Batteries

I have for a long time tried to implement rechargeable batteries into the household. The main problem is that at times its a pain to wait for the battery to charge, then you forget about it, then you just end up buying normal batteries as its more convenient. The second problem is that rechargeable have in the past, not been consistent. After a few charge cycles the power would just not be there and the predictability of when one might need the power wont be there.

Enter the Maha MH-C9000

Its a battery charger that costs $90 (not including postage (I ended up spending close to $150 in total as I bought new rechargeable batteries to go with it))

The cost of buying batteries is a pain. I will probably keep a few regular batteries on hand for emergencies, but on the whole will be replacing everything with rechargeable. The cost of recharging is negligible so its mainly the cost of the equipment. I do like using the energizer e2 lithium in my torch/flash light as they are lighter then alkaline and rechargeable and they have a lot of power, no power drop off and last for ages (currently have a single AA in a Fenix that has been going for the last 3 years), torches are a different type of device and when in use require a constant but high load... once my stash of e2's run out I will be using rechargeables for my torches as well.

I already have a recharger that I purchased from dick smith about 7 years ago for $30. I was thinking of getting a fast charger, but the more research I did the clearer it became that quick charging is actually a bad idea and will ruin your batteries.

Devices

• Remotes x4x2=8
• Salt & Pepper = 8
• Torches = 4
• Keyboard & Mouse = 4
• Total = 24 batteries in use

I have over the years purchased rechargeables so the batteries (appart from the ones I purchased with the charger, should not cost me anything.

On to the charger, why this charger. Basicly it is capable of bringing battery back to life through cycling through charging and discharging based on fancy electronics. It will analyse each battery individualy and program it self to best suit each battery. My old rechargables that cost $5 each (about the same cost as e2) can now be brought back to life. Also all charges from now on will be to the batteries full potential and I will not have to keep charging them because they are in a bad condition.

Drawbacks: As I said before I was looking at fast chargers, but that was wrong. The problem now is the break in/bring back to life feature takes 38 hours to complete (2 days (based on the minimum number of cycles)). So its going to take a while for me to get all my batteries in order.

I would like to implement this solution at work to reduce the cost of buying batteries every month, but I cant see how people will be able to wait 2 days to get batteries, you can obviously just have a few extra sets on charge.

Hopefully this will work out. My only other fear is my idiot family will throw away my rechargeable if they stop working and replace with regular batteries.

Links
Nice write up of why some people dont like rechargables, also check the other posts for more info
MH-C9000