Spec me a battery charger for AAs, AAAs, Eneloops and others

Feek

Feek

Feek

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As per the title really. I have a mixture of AA and AAA batteries, some are Eneloops, some are Ni-MH and there might even still be some Ni-CADs in the house.

I have an Opus BT-C3100 but since my daughter tried to charge some odd vape battery, it's been a bit broken. It restarts at random and as it's old, the contacts are getting a bit poor now.

I don't need anything fancy.

Suggestions?
 
Nothing fancy needed so the Nitecore i4 will be absolutely perfect and will also satisfy the 18650s your daughter charges if she decides to borrow your charger in future again.

There is a D4 version too which has a digital display but you said nothing fancy, so you get the basic recommendation :p

i4 is £20 on Prime.
 
Internal revisions and such I guess. I had both revisions and noticed no meaningful difference. Still have the newer version as spare but use an Xtar VC4S as main due to being USB and having a full digital display.
 
I've had my Xtar VC4 charger for a few years now and it's never missed a beat. The only downside to it is the slow charging rate, especially if you are charging four batteries at the same time - but then some would argue this is better for the batteries.

If I were to upgrade or buy a new charger, I would buy the Xtar VC4S as it supports Quick Charge 3.0 which allows you to charge the batteries faster than the VC4.
 
Funnily enough I bought a few chargers a couple of months ago with the aim of moving to rechargeables for everything (previously was using Eneloops for just videogame controllers).

I ending up buying three chargers; the Nightcore D4, Xtar VC4L (USB C version of the VC4) and Opus BT3100. I hadn't planned to but after ordering the D4 I realised the Xtar/Opus combo was probably better for my needs. I just couldn't be bothered to return the D4.

I think the suggestions given are sound. The Xtar VC4 or VC4L is fantastic value for money and at 500mA/1A should cover most scenarios for charging NiMH AA/AAA cells.

That said the Nightcore D4 is more dynamic because its 4 charging rates (2 and then 2 slow, bit more than half rate modes) mean you have slightly more control over charging rates although it's a slower charger than the VC4. I personally stayed away from the VC4S because of its automatic charging rates going up to 2A/3A. For AA/AAA NiMH cells I don't see a scenario where you'd want to be charging them at such high rates.

When I looked there was also the Liitokala Lii500 which is cheaper than the Opus and is well regarded (but doesn't include the refresh mode). But again this might be overkill for your requirements. Previously I used the Technoline BC700 for 10 years which was great charger. It still works although the main buttons are dying and a bit unresponsive (can potentially be fixed).
 
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@jpaul Would be interesting to know what you find. I remember bumping into that Vive thread before.

When I looked at Lithium cells before buying some new chargers it seemed they are more expensive, rely on separate/non-compatible chargers and run at a fraction of the mAh rating (c. 30 to 40% capacity of a high capacity NiMH cell). Hence why they list higher mWh ratings.

That said I only have one thing in the house that officially don't recommend rechargeables; a Hive thermostat. Although you can definitely get away with using NiMH. Most other things; toys, remotes, controllers etc. seem fine with NiMH 1.2v cells.

One thing I've noticed is that is that after charging and my NiMH cells have calmed down they seem to sit at 1.3xv in storage and don't move. And obviously hold that for longer than an alkaline cell.
 
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The thing about VR controllers needing 1.5 V is like an old wives tale. I'm 99.9% convinced it's people with no electronics understanding just seeing a bigger number and therefore more volts = better.

The Oculus controllers use a single cell, so the tracking LEDs aren't driven directly by the battery voltage anyway. They use a boost circuit for them. Furthermore, you can simple test at what voltage the controllers reach 0% battery and switch off on primary cells. We have one and I did just that. The Quest 2 controlers switch off at ~0.98 V. People will still claim you need some special 1.6 V zinc batteries though!

I can't speak for the Vive as we don't have one, but if it also uses a single cell then I'd be extremely suprised if it's not exactly the same.
 
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