Our portable gadgets today consume lots of power. While some have built-in recharge capabilities, others still use traditional batteries. To save us from buying them over and over again and to keep the dead cells out of our ever-growing landfills, rechargeable AAs or AAAs can be pretty handy. This is true only if they can do the job and are far less trouble than simply swapping out old ones for new ones.
My track record with rechargeable hasn’t been the best. I’ve had “clean energy” type rechargeables in the past. They took too long to recharge; you could never really know the status of the charge and they never lasted anywhere near the 1000 cycles they claimed to be good for. I discovered the Energizer Recharge fast battery charger at LDTECH 2017, which might be the answer. It comes complete with either 4 x AA or AAA NiMH batteries and a proprietary Energizer charger which is capable of recharging either size.
First, as the description says, it’s a quick charge, allowing you to juice up in less than an hour. What’s also great, unlike some, it has four individual charging channels so you recharge cells individually or up to four at a time. Of course, as good practice, you should always charge based on the number of batteries your device uses so they drain at the same time and deliver equal and constant power. I digress.
The charger has a built-in power gauge that can tell you the progress of your charge and even test how much juice is left in your battery. This can be pretty handy to help you ensure you have enough charge for whatever task you need them for. It’s also smart enough to know to tell you that you have a bad battery. What’s the use in charging a battery only to find out when you need to use it that it won’t hold a charge?
Bonus Car Adapter
As an added bonus, the charger can be used at home or in your car and both adapters are included. And if you happen to forget to unplug it, it’s smart enough to know to shut itself off and not bake your batteries.
If you’re looking for gifts for the holiday season that use AA or AAA batteries, then the Energizer Recharge would make a great stocking stuffer to go along with them or make great little gift by itself. It retails for about $40.
If you are looking for a budget alternative but not as fully featured as the fast charger, there is a value charger. It is of equal quality. However, this model requires charging of batteries in pairs only, has an AC adapter only and charge times start at four hours. The Energizer Recharge Value sells for about $29. Energizer Chargers are available at your favourite retailer including London Drugs.
Photos courtesy Energizer Brands, LLC.
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Greg Gazin is the Real Canadian Gadget Guy, Columnist, Speaker, Podcaster & Author.
Technology – Entrepreneurship – Communications
Follow me on Twitter @gadgetgreg
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