15 minute battery chargers

Headcase650,

Your nuts and my nuts both are sacred to me.

I am simply stating that the charger destroyed my batteries. I have no proof but my word and the readings I took with a multimeter. The Le Crosse charger drastically extended the usable time of my batteries. That is, they made my batteries usable.

I suspect that there is variability in the 15 minute chargers and some may be charging at greater currents, and that may be why people are getting different results?

It seems that some of us are getting very high battery temperatures while charging. That is not good (refer to the site you linked in the other thread).

I am not doubting you claims, but I am sure of mine.

It won't answer all the questions but its definitely a good read if you really want to get nitty-gritty about batteries. Check out http://batteryuniversi​ty.com/. I followed some of their principals with my cell phone battery (charging before it is fully drained every night) and its lasted more than my previous batteries. I used to think it was good to do a full discharge and recharge often, but apparently its better to only do a complete discharge about once a month. I also applied their battery conditioning techniques and it really seemed to extend the life of the batteries. Give it a once over and you won't be disappointed.

UnlnvlslblE wrote in post #3137461
I followed some of their principals with my cell phone battery (charging before it is fully drained every night) and its lasted more than my previous batteries. I used to think it was good to do a full discharge and recharge often, but apparently its better to only do a complete discharge about once a month.

I will check out that link when I get a chance, but this generalization is part of the problem. Cell phone batteries are Lithium batteries. A completely different animal from NiMH, and they are very different from the NiCd batteries of yesteryear. You can't apply the same usage/recharging guidelines to completely different chemistry.

Curtis N wrote in post #3137507
I will check out that link when I get a chance, but this generalization is part of the problem. Cell phone batteries are Lithium batteries. A completely different animal from NiMH, and they are very different from the NiCd batteries of yesteryear. You can't apply the same usage/recharging guidelines to completely different chemistry.

Yes I understand they are completely different. I was just trying to illustrate the usefulness of giving this a good read. All of what I said applies only to Li-Ion batteries. Though there are some similarities between Li-Ion and NiMH they are entirely a different breed.

If you do happen to check out the page one of the most useful sections is the charging table. It gives a great overview of how to treat, condition and charge different types of batteries.

Whoah, nobody's kicking anyone in the nuts here, just sharing experiences. Truth be told, a 15 minute charger does work and if you are pressed for time it is a godsend. I do have an Energizer fast charger but I don't think it charges in 15 minutes though, more like an hour. I used it before I opted for the La Crosse BC-900.

When I got the La Crosse charger, I immediately tested all of my 24 NiMH rechargeables. Most were performing but at an mAh level lower than optimum. Three were nearly dead. I ran them all through the Refresh mode, which discharges the batteries completely and brings them up to their optimum mAh levels. 21 were optimized but the 3 remained dead. These 3 were disposed. And I have been using them in rotation with the other batteries!

That's the nice thing about this charger, it gives you quantitative analysis of each battery - it identifies which ones are performing well, which ones can be refreshed and brought up to speed, and which ones are dead. It is relatively cheap when it is on sale at Amazon, around $30 with free shipping, and it comes with a set of 4 AA and 4 AAA NiMH batteries. It is a good deal for what it does.

I still bring my fast charger when I travel. Otherwise, I use the BC-900 at home to charge my batteries. No nut kicking at all.

Good site with lots of battery information.

http://en.wikipedia.or​g …kel_metal_hydri​de_battery

Some really good basic info that recommends over night charging at the rate of C/10 (capacity /10 = max charging rate in mAh) So if your batteries are 2400 mAh cells, cahrge them at no more than 240mAh rate for 10 hours, plus an hour or so of trickle to top off, but no more than 15 hours past full charge to avoid venting.

I only fast charge at 1000mAh with a Maha smart charger that charges and monitors each cell individually when I need batteries fast, otherwise I trickle charge batteries on smart chargers at C/10 rates or less. I have some NiMH batteries going on 8 years--remember when 1200 mAh NiMH batteries were all the rage? I still have 12 of them in service!

OTOH--why bother worrying about $10.00 in battery cost when compared to what you have spent on camera, lenses and flash!

Ok ok. When I was in the caribbean I would completely disharge two complete sets of 4 NiMh batteries per day with my 580ex. I had a 15 minute charger (with fans) and I had a regular charger. I marked my batteries with tape to see if there was a difference in them dying at a certain point.

At no point could I determine a disernable difference between the two charging methods under my severe duty usage.

The largest varibale I could find was differences between batteries. Some of my regularly charged batteries were weak. Some of the 15 minute batteries were weak. I even had a dud in the regualrly charged set and had to replace it. It held a charge. But if it was in the 580 it would discharge quickly. A multimeter quicklyshowed it was the weak link.

Now the Energizers I was using (and still use) had different coloured tops on them. I took the tape off and stopped worrying. I did note that one of the regular charger sets had the light tops. I considered the light coloured set a potentially better set than any dark ones due to the 15 minute charger idea that they charge deeper, cleaner and safely.

Once back in Canada and not abusing my batteries nearly as much I went to go use a Nikon SB-80DX I had and lo and behold I had a burst battery gumming it up. It was a light top. It had spent most of it's life being charged in a regular charger.

I personally don't worry about what charger to use now. If I am just topping up I use the 15 minute, if putting some batteries to sleep after a long day they get the regular treatment.

Seriously, these batteries are like what, 15 bux at Wal-Mart? Do what you want to them and if they go south, chuck 'em. Arguing online about what charger to use on a $15 item is akin to comparing lens caps. Nearly pointless. Go shoot!

cosworth wrote in post #3145501
Seriously, these batteries are like what, 15 bux at Wal-Mart? Do what you want to them and if they go south, chuck 'em.

That pretty much sums up my sentiments.

... and of course, "chuck 'em" means doing the environmentally responsible thing and turning them in to a recycling center.

cosworth wrote in post #3145501
Seriously, these batteries are like what, 15 bux at Wal-Mart? Do what you want to them and if they go south, chuck 'em. Arguing online about what charger to use on a $15 item is akin to comparing lens caps. Nearly pointless. Go shoot!

Who's arguing? We're merely discussing what the best charger is to use. If you would rather chuck away batteries that can be refreshed to their original capacity with a $30 charger, that's up to you. Otherwise, there's nothing wrong with trying to save a perfectly salvageable item if you can.

You didn't read my post. I chuck batteries after they fail. Also don't forget NiMh AA doesn't respond well to refreshing.

I read your post. Try the Refresh feature of the La Crosse BC-900 or a similar Maha model. You might be surprised with the number of batteries you can optimize.

I concur with Curtis and some others. I have both chargers and 12 batteries (8-2500, 4-2200). I use to solely use the 8 hour charger but it seemed like everytime I went to use the batteries they were dead and I had to wait 8 hours to use them. Since I got the 15 minute charger I ahve yet to use the 8 hour charger and they all seem to still work fine, day in and day out.

DocFrankenstein wrote in post #3132346
I'd like to see world peace.

You can put your batteries in liquid nitrogen and "charge them completely" in 30 seconds for all I care.

Asking for "proof" on a forum is unproductive. This isn't an scientific journal.

Then why do you do it? You have asked me several times.

In2Photos wrote in post #3146375
Then why do you do it? You have asked me several times.

Lol, Mike, so true, it's really hilarious

Back to chargers, I agree that this isn't much of an issue. They all work, and each one is a compromise between how fast you want your batteries charged and how much life you want to eke out of your batteries. I'm just the type who wants to maximize the use of things. I even re-use tape by rolling them back on pencils......

i have rayovac 15 minute battery charger and the batteries that can only be used with it. 3 and half years later they still work holding a charge like the day i bought them.

i know for sure that 15 minute chargers dont work with all batteries, only the ones meant for it by the same name brand. so yes they do work, and great i might add.

wazmunstr wrote in post #3147593
i have rayovac 15 minute battery charger and the batteries that can only be used with it. 3 and half years later they still work holding a charge like the day i bought them.

i know for sure that 15 minute chargers dont work with all batteries, only the ones meant for it by the same name brand. so yes they do work, and great i might add.

I have the same system. I bought a bunch for back-up. When using my GPS time I flew, rechargeables were the way to go. I refreshed them after every use and can even charge them in my car. 15 minutes in a car, fully recharged is alot more versitile. After 5+ years, they are slowly starting to die so I discard them. I think I got my monies worth. Now you can only find the rayovacs on ebay.