How long does a battery charger normally take to charge rechargeable batteries?

[Mr Allen]

I have a charger plugged in in the Lounge now, it's been plugged in about an hour already, and I don't know how long a full charge would take.

 

[AGXStarseed]

I have a charger plugged in in the Lounge now, it's been plugged in about an hour already, and I don't know how long a full charge would take.

This may help:
NiMH Battery Charger FAQ

 

[Autistamatic]

It's one of those "how long is a piece of string" questions. It depends on the capacity of the cell, the charge rate of the charger itself, how low the cell is, what condition the cell is in and in some chargers, how many cells you are charging at once. My Nitecore D4 will charge one or two cells at 750mAh but 3 or 4 at 500mAh so charging 2 cells at once is 33% faster than charging 3.
Any decent charger should at least have an indicator LED that changes colour when the cells are all charged. Best to have spare cells fully charged for when you put the spent ones into charge. If you get good quality cells - they are higher capacity and better quality but that means they take longer to charge than Poundland el cheapos. If you get Duracell or Ever Ready in a supermarket you'll be OK or IKEAs own "LADDA" brand are great quality and really good value

 

[Judge]

I'd be more inclined to say that there's too many basic variables to provide a concise answer. That in most cases it comes down to the ambient temperature and a battery's remaining capacity, apart from the type and quality of the battery itself.

In the case of the recharger that comes with my Canon DSLR, I don't think it's ever fully recharged the battery in less than two hours. I'm just stoked that after ten years the damn thing still works good as new.

Though it's also why I always recharge such batteries at night and never in the daytime when I need them.

 

[Autistamatic]

Yep, forgot about temperature . Another thing is not charging cells overnight or unattended - it's very low risk but if a lithium cell goes pop it can be quite spectacular.
I usually charge a couple of 18650 lithium cells every day, phones, tablets and the AAs and AAAs that go in our torches and wireless controls. Nothing is ever left unattended whether lithium or NiMH.

 

[Sherlock77]

One hour is a reasonable time frame, depending on what the device is... My cell phone charges up fast, most do these days... My camera battery can take two or three hours, never actually timed it

 

[Fino]

It's one of those "how long is a piece of string" questions. It depends on the capacity of the cell, the charge rate of the charger itself, how low the cell is, what condition the cell is in and in some chargers, how many cells you are charging at once. My Nitecore D4 will charge one or two cells at 750mAh but 3 or 4 at 500mAh so charging 2 cells at once is 33% faster than charging 3.
Any decent charger should at least have an indicator LED that changes colour when the cells are all charged. Best to have spare cells fully charged for when you put the spent ones into charge. If you get good quality cells - they are higher capacity and better quality but that means they take longer to charge than Poundland el cheapos. If you get Duracell or Ever Ready in a supermarket you'll be OK or IKEAs own "LADDA" brand are great quality and really good value

I think that's the most I've learned in relation to time spent learning.. It's like a rubber band ball of things I didn't know! I've never heard that string thing, and I love it!

 

[Autistamatic]

@Fino there's another one I had no idea had not crossed the pond. I must admit this forum has been an education for me too regarding American idioms. Obviously we pick up a lot from US media as I'm sure you do from British media, but I find myself googling phrases, brands and products often which can lead me in interesting directions.
Just the other day @Pats mentioned "Pioneer Woman" in relation to crockery, so I looked it up and it led me after a few clicks to a recipe for a "Patty Melt" which I'd never heard of before. Sounds ruddy delicious! But I'll have to schedule a week of fasting after making it to compensate

how long is a piece of string? (phrase) definition and synonyms | Macmillan Dictionary

 

[Tom]

When all else fails, read the instructions.

 

[Pats]

@Fino there's another one I had no idea had not crossed the pond. I must admit this forum has been an education for me too regarding American idioms. Obviously we pick up a lot from US media as I'm sure you do from British media, but I find myself googling phrases, brands and products often which can lead me in interesting directions.
Just the other day @Pats mentioned "Pioneer Woman" in relation to crockery, so I looked it up and it led me after a few clicks to a recipe for a "Patty Melt" which I'd never heard of before. Sounds ruddy delicious! But I'll have to schedule a week of fasting after making it to compensate

how long is a piece of string? (phrase) definition and synonyms | Macmillan Dictionary

Just like life - we never know what things we actually are passing along.

 

[Pats]

When all else fails, read the instructions.

I refuse to take orders from a box

 

[Mr Allen]

I'd be more inclined to say that there's too many basic variables to provide a concise answer. That in most cases it comes down to the ambient temperature and a battery's remaining capacity, apart from the type and quality of the battery itself.

In the case of the recharger that comes with my Canon DSLR, I don't think it's ever fully recharged the battery in less than two hours. I'm just stoked that after ten years the damn thing still works good as new.

Though it's also why I always recharge such batteries at night and never in the daytime when I need them.

I'd be more inclined to say that there's too many basic variables to provide a concise answer. That in most cases it comes down to the ambient temperature and a battery's remaining capacity, apart from the type and quality of the battery itself.

In the case of the recharger that comes with my Canon DSLR, I don't think it's ever fully recharged the battery in less than two hours. I'm just stoked that after ten years the damn thing still works good as new.

Though it's also why I always recharge such batteries at night and never in the daytime when I need them.

Charging stuff overnight? BAD idea, the chargers can catch fire for a start, especially the cheap ones made in Chinese sweat shops.

That's what I learned when I used to volunteer with the local Fire service a few years back.

Also, the charger was on for about 2 hours last night, and when I put the batteries in the new camera they'd only got about half a charge on them, therefore logic dictates a full charge would be 4 hours.

 

[Judge]

Charging stuff overnight? BAD idea, the chargers can catch fire for a start, especially the cheap ones made in Chinese sweat shops.

That's what I learned when I used to volunteer with the local Fire service a few years back.

Though it's also why I always recharge such batteries at night and never in the daytime when I need them.

No, no, no. Not overnight. -At night. There's a difference.

When you- or most people are at home and periodically checking on the status of the charging.

Day or night, you never recharge anything unattended. And you don't want to leave the battery in the charger any longer than it takes to fully charge it to limit the exposure itself.

 

[Autistamatic]

the chargers can catch fire for a start, especially the cheap ones made in Chinese sweat shops.

Most of the battery chargers you'll find in the shops were made in China, including the good quality ones. Just like the rest of the world, there are cruddy, unfit goods made in China and there are top of the range high quality goods made there.

 

[Judge]

Most of the battery chargers you'll find in the shops were made in China, including the good quality ones. Just like the rest of the world, there are cruddy, unfit goods made in China and there are top of the range high quality goods made there.

I won't even touch one unless it has the specific and proper Underwriters Laboratories seal usually found on the back of the charger. Though this doesn't preclude a possibility of counterfeit UL approval.

As a simple rule of thumb, if they have no such seal at all, don't buy it.

How to Spot Counterfeit UL Labels

 

[Autistamatic]

We don't have UL labels over here. We have the CE mark which replaced the old BSI kitemark. That's not as easy to police but it's a good start. Buying from reputable retailers and manufacturers with a good record on customer complaint handling is as good a guide over here.

 

[Judge]

We don't have UL labels over here. We have the CE mark which replaced the old BSI kitemark. That's not as easy to police but it's a good start. Buying from reputable retailers and manufacturers with a good record on customer complaint handling is as good a guide over here.

It's where distributors carry a huge degree of liability for such devices manufactured in China. Where they have to be vigilant to an extreme in re-inspecting their products before wholesale and retail distribution.

 

[Autistamatic]

It's the same for distributors and retailers in Europe - they are all responsible for the goods they import. It's one of the problems with the current Brexit deal, because it scraps a lot of those consumer protections, but that's a discussion for a different section

 

[Fino]

Does all this stuff about charging applying to everything like phones and stuff or only to whatever this thread is about? I used to charge my phone overnight every night. Is that bad?

 

[Autistamatic]

Phones usually have protection circuits built in as do most quality chargers, but it's best not to charge anything with a lithium battery unsupervised. The risk is low, but the consequences of those rare failures can be severe.