batteries).
- The C9000 allows you to see the actual capacities of each batter, that way you can group the stronger batteries together. Remember, when the weakest battery dies first, the device no longer operates, even if the rest of the batteries have capacity left.


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## neuroanatomist (Sep 15, 2013)

Thank for the info, everyone!


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## jdramirez (Sep 15, 2013)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> The energizer charger fast charges batteries and has a reputation for overheating them and ruining them. A battery that should last for several years may die in 6 months. Its good for selling batteries.
> The Sanyo Charger works fine. Maha has a reputation for producing good chargers, except for the one I got which melted down.
> 
> I have 4 or 5 Sanyo chargers now, and still have 3 or 4 Maha Chargers that I don't want to use for fear of a fire.



I'm aware that the slower the charge, the better the life span of the battery. It also doesn't over heat which can be important as well. But the Energizer charger I have was a slow charging charger. Generally it was an overnight proposition.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 15, 2013)

jdramirez said:


> Mt Spokane Photography said:
> 
> 
> > The energizer charger fast charges batteries and has a reputation for overheating them and ruining them. A battery that should last for several years may die in 6 months. Its good for selling batteries.
> ...


 
In that case, it should work. The comment you made about what seemed like a relatively short battery life caused me to remember the issue.


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## jdramirez (Sep 15, 2013)

thanks for the help all. I decided to go for some bang for the buck and I got this:

eneloop NEW Power Pack, 2000mAh Typical, 1900mAh Minimum, 1500 cycle, 8AA, 2AAA, 2 "C" and 2 "D" Spacers, 4 Position Charger, and Storage Case

I'll throw the aaa's into my intervolometer, I'll have a charger I can trust and backup batteries for my flash. all for 34 bucks.


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## eli452 (Sep 15, 2013)

The Sanyo charger I got with the eneloops is 560mAh for 4 batteries 1120 for 2. That is quit aggressive. A charge at 200 mAh is better. Also it charges 2 or 4 batteries in pairs. But not all devices use even number of batteries. Canon GP-E2 uses 1 AA, my small flashlight uses 1 AAA, another uses 3xAAA, so does few of the remotes. So how do you charge 3 batteries? You wait for a fourth. But that not a pair. One pulls a battery from a device when it do not supply the necessary juice. The demand of a motorized tooth brash is not the same as remote. So a charger that charge only pair will stop when the first of the two is at capacity leaving the other at less the full capacity or, worse, continue, causing overheat in the first battery to charge to capacity until its pair reaches that mark.
A high end charger charges each battery individually! It also allows you to choose slow or fast charge if necessary. If you keep two simple chargers (a slow one and a fast one) beware, the "pairs" can be different (1+2, 3+4 or 1+3, 2+4) so do not "pair" different kind (AA/AAA, low/high capacity etc)


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## jdramirez (Sep 16, 2013)

eli452 said:


> The Sanyo charger I got with the eneloops is 560mAh for 4 batteries 1120 for 2. That is quit aggressive. A charge at 200 mAh is better. Also it charges 2 or 4 batteries in pairs. But not all devices use even number of batteries. Canon GP-E2 uses 1 AA, my small flashlight uses 1 AAA, another uses 3xAAA, so does few of the remotes. So how do you charge 3 batteries? You wait for a fourth. But that not a pair. One pulls a battery from a device when it do not supply the necessary juice. The demand of a motorized tooth brash is not the same as remote. So a charger that charge only pair will stop when the first of the two is at capacity leaving the other at less the full capacity or, worse, continue, causing overheat in the first battery to charge to capacity until its pair reaches that mark.
> A high end charger charges each battery individually! It also allows you to choose slow or fast charge if necessary. If you keep two simple chargers (a slow one and a fast one) beware, the "pairs" can be different (1+2, 3+4 or 1+3, 2+4) so do not "pair" different kind (AA/AAA, low/high capacity etc)



Generally speaking, I charge 4 at a time. They go into my 580 ex ii. Maybe I will just use the 260 mA energizer charger after all. HUFF!!!


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## wickidwombat (Sep 17, 2013)

eli452 said:


> The Enloops are not cheap. I recommend a slow charge, preferable charger is one with 4 different charge circuit. I use (and recommend) LA CROSSE.



I got one of these too
best charger EVER
I wish they did an 8 battery version though


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## winglet (Sep 18, 2013)

I have two of the Maha MH-C801D chargers, and I have found them to be rock-solid. Rapid charge, soft charge, and conditioning modes, individual charge per cell (x8) seems to have extended the life of my batts and with 4 speedlites each with external battery packs, it does make a difference to the wallet when you can get some longevity out of your AA's. Just like everything else you get what you pay for - I get that budgets are important, but I think I can safely say going with a cheaper charger with premium batteries is probably false economy. The Powerex site lists the MH-C801D as 90 bucks but B&H has them for $65. 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=MH-C801D&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=

For the cells I use all Powerex, a mix of Imedions in the flashes ready to go

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/883811-REG/Powerex_MHRAAI4_IMEDION_Ready_When.html

and Powerex for the external packs and to replace the ones in the strobes. 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/883816-REG/Powerex_MHRAA4_Rechargeable_AA_NiMH.html

(Amazon is good for Powerex too).

Having said that I wouldn't hesitate to use the Eneloops as well as many of my colleagues swear by them. But I can honestly say the Powerex stuff has been bulletproof.

Oh, and pick up a proper battery tester while you're at it - the cheap ones don't properly "load" the cell to give you an accurate reading of the charge remaining. But a proper one can save you a lot of hours trying to find a dead cell. I love this one:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/321271-REG/ZTS_MINI_MBT_Mini_MBT_Multi_Battery_Tester.html


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