this review seemed the most systematic:<br><br>
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<span style="margin-right:5px"><span class="swSprite s_star_5_0 " title="5.0 out of 5 stars"><span>5.0 out of 5 stars</span></span> </span>
<span style="vertical-align:middle"><b>It works. Wish I would have purchased long ago.</b>, November 13, 2011</span>
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<div><div style="float:left">By </div><div style="float:left"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A1X3GCSUUS9I6Z/ref=cm_cr_pr_pdp"><span style="font-weight:bold">Laurie Wesely</span></a> (Pocatello, Idaho United States) - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A1X3GCSUUS9I6Z/ref=cm_cr_pr_auth_rev?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview">See all my reviews</a></div>
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<b><span class="h3color tiny">This review is from: </span>Rosewill RGD-CT505 Battery Charger for AAA/AA Alkaline and Ni-MH Batteries(battery not included) (Electronics)</b>
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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.<br><br>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.<br><br>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.<br><br>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).
<br><br>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.<br>