Travel Charger for AA, AAA, C, D & 9V batteries

Hello All,

I've been wrestling with finding a single, reliable, lightweight travel charger for all of my battery needs.

It needs to charge: AA, AAA, C, D & 9V batteries

It needs to be able to charge 4 batteries at a time.

It needs to be able to run on: 110-240v

It should be as compact as possible.

Any help and experience with different products would be great.

Thanks,

Dustin

Hello All,

 

I've been wrestling with finding a single, reliable, lightweight travel charger for all of my battery needs.

 

It needs to charge: AA, AAA, C, D & 9V batteries

It needs to be able to charge 4 batteries at a time.

It needs to be able to run on: 110-240v

It should be as compact as possible.

 

Any help and experience with different products would be great.

 

Thanks,

 

Dustin

Dustin,

1.) My first recomendation is to settle on one battery type, "AA". Replacing equiptment as needed.

2.) I use the Ansmann 4. They made a 6 & multi battery type 8 (not small or light).

3.) Research wetpixel forms; this topic comes up quite often.

I agree. If you travel much you really need to scale down. One size rechargeable battery, dual voltage chargers. With all the new baggage/carry-on restrictions you can't afford to carry all those multiple battery sizes.

I use a Uniross Compact charger for my trips, takes 4(AA's) at a time and weighs less than 100g.

You can find out more about Uniross chargers here: Uniross website , enter your region, then Find a Product, then Chargers. They do quite a range of chargers including Multi-Usage (AA/AAA/etc) chargers as well.

R

OK, taking the "scale down my gear" route, the only piece of gear that is not AA/AAA is my Princeton Tec 2-bulb light that takes 4 C's. I've had this one for years with no probs. It easily lasts 2 night dives without recharging.

Can someone recommend a good, sturdy alternative that takes AAs? It should last for a couple of night dives without recharging.

What about something like this (if you weren't scaling down)?

http://www.thomas-distributing.com/ansmann...ger_5407022.htm

I've purchased a lot of batteries and chargers from Thomas Distributing, great vendor.

OK, taking the "scale down my gear" route, the only piece of gear that is not AA/AAA is my Princeton Tec 2-bulb light that takes 4 C's. I've had this one for years with no probs. It easily lasts 2 night dives without recharging.

 

Can someone recommend a good, sturdy alternative that takes AAs? It should last for a couple of night dives without recharging.

Ah, now you have seen the light! I am using ikelite PAs that take AAs. You may want to look into some of the new LEDs that take AA or AAA (another WP search).

I recommend an ultra fast AA / AAA charger like this: http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=45798

With this charger you can reduce the number of AA / AAA you carry to the bare minimum as it will top up part discharged batteries in a moment. On a liveaboard you can take just one set ( OK, just a couple of spares then... ) It runs off 12 volts too.

AA adaptors are the way forward for C and D cell use: http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=37379

Cheers, Tim

That's exactly the one I use (since february/march) . It has 4 independent circuits, and will signal green or red for each cell individually.

When you attach a battery, it also tests its condition. If the battery is not allright, the charger will flash in red and wont charge it. Quite a few of my AA cells have developed this condition, so I am guessing the charger may be a bit harsh on them. THe good news is that it will charge 4 AA (3200mah) in around 30 minutes.

I use an Ansmann charger that takes AAA, AA, C, (D ?), 9V all in one unit. I got it here:

http://www.nexusamerica.com/

Rinjani

I Highly recommend the Ansmann Energy 8s. Have used them under generator power where voltage was in the 180-190VAC range, blew up a lot of other chargers (Energizer being the group fave). I became the charging station for other divers in the group. It charges 2700maH cells under an hour (never timed it) 4000maH C's in about 2, 8000 Mah overnight (easier than waiting for them). Only complaint is that they're a pain to pack because they're shaped like a cow chip.

Stu

I'll add my endorsement of Ansmann chargers. Check out their whole line, and just buy the one(s) that fit your needs best. I travel with Travel 4 unit, but have the bigger 8 and 16 models at home, which will also take 9 volts, etc. I actually am surprised at how often I see people on dive trips with those big units; they are just GREAT chargers, with individual indicators for each battery! Also, I too buy lots of batteries from Thomas, which someone above mentioned.