Energizer CHM4FC Battery Charger High Energy
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Customer Reviews of Energizer CHM4FC Battery Charger High Energy
Customer Review: Versatile, but Not Smart
Summary: 2 Stars
This unit is versatile as it will charge several sizes of batteries, BUT I was surprised to find out that it charges batteries for a fixed time of 3 hr or 5 hr for NiCd and NiMH, respectively (at 500mA)--a semi-rapid charger. The new NiMH and NiCd battery chargers (not this one) generally use some delta-voltage-current-somethingeruther and a few other newer techniques to charge batteries only up until they're full, then they trickle charge them. This Energizer model seems to use "old" technology to charge batteries. It doesn't matter what size/capacity/charge level, it charges them all for the same fixed amount of time. I found that it charged barely-discharged NiMH batteries for the same fixed 5 hours. To me, it should not run so much extra current through them unnecessarily. I guess it does the job, but I cannot find a "smart" battery charger that would charge the other sizes.Customer Review: Not as "smart" as other rechargers
Summary: 2 Stars
My neighbor and I bought this charger but I returned mine and I think she is going to return hers also. It seems a little dated because it charges the batteries for a fixed amount of time (both NiMH and NiCad). So if your battery is only slightly discharged it'll still charge it for the same time as if it were totally dead. It also can't charge batteries individually which my Rayovac charger can. The only downfall of my Rayovac is that it can only charge AA and AAA which is all I need. I paid 25 dollars for the Energizer and the Rayovac was only 10 dollars... BIG difference. If you can find a Rayovac recharger at your local store get it! I even got 16 NiMH batteries for 25 dollars - PLUS they're ALL 1600mah (higher the rating the more power). Just thought I'd let everyone know. AlohazCustomer Review: Cost efficient? Not sure... But it works great!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this charger and a lot of the ACCU batteries for work. We are using them in flashlights and NightVision goggles. This charger is great. It charges the batteries in a quick mode, then trickle charges. For us, that's great! We've got a small bin for new batteries, and one for used. When the charger is free, we put four more batteries on and walk away... It is really nice to not worry about when to take them off. And we have plenty, so we don't have to worry about the length of the charging cycle.
This charger also will accomodate AA, AAA, C, D, and 9V. That's great!!! We can put our MiniMagLite batteries on the same charger as the D-Cell MagLite batteries! This is a really good buy, and I've saved a lot of money for our company using the ACCU system.
Customer Review: Not a smart charger but it has its uses and it is cheap.
Summary: 3 Stars
The only reason that I use this charger is in case I have a battery that is too dead to charge with my wonderful Maha MH-C801D charger. Unfortunately the Maha MH-C801D needs some slight residual charge remaining for the processor to initiate a charge, so that is why I sometimes need to use this Energizer CHM4FC for around a half a minute to give the battery just enough juice for the Maha MH-C801D to initiate a charge. The Energizer CHM4FC does not care how dead a battery is, but it does a poor job of charging compared to the my Maha which uses pulsed charging. The Maha can even erase the memory effect of old batteries. At least the Energizer CHM4FC does not burn up the batteries like those terrible life shortening 15 minute chargers however.Customer Review: They don't last as long, but it's worth it
Summary: 5 Stars
We bought this product partially for using vibrating infant seats also. The reason NiMH batteries don't run as long is that they cannot store as much energy as alkalines. The Energizer technical data sheets state that the energy storage capacity is:Alk vs Rech - AAA 1150 vs 650, AA 2850 vs 1200, C 8350 vs 2200, D 18000 vs 2200, 9V 595 vs 150 (units are milli-Amp-Hours)
So, even though alkalines D cells will last about 8 times longer and they cost half as much, if you can get 20 charges out of a NiMH, it is worth it. Since NiMHs supposedly have a 500-1000 recharge life cycle, it's very much worth it to us to change the D cells 8 times more often! For the AAAs and AAs the difference is much less and even more worth it!