Help Required: Best Bang for Buck Battery Charger for AA/AAA etc

eraser215 on 15/03/2023 - 17:58

Hi all,

I'm suffering some crippling indecision about choosing a decent battery charger. After having just had our first child, I want to move to rechargeable batteries to feel less guilt about all the little battery powered devices that he has been given. I have been looking at the following:

My main requirements are for AA/AAA (Ladda and Eneloop) but the flexibility of accommodating other sizes and Lithium Ion batteries is possibly helpful. Looking at reviews online has been a dizzying experience with positive and negative things said about all these chargers. Those reviews are far denser than what my new dad brain can process right now.

I know that there are no spectacular deals on any of these at the moment, but I would rather get a charger that is decent quality than pounce on the first thing I see. On a side note, the Eneloop with 4 x AA batteries is $37 on The Good Guys Commercial site.

Any advice on these chargers or other recommended alternatives (I see the LiitoKala pop up a bit) would be much appreciated! I have checked other posts on this forum and the comments on the most recent Eneloop deals, but there's nothing terribly conclusive there.

Electrical & Electronics Battery Charger

Comments

  • 87percent on 15/03/2023 - 18:16
    +1

    Nitecore user here, and very happy with it

    • yippy on 15/03/2023 - 18:27

      Same here, been using the same Nitecore charger for over 10 years.

    • RichardL on 16/03/2023 - 11:39

      Same here, been using the Nitecore D4 for years now.

    • eraser215 on 16/03/2023 - 16:04

      I ended up buying the Nitecore UMS4 from Ebay. Hope I have the great experience you and others have had!

  • sumyungguy on 15/03/2023 - 18:38
    +1

    As recommended by Wirecutter, Panasonic BQ-CC55 with 4 batteries $61 via Amazon

  • 7ekn00 on 15/03/2023 - 19:23

    The Nitecore SC4 or UMS4, but from Alliexpress or Banggood (way cheaper)!

    I have had a heap of chargers, the XTARs have all lost slots (no longer charge) over a period of time (The Nitecore and Maha's haven't)!

    • eraser215 on 16/03/2023 - 16:04

      I bought the Nitecore UMS4 in the end, for $55 off Ebay. Thanks for the advice :)

  • rumblytangara on 15/03/2023 - 20:55

    Haha, I have the nitecore, a good friend has the xtra. I consider them pretty much interchangeable (well, the xtra has a nicer screen that gives a little more info, but seriously do not need that info).

    For battery conditioning and capacity testing, I use a maha anyway. I guess if I only had one charger, the xtar might have an edge, but for NiMH who cares.

    Have had both the nitecore and the maha a decade.

    PS: I would not buy Nitecore via some random Ali store, who knows if it's real or just rebadged. I'd go with 'official store' if their range/presence was convincingly real.

    • eraser215 on 15/03/2023 - 22:25

      Thanks for the detailed info! The nitecore ums4 is actually cheaper on Amazon than via the official nitecore store on aliexpress.

      • USER DC on 16/03/2023 - 11:50

        and is actually cheaper on ebay with AFTERPAY

        • eraser215 on 16/03/2023 - 16:05

          Yes, I got it on Ebay using $5 via my Ebay plus membership.

          • USER DC on 16/03/2023 - 17:13

            @eraser215: No its like $50.99 rn, WITH afterpay code,

            if you bought earlier you lost on Shopback upsized cashback too may be

  • bobkin on 16/03/2023 - 04:54
    +2

    For the primary purpose of charging batteries for kids’ toys, the $10 ikea charger does the job fine. You could start there then decide if you need anything more (this is what I did and found it was sufficient)

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