Customer Reviews

Maha PowerEx MH-C401FS4AA27 - Battery charger - battery - rechargeable - AA x 4 - 2700 mAh

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The MAHA MH-C401FS is marketed as a "100-minute battery charger". But when you use it to charge up the 2700mAh batteries that came with this charger, you'll most likely have to wait for around 160 minutes. So who lied?

The fact is, C401FS charges AA cells at a fixed current of 1000mA (in Fast mode). Several years ago when this charger was first introduced, the average capacity of an AA NiMH cell was much lower. Perhaps back then, it took about 1.6 hours (or 100 minutes) to fully recharge a 1600mAh cell. But today's AA NiMH cells have much higher capacities. So to charge up a 2700mAh cell, it now takes about 2.7 hours (or 160 minutes) to finish the job.

Aside from the misleading marketing claim, the C401FS is actually a decent charger. It is a 'Smart' charger that charges each cell individually, and stops when each cell is full. It also allows you to select between Fast (1000mA) and Slow (300mA) charging. Unless you are in a hurry, choose the slow mode since it is better for the cells. Just remember that it takes about 9 hours to fully recharge a 2700mAh cell in slow mode.

Unfortunately, the C401FS is also way over-priced for a simple charger in today's market. For about the same cost, you may want to consider an advanced battery charger/analyzer, such as the La Crosse BC-900 or BC700 instead.

Works great, I brought back to life some of the batteries that my old charger said were dead! It did not come with the clear plastic cover in the photo, but I don't understand the need for that anyway. I use it with 5 different brands of nimh and ni-cad aa and aaa batteries without any problems. Very simple charge indicator and charges individual cells (the best way), not pairs. Primary use is for nimh AA cells in 5 different Canon powershot digital cameras. Again, this battery charger works Great!

I purchased this a few years ago before the car adapter or a set of batteries were a regular part of the kit so I can't comment on how those work but as a home charger, it's the best I've ever purchased. This charger keeps my Sony rechargeable batteries in better shape than Sony's own charger does. My first set of Sony 2500mAh batteries were charged for the first time in this Maha charger (slow setting) and lasted over 400 pictures in a Canon Powershot S3 during a vacation. The Sony charger, which came with a set of new Sony 2700mAh batteries, could only charge the batteries to about 100 to 150 photos at best. In the Maha PowerEx the batteries went back up to a full charge.

As others have said, the unit gets the batteries REALLY hot if they are 2500 or 2700mAh and if you are charging a full set of four, keep the lid open. With two batteries you can close the lid. Weaker rechargeable batteries also don't create as much heat. Small, compact and efficient, don't be fooled by the size, it's not the same as similar-sized chargers from other companies, this is a great charger.

I have owned this charger for a little over 3 years now. It has been very reliable and does a fantastic job getting my batteries recharged.

The charger has two options: 100-minute charge(FAST) and "Gentle charge" (SLOW).

Each option has an effect on your batteries. A "Fast" charge essentially pumps a stead flow of around 1000mA per hour(60minutes) into the battery giving it a quick charge that gets your battery back into the game ASAP!. A "Slow" charge is designed to prolong the life of your battery. It does this by supplying it with a much weaker charge (~300mA/h) which reduces the amount of heat generated + makes for a more stable charge.

**However, I have to gripe about the "100 minute charge" label this product still has on it.**

As said in an existing review (NLee The Engineer) the average 1600mAh battery gives you a 100min charge. Well right off the bat this product comes with 2700mAh batteries. As NLee pointed out, expect a "Fast" charge to now take anywhere from 100 - 160 minutes (1600mAh - 2700mAh batteries)

Looking past the "100 minute charge" label this charger has, there are features that this charger possesses that makes it an invaluable device that has served me well for over 3 years. This is a SMART charger. It can charge 4 batteries at once and different kinds as well!! That's right... You can charge 2 AAA and 2 AA at the same time. You can even put a 1000mAh AAA, 2 - 2700mAh AA and a 1600mAh set of batteries in the charger and it will properly charge all of them (even on FAST!) The device has indicator lights to tell you the status of the battery. When the light turns Green the charge is complete and that "cell" shuts down basically.

In short, despite the misleading 100-minute charge, this is a very capable charger that is can charge both NiMH or NiCD as well as charge up to 4 batteries in separate charging cells. It is lightweight and does a great job "keeping it simple" with the design (just two simple switches to control flow and battery type).

PROS
- Lightweight yet durable design
- SMART charger, capable of charging a variety of mAh rated batteries w/o damaging them + will shut the cells off when charging is done
- Two charge modes + ability to charge both NiMH or NiCD batteries

CONS
- No longer a "100 minute charger" if you plan to charge batteries rated 2000mAh or higher
- OVERPRICED compared to what you can find on the market today. [However it still gets the job done w/o all the bells and whistles]

**NOTE: It is best to charge your batteries on "SLOW" as it will reduce the risk of damage to the battery + gives a more stable charge

Item arrived fast and matched description - almost: Charging the 4 batteries on slow mode took several hours longer than the time specified. However knowing how long one can plan appropriately.
Will buy from this seller again.

Best charger I have ever owned. Do not buy cheap ones at retail stores.
You definitely get what you pay for.

I had two other chargers for AA and AAA, I thought that both did a good job until I used this charger. I canned the other two.

LJ

This charger is da bomb. It has 4 independent charging circuits so that I don't have to worry about charging pairs of batteries and if each battery is at the same charge level. No need to worry about overcharging in this case.
I almost always keep in the "slow" mode of operation. My Energizer NiMH batteries barely even get luke warm while charging on carpet even! They'll probably last 1000 cycles or more with this treatment. The charger stays very cool as well.
"fast" mode is as fast as I'd want a charger to charger AA or AAA batteries, any faster and the batteries would get too hot, and the charger would heat up too.
You can tell that it has a microprocessor inside of it by the way the LED lights behave when you first plug it in (it does a Power On Self Test of sorts).

It is a flawless charger and well worth the money since it'll probably last 50 years.
Whatever you buy for a NiMH charger, don't get those crappy cheap Duracell or Energizer chargers. They only have 1 speed and you have to charge in pairs, and the charge speed is somewhere between the "fast" and "slow" mode of this charger.

This is my 2nd charger of this model since 2001. I got tired of carrying the only one I had around, and having to dig it out of my luggage to use at home. Charges fast, charges individually, perfect for the plethora of gadgets that take 3 batteries, and most chargers only charge in pairs.
The current model shipping uses a "switching type" light weight wall wart for power, instead of the heavy transformer type that fall out of loose power outlets.

Now if there was only a way to rejuvenate abused NiMh batteries, instead of just having the "blinky red light" means time to recycle a 6 week old battery.....

It arrived promptly. It was easy to use. So far the batteries are working fine with the camera.