As a followup to my previous article about Better Rechargeable Batteries I wanted to discuss the other half of the battery life issue. This is the charger. Another simple truth is that there are chargers, and then there are chargers.

The charger that came with your batteries is most likely a simply unit the plugs directly into the wall. It probably charges four AA or AAA batteries at a time, and most likely requires batteries to be loaded in pairs. It also very likely charges your batteries quickly. Very quickly. Like in 15 to 30 minutes, and the probably come out smoking hot!

There are some advantages to this type of charger; they’re small, lightweight, and very cheap. They’re easy to pack for travel and they allow a very quick turnaround time so you can get your batteries back in service quickly. I have one of these chargers and I take it with me whenever I travel.

To my mind, the main disadvantage to this charger is that charging batteries quickly (and very hot) is known to reduce their lifespan, and it also prevents them from reaching full capacity. If this is the only charger you ever use your batteries will not last very long (in terms of total number of cycles) and they will never reach their full potential (in terms of total capacity per charge).

Although better chargers, such as the Maha Powerex MH-C800S or the La Crosse BC-700, are much more expensive (typically $40 to $100), they have several huge advantages:

• Up to eight independent charging slots that accept any combination of AA or AAA batteries. Batteries are charged individually rather than in pairs. This is great if you have devices that use odd numbers of batteries, such as 1 or 3.
• Smart electronics that charge each battery independently without over or under-charging.
• LCD Display that shows the status of each individual cell.
• Deep conditioning charging cycle to restore failing batteries and reduces or eliminates any memory effect.
• Choice of soft (1-2 hours) or rapid (2-4 hours) charging speeds.

Before I got my MH-C800S charger my batteries failed regularly. I had many “dead” batteries that either wouldn’t take a charge at all, or that had such a large memory effect that they were unusable in my Speedlite Flashes. Since I bought it (about 3 years ago) I have never had to replace a set of batteries. I have certainly bought additional batteries in that time, but every battery I have ever put through this charger is still running strong today. I was even able to use this charger to bring some previously “dead” batteries back to life. I am extremely happy with it and I think you will be too.

Note that there are many other similarly advanced chargers on the market, but every Maha / Powerex or La Crosse charger that I’ve ever seen a review for was highly praised, so I would recommend that you stick with these manufacturers.

Check them out and be sure to get something better than the default charger that you got for free with your batteries. You won’t be sorry.

Related Posts

1. Better Rechargeable Batteries
2. Photo Quick Tip: Use Rechargeable Batteries
3. Photo Quick Tip: Organize Your Rechargeable Batteries
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