Duracell Mobile Charger With 2AA And 2AAA Pre Charged Rechargeable Nimh Batteries, CEF23DX4N

by Duracell

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 6 x 5 x 4 inches ; 12.2 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000XSA5WW
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #74 in Electronics > Accessories & Supplies > Batteries, Chargers & Accessories > Household Batteries > AA
  • #88 in Electronics > Accessories & Supplies > Batteries, Chargers & Accessories > Household Batteries > Rechargeable
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 16, 2008

Product Description

Duracell Mobile Charger with 2AA and 2AAA Pre-Charged (CEF23DX4) essentially serves as a portable power hub, delivering power from 4 charged batteries to a variety of high drain ranging from digital cameras to Blackberries to MP3 players

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

302 of 303 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Versatile battery-charger with dual-personality, April 1, 2008

By 

NLee the Engineer (Nashua, NH) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 10 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Duracell Mobile Charger With 2AA And 2AAA Pre Charged Rechargeable Nimh Batteries, CEF23DX4N (Health and Beauty)

The Duracell Mobile Charger (CEF23) is an extremely versatile charger. It actually has two operating modes, as selected by the MODE button:

1. As an AA/AAA NiMH battery charger, or
2. As an USB charger for USB-powered devices.

In battery-charger mode, the unit is a smart charger that accepts 1-4 AA/AAA cells in any combinations. The charger can be powered by either 100-240V universal AC input, or 12V DC input. This means you can also operate it from your vehicle's cigarette lighter adapter. Note that the car adapter is included in the CEF23DX4N, but not in the CEF23DX2.

The charging current is 550mA for each AA/AAA cell. So it takes about 4 hours to full charge up the included 2000mAh low-self-discharge cells (which are the Duracell-equivalent of Sanyo eneloop). I consider this a good compromise between shorter charging time and longer battery lifespan. Once charging is done, the current is reduced to 25mA (actually 0-50mA pulsed at 50% duty cycle) in trickle charge mode.

One really nice feature of this charger is that it has four individual battery status indicator lights. The status light for each cell turns RED when charging, GREEN when the cell is fully charged. It will even blink if you accidentally inserted an alkaline cell.

In USB charger mode, the unit generates a regulated 5-volt supply at its USB socket. You can then connect an USB-powered device (such as IPOD charger) to this unit. Input power for this USB charger can be from one of the following sources:
1. From 100-240V universal AC input,
2. From 12V DC input (car adapter), or
3. From four AA/AAA NiMH cells in the battery compartment.

The third way is the most interesting, because in case of emergency, you can even use 4 alkaline cells to power this USB charger, in order to charge up your cell phone's battery.

I must say that this charger is really well designed. It is a great bargain even if all you need is a simple battery charger. The USB charger mode is just an extra bonus.

[Update on Oct 7, 2010]:
Duracell has discontinued the excellent CEF23 charger (at least in the US) last year. So prices for the remaining inventory have skyrocketed. The replacement product (Duracell Go Mobile Charger) only charges in pairs, and does not contain an USB charger.
- If you just need an inexpensive 2-cell charger that can handle individual cell, consider the Sanyo eneloop MDR02.
- If you need a good 4-cell charger that can operate from 12V cigarette lighter adapter, consider the Targus LCD2700 with LCD Display
- If you need an advanced charger that can operate from 12V CLA, consider the La Crosse Technology BC500
- If you need a good 4-cell charger that can operate from 12V CLA _and_ can power an USB port using internal batteries... Sorry! Your best hope is to look for an international version of CEF23, such as the CEF23AU (AU=Australia)

[Update on Dec 1, 2010]
Just in case anyone is still interested in this charger: I recently found out that its USB port is capable of supplying 1000mA output current - even though the spec says 500mA only. I discovered this by accident when using it as a portable recharger for my Archos 5 500 GB Internet Tablet.

54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Charger, June 30, 2008

By 

photofanatic - See all my reviews

This review is from: Duracell Mobile Charger With 2AA And 2AAA Pre Charged Rechargeable Nimh Batteries, CEF23DX4N (Health and Beauty)

I've done a lot of research on batteries and chargers, and I have to say I'm impressed with this charger. I am a photographer, and my fancy flashes are only as good as the batteries they use. Other reviews have already stated the high points: gentle charge rate (550 mA is great); individual charging of batteries (absolutely vital); intelligent shutoff (does not overcharge). On top of these, it runs off of 12V and any AC wall power in the world (120-240V), and it charges USB devices. It also will charge a USB device off of 4 charged batteries. It's a dream come true.

One thing to note: You cannot charge batteries AND charge a USB device at the same time. You have to pick one or the other. But this is a very minor issue for something so functional, portable, and inexpensive.

Assuming it doesn't die in two months, this is the best consumer charger that is widely available. (I also have the Maha C-9000, which I love, but is not for the faint of heart. The Maha C401FS is also very good.)

If you're even considering buying one of those 15-minute chargers, PLEASE don't. It will destroy your batteries by cooking them at a high temperature. Buy this one, instead. Just get an extra set of batteries to swap out while the others are charging, if you need the quick turnaround.

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent kit, June 12, 2008

By 

fatmav - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Duracell Mobile Charger With 2AA And 2AAA Pre Charged Rechargeable Nimh Batteries, CEF23DX4N (Health and Beauty)

First, a note on what's included: 2AA, 2AAA, a charger, and a car adaptor. It does not come with a usb cable. You can see the customer photos I uploaded.

As noted by others, these batteries are "highly similar" if not identical to Eneloops. So the batteries are great.

For AA, I like the charger included in this kit more than the one in this Eneloop kit for two reasons:

1. Each slot has its own individual indicator so you know which battery is done. Equally importantly, you can detect bad batteries in a set. Say you always use four as a set but one suddenly finishes charging a lot earlier than the other three, it's time for testing. (For testing, I use Maha MH-C9000.)

2. It charges faster, at 550mA, so the 2000mAh AA batteries charge in about four hours.

Unfortunately 500mA is also how it charges AAA batteries. Contrast this to the Eneloop charger in the kit above: 300mA for AA and 160mA for AAA. We see that the Eneloop charger is a lot more gentle for AAA. (I won't charge my AAA in this Duracell charger.)