[chainring]

Originally Posted by jj2me

chainring, thanks for the corrections and additions. Especially about alkalines leaking. Yes, they've leaked on me, but I never put it together that they leak much more than other types.

You're welcome. Many moons ago, I've seen NiCd leak, but in normal operation and with normal (<1C) charge rates, I've never seen a NiMh leak. I've seen LiIon cells vent, but it was a defective cell. Alkalines though, I just don't trust 'em. If the device is low drain, or I might forget about a rechargeable I'll stick in an Eneloop. I've NEVER seen a report of a leaking Eneloop.

I also have this charger, and because of all the reports of these chargers frying batteries and self destructing, I only use it on a tile floor. It scares me. Just bought it, shoulda done more research. They say the BC-700 doesn't have such failure reports.

Yep, good charger, but watch it closely. Tile floor is an excellent idea, and for anyone who doesn't have that luxury, run to Home Depot and get some tiles.

You're correct about the BC-700 not being a known offender. The BC-900 and the BC-9009 are the potential culprits. FWIW, I have a BC-900 as well, and it's been good, but not used much since I received the Maha C-9000's.

And thanks for the 200 mA advice. I think it's the heat during charging that lessens the number of cycles. Some fast (15- or 30-min.) chargers, like my Duracell Accu 30-min., have a fan right in the charger bay blowing air at the cells to keep the temperatures down. Sometimes worth it for the time savings.

Keep an eye on them when charging at 200mA as that's not within the normally recommended charging rate for a smart charger. Basically, a full charge on NiMh should end up with the cell at a maximum of 126 degrees F...MAXIMUM. Ideally, you should be around 10 degrees F over ambient. 0.5C - 1.0C is the range you need to be for a reliable full charge detection

Basic terminology:
C = capacity
C/10 = capacity divided by 10
0.5C = Say you have an Eneloop AA at 2000 mAh. 0.5C would be 1000 mA. Easy, right?
1.0C is the industry recognized standard fast charge rate. It's how long a fully depleted cell will take to be charged in one hour.

Regarding the super fast chargers (15 - 30 min), especially the 15 min versions, those will reduce the total life if used continually. There was an extensive test that concluded with cells put through the abuse of an Energizer 15 min charger would get around 150 cycles vs. more than twice that number at 1C or less rates. Like you said, the 15 min is really good for convenience and the "I need it now" type of situation.