A Better Battery Charger

A better way to charge batteries (and how to use your AA’s as C or D cells)

Use a lot of rechargeable batteries for photography?
Or maybe just for gizmos and toys? Ever thought of getting a better charger?

A higher-end charger will save you time and keep your batteries working better - and extend their life so you don’t have buy new ones.

After the holidays you may have even more battery powered gizmos or toys around, so I thought I'd share the results of my research. I was sick of the cheap chargers I had used for too many years so I decided to buy a good one.

I burn through a lot of AA batteries with two camera flashes and the steady demand to power toys for the kids. It was time to get a proper charger...

And the winner is...
I settled on the la Crosse BC-1000 charger after admittedly spending too much time geeking out and researching different options. I’ve been using it for a few months now and I wish I had bought something like this years ago.

It’s not cheap. Yes you get what you pay for. It’s around $55 USD.

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What’s great about this charger?

No more charging in pairs!
It works with NiCd and NiMH batteries and you can charge single batteries of any size in any charging channel. You can charge a single battery or put a AAA beside a AA.

Different display modes
While it’s charging you change the display mode to see voltage, charging current, time elapsed etc. It runs very quiet although you can hear a slight hum at times while charging.

8 batteries and adapters are included
First it comes with 4 AA NiMH and 4 AAA NiMH batteries. It also comes with battery adapters so you can turn a AA into a C cell or a D cell for those odd items or kids toys that need larger batteries. The white battery packs I bought separately.

The nice thing about the adapters is that you don’t have to bother buying rechargeable C or D batteries and a battery charger to charge larger batteries. The voltage is the same of course and the device won’t run as long since they only have a lower capacity AA inside, but at least you can standardize and stick with AA and AAA rechargables.

You can also buy the adaptors separately if you like the idea and don't want the charger.

It comes with a black case that might be handy if you use it on the road, but honestly the bag is flimsy so you’d probably throw it in another bag with other gear if you used it at all.

Using the charger is the best part. As I said to my daughter, this charger does everything to keep batteries happy and healthy.

Voltage is displayed
When you put a rechargeable battery in it instantly shows you the voltage so you know if it needs a good charge or maybe just a top up.

You can select current (ie charge time)
If you make no selection the charger will use the slow charge of 200mA which is the easiest on your batteries and will extend their life. The downside is you’ll have to be patient since charging a 2600mAh AA battery on the lowest current setting of 200mA may take 12-13 hours for a full charge. If you charge at 1000mA you’ll have a full charge in about 2.5 hours.

In a hurry? You can fast charge
If you’re in a hurry simply press the “current” button to charge at a faster rate (200 to 1000mA). You can charge even faster - up to 1500 and 1800mA - if you are charging only 2 batteries. I’d guess this prevents overheating.

Pick a different charging current for each battery
I find that most of the time I’m charging 4 flash batteries at a time so I set the set the current on the first channel and the then insert the other 3 quickly and they take the current setting I selected. You can also select the charging current for each battery separately.

Trickle Charge keeps Your Batteries Healthy
Unlike many cheap chargers you find in the battery section of most retail stores this charger will switch over to a light trickle charge after charging is complete and the LCD shows “Full”. This is good for your batteries and keeps them at full charge if you forget to remove them for a few days.

Refresh old batteries that aren’t holding a charge anymore
It also has a refresh mode so you can try breathing life into an old battery that has seen better days. The refresh mode is automatic - set it and forget it.

It will charge and discharge up to 20 times if needed. This refreshing process will sometimes get your old batteries back to good working condition.

So far this charger has worked great for me. I should have bought a better charger years ago. It even got a few of my old batteries back to working condition by using the refresh option.

I better leave it there since this is probably already the longest post here about a battery charger!

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Consider getting yourself one or maybe add it to your wishlist
You can find it online or at Amazon. Do a search for “La Crosse BC-1000”.

If you like the battery adapter idea you can buy the plastic shell adapters separately. For example search for “AA to C size battery adaptor”.

Let me know if you have questions or if you plan on adding it to your wishlist! Thanks.