Powerex MH-C980 Turbo Charger Analyzer for AA/AAA Batteries

Great charger! A little noisy, as others have mentioned, but well worth the purchase price for the conditioning feature alone. I have a lot of old Energizer rechargeable NiMH batteries that I reconditioned after attempting an initial charge on them. My results were:Initial charge (AA batteries) on the Powerex MH-C980:Charged mAh (mfg rated mAh)1. 338 (2000)2. 318 (2000)3. 299 (2000)4. 343 (2000)5. 1294 (2000)6. 353 (2000)7. 2975 (2500)8. 1250 (2000)Reconditioning1. 2200 (2000)2. 2136 (2000)3. 2225 (2000)4. 2050 (2000)5. 2095 (2000)6. 2172 (2000)7. Not reconditioned (2500)8. 2109 (2000)I was pleasantly surprised at how effective the reconditioning was.My only issue with the charger was that the instructions did not say anything about how to insert AAA batteries into the charger. I must be a little dense, because it took me a while to figure it out. To recharge AAA batteries, you simply insert the negative end of the battery first (at an angle with the positive end of the battery up) and slide it until the negative end touches the smaller negative charging terminal and then push the positive end of the battery straight down to make the contact at that end. I was imagining that the negative terminals would somehow pop up to make the contact, but they do not. The little black button in each charging bay near the negative terminal is depressed when you insert a AAA battery, directing power to the AAA electrodes instead. Duh!

With this very electronically-based lifestyle many of us have adapted, I realized I was frequently buying new batteries for our remote controls, 'emergency' flashlights, etc. I no longer need to purchase new AA/AAA batteries after purchasing this amazing Powerex MH-C980 Turbo Charger Analyzer. I have the plastic containers of fully recharged batteries near my TV remotes and in my office. This. energy positive practice makes me satisfied that I am not wasting more natural resources but reusing what I have and saving money.

I previously had a Powerex model that had just 4 battery slots but more advanced features. But I like this one better - I can charge 8 batteries at the same time, and the usage is dead simple. Basically just put in the batteries. I like how when finished charging, the display cycles through the slots showing the number of mAH that each battery accepted. Simple and convenient - glad I bought it.

What I like:Simple, Easy to UseHas a condition modeHas room for eight batteriesWhat I do not Like:The eight slots really are not independentNo mode for enoloop batteriesThe fan is loud and starts up as soon as the charge cycle startsHard to tell what mode it is inThat said I will be keeping the charger, it will be replacing my Panasonic charger, which has many of the same problems. Much to be said about being simple. You really do need a charger with a condition (Break In) mode.When in the condition mode a battery will finish the charge and rest mode, but the discharge mode will not start until all the batteries finish the charge and rest cycles. Then they all start the discharge mode at the same time, not so independent slots.My more expensive Skyrc has special settings for enoloop batteries because they have slightly different chemistry. This charger does not.My Skyrc charger uses the temperature sensors to control the fans, so they only run when needed. Yes, it has two fans so that they can run slower and make less noise. This charger runs the fans during the whole charge cycle. Maybe there should be a mode where the charge current is reduced when the batteries get hot instead of having a fan.The display shows charge mode even in the rest mode, wish it had an indicator for rest and discharge modes.I ran the condition mode on a set of batteries. I had no idea what shape the batteries were in, so I recorded the capacity and ran the condition mode again. Repeated until the capacity stop increasing.One battery had readings of 1933, 1952, 1959, and 1963. Wish the condition mode would remember capacity readings and could auto repeat.After the batteries stopped increasing their capacity, I put the batteries in my Skyrc charger, hooked it up to my computer to chart the voltage and ran three cycles of discharge, rest, charge, and rest. A few batteries fail this test with erratic discharge voltages. Back to the condition mode for them. I wish the charger had some indication when the batteries were healthy.A chart is attached to show the voltages recorded by my computer and the Skyrc charger for a battery where the capacity stopped increasing with repeat condition cycles but was not healthy. Wish I did not have to run my computer overnight to find out the health of a battery.

I used these for years in professional video settings. We probably charged thousands of batteries during those times, and these things were beasts.Now, in my personal life, I’ve bought two of these from Amazon, and both have failed within a year. I wish I could continue to trust this brand, but the build quality seems to have gone way downhill.

Quick shipping via UPS (much more reliable than US Postal Service).Charger works great, just bought 2 more!

Really pleased so far. This charger is charging eneloops that the older model from this company could not. I’m much happier seeing the amount charged into the battery as well. I feel like i have a little more control over the batteries. Using most of the batteries for Sennheiser wireless microphones on pro video shoots, so having properly charged batts is expected. Will update as i use this charger.UPDATE 2/19/20So happy with this charger. It seems to have brought back to life several batteries that the last charger repeatedly showed error on. I almost recycled them!