Last Friday noticed that Costco has sanyo eneloops back on the shelf.
Costco item#906576 (search at Costco website didn't turn anything up for me)
cost is $30
contains 10AA, 4 AAA and a charger

packaging said Panasonic, pretty sure earlier in the year it said Sanyo for a slightly different config (8AA, 2AAA and charger for $25
(correction: only 2 AAA in previous Costco deal)

Here in Miami I'm pretty sure it was 8 AAs (dark/light blue) and 4 AAAs (dark/light green) and a dumb charger, for $24.99.

Generally, they're Gen. 2 1500 cycle Eneloops, but lately, they've been mixing in Gen. 3 1800 cycle Eneloops; however, the packaging isn't always correct, with 1800 cycles being printed on the front,  but Gen. 2 1500s inside the blister pack.

Gen. 2 AAs are 3UTGA, Gen. 3s are 3UTGB, AAAs are 4UTGA and 4UTGB.

The charger is 'dumb--no independent channels' and nothing to write home about.

Chris

There is a pretty decent overview of chargers and batteries at the following link:

http://www.predatormastersforums.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=615964#Post615964

I've used the PowerEx Maha C-9000 and LaCrosse BC-700 for 2.5 years and can't complain.  If I were to do it over again, I'd have gotten two C-9000s and called it a day.

Chris

I like the LaCrosse and I actually travel with it in my suitcase, since it's substantially smaller vs. the Maha, but there in lies the problem.

That smaller case has a couple of problems--one, getting smaller AAA sized batteries in and out, especially if you're a big guy with big fingers, can be a problem.  I have girly hands and sometimes putting them in and pulling them out is a chore.

Secondly, that smaller case traps heat.  Your 1000 has a max charge rate of 1A and my 700 has a max charge rate of 700mA, but in that cramped charger, those batteries can heat up and trip the thermal protection, shutting the charger down, until things cool back down.  No fatal flaw, but it does add time and my BC700 has done this often enough.

If you've got older batteries, things can trip more frequently, but it's just a 'physics' issue to me and this plagues the AccuPower IQ 328, as well, which is almost identical to the LaCrosse offerings.  The Maha just has a lot more space around the batteries and cooling vents to whisk away that heat and keep things relatively cool.

Don't get me wrong, the LaCrosse/AP chargers are quite capable, but NiMH batteries like to terminate via heat and voltage and you just can't throw a fan on them to cool things down, because you're likely to cause the charger to miss termination and over-charge those batteries.

I've had a couple of missed terminations with my LC charger and never with the Maha.

The Maha is just a bit more sophisticated and has a more extensive suite of features, but it's not perfect.  It's back-lit display cannot be turned off and that's a problem for some of us.  Plus, some feel that at 1.47v, the Maha tends to undercharge NiMH batteries as a rule, so some of us would like to see something around 1.50v-1.51v, similar to where the LaCrosse chargers terminate charge.

Chris

Good information.  Thanks for the reply.

Thanks for the charger info.

I am leaning toward a Lacrosse BC1000 but am considering the Maha C9000 and the BT-C2000.

I just picked up the Sanyo Eneloop pack at Costco yesterday. 1800 cycle. 19.99 here in Prescott, AZ.

Get the Maha C-9000 and don't look back.  Maha's were about $10 more than the LC-B900, 9009 and 1000, but this isn't always the case over the past year.

The BT-2000 is still pretty new and the new Opus 3100 v2 jobbie, while a nice all-in-wonder charger, is more of a 'jack of all trades, master of none' type deal and if you want that, just get a NiteCore D4 and call it a day.

In addition to the Maha's long standing track record, you have its 12v input and while we can get 12v car adapters for the LaCrosse chargers, they output 3v at 2.8A,  so running a Maha/Xtar charger directly off of a 12v SLA/AGM is more easily accomplished in a SHTF situation.

I have both and for my solar kit, they work, but that is an oddball voltage in a SHTF scenario.

Chris