As can be seen in the figure, the main draw of the Duracell GoEasy Recharger ($12.99) is its succinct size — no wall wart nor long cable needed. One of the several new Duracell “Smart Power Initiative” devices, it is a an unpretentious little charger for AA or AAA Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries. It is compact and unobtrusive – note that the two AC prongs fold up for storage.
Here are its pedigree points:
- Charges two AA or AAA NiMH batteries in about 8 hours
- Turns off charging when complete, displays red LED during charging, green when charging is complete (see figure)
- Comes with 2 AA NiMH batteries, 1700 mAH at 1.2 V
- Prongs fold up for storage
- Input: 120V AC/60Hz, 2W
- Outupt: 2.8v DC/300 mA (for 2 AA), 2.8v DC 140 mA (for 2 AAA)
The GoEasy is light weight and truly portable and can fit in a backpack or roll on luggage (or a kitchen drawer) without getting snagged or caught. But it still takes a long time to charge, and it only charges two batteries at a time. And this may be fine for some consumers, depending on their requirements. I’d probably be inclined to go for the Duracell GoMobile device, however, which can not only charge four batteries, but purportedly can do so in only an hour, and comes with a car lighter adapter (see The-Gadgeteer review for the Duracell GoMobile Charger.)
The GoEasy is a nice and inexpensive though not flashy charger.
Product Information
| Price: | $12.99 |
| Manufacturer: | Duracell |
| Pros: |
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My all time favorite is the Energizer Dock and Go charger. Charges 8 batteries, AA/AAA is very small. 4 batteries per “pod” I can just grab a green (charged) pod, and have 4 charged batteries to toss i my gaget bag. Keeps the batteries from being loose too.
http://www.opticsplanet.net/energizer-dock-and-go-battery-charger-chpcwb-4.html
I never thought about getting a battery charger UNTIL my son said:
“I want a Remote Control car!”
I immediately knew I had to get a battery charger or we would go bankrupt. I read a lot of reviews about numerous chargers but then realized that the most vocal people were photography professionals who really need the best possible chargers and batteries so I decided to discard fantasies of getting a heavy duty charger with a display for each battery because I would not be doing what I intended to do in the first place: “SAVE MONEY”. I did however learn that quick chargers can be a bit problematic and can “ruin” a batteries life, that you should be careful not to drop the batteries cause the impacts can damage them unlike the regular batteries. I wrote an article about my AA and AAA Battery Charger where I still update how long it has been working and on what charge I am.
p.s.
I am now at a positive zero and am happy I went with a “keep it simple stupid” solution