Veteran Member Registered: September, 2010 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 2,653 | | Review Date: July 7, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Reliable, good design, works | | Cons: | none | |
I've had this charger for over three years now. It does what it says on the box, reliably and well.
There is really not much to add to the previous review  | |
Pentaxian Registered: August, 2008 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Posts: 11,251 | | Review Date: March 8, 2011 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | affordable, gentle on rechargables | | Cons: | | |
The ANSMANN Energy 8 Battery charger can charge up to eight cells in parallel (6 AA/AAA max.). It supports a lot of different cell types (AAA, AA, C, D, and even 9V blocks). It charges both the older Nickel Cadmium and the modern NiMH cells.
You cannot set the charge current on the Energy 8 as one can do with some more advanced chargers and there is no LCD readout showing the exact capacity, charging current, etc. for each cell, but the Energy 8 charges each cell individually, thus avoiding overcharging one cell just to complete the cycle for another cell. Cells never get hot in this charger which is testimony to its gentle charging behaviour.
There is a status LED for each cell respectively. When a cell is inserted, the charger shows whether it is still charged, depleted or defective. If the cell isn't removed, the charger will then begin to discharge any remaining capacity in the cell. After that it will charge the cell. This means that your cells are continuously reconditioned so that they will always retain their maximum capacity. Even cells that have been nearly killed by lesser chargers can be revived this way. When the cell has reached its maximum charge, the charger switches over to "trickle mode" which means that you can allow yourself to forget about the cells. They will never be overcharged and will never be discharged when you finally get them out of the charger.
In summary, the Energy 8 is not a high-end charger with all bells and whistles for those who want to individually adjust and monitor charging parameters but it is a very reliable, smart charger that automatically adapts to different cells and treats them well. Definitely worth the investment to protect your investment into your rechargables.
For those who want to charge even more cells in parallel, the Engery 8 has a bigger brother, the Energy 16.
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