I've pared down my gear to mostly AA batteries. I'd like to get a rechargeable system of some type for SHTF. What do I want?

In for responses.

I've always had my eyes on one of those smaller solar jobbies.  Not exactly this one, but something along these lines:

http://www.amazon.com/AAA-Solar-Battery-Charger-Batteries/dp/B0042Z14FO

I have a couple of these and really like them for everyday use.  They have a 12V option (comes with a power point plug) so they can easily be adapted to work with any solar setup.  They also have a refresh feature which is good if you use rechargeable batteries a lot.

http://www.batteryjunction.com/8800.html



As far as batteries go, choose whichever ones you like or want to spend the most money on.

I don't know of any native portable solar only charger which does independent channel charging (an individual 1.2V cell).  I have a goal zero which charges up to 4 AA/AAAs in pairs.  I've also got big solar panels which charge GC2s.  From these, I can run my 4-cell Maha charger with the cig plug adapter.  The maha does a good job of individually managing/optimizing batteries (there are a number of similar chargers).  When it is all said and done, it depends on how much you use your AAs, to determine your battery charging quantity required.  If you'd expect to use burn up more than 8 batteries a day, I'd get a larger system.  Otherwise, you could get by with 2 small units.  For sure, ensure your setup has enough capacity to fully charge your battery.  My gauge is 80% of solar panel capacity (due to cloudiness/charger efficiency) * 6 hours (change for good avg full sun for your location).  If you do a two stage charge (charge a bigger battery system (like my full sized solar panels), then take another 10-15% for the extra conversion.  If you don't fully top off your batteries, you'll degrade their performance and life.

You want the Maha MH-C9000.

Want to charge with solar? Get a 12V battery, charge controller, and panel. The Maha will accept 12V directly without any special converters/adapters,
and this will also let you charge when you want to. Or plug the Maha into your car, charge AAs that way. Or use a generator like the EU 2000 to
charge a 12V battery and plug the Maha into that, or just power the Maha directly. As you can see, a lot of options with a 12V based charger.

I've explored AA charging a lot, and the little solar chargers like a goal zero 10 work, but the chargers they use are slow, and they're also not
optimized for battery health. Not to mention sometimes the sun isn't shining.

The Accuchargers will also work off 12V, but they're huge. But not a bad charger. I'd avoid the smaller chargers like the LaCrosse BC-700, BC1000s.
While those are nice chargers, most of them have a problem with charging completely dead cells, so you have to work around it with stupid tricks
like paperclips between cells, etc. Also they run off of 3V, not 12, so if you want to charge from DC you need a special adapter.

I rarely hand out 100% go buy this advice, but the C9000 is one of those good-to-go, nothing better type devices. I own several of them and have
a few stashed.

For batteries. Panasonic (formerly Sanyo) Eneloops. You'll find the recommendation dozens of times in threads here, for good reason.

I have a goal zero which will charge 2 pairs of aa or aaa and will also charge my phone directly from the sun.. i also have a larger panel which will charge my deep cycle battery which can run a panasonic charger that came with my eneloops which is individual channel.  I can charge 18650s and rcr123s and also gmrs radios from that too.

I have one maha and 2 lacrosse's. They have circuitry to charge each battery individually. Plus you can change the amperage. You can "refresh" batteries too although I've never done that.

Maha for sure. I love mine.

That's an important point.

Some chargers (like the LaCross BC series) operate on some "oddball" DC voltage - which means that you have to hunt down a 12 volt adapter that not only converts to the required DC voltage, but is capable of supplying adequate current while doing it.

I have the LaCrosse 12v car adapter which outputs 3v at 2.8A to the charger, so yeah it's an oddball deal, compared to the Xtars' and Maha's 12v output, but at $10 from my Maha/LC dealer, it was the same price as the Maha car adapter and not too hard to come by.  Xtar provides one for free with most of their chargers.

I agree, that in a power outage, a 12v input for SLA/AGM batteries, or solar arrays, is important, if you're needing to charge up NiMH or Li-Ion batteries/cells.

Starting with a 12v system is more practical than the 5v USB chargers/solar arrays IMO, since you can just do more with the higher voltage, ah-la mother batteries, than you can with the lighter voltage.

Chris

 

this Fujicell SCH808F controller charger was recommended by a member on another forum, and I think I got it from Amazon UK.... it inputs 120v, 12v, and 5v USB... it takes between 3 and 4 hours to fully charge the AA Eneloops with the Goal Zero 7w panel... I built an inclined surface to orient to the Sun... small piece of plywood with a nail as vertical to the surface as possible, prop with a piece of 2x4 until the shadow of the nail falls upon itself... room underneath to place the charger/batteries out of direct sunlight... my older Motorola RAZR will not charge directly or from the Guide 10 pack... possibly from the newer Guide Ten Plus units... the SCH808 works with a 12v deep discharge battery also... most likely the battery will power my mini digital TV for power outage.. it is maintained by a float charger



it will charge single or multiple batteries

Nitecore D4 smart charger. Works on a bunch of different sized batteries, at the same time, and will directly plug into 120v AC or 12v DC. Plus it ships on Prime .

I have 3 of these Titanium ones, but with 16 battery capacity. They do a great job for the money you spend. I also have a Maha 9000, which is nice. When a hurricane is on the horizon, I can pull out all of my AA and AAA batteries and top them off in an evening. I can charge 52 at a time. Both manufacturers take 12V input. The Titanium comes with a car plug, if I recall correctly. I have a couple solar chargers that were given a good rating, were expensive, but was disappointed at their capability. They're in the BOB, but don't see me using them daily.

Don't ruin your good eneloop batteries with a bad charger. I have a maha and two lacrosse chargers, can't remember the names of the models.

The lacross starts out on low and works better for my aaa's. The maha holds 8

The lacrosse has more mAmp choices. It will recondition memory batteries too. I'm pretty sure the maha does too though

Overall the lacrosse has more modes and will show you the voltage and stuff. Both chargers have independant circuits for each battery.

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