I recently bought a battery charger and in my haste I think I might have thrown out the manual that came with it. Does anyone have an idea how long does it take to charge 2 AA batteries 2000 mAh and 2 AAA batteries? I plan on recharging them separately.

Anywhere from 30 minutes to 8 hours depending on the type of charger. It is best to charge batteries at least in pairs. Any decent smart charger will signal when the batteries are fully charged, and drop to a trickle charge rate if you don't remove the batteries.

>Anywhere from 30 minutes to 8 hours depending on the type of
>charger. It is best to charge batteries at least in pairs. Any
>decent smart charger will signal when the batteries are fully
>charged, and drop to a trickle charge rate if you don't remove
>the batteries.

I found the following information on the back of the charger. Does this help?

Ni-Cad \ NiMH battery charger
Input 120 V ~ 60 Hz 6W
Output: AA 2 x 2.8 V 300 mA
AAA 2 x 2.8 V

No that is very basic information. I suspect the charger has a brand name and model on it, I suggest you google the name and see if you can find out what its specs are and maybe even download a manual.

I always charge in pairs anyways, but I was wondering about your comment earlier and why it's best to do it in pairs?

I'll try to google the manufacturer later on. Thanks.

Edit:

Is there any harm in overcharging NiMH batteries? I charged 2 AA batteries today at 12pm and by 5 pm they felt warm to the touch and so I removed them right away.

Any charger will heat up the batteries, sometimes almost too hot to touch. The charger should automatically shut off once the batteries are fully charged. My chargers have indicator lights to let me know.

Some FAQs here: http://www.greenbatteries.com/

>Any charger will heat up the batteries, sometimes almost too
>hot to touch. The charger should automatically shut off once
>the batteries are fully charged. My chargers have indicator
>lights to let me know.
>
>Some FAQs here: http://www.greenbatteries.com/

Thanks for the link JP. I realize batteries do become heated up during the charge - my only concern here is "overcharging" them. And since there is no indicator to let me know when it's fully charged, I have to do a little 'guestimating'. I looked on the manufacturer's website (Uniross) and unfortunately my model is not listed. It must have been phased out of production.

Although NiMH will heat up during charging, heat is a battery's worst enemy. If your present charger takes over 5 hours to charge the batteries, you need to buy a decent new charger. Any worthwhile charge should be microprocessor controlled, and charge a fully discharged set of batteries in no more than 1 hour. All good chargers will also have fans to keep the batteries cool during charging.

Here is the charger I have:

http://www.lenmar.com/details.asp?model=MSCAA

It comes with four high capacity AA batteries

>Although NiMH will heat up during charging, heat is a
>battery's worst enemy. If your present charger takes over 5
>hours to charge the batteries, you need to buy a decent new
>charger. Any worthwhile charge should be microprocessor
>controlled, and charge a fully discharged set of batteries in
>no more than 1 hour. All good chargers will also have fans to
>keep the batteries cool during charging.
>
>Here is the charger I have:
>
>http://www.lenmar.com/details.asp?model=MSCAA
>
>It comes with four high capacity AA batteries

That's one helluva charger. 1 hour charge time packed with features. Looks good. Were it not for the fact I just did a shopping spree on some summer clothes and music CDs I would probably bite the bullet and buy one. I'll bookmark it for future reference however. Thanks.

There are chargers with matching batteries that will charge in 10 or 15 minutes. My understanding is that for it to be that quick you have to use their batteries.

I go for years on sets of AA batteries that get hot in the charger. Heat is an enemy, but not certain death.

The site is going through one of its periodic slowdowns, but here's a thread you may find interesting.

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=70935

Thanks for the link Bob. The Titanium TG 1000 model sounds better to my budget at this point.

How about the Lenmar Mach 1 for $22.40 from a reputable dealer, and no tax?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009R8GT/sr=1-1/qid=1155220605/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-7939809-9894215?ie=UTF8&s=photo

Read the reviews.

Amondotech is a reputable dealer, but he caters to the hobbyist world, RC and flashlights for instance, so not well known outside that I'd guess. Most of his "TG" chargers are Vantec I think - I have two and they're both Vantec. He's also somewhat leading edge - he has an Eneloop clone for sale now. Lord knows when Sanyo will make them available in the US. Word is that they're trying to figure out shipping (keeping them cool so they can support their "buy them and use them" marketing) without raising price. Also, his AA NiMH batteries are some of the best "consumer" batteries around if holding voltage against highish current is your criteria.