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Batteries & Chargers... Maha / AllTek & Powerex / GP / Nexcell???


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I am considering the purchase of a battery charger and AA NiMH rechargeables.

 

Chargers? Maha C204F or AllTek AT-1268 ??? both appear to be very good. Any comments? I am waiting for a reply from Thomas Dist. on this question as well.

 

Batteries? Powerex vs. GP vs. Nexcell vs. others?

I understand Powerex are rated the best? How are GP and others? They're often found cheaper than Powerex...

 

Thanks icon_rolleyes.gif

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The maha c204f is a great little charger but fails if you have to charge an odd # of batts.

 

One manuf. makes a charger that will charge 4 batts independently - i heard it works good and I would get it if my other charger broke.

 

If you charge an even # of batts the maha c204f is all you ever need (unless you need 2 of them icon_wink.gif .

 

as for batts - the basic drill is get Nimh not NiCd. the bigger the amp hour rating is the better. Now yu should not settle for anything less then 1600 mAh (for AA). go higher then 1600 then the price jumps up. Also higher then 1600 have a tendency to be delicate and might short out if dropped (well all batts can do this but these are more likely)

 

As for the type of batt. Nexcell has a quirk about it - basically you could leave it charging for a year with no dammage but rapid charging would drastically cut it's life - this was about 1 ys ago and I don't know if they changed it. I have used mahacell 1550, everyready 1600, powerex 1600. All perform basically the same. I get a little less run time w/ the mahacells but they are lower capacity and they are the oldest ones I got so that is to be expected.

 

My best advise is to get the highest capacity for the best price. If you have a choice of 2 1600 mAh batts go w/ the cheaper.

 

To give you an idea of run time I have a 3+ and will get w/ batt saver off:

Alk - 19 - 20 h,

1600 mAh Nimhh - 12-13h,

1550 mAh Nimh - 11 1/2 - 12 1/2 h

 

with batt saver on:

Alk - 19 - 26-27 h,

1600 mAh Nimh - 19h

1550 mAh Nimh - 18 h

 

Did you ever do any trail maintainence? - if so you will know that all but the most worn trails need continuous maintenance to prevent mother nature from reclaiming it. herd paths are quickly reclaimed - k2dave

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quote:
Originally posted by k2dave:Did you ever do any trail maintainence? - if so you will know that all but the most worn trails need continuous maintenance to prevent mother nature from reclaiming it. herd paths are quickly reclaimed - k2dave

 

Funny you should add that tag line at the end.... I HAVE gone on several "trail clearing" trips into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness BWCA. These trips are organized by different groups but primarily through the icon_razz.gif

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That tag line was my response to a troll (yea I know I shouldn't feed the trolls but I didn't realise he was a troll at the time). Basically he said that people creating herd paths (while going to a cache) would cause harm to the environment. He also called them illegal trails.

 

Funny thing is that he also claimes to be a ranger and a former boy scout but if true should know that these herd paths will quickly disappear.

 

Did you ever do any trail maintainence? - if so you will know that all but the most worn trails need continuous maintenance to prevent mother nature from reclaiming it. herd paths are quickly reclaimed - k2dave

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Dave2K suggested you get 2 1600 Nimh batteries. Definitely get the 1600 Nimh as it will be a long time before you have to through out batteries again, but I would strongly suggest that you get 4 if your budget allows. Even the recharable batteries can run out when you are far into the woods and a spare pair is a must.

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sorry a little misunderstanding here. I did not suggest buying 2 batts. I said if you have a choice of 2 (brands) go w/ the cheaper if all other things are equal.

 

the quantity of batts you get depends on how many you are going to use. The rule here is that you don't want to have so many that some are just sitting around. Idealy you want a just in time system going where one set is just finnished charging when you need it.

 

As for spare batts - for most times I recommend bring a backup set of alks not rechargables - they last longer and can be stored in your pack (don't get them wet - and you can use them for geocaches). Just use them when you need them. Your gps will give you an idea of how much life is left in the alks when you use them - when it's getting low then use them up and replace them.

 

that above suggestion you must put into real world applications like if your gps lasts 8hrs and you know you are going to be using the gps for 10 then it would be better to use rechargables or if you will be away for a few days and have enough rechargables for the trip. but if (lets say) your gps runs 12 hrs and you are planning a 10 hr trip I would bring alk as backups.

 

Also although I did not make the calculations I would think that it would be cheaper bringing alks as backups. I would attrubute this to the batteries not being used much (might last a year)and a greater chance of damagaging the batteries due to carrying them w/o a protective case.

 

Did you ever do any trail maintainence? - if so you will know that all but the most worn trails need continuous maintenance to prevent mother nature from reclaiming it. herd paths are quickly reclaimed - k2dave

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I read your note again and you had it right, I just read it too fast. icon_redface.gif Sorry about that. But my advice is still to get at least 4 of them. I started out with just 2 but they faded on a GeoCaching outing and I had to buy regular throwaway batteries on the way. Never again!

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quote:
Originally posted by Us 5 Camp:

I am considering the purchase of a battery charger and AA NiMH rechargeables.

 

Chargers? Maha C204F or AllTek AT-1268 ??? both appear to be very good. Any comments? I am waiting for a reply from Thomas Dist. on this question as well.

 

Batteries? Powerex vs. GP vs. Nexcell vs. others?

I understand Powerex are rated the best? How are GP and others? They're often found cheaper than Powerex...

 

Thanks icon_rolleyes.gif


 

Got off topic here for a while... still interested in experiences with the charges above (or your personal favorite).

 

Also, any good/bad experiences with the batteries mentioned above....

 

Thanks to those who've posted thus far...

icon_biggrin.gif

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Don't worry too much about which brand.

 

Maha has an excellent reputation.

 

On several forums (outside of geocaching) this has been discussed extensively. The consensus seems to be buy the charger you like and pick up the batteries anywhere.

 

I have Maha, Quest, and others. All seem to work equally well.

 

My personal favorites are the Panasonics. I got six NiMH AA batteries, two NiMH AAA batteries, adapters for other sizes, and a 5-hour charger at BJ's for $19.95. I've been using them for about a year and they seem to last forever. Inexpensive and good, that's why they are my favorites.

 

I've read a number of articles that state that the one-hour chargers seem to be just too quick for most batteries. Quicker recharges equals fewer recharges.

 

Hope this helps.

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I have the 1800mah Maha's and two 204f charges and I love them. They work great. With an optional plug, you can charge them in the car on 12v. Yes, you can only charge an even amount of batteries, but I have hardly any devices that take an odd number.

 

These batteries are a great investment. icon_biggrin.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by Vertigo:

Whats wrong with just going to walmart and buying the Rayovac 1 hour charger for $29?


 

In the end, I placed an order with Thomas Dist. here's why it was right for me (IMHO):

 

*Rayovac(w/ 2 1600mAH batteries) was $29

- Maha C204F or AllTek AT-1268 w/ 4 1800mAH Powerex batteries are around $35.

- I bought the AllTek AT-1268 Charger, w/ 4 1800 Powerex batteries which also comes with a 12V cord for charging in the car (like the Rayovac) for $33 after $3 rebate. So, for $4 I got (4) 1800 Powerex vs. (2) 1600 Rayovac batteries.

Made sense to me. Of course I also paid shipping, but while I was buying I also bought some 700mAH AAA's for our FRS radios and a few extra AA & AAA's for other items around the house (like kid's toys, etc).

- In the end the Rayovac is and excellent charger.

For me, I thought the AllTek AT-1268 was a better charger and Thomas Distributing . has a better selection of NiMH batteries than WAllyWorld.

 

icon_biggrin.gif

 

[This message was edited by Us 5 Camp on May 01, 2002 at 07:57 AM.]

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Just received my order of eight Nexcell 1800 mAH – AA batteries. Used two on my last caching trip. Batteries held up very well, I was close to 12 hours with GPS in battery save. I talked to Thomas Distributing about the difference in Powerex and Nexcell, was told both are excellent batteries, about like ones chose Ford or Chevy.

 

hobby1.gif

DHobby1, on to the next!

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