Charges Even BAD Batteries Erroneously Reported By Duracell and Energizer Chargers
919239
I have two other chargers prior to buying this Sony charger -- a&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Duracell-15-Minute-Charger/dp/B000FGGG34/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Duracell 15-Minute Charger</a>&nbsp;and an Energizer 30-Minute Charger (which has been discontinued). Both frequently report BAD batteries. The Duracell charger even reports brand new fresh-out-of-the-package Duracell and Energizer rechargeable batteries as bad.

I tried recharging the batteries from my "bad" pile with the Sony charger, and it recharged every single one of them. As near as I can tell, these batteries held their former full capacity. Note: Sometimes chargers erroneously report batteries as bad simply because the batteries are over-discharged -- these chargers will simply refuse to charge them (in the case of the Duracell charger, if it detects one bad battery in one of the slots, it won't charge the batteries in ALL the slots).

This Sony charger has revived the batteries that my other chargers won't charge. I wish I had found this charger sooner; it would've saved me all the frustration with my other two chargers. It may take 4 hours to charge my batteries, but that's okay, I have literally dozens of batteries I can now charge and cycle through. I see why this battery charger's received, as of this writing, sixty 5-star reviews, twelve 4-star reviews, and only ONE 3-star review and ONE 1-star review, for an average of 5 solid stars (a rarity for any product with over ~50 reviews). HIGHLY, HIGHLY Recommended!
481386
The cells I received were NOT 5000mAh.  One was a complete DOA.  The other three appeared to be OK.  I purchased an Opus BT-C3400 Charger/Tester (awesome - 5 Stars) and tested these cells.  The test results indicated they were actually: 1120mAh (22.4% of rated capacity), 914mAh (18.2%), 818mAh (16.3%), and the bad cell tested at 1mAh (0.02%).  I was concerned that the results may have been an error on the part of the Opus BT-C3400; so I purchased and tested some of the NCR18650B cells that are rated at 3400mAh.  The four I have currently tested resulted in 3567, 3566, 3542, and 3539.  Notice that all four tested ABOVE their rated capacity.  This is as it should be.  The UltraFire cells are junk!
The charger that comes with them seemed OK.
3976220
Connectors are horrible -- lucky to get 3 batteries charging at once and one won't work at all.
1895712
Batteries won't charge.  Dont know if bad batteries or charger
45256
The SC 3500-3 charger was not working on arrival of the package despite the "passed" sticker on the backside. I am very disappointed. Now I am working abroad and it seems to be tedious to initiate a replacement process. The charger goes over from blinking green to solid red when the battery connected. The manual says: replace the battery. Come on! The battery is brand new! Checking with multimeter shows that it is still 12 V charged. The multimeter do not show any current from the charger (not from the connector, not from the extension cable). Amazon already shut down the return policy but how to file a replacement request? I urge everyone test thoroughly every function of your device purchased on Amazon, if a month passes the return is impossible and a guarantee replacement is hopeless. I will be cautious to shop here again.
400864
I purchased a 4-pack of&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Ultrafire-1-2V-1500mAh-AAA-NiMH-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B012FQ91X8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Ultrafire 1.2V 1500mAh AAA NiMH Rechargeable Batteries</a>, just to check out the incredible capacity rating. I'm fully aware that most off-brand rechargeable batteries have exaggerated capacity numbers. But I figured that even if those batteries only deliver 50% of advertised capacity, it is still a reasonable value. I was wrong!

The batteries I received have the brand name of "UltraFire" and the capacity marking of "Min. 1500mAh" printed on each cell. I tested them upon arrival, using my&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/La-Crosse-BC1000-battery-charger-analyzer/dp/B004J6DLD4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">La Crosse BC1000 battery charger/analyzer</a>. Here are my findings:
- Right out of the package, the average remaining charge is only 100mAh
- After the first charge/discharge cycle, the average capacity increased to 223mAh
- After another 4-5 cycles in Refresh/Discharge mode, the average capacity increased marginally to 259mAh. This is just 17% of the rated capacity of '1500mAh'.

Just in case the fault is with my charger, I then used another slow charger (the&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/iGogreen-Green-Energy-Battery-Charger/dp/B00669QW6U/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">iGogreen Green Energy Battery Charger</a>) to top-off those batteries AFTER they were fully charged by the BC1000. Even with this extra step, the capacity only increased slightly to 264mAh. The spread is also relatively large (min=226, max=293), which indicates poor quality control.

What does this mean?
The capacity rating of those UltraFire rechargeable AAA cells is completely bogus. You'll need to connect SIX of those cells in parallel, in order to achieve the advertised '1500mAh' capacity. But how can companies get away with such blatant false advertisement? They probably assume that most average users cannot tell the real capacity of their batteries anyway. Well, now that you have read this review, you know better.

Bottom Line:
Don't waste your money on this or any other products from UltraFire. In case you're looking for inexpensive rechargeable batteries with honest capacity ratings, consider the following low-self-discharge NiMH batteries:
-&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Tenergy-Centura-AAA/dp/B0040ZKD5I/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Tenergy Centura AAA</a>&nbsp;: rated 800mAh, tested ~900mAh.
-&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/GP-ReCyko-Rechargeble-AAA/dp/B000NWIIE0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">GP ReCyko Rechargeble AAA</a>&nbsp;: rated 820mAh, tested ~880mAh.
-&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/AmazonBasics-Pre-Charged-Rechargeable-AAA/dp/B00CWNMW1S/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">AmazonBasics Pre-Charged Rechargeable AAA</a>: rated 800mAh, tested ~820mAh.
1497613
As with other I have a Battery Analyzer also.  I bought four of these, the three that would take a charge they're only 3300 to 3400mAh which is half or less than the stated 6800mAh.  The fourth one is DOA after arriving here on "life support" at 0.687 volt. (way under the 2.5 volt discharge limit)
For those not familiar with Li-ion batteries the technology is limited.  The 18650 size has a limit of around 3400mAh today and the 26650 is hard to find a "real" one much over 5200mAh.  The Chinese battery market is flooded with FAKES batteries which are usually recycled, reject or low capacity batteries repackaged as new high power batteries hoping no one will notice.

Beside this they arrived wrapped in cheap shipping tape which never comes off clean.
3956559
I ordered 2 different batteries 1-7.4 5200mah-2c  I brought it home and charged them both the 11.1 perfect-----the 7.4 will not accept volts  charges on my common sense charger and it is the only one out of 12 or so lipo's  Need to exchange for a replacement will see how hard this process goes
1310635
So the batteries were great, but the charger was terrible. I kid you not that the charger didn't even fit the batteries! I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture before I threw the charger out. It was literally too long for the batteries. Meaning, you put the batteries in the charger and there is half an inch of space at least between the end of the battery and the connection point of the charger. It actually made me laugh really hard at first, until I realized I was out a battery charger
4454652
This device has a major problem, batteries that are discharged below .9V are not recognized and cannot be charged.  So if batteries get fully drained, you will be unable to charge them.  This forces you to buy another charger (not all chargers have this limitation) or throw perfectly good batteries away.  Not sure how this slipped by so many reviewers.........
3754503
Batteries are fine but the charger is acualy the worst made thing ever I put a batteries in the wrong way once and the coils turned bright red and shriveled up I still don't know if it acualy works but the barrettes work fine
755847
I find that it charges much faster than my old Duracell chargers.

But I have one problem: I can't get AAA batteries to fit into the charger!!??  I've tried both Eneloop and Duracell AAAs.  I put the negative end in and then try to push down the positive end.  This causes the negative end to pop out, no matter how hard I hold it down.

I'm going to keep it because I like what does for AAs, but this is a perplexing problem.  Is it just me?
3652309
Put in batteries that take a charge perfectly well on Powerex chargers, and this thing just flashes a blinking solid battery indicating the battery is bad. It does this on about 1 out of 3 rechargeables I own, across brands, and both new and old, for no reason whatsoever.

The exact same batteries charge up perfectly on the PowerEx charger that I moved downstairs. What good are 16 bays if I can't use them?
3448362
Does not vacumm. Overheats batteries ( new, duracell batteries) to the point of danger when handling
1469275
I have been through 2 units that do not even accept a charge, right out of the box, so far.
Yes, I know that the unit has to be powered on in order to charge.  Charger works for one battery but not the other.
One (1) of the first ones delivered is working good though.  Using to power 12V LED accessory lights.
The original 2 units delivered had a small led protruding through the plastic case and no "USB" charger port that is not a feature.
2nd one Battery lights up when charging but does not hold a charge.  Caution: battery light is powered on when plugged in regardless of whether the power switch is on or off.
The 1st replaced one was a different design that had the indicator light built into the power switch.
Now the item is under review by Amazon and I'm being told that they are investigating.  Maybe they have been stored too long or in a non-temp controlled warehouse in Vegas - where my batteries have shipped from.
4400799
The only good thing to say about this charger is that it taught me this important lesson:

  -> BATTERY LIFE IS AFFECTED BY CHARGE RATE <-

After I bought the Duracell 15-minute charger, it seemed like my batteries were not lasting as long.  I would put them into my keyboard and very soon thereafter I would be told that the batteries were too low.  That's odd, I thought these were pretty new.... why don't they hold a charge for very long?

I blame this charger.

After I perceived a pattern of short battery life, it taught me to investigate other chargers such as the highly rated and popular (#3 in chargers at this moment)&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/La-Crosse-Technology-Alpha-Power-Battery-Charger-BC1000/dp/B004J6DLD4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">La Crosse Technology Alpha Power Battery Charger, BC1000</a>&nbsp;which lets you pick how quickly you want to recharge.

By default, the La Crosse charges slowly, which is better for battery life.

"Wait, wait, that's a myth!"  [...... or not? ....]

If you research NIMH battery life, you will find claims that it is perfectly safe to charge quickly if you do it right; and even claims that slow charging is worse than fast charging.  To address these, I think it appropriate to add some:

TECHNICAL NOTES

Apparently, there are many ways to reduce the life of NIMH batteries, including:
  * using them at the wrong temperature
  * or charging them for too long with a charger that does not automatically cut off when they are full;
  * or having the wrong type of sensor for "full" (there are many ways to attempt to sense this);
  * or discharging them too far;
  * or - and this just might be the variable that killed my batteries - mixing and matching batteries that have
  .... different capacities (2600 mAh vs. 2300 vs. 2000),
  .... or different manufacturers,
  .... or even differences in their lifecycle.

For example, if you put 3x Duracell 2650 mAh batteries into your device, and two of them are brand new, fully charged while the third is 18 months old and has been charged/discharged many times, allegedly this is also bad for battery life.

It's all about the "full" sensor:

From what I've read, it seems that having the right sensor for "full" is absolutely central to battery life.
  * If you use a fast charger, and the charger fails to shut off when the battery is full, you will damage the battery.
  * If you use a slow charger, but the charger is not smart enough to realize that it should shut off when you forget about it and leave it connected for 6 days, that's also bad.

Supposedly, if you have a well-designed charger working with the right type of batteries at the right temperature, using the right method to sense "full" and with a "backup" sensor in case the primary does not detect it .... if you have all that, then, supposedly, fast charging is safe and does not noticeably affect battery life.

All I can tell you about the "Duracell 15 minute" charger is that it often ran longer than 15 minutes - sometimes much, much longer.  Perhaps that was an indicator that its "full" sensor was not working

So... myth or not myth?  Is fast charging bad, or not?

Maybe it's ok in perfectly controlled conditions in the lab.  In real life, with this particular charger, it seemed to me that I had a lot of batteries die during the months that I used it.

RECOMMENDATION: spend the money to get the&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/La-Crosse-BC1000/dp/B004J6DLD4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">La Crosse BC1000</a>
2474038
I am having a very similar experience to the customer "soundsgood" who posted the negative comment on this charger. New batteries out of the package are being reported as "BAD" by the charger, yet only in charger bay #3. When I place the same battery in another bay later, discharge it, then charge again, it accepts the battery & fully charges it. Said battery holds it's charge just as long as the others, so I hold the charger suspect in this case. The charger has reported 18 of my new batteries bad, when they are all perfectly fine. All of this said, & knowing that I can deceive the charger into charging the "bad" batteries by putting it into another charging bay,thus doing the job for which it was employed, I will say that this is the best charger I have ever used, despite it's glaring defect, as one usually finds in 1 out of 10 electronic devices made in China.