PowerEx MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger-Analyzer + 4 Pack AA NiMH Rechargeable Batteries [2700mAh] by Maha
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Digital camera reviews of PowerEx MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger-Analyzer + 4 Pack AA NiMH Rechargeable Batteries [2700mAh]
Digital camera Review: Much better than the "standard" charger
Summary: 5 Stars
Got this battery charger based on recommendations given in a Nikon D80 online forum. It provides much better operation for rechargeable AA batteries than the standard chargers that come with sets of batteries. This charger reconditions batteries as well as charging them, so you get more life from a battery as well. One of the real positives of this charger is that each battery charging slot is independent - so you can charge batteries of multiple ratings (ie 2000 mAh and 2700 mAh) at the same time... and each is charged optimally. I have noticed MUCH better battery performance on all the batteries I have charged on this, and have reconditioned old batteries that had gotten to the point of not holding charge for any length of time. After reconditioning, the old batteries were ... almost ... as good as when I bought them.
I highly recommend this charger. It seems expensive at first, but you will get much better life from your rechargeable batteries and better performance from them as well!
Digital camera Review: New life for my batteries
Summary: 5 Stars
Great product. It really does a nice job of bringing old and new batteries to their full life capacity... and it's a fun gadget!Digital camera Review: One of the best NI-MH battery maintainers (not just a charger!)
Summary: 4 Stars
I could not agree more with the other comments about how this charger actually maintains you battery capacity.
This Maha PowerEx MH-C9000 Charger/Maintainer, is in my opinion one of the best on the market. The manual clearly indicates to charge NI-MH cells NOT BELOW 10% of its capacity, otherwise they will not reach full charge (e.g. no less than 270 MA for 2700 MAH cells) and to NOT fast charge them ABOVE 100% of its capacity (e.g. 2700 MA for these 2700 MAH cells) otherwise they overheat and may get damaged.
Another issue with charging Ni-MH batts correctly is that very few chargers compensate for the heat loss in the charging process so they never charge the batteries full. The Maha charges 2700 MAH cells actually to a displayed accumulated value 3350 MAH because it has a temperature sensor and calculates, then compensates for the charge that is lost to heat energy.
I have found that if you use these NI-MH rechargables a lot, it is absolutely advised to get a really good charger/maintainer such as the Maha Powerex that can charge, discharge, cycle, maintain, break in, analyze and refresh NI-MH cells. Cheap chargers wear your batts out much, mcuh faster than necessary. You should get 1000 charge/recharge cycles out of your NI-MH batteries if maintained correctly.
Most quick chargers are just that, quick chargers. They do not maintain your batteries and make sure they perform over a long period of time with capacity.
Only con for me is that a charger this expensive should have bays not only for AA and AAA batteries but also for C and D cells.
Digital camera Review: PowerEx MH-C9000 WizardOne Rules!
Summary: 5 Stars
The reason for this purchase was extreme frustration with two Duracell 15-minute chargers and a crudload of 2650 batteries I got to power four Canon Speedlite flashes. I couldn't get 10 minutes out of them before the flash recycling times made them unusable!
I bought the smart charger based on other reviews here so I'm just going to provide a few observations:
1. Excellent appearance - looks professional and well-made.
2. Read the instruction sheet carefully - there are multiple charge modes used at different times.
3. When the battery is inserted the charger prompts you for the charge mode, etc. Very easy to set up.
4. Every battery that hasn't been on this charger should go thru the Break-In mode - it takes almost two full days but the results are worth it. I just spent six hours at a local event using a lot of flash photography and didn't have to change out the batteries at all!
5. A regular charge can be done in about one hour.
6. They recommend "matching" the batteries based on their capacity (shown when charging is done) - I'm using a spreadsheet to track that and have put labels on each battery showing the battery number, capacity, and group it belongs to. Overkill perhaps but it's paid off so far.
7. Once you've used it a few times it becomes a lot easier.
8. The Duracell 15-minute chargers have been tossed - I'm not so sure that such a short charging time is good for batteries anyway.
9. I've already purchased another MH-C9000 as a backup and to charge more batteries in the same amount of time.
This is the first review I've ever posted - I see a lot of these and wonder if they were written by someone at the company that makes the product. I'm just a regular guy who is excited over finding something that solved a major problem in a big way.
Digital camera Review: Very Good Battery Charger
Summary: 4 Stars
Overall, I rate this Powerex MH-C9000 Battery Charger at a Very Good 4 stars out of 5. It does a fine job charging my batteries, lets me know how much charge they're holding, and helps improve that available capacity. My only complaint about the charger is that it seems to be a bit finicky about the placement of AAA batteries. Often, I'll put a AAA battery in and enter the settings only to watch the display for that slot go blank (this is independent of the slot and battery). Reseating and re-entering the parameters usually works. But, it appears that it's very easy for AAA batteries to lose contact with the charger. I've had no such issue with AA batteries. All the rest of my issues (and they're very minor) have to do with the documentation. I've noted them, below:
- Charging Rates: According to the first page of the manual:
"Charging at a rate below 0.33C and above 1.0C is not recommended. Charging too slow may prevent the charger from terminating correctly. Charging too fast may damage the battery."
Yet, on the next page, it says that for Break-In Mode:
"Applies a 16-hour 0.1C charge (0.1 times the capacity of the battery), rest of one hour, followed by a 0.2C discharge, rest again, and finally a 16-hour 0.1C recharge again."
Since Break-In Mode uses a 0.1C and the manual recommends not using anything below a 0.33C rate, these seem contradictory. My guess is that Break-In Mode is a timed mode and the other modes aren't. It's a bit worrisome, though.
- Discharge Rates: Except for the mention of a 0.2C rate used in Break-In Mode, there's nothing in the manual saying what a good rate for us to use in the other modes. A little searching on the web indicates that 0.25C is a reasonable rate.
- Units: Even though the manual gives charging limits in terms of C (capacity of the battery), the limits you enter into the charger are in terms of current (mA). It would have been nice if it had included some examples. For instance, with my 2500 mAh AA batteries, the lower current limit (as specified, above) would be 2500 * 0.33 = 825.0 mA. Just for ease of entry, I'll probably stick to a 900 mA rate on those. For my 970 mAh AAA batteries, the lower limit would be 970 * 0.33 = 320.1 mA (I'll probably stick to 400 mA for those).
- Dead Batteries: The manual is not all that helpful in letting us know when to dispose of a battery as being unsalvageable. In an easy case, the charger runs an impedance test at the start of all charges and if it fails (the display reads "HIGH"), then we should recycle the battery. But, for batteries that aren't faulty, all it says is:
"For batteries that do not perform favorably after using the mode recommended above, the following sequence can be applied.
1. Refresh & Analyze for one to three times.
2. If capacity is still low, use Break-In mode.
3. If the step 1 to step 2 shows some capacity improvement (> 10%), repeat Break-In mode for one to three times. If no significant improvement, battery probably at end of useful life."
Unfortunately, it doesn't say what percentage of capacity is something to worry about. After some searching on the web, I managed to find the following in an April 2001 article written by Isidor Buchmann:
"Specified to deliver about 100 percent capacity when new, the battery eventually requires replacement when the capacity drops to the 70 or 60 percent level. The threshold by which a battery can be returned under warranty is typically 80 percent."
So, my guess is that a battery with an available capacity greater than 80% is ok. If a battery's available capacity percentage is somewhere in the 70s, and if repeated Break-In Mode charges don't increase it by at least 10%, then it's time to consider replacing it. Anything that stays below 70% should just be recycled. Now, at this point, I've run 27 two-year-old AA batteries through the Break-In Mode (some of them, several time). Three of them are just a tad over 90% available capacity, five of them are just below 80% available, and the rest are in the 80% range. That seems reasonable. But, I've run four brand-new AAA batteries through Break-In Mode and only one is (barely) above 80%: the rest are just below 80%. I'll have to see if future charges bring the available capacities up.