Battery Analyzers

Tech Talk Hardware
1

I have a large number of aging AA and AAA NiMH rechargeable batteries in regular use. I’ve been considering buying a “battery analyzer” to see if I some of the older ones can be refreshed or if it’s time to recycle and replace them. Most of my batteries are eneloops (Sanyo and Panasonic era) or AmazonBasics. They are going into camera flashes, flashlights, video game controllers, headphones, remotes, etc.

I’ve been using a pair of Panasonic BQ-CC17 chargers, which now refuse to charge some of the older batteries. I’ve been looking at the Powerex MH-C9000PRO, Powerex MH-C980 and the La Crosse BC1000 . Does anyone have experience with these analyzers?

Part of me thinks I should just recycle the cells when they stop recharging and spend the $50-80 on replacement batteries. Thoughts?

2

That seems odd; I’d think that means the batteries are dying.

3

Energizer says:

So it seems to me spending large bucks to “save” a few bucks on something ultimately consumable is probably not the best value. Just buy some new batteries and properly recycle those old ones.

4

I have used this battery tester for probably around 10 years…

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Years ago, I used to collect LED flashlights. I did a lot of research and learned a lot of about the rechargeable lithium ion cells used in these lights.

I dealt with Illumination Gear a lot for many orders. And the guy who runs the site used to email back and forth with me a lot - about battery related topics. With one of my orders, he thru in this tester for free. There are 2 versions of this tester - this is the cheaper of the 2. But, it works fantastic.

I switched from 123 primary cells to rechargeable lithium ion 18650 cells because they are safer. Two lithium123 cells stacked together - over time, the result is usually the same… 1 of the 2 batteries drains some charge into the other cell - many times overcharging one cell. That is how batteries explode in LED flashlights sometimes. Having ONE lithium ion cell is much safer.

Anyway - this tester is great to test those lithium 123 cells

So, I use this tester to check lithium batteries and alkaline batteries. It takes a different tester to test rechargeable lithium ion batteries. But, this tester does also test NiMh cells…

5

I’m still using an “ancient” Radio Shack battery tester to check whether a particular cell is charged. I was hoping to get feedback on how well the reconditioning modes works on these fancy analyzers with cells that are old, but not quite dead yet.