On 8/29/2015 2:42 AM, timhughes@xxxxxxxx wrote:
<<I also have a LaCrosse very smart charger, BC-700, which has detailed display
of what it's doing, can recondition, etc.
I don't know all it can do.>>
The BC-700 is in many ways an excellent charger (and you can choose different
charge rates up to 700mA, immediately after putting the cells into the unit.)
Reading the delivered mAHours during charging,is handy for tracking how well
the cells are matched, without having to invoke the more accurate self test or
cycle (rejuvenate) modes.
Yes, I've always checked that.
There are however some fairly serious problems with the BC-700 too:
There is a software bug that once in a blue moon causes it stop working and the
charge continues until the cells get very hot and are usually damaged.
One online website discussion suggests you should always use it in a metal box,
to prevent burning your house down or at least charring your desk!The plastic
frame of my unit has become quite distorted from a couple of overheating
occurences.
Wow! I've not encountered that.
Using all the different modes of the unit is not intuitive ,and there are
limits if you want to set each cell up differently even though each cell is
charge separately.
Despite the problems I have used it a lot and have only cooked a couple of
sets of cells. The cooked Eneloops have reduced capacity but still work.
My first BC-700 failed in a few weeks and after telling them , they sent me a
new a wallwart immediately.
There are some excellent charger/discharger/cyclers from Taiwan aimed at radio
model hobbyists, that can charge almost any chemistry and individually charge
and balance long strings on cells in wired batteries. They auto detects the
number of cells and you confirm to start charging. They can be had for as
little as $25 without a built in supply and used off a carbattery.
Alternatively they come with a supply and cost $40+ but the maximum power
available to charge is more limited. Runnig off a car battery allows very high
charge rates for large Li batteries. For use with individual cells they usually
need an adapter with spring contacts and the balancing may not work with all
chemistries etc. So not so convenient for loose Eneloops.
All beyond my simple needs. Batteries run down in lights, appliances, etc. and I put them in a charger 'til they are
full. That's about it. If the latest smart, four channel eneloop charger had been available before, I wouldn't have
bought the LaCrosse.
For the occasional specialty use, as a five small cell stack I have as back-up/replacement for an ultrasonic toothbrush,
I can just use my ancient variable DC power supply with voltage and current metering. All I want is to keep it from
completely self discharging and get a middle level charge.
Remember my other moniker,
Doctor No Flash
--
What if the Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about?
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