Energizer's 15 minute battery recharger

We don't write much about batteries, except maybe to complain about them or whine about how long it's taking for people to start putting fuel cells into things, but Energizer has a new souped-up battery charger that can recharge any kind of NiMH battery in a mere 15 minutes (yeah, Rayovac has one, but you can only use it with their special rechargeable batteries).

[sadd3j @ Dec 19th 2005 12:06AM]

If this is legit without any downsides.. that's amazing! 15 minutes.. if they make a car one too.. that'd be pretty fantastic!

-rep

[James @ Dec 19th 2005 12:06AM]

HAHAHAHAHAha... now, for me, there is NO reason not to get the AipTek MPEG4 Multi-Purpose Digital Camcorder!

Booyah.

[Tim @ Dec 19th 2005 12:06AM]

I've read that quick chargers like this one shorten battery life, so there may be a downside.

[Tim @ Dec 19th 2005 12:06AM]

I've read that quick chargers like this one shorten battery life, so there may be a downside.

[mickster @ Dec 19th 2005 12:06AM]

Tim you are 100 % correct. High speed chargers reduce battery life.

Tim you are 100 % correct. High speed chargers reduce battery life.

Be careful refreshing and confirming your double posts.

Be careful refreshing and confirming your double posts.

;-)

;-)

[Jason @ Dec 19th 2005 12:06AM]

But are there still some merits to Rayovac's method? I heard it uses a pressure-sensing mechanism rather than trying to measure the juice of the battery. Does one or the other produce better results?

[bombastinator @ Dec 19th 2005 12:06AM]

since this is a gadget fourm I thought I'd drop my only little piece of rechargable gadget trivia. A lot of small electronics (such as my Handera 330 PDA god rest it's beautifully designed soul) won't work well with lithium rechargables because they only produce 1.2v instead of the normal 1.5v Rayovac had some rechargable alkalines called "renewal" that were good for a full 1.5 Only problem with tthem is they go bad much faster than lithium. I was getting maybe 30 charges out of them and they were only about 3/4 as long lasting as a disposable battery. They only cost maybe 30% more than regualr batteries though so the savings was huge.

[Maikeru @ Dec 19th 2005 12:06AM]

I used to use those Renewal brand batteries in my graphing calculator many years ago (in fact the place that I purchased the calculator handed them out with it). At the time I managed to accidentally socially engineer my way to getting a charger (I don't think that they were supposed to be giving out the chargers for free). Anyway, I used those batteries even when I sold off my TI-82 and purchased higher models (like the 85 and the 86). I'm fairly sure that over the course of 4 years I charged them more than 30 times. I just need to look around to see if I can find them and see if they'll still hold a charge.

[Rocket Punch @ Dec 19th 2005 12:06AM]

Well, this is really nothing new if you are an ok RC car hobbyist, remember those $100 computer match 6 cells and those $150+ Novak charger?? I am just surprise to see how long it took to have that "not very well known" technology to appear on mainstream consumer market.

[StaticBeats @ Dec 19th 2005 12:06AM]

I have a Rayovac charger I picked up at RadioSmack and true to form it charges 4 batteries in a matter of minutes. Regardless of how long they last over the life of the battery as a whole - charging an entire set of batteries for my digital camera shortly before heading out is worth every penny.

[Frank Schaefer @ Dec 19th 2005 12:06AM]

I have a Vivitar 15 Minute Charger That is About 20 years old and still works. Why is is it taking so long for this product to come of age?

[Dave @ Dec 19th 2005 12:06AM]

I bought the Rayovac 15 minute recharger and it has worked great for us. I have two teenagers, 3 digital cameras, cd players, etc., . . . the batteries have worked great for over a year now with numerous recharges. The 15 minute recharge is accurate. I also sent in for Rayovac's car recharger and that too has worked great for recharging our batteries this past summer on numerous vacation trips. I love this product so much that I am trying to buy it again for my father because I bought him a digital camera for christmas . . . but everywhere I look, the price is twice as much as I paid for it. I paid last year about $25 for the recharger and four batteries . . . this year, the price is $45 to $55. Anyone know where I can get it at a reasonable price?

[Mike Rudolf @ Dec 19th 2005 12:06AM]

I bought these rayovac batteries about a year ago, and while I love the quick charges, sometimes the batteries provide no charge at all, and appear to be dead. I almost threw those away, but somehow they revived themselves. But I am still having the problem on and off......anyone else out there having similar problems, or any suggestions??

[Mike Rudolf @ Dec 19th 2005 12:06AM]

In response to the writer looking for cheaper sets, I bought my second charger at Target about 1 or 2 months ago for 19.95. But last trip there I saw a different model with only two battery cradle, similarly priced.....

[miki @ Dec 19th 2005 12:06AM]

try this:
http://factorydirect.ca/catalog/category_list.php?cat=ACOT
here you can find:
1.Digital Battery Charger and 4 AA batteries included (1.2 V) NiMH, 2000mAh @ $15, but it is not Fast :(

2.Duracell Fast Battery Charger and 2 AA Batteries included (1.2 V) NiMH, 1800 mAh @ $15
This one recharges for 60 min!
But you have to buy another 2 AA Duracell (1.2V), which will cost you about $14 :(

The good thing is that output power for Duracell charger is 1.6V and 1800 mAh, and standard 1.2V Duracell batteries work with my digital camera, which requires 4 AA x 1.5V .

Good luck!

[Simon @ Dec 19th 2005 12:06AM]

I think that the old 15 minute chargers some of you are referring to, charge Nickel-Cadmium (NiCd) batteries. Those batteries do not have the same capacity as the new Nickel-Metalhybrid (NiMh). In fact the new Ni-Mh batteries have more than double capacity compared ti Ni-Cd batteries. Another difference between Ni-Cd and Ni-Mh is that Ni-Mh are much better for the enviroment. Some of you are also afraid that the batteries won't last 1000 charges due to fast charging times. You shouldn't worry about that. The batteries and the charger are manufactured to keep the batteries healthy. Both batteries and charger have sensors that make sure that no "overcharging" is done.
Hope this info helps you...

[Pupfish @ Dec 19th 2005 12:06AM]

Say folks, this is a thread about the ENERGIZER 15 minute NiMH Charger.
It deserves 5 stars, hands down winner of all 4AA chargers. I got one because it is supposed to work with any brand of regular NiMH, and it indeed does (unlike the RayOvac). The Energizer 2500 MAH AAs that came with the charger work fine, I even bought another 4 so I'd have a matched set of 8AAs for my F5. But since I already had a bunch of NiMH AAs, no-name generic ones bought in bulk, I was overjoyed to find they work just as well with this charger as do the Energizers.
Pupfish
Works

[gerry @ Dec 19th 2005 12:06AM]

i'd like to know where that guy got his 15-min energizer charger that came with 2500 mah batteries? Since all the chargers I've seen from Energizer come with 2200 mah max.
As far as time of charge for 2500 vs 2200 it will be a few min longer then 15.