Last week, we looked at rechargeable batteries and why they are a good replacement for alkaline batteries for two main reasons: 1) They are far, far less likely to corrode and ruin whatever piece of electronic equipment they may be powering and 2) they are much more economical in the long run. And reusable means they keep working instead of heading off to the landfill.
This week, let’s look at two chargers. They put the “re” in rechargeables. It’s part of the cost of using rechargeables, but even so, the batteries and charger are far more economical than alkalines in the long run.
The two chargers discussed here both handle AA and AAA batteries. They both charge four at a time — either all of one type, or a mixture of the two. The first one discussed are for people who want to put the batteries in the recharger and walk away. The second is for people who like to tinker and find out more about the condition of individual batteries.
They are, in brief, at both ends of the charger spectrum: One that’s as simple to use as a light switch; another that’s got more bells and whistles than most users will need — but can provide insightful information.
First, for the no-frills user, the Panasonic Eneloop BQ-CC55. About $33 from Amazon.
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It has a fold-out plug on the back, making it a bit easier to store than most chargers. It uses color to indicate the battery condition, shown individually for each of the four battery slots. Green indicates a full charge; yellow, partial charge; red, a fully discharged, possibly expired, battery.
It will recharge any brand of battery, but it is specifically designed to recharge Panasonic’s Eneloop batteries. They cost a bit more than most rechargeables, but the company claims they will hold at least 70% of their power after 10 years and can be recharged about 2,100 times — or about twice that of other batteries. It will also bring a dead Eneloop battery to a full charge in about three hours.
Still, any batteries will get a recharge using the Panasonic charger. And it’s easy to use: Insert batteries. Take them out when the light is green. (It also shuts the battery slot off so the battery isn’t overcharged.)
The charger has a 4.7 out of 5 star rating on Amazon.
Next, for the techie tinkerer: Opus BT-C2400 V2.2 Battery Charger. About $30 from Amazon.
This is a charger, analyzer and tester all in one. It is powered by a wall wart. Each of the four battery slots has an individual liquid-crystal display screen to show what’s going on — because each battery slot can be set individually for each battery.
Like the Panasonic, the batteries can be just placed in the slots and taken out when the screen reads “full.” But the Opus allows the charging rate to be varied from a range of 200 milliamps (mA) up to 1,400 mA. Slower charging equates to more recharging cycles for a battery. As noted, the charge rate can be set for individual charging slots. It has a 4.7 out of 5 rating on Amazon.
It also has a discharge/refresh mode. The battery is repeatedly charged and discharged to help bring the battery back to its maximum charge. It helps restore rechargeable batteries that have not been used in a long time.
Using the charge-test mode, the charger can determine the capacity of a fully charged battery and compare that figure to what the battery capacity was when it was new. Another feature measures internal battery resistance. Battery temperature and charger internal temperatures are monitored while charging or maintenance is being done. An increase above 171 degrees will cause automatic shutdown.
The instructions for the BT-C2400 cover three-and-a-half pages. They can be found at this link: www.tinyurl.com/BT-C2400. They lean to the technical side, and may require a bit of research to gain full advantage of the Opus’ features. But as noted previously, it’s a good alternative for people who like to tinker and learn the details of their rechargeable batteries. Otherwise, the color-coded lights of the Panasonic will work just fine for most folks.
Who needs C- and D-cells?
There’s one more thing to cover about rechargeable batteries. What about those electronic devices that use C- and D-cell batteries? Just like the AA and AAA alkaline batteries, I found out I don’t need those, either. Next week, we’ll find out how I got unhooked from them.
Lonnie Brown can be reached at LedgerDatabase@aol.com.
