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Maha Powerex MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger-Analyzer | Discount Price: $43.89
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Brand: Powerex
Features: - Four independent slots for AA or AAA NiMH batteries
- Large backlit LCD
- Digitally displays battery capacity, voltage, current and time
- Special forming charge and cycling mode
- 30 selectable charging and discharging speed
FAILS TO PERFORM [Posted on 2008-07-14]
Although this charger has a gorgeous LCD display and is powered from 12 volts, it fails to perform the function for which I purchased it - charging NiMH AA batteries. Perhaps I am unable to operate it as intended because of the minimal instruction sheet provided. Or perhaps it fails because the firmware which operates the device is not as smart as it needs to be. Or perhaps I just got a lemon?
I have many radios which use AA batteries in sets of 4. The radios all have the ability to recharge batteries, but they are not very friendly to the batteries. I purchased this charger to: a) recharge the batteries separately; b) analyze battery capacity (and age); c) keep from overcharging them in the radios. I have 42 AA batteries of various brands from brand new to about 2 years old that I used for this test & review. These are batteries I've been using and have not been stored.
After carefully reading the entire instruction sheet and readying the charger, I put in a single AA battery. After selecting "Refresh/Analyze", 500 mah charge and 500 mah discharge, the charger returned to the original prompt as if it had not accepted anything I entered. I knew that if I did not make any entries within 10 seconds it would select "charge" mode with 1000 mah values. After several attempts I set that battery aside and used the next one from the set of 4. The same thing happened for all 4 batteries! The charger needs a more intelligent response in this situation, it is VERY CONFUSING to a first time user.
After going through my entire library of batteries, it turned out that the charger would only "accept" 10 of them. In other words, it was telling me that 32 out of 42 batteries were "high" and could not be charged. The instruction sheet mentioned such batteries and suggested either discarding them or using discharge mode first. It didn't matter if I started out with charged, discharged or average batteries, they failed in every mode. But the fact remains that these same batteries charge fine in the radios, get quite warm (meaning they don't have that high of an impedance), and operate the radios for several hours. So much for a so-called "refresh" mode.
This charger can be set to charge batteries from 200ma to 2000ma in 100ma steps and to discharge them from 100ma to 1000ma in 100ma steps. I note that this charger only accepts AA & AAA size batteries, so I wonder why the large amounts of current? One set of my batteries states to rapid charge them at 340ma and slow charge them at 150ma with others recommending charging currents of 270ma, 220ma & 205ma. The charge current of my radios is typically 150ma, so it seems the use of this charger will only "fry" these batteries more, not less. The high currents might explain why some people experienced melting/etc when using this charger.
Below is a list of batteries used for this test.
BRAND CAPACITY MODEL COLOR CONDITION
Chicago Electric 2000 mah 1.2v Green & Black GOOD
DuraCell 2050 mah 1.2v White & Green FAIL - "high"
DuraCell 2650 mah DC1500 Green & Black FAIL - "high"
Energizer 2500 mah NH-15 Silver & Green FAIL - "high"
Panasonic 2300 mah HHR-35PA Silver GOOD
I can NOT recommend this charger. However, I do not know if there is a charger out there which can do what this one preports to do. I sincerely hope this design is upgraded so that so many batteries are not reported as "high" and the user interface is made more friendly.
Great Charger [Posted on 2008-08-25]
I was extremely reluctant to buy this charger based on the comparison review by "NLee the Engineer." My takeaways from that review were:
1) The Powerex MC-C900 is HUGE. It might need its own table.
2) The Powerex MC-C900 is bright and will double as a table lamp.
3) Being able to see the status for only one battery at a time will be a huge inconvenience.
4) Setting the program for each battery will be complicated and time consuming. (Read: many, many, many keystrokes.)
I bought this charger anyway because I was concerned with reviews of the La Crosse charger over heating. (I will be charging my batteries constantly - and the possibility of something over heat when I'm out of the house is something I'd like to avoid.) Also, as a photographer I wanted the advanced functionality with this charger.
After receiving and using this charger, I want to say that all of all my concerns based on the "NLee the Engineer" review were eliminated. It's no bigger than my previous charger. I don't feel that the readout is at all too bright. And most importantly recharging batteries is very, very easy, and very fast. Getting a status for each battery is easy and fast.
Finally, the cycle mode takes about 10 seconds to set up -- it's not cumbersome in the least.
I won't say that one charger is better than another charger. But the concerns in the "NLee the Engineer" review are overstated.
Bottom line: there is nothing inconvenient about this charger. It's easier to use than my alarm clock, and I would recommend it to friends.
The best Period! [Posted on 2008-10-19]
I have had many fancy chargers. It is just amazing. The ultimate control over charging. Love the screen!
A powerful, versatile AA/AAA battery charger-conditioner-analyzer [Posted on 2008-10-27]
No doubt about it: the Maha Powerex WizardOne MH-C9000 is a commanding AA/AAA battery analyzer, charger &/or conditioner with few drawbacks in my opinion. It will take on any combination of 1 to 4 rechargeable AA &/or AAA batteries, allocating separate charging current circuitry for each cell. This charger performs its functions quite well & with consistent close tolerances at that. There are few drawbacks to be aware of with this battery charger. There are already several detailed reviews published here, such as NLee the Engineer's review "Showdown: Maha MH-C9000 vs. La Crosse BC-900" (please consider taking the time to read it if you've not done so already). Here are some of my feelings as well as observations on this valuable & flexible battery charger. As with my review/thoughts on the La Crosse BC-700 charger, IF this review is too long for you THEN please consider scrolling down to the end of this review for my bottom line(s).
The Maha Powerex MH-C9000 is about the size of a decent deli sandwich... a tad bulky but still portable enough for many situations. Among its many valuable assets are the generous spaces between the charging compartments. This, naturally, helps to dissipate heat as charging occurs... not a problem at lower charging currents, which will help your rechargeable batteries to last longer, but at the higher current capabilities of this charger (up to 2 full amps for each cell, if you really want/need it) the extra spacing is a real asset. This also makes it much easier to extract batteries from compartments #2 & #3 when having 4 cells in the charger at once.
This multipurpose battery charger is plenty sturdy & will even perform a discharge function without recharging the cell(s) afterwards if you'd like. Now that is something the La Crosse chargers won't do & could come in handy, for instance, with NiCAD batteries that you wish to store for whatever reason, as it is commonly recommended that NiCADs should be stored in a discharged state while NiMH batteries are best stored charged. Additionally, there are 4 other modes to choose from: Charge (fastest & easiest), Refresh & Analyze (charge-discharge-charge with battery capacities displayed upon termination), Break-in (follows the IEC standard procedure in determining cell capacity, taking 39 to 45 hours to complete) & Cycle (the same as Refresh & Analyze except you can charge-discharge up to 3 consecutive times with a final recharge).
AA batteries are placed into the MH-C9000 positive tip first. AAA cells are inserted negative side first. After the programmed bulk charging has been delivered, the charger will then top-off charge @ 100 mA & then settle into a 10 mA trickle charge. The backlit LED display will alternately show, for one cell at a time, the approximate charge/discharge progress during operations, the charge/discharge rate itself, elapsed time (in minutes) & cell voltage... twice each per cell before moving on to the next battery's readings. It also boasts a worldwide power supply, though items such as the 12-volt connecting cord/plug are extra cost & not all vendors carry them. Along with our two C-9000 chargers, we ordered two Powerex 12 volt plug-in cords from 17th St. Photo listed here @ Amazon.com, which Maha states you must use in order not to void their fine 3-year warranty for these units.
One can choose to program charging currents from 200 mA all the way up to 2000 mA for each battery & discharging currents from 100 mA to 1000 mA. Maha recommends that charging currents of not less than 0.3C (30% of the cells rated capacity) or more than 1.0C be employed when using this charger. Too low of a charging current may prevent the negative delta voltage detection from operating optimally, the cell's charging possibly not terminating properly in this case (though we commonly charge our Sanyo eneloop hybrid NiMH batteries @ just 0.2C with no problems whatsoever thus far). Charging at too fast of a rate may damage the batteries. The maximum recommended discharge rate is 1.0C.
Programming the MH-C9000 may seem unnecessarily wearisome until you realize that if you hold down a button while programming then the choices will continue to cycle up or down the list.
*TIP*- The very moment that the choice JUST BEFORE the one you desire is displaying onscreen while you are holding a control button down then release the button at that time & the setting you want will be selected... then simply press "Enter" afterwards.
Example 1: You have placed 4 cells into the charger & want to discharge each @ 200 mA (the cell you are programming will have an indicator displayed under it). Within 10 seconds of inserting all 4 batteries, depress & hold the "Up" button, which will then display the "Cycle" option at the bottom of the display list. IMMEDIATELY lift the button & you'll have the "Discharge" function displayed, then press "Enter". Next, select the discharging current for this cell by depressing & holding the down button. When the display first shows 300 mA, lift & you'll be at the desired 200 mA. Again, press "Enter". Do this for each battery in turn. Total button depresses: 4 for each cell, 16 for all 4 cells... very easy as well as plenty fast enough (far less than one minute for programming all 4 batteries). When you get the hang of this then it's a snap, though it sure would be great if one could program all four batteries simultaneously as with the La Crosse chargers.
Example 2: You have placed 4 cells into the charger & want to "Refresh/Analyze" each @ 400 mA charging - 200 mA discharging currents. Within 10 seconds of inserting the all 4 batteries, press the "Down" button once & you will have the "Refresh/Analyze" function displayed, then press "Enter". Next, select the charging current for this cell by depressing & holding the down button. When the display first shows 500 mA (initially descending from 1000 mA) then immediately lift & you will be at the desired 400 mA of charging current. Press "Enter". Next, in selecting the discharging current, press hold the "Down" button again until 300 mA is displayed (initially descending from 500 mA) & immediately lift & you will have 200 mA selected in the display. Press "Enter". Perform this sequence for each cell. Total button depresses: 6 for each cell, 24 for all 4 cells.
Example 3: You want to recharge 4 fully discharged 2500 AA NiMH reasonably fast. Simply place them into the charger & do nothing, as the default programming current of 1000 mA will automatically engage. In about 3 hours, you'll have your batteries ready to go again. Simple as can be!
Annoyances are few with the MH-C9000. These will bother some more than others:
* The backlit display screen is plenty bright & readable IF you are about 15 degrees or so below it from viewing it straight on. Just for fun, try viewing the screen with Polaroid sunglasses on. It's like Haight-Ashbury all over again, if you know what I mean. If you view the screen at a 45-degree angle from below while it's working then it is quite difficult to read until you lean over up & over it. In this regard, though not backlit, the La Crosse BC-900/700 charger's display screens are quite a bit more readable at various angles. In addition, having the option of switching off the backlight of the C-9000 would be handy.
* The instructions are not a manual but are an unfolding sheet of paper of about 12" x 18"... passable, but a bit disappointing somehow. Having put down about $60 for each charger, a regular flip-through manual would be much nicer. The instructions are adequate, however, & are illustrated well.
* Before it performs any function, the charger will perform an impedance test on each cell & display "HIGH" if a cell fails this test, no further operations resulting. The instructions state that if this reading is thought to be in error then a "Discharge" may first be performed. However, having tried this with 2 older, rejected cells, the charger will still not continue & the program is concluded, displaying "HIGH" once again.
* The time part of the display would be much better if it would display elapsed time in hours & minutes instead of just minutes in my opinion.
* Maha informs that you may hear an audible hissing sound as the charger performs. This is normal, though thus far this has not yet been heard here. As noted by other reviewers, this may only be at higher charging rates than we are using.
Thank you for spending the time reading my review. Being a brain-injured veteran, writing my thoughts are helping me to heal as well as providing me with something useful & helpful to do. It takes quite a while for me to create a review & it's worth every hour it takes... over 6 hours in this case. It's all good.
BOTTOM LINEs- Certainly the Maha Powerex WizardOne MH-C9000 is the finest, relatively affordable AA/AAA battery charger-conditioner-analyzer presently available to us common folk. It takes less than a minute to fully program 4 batteries identically once you get the hang of it. Its versatility & power make it a great choice for most applications. It may reject your older rechargeable batteries as being too high in impedance/resistance, but by using newer, premium-quality NiMH cells (such as Powerex, Sanyo, Sony, Titanium, etc.) then this should present no problem whatsoever. Its independent charging circuits will perform balanced operations on your investment in rechargeable batteries & will more than pay for itself over time... especially if you continuously use as many AA & AAA batteries as we do. The 3-year warranty is top-shelf & its power consumption is quite reasonable, as a C-9000 performing charging/discharging operations 24/7 for a full month will consume about 2 kWh of electricity while charging @ 400 mA & discharging @ 200 mA. In writing well over 100 reviews for various products at many websites over the last 6 years, this is only the third product to earn my 5 star rating, the minor annoyances & irritations not being enough to shave off so much as ½ of a point in my opinion. You will likely have no trouble programming this amazing machine as well as be pleased that you invested in it.
Summary review [Posted on 2009-01-01]
A few months ago I got some Eneloop batteries and a charger and, although I'm not as much into batteries as other people, I wanted a more sophisticated battery charger.
After reading various reviews my choices were the LaCrosse Technology BC-900 and the Maha Powerex MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger-Analyzer.
I almost purchased the BC-900 since it was $40 vs. the C-9000 which was $65, but found the C-9000 on sale for $40 at Thomas Distributing. The BC-900 comes with a few extras, but after MANY hours of reading I decided to buy the Maha instead. It offers individual temperature sensors for each slot, is compatible with potential future batteries with higher capacities (e.g., 20,000 mAh), has a useful -although lengthy- Break-In mode, etc.
I am not that technically savvy, and one of the most useful posts I found was this one:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=154756
It contains a review of the C-9000 as well as a side-by-side comparison with the BC-900. There are many other posts at the CandlePower forums, and SilverFox and others have done a great job at describing the unit and its functions, as well as very detailed technical information. In addition, there were thorough discussions regarding some of the earlier units which did have some issues, but those have been corrected.
I don't give it 5 stars because:
-I don't like that the display is always on. It makes no sense to have it on all the time. I wish I could turn the display on and off.
-Some of the information provided is not too useful. For example, during Break-In mode I am able to see the elapsed time since charging began, but once the cycle moves on to another phase, that information is lost and I only have the elapsed time for the new part of the cycle. There's no cumulative information.
-I have to enter the settings for each cell Individually. This is not really a big issue, since I'll often be using the default settings and won't have to enter any information at all. Also, entering information for each cell is very fast and easy.
-Only holds 4 batteries.
Overall I am impressed and very happy with my purchase. I'm sure they'll come up with an improved version, perhaps with additional features and capacity for more batteries, but for my needs this is more than enough and should last me for many years.
My main uses are for AA batteries, mostly for photography, a portable CD player, a portable tape player (pretty old but I still use it), a few remote controls, and a Wii remote and sensor bar that I actually use with my Mac.
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