Cylindrical battery chargers - faster charging with fewer batteries?

[y_p_w]

Any thoughts on this. I've got a bunch of Panasonic and Maha chargers, and far as I know they all charge at the same rate regardless of whether or not I have 1 or 4 batteries. They specify the exact current, where the Maha charger has a switch for a faster (1000 mA for AA) or slower (300 mA) charge rate.

But this one from Ikea specifies faster charge times for fewer batteries. Not sure if that's a good thing as I prefer slower charging, which supposely produces less heat. It says 1-2 1900 mAh AAs should take 3 hours, but 3 takes 4.5 hours and 4 takes 6 hours. Obviously it's a smart charger so that must be from fully depleted.

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/manuals/stenkol-battery-charger__AA-2266044-3-100.pdf

 

[Quattro Pete]

But this one from Ikea specifies faster charge times for fewer batteries. Not sure if that's a good thing as I prefer slower charging, which supposely produces less heat. It says 1-2 1900 mAh AAs should take 3 hours, but 3 takes 4.5 hours and 4 takes 6 hours. Obviously it's a smart charger so that must be from fully depleted.

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/manuals/stenkol-battery-charger__AA-2266044-3-100.pdf

These types of chargers cannot deliver too much current, so when you try to charge more cells at once, the available current gets divided among all the cells, and therefore slows down charging time.

The manual states:

Current 4pcs 3pcs 2pcs 1pc
AA/HR6 0.35A 0.46A 0.70A 0.70A

 

[BeerCan]

This is the best charger I have found for these types of batteries up to 3a and it will charge every cylindrical battery I have thrown at it

MC3000 Charger - SkyRC

I like this on as well but I can't log from it but it works great.

Epoch X4 Touch - LCD Touch Screen 4 Bay Battery Charger

ouch Screen LCD screen instantly shows charging progress, battery voltage, current, time, capacity, charge-discharge curve and display diagram of internal resistance testing. Functions include charging, discharging, capacity testing and battery internal resistance testing

www.18650batterystore.com

 

[y_p_w]

This is the best charger I have found for these types of batteries up to 3a and it will charge every cylindrical battery I have thrown at it

MC3000 Charger - SkyRC

I like this on as well but I can't log from it but it works great.

Epoch X4 Touch - LCD Touch Screen 4 Bay Battery Charger

ouch Screen LCD screen instantly shows charging progress, battery voltage, current, time, capacity, charge-discharge curve and display diagram of internal resistance testing. Functions include charging, discharging, capacity testing and battery internal resistance testing

www.18650batterystore.com

I don't know about spending over $100 on a battery charger. I've had good results with a Panasonic BQ-CC17, and have three of them. But I like having more around the house or maybe just something I can stash in my bag. While I don't particularly like the thought of fast charging because it might reduce battery life, something I take on the road might be OK if I'm in a hurry. At home I have a stash of charged batteries.

 

[BeerCan]

I don't know about spending over $100 on a battery charger. I've had good results with a Panasonic BQ-CC17, and have three of them. But I like having more around the house or maybe just something I can stash in my bag. While I don't particularly like the thought of fast charging because it might reduce battery life, something I take on the road might be OK if I'm in a hurry. At home I have a stash of charged batteries.

well, when you need to charge 14500's, 18650's, 21700's etc. in addition to aa, aaa, C and D it makes it worth it, imo.

BTW I charge eneloops up to 1c all the time, but usually 1.5-2a. I have had some in service for many years, a good portion of my eneloops are ver1 sanyo

 

[BeerCan]

BTW this guy has some good info on batteries and chargers. he also wrote a ver good piece of free software called test controller that I use all the time.

Website is dated and hard to navigate but it has a lot of good info.

Battery Charging NiMH

here are some of his charger reviews

Batteries and chargers

Test controller. This software is excellent if you need something that can log from test equipment.

Test Controller introduction

 

[y_p_w]

well, when you need to charge 14500's, 18650's, 21700's etc. in addition to aa, aaa, C and D it makes it worth it, imo.

BTW I charge eneloops up to 1c all the time, but usually 1.5-2a. I have had some in service for many years, a good portion of my eneloops are ver1 sanyo

None of my regular uses are particularly rough. I use them in radios, flashlights, and computer mice. With the computer mice I could easily take a heavily degraded battery and get at least a month's use out of it. But I tend to charge after a week or two even with fairly good condition batteries. I almost never fully drain a battery unless it's a flashlight that was on in my pocket without me noticing.

The toughest duty I've ever had was one of those air mattress inflators where I use C adapters. But I tend to keep those groups of 4 batteries separate. I tried draining it completely a few times and the batteries got really hot.

Most of my battery use is single cell. I use a small flashlight to do something like go to the bathroom at night or to see the keyhole of my front door. I'll just charge it after even just a few minutes of use the next day and make sure that I've got a "fully" charged battery in there. I get that there's going to be a rapid initial drop in charge with these low self-discharge batteries.

I actually got two of those Panasonic chargers with a Costco Eneloop kit, and another more recently with charger/battery pack I got on Amazon. They're pretty simple (nothing fancy) but work really well. But I was hoping maybe to get something to supplement them - especially to take on the road.