Duracell Rechargeable CEF22 Multi-Battery Charger

I've long used re-chargeable batteries and this is my fifth charger and is, with ease, the best one I've owned. The greatest feature of this device is that it notifies you when you have a faulty battery with a red flashing light.

I was being driven insane with previous chargers apparently charging my batteries but then have the units I was powering fail after a very short period of time. So I'd buy more re-chargeable batteries, but still the duff ones would remain in the loop.

With this charger, I've identified the faulty batteries and recycled. For this feature alone I'd recommend this charger ahead of all others.

Also note though it's a large unit, capable of charging 8 batteries at a time , AA, AAA, C or D, or one 9v PP3, with a separate power supply.

Wish I'd bought one sooner.

Duracell charger:

Pros:
- Good size and weight to it. It does not feel cheaply made even though it is plastic. Hinged lid with an oval gap in it to avoid overheating. Seperate plug which makes it easy to place charger. Main batteries are held in place by sprung loaded compartments
- Individual lights for each battery. Each battery is assigned an led charging light so makes charging indvidual batteries a plus
- Charges individual batteries
- Charger avoids overcharging cells
- 110 - 240v ac can be used overseas

Possible Cons:
There are no major flaws that i am aware of as it does everything i need it to (only used AA and AAA in the charger)...

- Obviously not a quick charger, will take about 4 to 6 hours for most batteries. So if you do not need batteries fast it is not a con. Just stock up on some rechargables and keep them ready in the charger, duracell supremes are cheap on marketplace, so stock up.

First I must say I think this charger is utterly brilliant. To be able to successfully charge a mixture of batteries at the same time, each with their own light to indicate progress (well, whether they are not charging, charging or charged, anyway) and charge any number of them up to 8 is a versatility lacking in all the chargers I researched - even the more expensive ones. There are, however, some points you may wish to consider.

Don't trash the batteries when the red light flashes!

Some reviewers have said that they throw away a battery if the red light flashes because they believe it has come to the end of its life or that it is faulty. Of course, this may well be true in many cases but not always, so please don't throw them away until you have checked that they are correctly inserted. This was touched on by one reviewer last April but needs emphasizing.

It is a bit awkward to insert a battery - you can't just press it into a battery slot like you do in equipment where in such they would have no room to move. The charger has spring-loaded arms which you pull and hold back while you insert the battery into an area that has no walls either side to restrain it. It is very easy NOT to fit it properly. I have found that a battery just needs to have moved slightly off 'centre' for the red light to flash. Thin light batteries (AA and AAA) have a tendency to move more than the wide heavy ones (C and D). At first I thought I had bought dud batteries - some of the batch showed the stable red light for charging while some were flashing red - but a little adjustment of position and the red light stops flashing. All the batteries successfully charged. This was a minor drawback for me as I soon became adept at whipping them in and out without the false alarms.

As an aside, when there may be other reasons for rejection, someone in comments suggests using a non intelligent charger first then an intelligent charger such as this one will accept them. This would of course mean buying a second charger and you would have no guarantee that this would work for your batteries.

Don't expect the batteries to charge quickly

Another well reviewed point is how long the batteries take to charge. The Product Description here says 6-8 hours. To my mind it depends on too many variables: age (battery that is not yours!), capacity, etc., to be that explicit. This charger isn't regarded as a 'fast' charger in the technical sense of the term. My 7dayshop Rechargeable C and D Ni-Mh 3000mAh batteries take about 6 hours to charge but they may not be completely drained when I recharge them - they are removed from the equipment when the equipment ceases to work! When I charged my Sanyo Eneloop AAA (HR-4UTGA) min 750mAh and AA (HR-16UTGA) min 1,900mAh batteries for the first time they took less than an hour but apparently even after 3 years storage they retain 75% of their capacity. I haven't had to recharge them since as I've only been using them for a short while. One review comment says that the 9V battery takes 8-10 hours; the chart on the instructions you receive with the charger says 10 hours.

To be honest, it matters not to me how long they take to charge but it may well influence your decision to buy or not to buy. I just sit the charger on a shelf and leave it to look after itself - the batteries can't overcharge so can be harvested when needed. If you have energy-hungry equipment you'll know that keeping backup batches of the various types you need is a good idea and the incredibly slow draining advantage when stored make Eneloops my choice.

It has to be large in order to hold 8 batteries

Its large size has been an issue for some. I actually expected it to be bigger to accommodate 8 batteries! Interestingly, although it has been mentioned many times in reviews I can't find one that has given the dimensions and they are not in the Product Description here. So, in case it's of use to you the dimensions are (WxDxH) 8 x 4.2 x 2.5 inches viz 203 x 106 x 63 millimetres. Height includes the feet. I don't think the designers could have trimmed it down further and it's really quite attractive with its curves and smokey plastic cover. It is after all designed for household use.

It has no integral On/Off switch

You have to switch it on at the electric socket where you insert the adaptor.

Be careful opening the plastic packaging it comes in

A very good point another reviewer made is in regard to its factory packaging. It is completely encased in that very hard, very tough, almost impossible to cut plastic. I had to use carpet/metal/... cutting scissors to chop it out and the edges of the cut plastic can cause nasty damage/cuts to your hands. I got a few scrapes; that reviewer got cuts! Why on earth manufacturers still (for as long as I can remember they have and that's a very long time!) package such goods in these sealed near impenetrable plastic cocoons is a mystery.