Bought 20 Eneloop AAs + charger: do I need a better charger?

I recently bought 20 Eneloop AAs and the Sanyo charger from Amazon. My question is fairly simple: do I need a better charger, like the La Crosse BC-700? The batteries will be used w/ a pair of 430EX IIs, a flashlight and a few other small items. I'm not sure if a smart charger would benefit me compared to the Sanyo.

I use a La Crosse. I would thing the Sanyo,"is good enough"

Here is thread on AA Chargers. https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1136948 It may prove to be helpful

The Sanyo charges just fine, but it is a slow charger.

theatrus wrote in post #14153566
The Sanyo charges just fine, but it is a slow charger.

Yeah it's a little slow. I got a Powerex MAHA which juices pretty quickly.

I say absolutely! Thats not a smart charger with any smart features at all. I highly recommend the Maha C-9000. Get it from Amazon.

the sanyo battery charger charges in pairs so that could be a significant issue if you are charging a depleted battery and a battery that is half empty. The sanyo charger recognizes which battery charges first then stops charging.

an smaller less known battery charger that I have found of late is the titanium bay charger

http://www.ebay.com …m53ec242cb4#ht_​3898wt_732

@ $12.00 shipped, this is a great deal.

http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=4LYPKMMquTM

Thanks for the replies all. I think I'm going to go with either the BC-700 or Maha.

Sunthing Productions wrote in post #14183297
Thanks for the replies all. I think I'm going to go with either the BC-700 or Maha.

In my opinion (with an extensive electronics background), you'd be better off using the Sanyo charger because going to a rapid charger will run the risk of degrading the batteries much sooner.

Simply do what I did. I have four of the Sanyo chargers so I can charge more batteries at the same time.

If you go and buy a smart charger, you can get real crazy and start matching the batteries.

SkipD wrote in post #14183367
In my opinion (with an extensive electronics background), you'd be better off using the Sanyo charger because going to a rapid charger will run the risk of degrading the batteries much sooner.
.

If a temperature monitor is used NiMH batteries can be charged at rates up to 1C (in other words 100% of the battery capacity in amp-hours for 1.5 hours). At the 1C rate charging is completed 1.5 hrs.

Otherwise C/3.3 charge rate results in full charge in 5 hrs.

The least sophisticated way to safely charge a nickel metal hydride battery is to charge at C/10 rate or below (10% of the rated capacity per hour). So a 2000 mAH battery would be charged at 20 mA for 10 hours.

So when the charger allows a selection of Charge Rate, like 200 or 500 or 700 MA/hr, here is the relative safety...

• there is risk at the 700 rate unless there is a temperature sensor (2000 MAh / 500MA/hr = 4 hr).
  
• At the C/3.3 rate (5 hr.) it is safe if there is a voltage sensor circuit to detect voltage depression; this signal can terminate the charge if the battery under charge is only partially discharged. Measuring -dV/dt is the easiest because it doesn't require a temperature sensor; the best method for NiMH is the dT/dt method but temperature has to be sensed.
  
• The C/10 rate does not require an end-of-charge sensor and ensures a full charge with safety.

• Being able condition the battery by discharging it to a certain level before going into charge mode
  
• Being able to charge one cell independently of another cell, so that cells do not have to be charged as a pair, where the more fully charged cell can prematurely stop the charging of the other one, when the first cell reaches full charge and triggers the sensor before the second cell is fully charged
  

I use a La Crosse. It allows me to choose lower charge rates which helps with battery life. Also lets me discharge and refresh and other things.