“Intelligent Battery Chargers” - A Smart Battery Decision

There is a danger in my writing getting too technical for most people. Most folks simply want to know the device they are using will work. One of my jobs is to make that leap for those who want the results and not the history of the dry-cell battery.

One can invest in some very nice rechargeable AA, AAA, 9Volt, C-cell, or D-Cell batteries, but if you continue to use the “simple” charger or “timer-based” charger you have on your charging table, the batteries will more than likely eventually weaken or burn up.

An effective charger’s job is to put electrical current back into your batteries. “Simple” or “timer-based” chargers are being replaced by better technology that will not only protect the batteries during the charge, but will also have features to recondition or renew the batteries from time to time. A worthy battery charger will not stop at being able to charge batteries up to 2500 mAh capacity. Quality manufacturers are selling chargers that will continue to charge batteries as their capacities increase for years to come. All the chargers we sell here at Battery Boulevard have this characteristic. They are all advanced intelligent chargers.

Here is a quick list of different battery chargers to choose from:

The Simple Charger - The simple charger will not adjust the rate at which it charges a battery based on length of time, or how much charge the battery needs. It works defensively by charging very slowly so there is less chance of burning up the battery. These chargers do not cost much and if not watched vigilantly they can weaken the batteries by over charging or just simply burn them up.

The Timer Charger - With the timer-based charger, charging of the battery ends after a pre-determined amount of time. Often these chargers are specifically designed to match certain battery capacity and will not be able to sufficiently work for batteries above or below a certain power strength. They are limited in the scope of capacity they can serve. This limits anyone who wants to progress to better batteries. They also do not work based on feedback from the battery being charged.

The intelligent Charger - The charger adjusts to the battery’s capacity. It monitors variables such as voltage, temperature and time under charge to determine the optimum charge current it needs instantly. The charging will stop when the correct combination of voltage, temperature and/or time is reached indicating the battery is fully charged.

Here is an example of how the Maha Energy MH-C204W Intelligent Battery Charger’s 4 Stage Charging works.

Four Stage Charging Process:
1) Ramp-up - jolts the rechargeable batteries to revive old batteries.- a series of carefully timed high current pulses to activate the batteries
2) Rapid Charging - charges your NiMH ( Nickel Metal Hydride ) and NiCD AA / AAA rechargeable batteries with microprocessor precision technology. Designed with two independent circuits, one or two independent sets of rechargeable batteries can be charged at the same time.
3) Top-off charging - briefly putting batteries on charger after sitting for 30 days.
4) Maintenance Charging - an extremely low current pulse charging the batteries with a brief pulse charge periodically complete charge but not overcharge. Because of this the batteries can stay on the charger when completed without fear of over-charging. You can see more information on this charger here:MH-C204W Intelligent Charger

With Intelligent Chargers for both Ni-CD and NiMH batteries, the voltage increases gradually until charging is complete. After which voltage decreases, which for the charger is indication of a full charge. These chargers are often labeled as “delta-V” or ” ?V”, which means that it monitors voltage change. Intelligent chargers usually have separate stations or charging slots for each battery, giving each battery separate circuits to charge on.

The Fast Charger - This charger uses control circuitry in the actual battery to quickly charge it without damaging it. Many fast chargers have a cooling fan to keep the temperature of the cells down. Charging is done strictly based on the circuitry of the batteries and the Fast Charger does not monitor the condition of each battery. These chargers may work, but at the operators’ risk. They will not keep the batteries in their optimum condition.

Be sure the charger you have is the correct one for your batteries. The days of throw-away alkalines are numbered. We can benefit from our brainpower by becoming more educated on the great selection of batteries available. We will need to just pay a small amount of attention on what we are buying and using, and reap the great rewards.

POWER YOUR ROAD!