Customer Reviews

Rayovac (PS3) Universal Smart Battery Charger

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I've been using rechargeable batteries for a while and the more batteries you buy the more important a good charger becomes. The Rayovac PS3 is the best I've used for two reasons. First, it holds up to eight batteries at a time. That's pretty uncommon and when you discover that your digital camera, Xbox360 controllers, kid's toys, TV/VCR/DVD/Tivo remotes all use double or triple A batteries, you don't want to be stuck charging four at a time. Second and equally as important, it has trickle charge. Most don't. Sure, you can get a quick charger but these new Nimhs last weeks or months between charges and by the time you need the batteries in the quick charger, they've drained down.

I currently have about 50 NiMh batteries in use around the house (the Geotrax uses 21 triple A and two or three C alone) and if there is a better charger out there, I'd really like to know.

BTW: I've found the Rayovac NiMhs to be better than the Energizer ones and the Energizer 9Vs are awful FWIW.

[IMPORTANT NOTICE on Jan 1, 2010]:
I've been informed (thanks to Domenico Perrella) that the item being shipped now is the 'PS3D', which is an inferior product compared to the 'PS3' described in my original review. If you have ordered the PS3 but received the PS3D instead, return it to Amazon for a full refund - on the ground that the product description does not match the product received.

[Original Review follows]

I already have at least half a dozen smart chargers in the house, including top-of-the-line models such as the La Crosse BC-900 and Maha C9000, but I still wanted this Rayovac Universal Battery Charger (PS3) for the following reasons:

1. It can accept C, D, and 9V batteries in additional to the standard AA and AAA cells.
2. It can handle rechargeable alkaline cells in addition to the standard NiMH or NiCd cells.
3. It has the potential to recharge up to 8 AA or AAA cells at once.

So far, I'm very satisfied with this charger. Of course it is bulky and heavy. But that's to be expected for an unit that can accept four D-cells at the same time. For home use the size and weight is not an issue at all.

I'm happy to report that this charger is a lot smarter than I previously imagined. Unlike a typical dumb charger in this price range (for example: the Energizer CHFCV Overnight Family Charger), the PS3 has four independent charging channels. That means I am free to charge different cell in any channel. Each channel comes with a status indicator LED, which goes out once the cell is fully charged. But most of all, this charger is smart enough to recognize the difference between NiMH cells and alkaline cell, and can pick the correct charging method accordingly.

When an unknown cell is inserted into the PS3, the charger first starts off with a trickle current (800mA peak current at 10% duty cycle, or an average current of 80mA). Based on the voltage profile of this cell, the PS3 can determine whether this is an alkaline cell, or a NiMH cell. After two minutes, the duty cycle is increased to 60%, so the average current is now around 480mA. For a NiMH cell, charging will continue until a negative dV/dt is detected, in which case it switches back to trickle current again. But for an alkaline cell, charging current will gradually decrease with higher terminal voltage until it reached 1.65V.

The Rayovac PS3 is designed to recharge the Rayovac 'Renewal' brand of rechargeable alkaline cells (which are now discontinued). The user manual warned against charging ordinary disposable alkaline cells, but I experimented with it anyway. So far, I have observed very good results with recharging Duracell alkaline AA cells [see warning below]. Of course, the capacity of a recharged alkaline cell is lower than that of a fresh cell, and it drops with each subsequent cycle. But since I can squeeze another half a dozen cycles out of an exhausted alkaline cell at no additional cost, I really should not complain.

Back to the charger itself, I do have a complaint about its claim of "recharge up to 8 AA or AAA batteries". It turns out that each of the four charging channels can accept one to two AA or AAA cells, but the two cells are electrically connected in parallel. So in case somebody accidentally placed two cells of different battery chemistries (NiCd, NiMH, or alkaline) in the same channel, the one with lower voltage will discharge the other one. The charger may also get confused and fail to terminate correctly in such case. It is safer and faster to charge only one AA or AAA cells in each channel.

[WARNINGS:]
1. Do NOT try to recharge alkaline cells that are completely exhausted (terminal voltage below 1V). It will not work.

2. Do NOT try to recharge Energizer alkaline cells. Four Energizer AA cells I tested completely dropped dead after just two discharge/charge cycles. Two D-cells started leaking electrolyte a few days after charging. Luckily they were left outside and not being used.

[Update on Jan 26, 2009]
Out of maybe one dozen Duracell AA alkaline cells I have recharged, two started leaking electrolyte a few weeks later. I must now officially advise AGAINST recharging disposable alkaline cells: do it at your own risk!

The only fault I can find with this charger is that is not as fast as some of the others out there. But as far as I was able to find, this is the only charger that can recharge all the major types of batteries (AA, AAA, C, D, and 9V). You can even charge different size batteries at the same time, as long as they are in separate compartments. The flexibility of this charger is what makes it worthwhile.
If you just keep some extra batteries on-hand, you can always have some charged and ready. Another good thing is that you can leave them in the charger without any ill effect on the batteries.

This is a great all size charger! It has auto shut off, and trickle up power ( for if you leave the batts in after charging full) It's a great Product, at a fair price. Shipping was a little slow, But worth the Price.

This is a slow computer controlled charger( compare to others).
It won't overchange batteries, and slower changing is better for batteries. It can charge all type of betteries
However this is a fairly large charger. It is bigger than
what the picture appears to be.

I like this charger. I had a little difficulty with the c size batteries to properly sit correctly in the unit, but all the other batteries fit just fine. This is so easy to use, and don't have to switch any switches for different battery types, also it is conforting to know that I can go to sleep not worrying about overcharging. If you're looking for a charger I would have to tell you concider this one to be the one.

We have D cell batteries that take 12000 mA and this charger cuts them off at 2500. This is not a problem for AA or AAA or even Rayovac/Energizer/Duracell C and D batteries since they all go up to a limit of 2500mA. But I paid a lot for batteries that hold more juice and with this charger I get no benefit from them.

It does not say anywhere that it does this, this is not mentioned anywhere i can find. I just know that when I bought a super expensive charger from the place I got the batteries that I can charge them fully.

Other than that it seems fine.

I've been using the PS3 for about a year and a half now. It works as advertised, charging almost any combination of standard household batteries, and how often do you find a charger that will do not only C and D, but 9V? It's not a travel charger--it's bulky and heavy--but for home use it's ideal. The one real complaint I have is that I haven't been able to get it to charge C cells (I bought Rayovacs). I don't know what it is--it just doesn't charge them. It might not be designed quite right to make good contact with C cells.

Update: I have since managed to get it to charge C cells. Mine stopped charging 9V batteries for some reason and I contacted Rayovac support. To my surprise, they sent me a replacement with a postage-paid box I could send the old one back in. When that also failed to charge 9Vs, they sent me a pair of new 9V rechargeables for testing purposes (without asking me to return them). It soon started charging 9Vs for whatever reason, and also C cells again. Strange--but in any case the charger works well, and Rayovac's support has exceeded expectations. In fact I'd give it a fifth star because of the quality of support I received.

When you put the batteries in the charger, a little red indicator light goes on. According to the instructions, this means the batteries are charging. The instructions also say that when the little red light goes off, the batteries are charged. This isn't the way it works.

I put four brand new Rayovac rechargeables into the charger and the little red light went on. Then, about an hour later, it went off on batteries 1 and 2. The batteries were not charged. I put them back in and the little red light went on again. An hour or two later, it went off again. I changed the batteries to a different charging bay and after an hour or so the same thing happened. Then it happened on batteries 3 and 4. After several attempts to get them fully charged, I gave up.

In other words, this is not an unattended process as the description implies. You don't simply put the batteries in and then come back later to find them charged. To get the batteries fully charged, you have to monitor their progress several times during the charge cycle (which could be up to 10 hours) and keep jiggling the batteries when the little red light goes off to keep the charge going.

The technical term for this is pain in the [...] !

I talked to a friend who is an electronics expert (after kicking myself for not talking to him before buying this) and he said that in order to get a decent charger you are going to have to pay two or three times the cost of this one.

He suggested the BC-900 Alpha Battery Charger and Recovery System by LaCrosse Technology. After reading the description and the online manual, I'm going with that one. You can find it here on Amazon too. It has a separate digital readout for each battery (which lets you monitor the charge), a built in battery tester, and it comes with four AA and four AAA batteries.

It doesn't do 9V or C and D. However, get this, it comes with four C and four D adapters so you can use a high capacity (2000 mAh) AA battery in a device which requires C or D batteries. And yes, from what I've read, 2000 mAh AA batteries compare favorably in terms of usage with standard disposable C or D cell akaline batteries. Wow.

You may want to try this Rayovac charger anyways to see if it works better for you than it did for me. Amazon has a very simple return policy. I got free shipping when I bought it. Thanks amazon !

I've used this with my students to recharge batteries for their robotics projects. No problems at all; recharges effectively.