[Greenbuilding] Battery charger--works on standard Alkaline

[Reuben Deumling]

this review seemed the most systematic:

 5.0 out of 5 stars *It works. Wish I would have purchased long ago.*,
November 13, 2011
 By
Laurie Wesely<http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A1X3GCSUUS9I6Z/ref=cm_cr_pr_pdp>(Pocatello,
Idaho United States) - See
all my reviews<http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A1X3GCSUUS9I6Z/ref=cm_cr_pr_auth_rev?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview>
 *Amazon Verified Purchase*(What's
this?<http://www.amazon.com/gp/community-help/amazon-verified-purchase>
)
 *This review is from: Rosewill RGD-CT505 Battery Charger for AAA/AA
Alkaline and Ni-MH Batteries(battery not included) (Electronics)*
I purchased the Rosewill charger after being intrigued by an instructable
home made charger. It was cheaper and far less hassle to just buy this
charger instead of making my own. Now that I have it, I wish I had
purchased something like this years ago.

When I got the charger, I had a bucket full of old batteries destined for
hazardous waste collection day. As well as a container of supposedly good
and partially discharged alkalines. So I went through the "bad" bucket and
pulled out all of the batteries that weren't leaking and tested them with
the multimeter. They ranged from 0 to 1.3 volts. Then I tested the
supposedly good batteries. They ranged from 1.1 to barely 1.5 volts. On the
first round of charging, I labeled the batteries with their original
voltage. Most of the battery's voltages improved after charging, but oddly,
some didn't - they were usually in the 1.2 voltage range.

The instructions with the charger discourage charging batteries that have
been discharged for a long time - probably good advice. But I charged them
all. At least all that could be charged. If a battery has less than 1 volt
left in it, the charger will not charge it. So you really don't need to
test the batteries before charging. I test the batteries after charging to
see if they are at least 1.4 volts. If they haven't attained that voltage
after charging they go into the hazardous waste bucket.

I am really happy with the charger. It doesn't have fancy electronics to
actively measure the battery level as it is being charged. It just measures
battery temperature in case one goes ballistic. Then it stops charging
after 4 hours. Simple, yet effective. I haven't had a battery leak yet. But
I wouldn't recommend putting a recharged alkaline in an expensive device
for long term non-use (or any battery for that matter).

The major upside is I no longer have to deal with partially discharged
batteries any more. I have plenty of fully charged alkalines (between 1.4
and 1.6 volts) as well as my Sanyo Eneloop rechargeables. (Won't go back to
standard NiMH after using those.) The upside to the alkaline's over
rechargeables, is the alkalines have a fully charged voltage of 1.5 volt,
while the rechargeables have a fully charged voltage of 1.2 volts. So the
LED flashlights shine brighter and the flashes recycle faster. And like the
Eneloops, I charge the alkalines when it is convenient, not when they are
fully discharged. And like the eneloops, they maintain their charge after
charging.
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