Obviously, I'm quite late jumping onto the Eneloop bandwagon, but thinking through an option -- for times without electricity -- of charging them from a battery bank (which in turn is charged via solar panel).  For that to work, the battery bank (one of the larger cell-phone charging type devices) has to connect to an eneloop charger that can be powered via USB.  I.e. stage 1: solar to battery bank, stage 2: battery bank to battery charger.

However, the best one I can find is this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U26ONVE?tag=vglnk-c102-20
XTAR vc4

...which does not have a discharge function, I believe.  

Thus, my question is two-fold:
1. Does such a thing exist - USB-powered charger that has a discharge function?  Trying to avoid buying multiple chargers, if I can.
2. If discharge function isn't that important, what are the best chargers people are using today?

I'm not an expert... but I use a nitecore 4 bay charger and it works well for eneloops and li-ions. I haven't seen a battery charger/discharger that can be powered through a USB. It seems like the power requirements would be too much for a USB interface.

There are some tenergy and IMAX chargers/dischargers that run off of 12-15 volts DC that might work if you can clamp onto the terminals of the battery bank. You would still have to create a battery holder though. Something like this has a lot of useful features.

Tenergy charger

I assume that you want a discharge function to prevent your batteries from developing a memory.  That was an issue with nickle cadmium batteries.  Ni-MH batteries do not develop a memory, so by discharging them, you are only shortening their life.

The problem with USB chargers is that there is not enough available current from a USB port.  You can get power supplies to plug the cord into that will put out about an amp and a half, but that's about it.  Not enough for a serious charger.

This - but as mentioned one post further up, you can direct-connect most chargers to a 12V battery or battery bank directly, so the solar->battery bank idea is not incorrect.

Did not know that, thank you.

I'm liking the sound of that XTAR VC4 then.

Thanks for the additional replies as well.

For a more portable option, I like the XTAR VC2 plus.  I really don't think that for short term, the whole discharge/refresh is that necessary.  As mentioned, NiMH batteries don't develop memory either.  Li-Ion can develop some memory loss but not really significant for short term use.

From what I hear the XTAR won't really work as a battery bank with the 1.2V NiMH batteries.  It will work with the higher voltage Li-Ion batteries.  I've had good luck with the XTAR and my Suntactics solar charger.  I think for short term the whole memory discharge issue is over-rated for these batteries...

ROCK6

My son has used a Goal Zero panel and charger for about 5 years now, works like new.

I have an Xtar VC4 among my 6 Xtar chargers (VP2, XP1, WP2 II, MP1S, MC1+) and it's a nice charger that needs a strong 2.1A-2.4A USB wall wart.  Xtar sells them, but I use a 12w 2.4A Apple block.

That being said, it's a decent, if not a bit slow, charger with 4 slots (~500mA vs. ~1A for 2 slots).  It only shows what's placed into a discharged cell, not a value upon discharge--the better method.

Discharge is a nice function to have, as you can charge up the batteries/cells, then do a 1A discharge and find out the capacity of the batteries/cells and then match them up in pairs, or quads.

You really won't find an 'analyzing' charger that runs off of 5v USB, so you're looking at 12vdc chargers, much like the Maha C9000 Wizard One (NiMH only), the Opus BT 3100/3400 (NiMH and Li-Ion) and the Liitokala Lii 500 Engineer (NiMH and Li-Ion).

They can run off your 12vdc car cigarette socket, or a 12vdc solar panel, or a 12vdc wall wart/120vac.

Those three are at the top of the heap, although there are others out there.

NiMH batteries like Eneloops and Fujitsu LSD (low self discharge) offerings (Fujitsu owns the NiMH technology and factory and makes Eneloops for Panasonic) don't develop "memory", so that's not a concern.

For strictly NiMH batteries, the Maha C9000 is still the king of NiMH analyzing chargers, but it doesn't do Li-Ion cells, which you will want to get in to, at some point down the road.

This leaves the Opus BT-3100/3400 v. 2.2, or 3.1 for a multi-chemistry analyzing charger, or the Liitokala Lii 500 Engineer.  I have the BT-3400 v. 2.2 (2.80v discharge cutoff for the Li-Ion cells, as the creme de la creme, but both are 12vdc, which is fine for me.

Good luck, Chris

ETA: VP2, not VC2

He is right the Maha C9000 works very well for me.
You can get a 12VDC power cord for that charger for $8.

This company has alway given me great service

He is right the Maha C9000 works very well for me.
You can get a 12VDC power cord for that charger for $8.

This company has always given me great service

He is right the Maha C9000 works very well for me.
You can get a 12VDC power cord for that charger for $8.

This company has always given me great service

Sorry for triple post.
Operator error and malfunction.