La Crosse Battery Charger
Rechargeable technology has gotten to the point where you can get almost as much power out of reusable batteries as disposables. Most battery chargers, however, are dumb circuits that simply jam a current through the battery no matter its current state of charge, which can ruin a perfectly good battery. With La Crosse's BC-900, you can not only monitor the charge on the battery at any given time, you can do a discharge + recharge cycle, or even a full refresh where the battery is discharged and recharged several times in a row. I've found the BC-900 can actually revive a battery that was rendered unusable via a less effective charger.
Previously, I owned a Panasonic that worked OK. Though I haven't done a completely exhaustive search of this space, after reading a lot of reviews and then using it, I really would rate the BC-900 as being one of, if not the best little charger for the money. With mine, I find I can get anywhere between 50 to 100 percent more cycles.
Plus, this unit has selectable charge rates, which allows you to charge batteries quicker if you need them ASAP, like within 15-30 minutes. Doing this does require a lot of current to be jammed through the batteries in a shorter period of time, which stresses them and shortens their lifespan. But it's helpful to at least have the option of optimizing for speed over longevity.The charger comes with eight batteries (4 AA and 4 AAA) and 4 C and D cell adapters, too, so you get a nice start all in one package.
-- Dave Cortright
La Crosse Battery Charger - BC-900
$40
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by La Crosse Technology
Favorite (15)
tw
I have owned a wide variety of battery chargers through the years, and this La Crosse charger is by far the best. As Dave mentions, it gives you the option of varying the charge rate per battery, and I really like being able to see what's going on as it displays the charge rate and whether that individual battery is full or not. I have found that this charger lets me get significantly more life out of rechargeable batteries than I did with previous chargers.
BG
I just want to agree with this article. I own this charger and love it. There is only one minor negative and that is that it won't always deal with cells that have gone to zero or near zero, but there is a trick you can use to get it to see the cell and charge it. I haven't tried it, and you should google it as it comes from a more experienced person than me, I think I saw the tip on amazon's site. But you basically put a good cell in next to the null cell and then short the positives for one second with a paper clip and that will get enough juice into the null cell to get the charger to see it and start charging it. Either way, I love this charger and would buy it again for sure, I charge a lot of batteries, don't use non rechargeables at all anymore.
Rei
Does anyone know if these will work with Sanyo Eneloop batteries as well as all NiCad and NiMH batteries?
KC
I've heard some of these produce an audible whine/hum that can be annoying to some people. Does this device have this issue?
Steve
This sounds like a nice charger but I need something that can deal with 9V batteries--hopefully along with AAA and AA. Would be curious to hear recommendations.
BG
@ Rei: It works with my Eneloops just fine, which as far as I know are NiMh chemistry. I have used it with Duracell, Energizer, CTA, LaCross and SunPak cells. All worked fine. I might add the LaCross cells are pretty good batteries, better than my Energizers in self discharge rate and number of charge cycles.
@KC: Mine is silent to my ears, even holding it right up to my ear.
James
I own this charger and it is indeed awesome. My favorite feature is the ability to charge a single cell versus the need to charge them in pairs. I have too many devices that require off numbers of cells. Rei, this charger handles Eneloop batteries as they are charged like any other NiMH cell. I keep about a dozen AA Eneloops in 'circulation' amongst my gear. It will also charge NiCd cells appropriately.
funflow
It's a great charger. One suggestion is to check out thomas-distributing.com, they often have good price and also include very handy battery holders
Dan Dascalescu
For those in the know (http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=2388952&postcount=5), Lacross is the #2 charger, while the #1 is the Maha C-9000. Which does make a ~30dB whining noise, but hey, lock it in the bathroom or somewhere.
As for compactness/portability, take a look at the Titanium charger (http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=2779970).
Joe
Will this also charge alkaline batteries?
Rei
BG, James - Thanks for taking the time to confirm regarding Eneloops!
Ladd
I second the comment about visiting thomasdistributing.com.
You will learn a lot by browsing the products and the information available there. They also have "white papers" discussing the various technologies. I have purchased batteries and chargers from them since the time when Ni-Cad was the premier technology! :-)
Milan
I also own this and like it a lot.
I am reconditioning some NiMH cells with it right now.
Milan
"Will this also charge alkaline batteries?"
No. Trying to recharge alkalines in any charger could cause a fire or explosion.
As for noise, my La Crosse charger is also entirely silent.
jc
"Trying to recharge alkalines in any charger could cause a fire or explosion."
There are rechargeable alkaline batteries and my uneducated understanding was that this charger will not recharge those.
Jacob
I also like the Maha WizardOne charger. I got the Maha instead of the LaCrosse after seeing a few reports about the LaCrosse melting in some instances, which worried me a bit.
Ben
Outstanding charger. I picked this up several months ago, following having a retail Duracell unit fry the crap out of it's own batteries. I took the time to learn a bit more about how rechargeable batteries work and why the Lacrosse might be a good option. For what it's worth, the second key component to rechargeable batteries being a viable alternative to non-rechargeable batteries are the Hybrid or Pre-Charged batteries. You can find them from Sanyo (Eneloop), Duracell (Pre-Charged), and Rayovac (Hybrid). They're all basically the same tech and really rock for devices that don't burn through batteries quickly.
Shaleh
@BG: I tried the trick to get the charger to charge a null cell tonight. Didn't have a paper clip handy so I used one of my wife's sewing needles. Left it on for a minute or so and the cell went from null to charging.