Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony Quick Battery Charger with 4 AA Ni-MH Rechargeable Batteries

It doesn't say so in the product description page here anywhere (and I can't even find this charger on the Sony website), so here you go: it takes about 4.5 hours to fully charge the four 2300mAh batteries that come with the charger. Which I kinda like--I like that it's not a dumb charger (timed charger w/o regard for existing charge or overcharge) like the cheaper Sony charger here on Amazon.com (BCG-34HLD4), nor does it take inordinately long (some others I checked out take as long as 8-12 hours), but it's not a superfast 1-hour charger that super-heats up the batteries during the charge (and potentially reduce the battery service life).

The charger has the outlet plugs built-in, so there is no separate AC adapter. Be sure to keep the charger bay door open during charging to help dissipate the heat.

The batteries are Sanyo-brand ("HR" imprint on them) marketed under the Sony label.

Overall, a nice, compact unit. I recommend it.

This is a very cost effective battery charger. It's a simple flip top design and can charge either four AA or two AAA (You CAN mix them, however you can only charge a maximum of two AAAs at a time). Charge time is generally just over four hours if you charge all four AAs and half that with only two. AAA batteries charge in about an hour and a half by themselves, two hours if paired with AAs.

The charger cuts power to the batteries when they're full. This is a MUST feature as it preserves your battery life extraordinarily. It also is switching (100/240V) meaning you can use it outside the US without hassle (Most of Europe uses 220V). The charger comes bundled with four AA batteries with a 2300mAh capacity which is above standard and last longer. If you have batteries under 2300mAh, this charger can still charge them and cut off the power when necessary (The batteries must be NiMH however).

My only complaint with this would be the fact that the charger just has a flip up/down plug. If you have plugs sitting side by side facing downwards, the charger will occupy three slots. On a standard wall plug (Side by side with the plugs lying horizontal) it only takes up one plug however. You can easily overcome this by using an extension if needed.

All in all, I can 100% recommend this charger. There's another Sony charger slightly cheaper than this one (the BCG-34HLD4). However, pay the extra couple bucks and get this one as the other does not have a power cut off feature. If you need AAA batteries, get the Sony AAA two pack (Model NH-AAA-B2C, Amazon carries them) which are 800mAh.

There is an important feature for this charger (Sony BCG-34Hx) that makes it an excellent buy: it charges each cell individualy.

Most low-cost slow chargers force you to charge cells in pairs. That is, either 2 or 4 cells. This smart charger allows you to put in 1, 2, 3 or 4 cells at any time. Each cell is charged individually and stopped whenever it gets full. The only problem is that the indicator lamp only changes color when ALL cells are fully charged. So even if three out of four cells are ready, you cannot start using any of them until the last one is done.

Why is charging NiMH cells in pairs a very bad idea? Beacuse no two cells have identical capacities. Even if you start with two new cells of the same brand, their capacities will drift apart after several cycles. When you charge two cells in series, the one with lower capacity will be over-charged, and this will only accelerate the disparity in capacity next time. Eventually you'll end up with cells that can only deliver a fraction of their rated capacities.

Then there's always the problem when your application requires either one or three cells. Now you are left with one drained cell that you cannot charge. If you try to charge a drained cell in series with a full one, the latter will be badly over-charged and may even be damaged from over-heating.


While I'm at it: here are the charging currents for this charger:

- One to two AA cells: 1050mA each
- Four AA cells: 525mA each
- One to two AAA cells: 640mA each


[Update on Nov 22, 2008]
I need to clear up a possible source of confusion here. SONY makes several AA/AAA battery chargers, and their names all start with "BCG-34H". My review above refers to the "BCG-34HE4". If you are looking for a compact charger for both home and travel, this one is your best choice. Be careful when ordering because SONY also makes a "BCG-34HVE4" which looks almost identical, but it is not suitable as a travel charger since it only accepts 110V AC input. Then there is the "BCG-34HRMF4" which is larger and more expensive, but added four LCD battery status indicators. Finally, there is the "BCG-34HUE4" 15-minute charger which you should avoid, because it is very bad for battery lifespan.

In case you like to consider chargers from other makers, I highly recommend the Kodak '1-hour' charger K6200 and the Duracell Mobile Charger CEF23DX4N.

This Sony Charger replaces the Walmart Special I bought for $10. The Walmart batteries lasted less then 10 charges. I'd recommend you purchase an additional set of 4 Sony (2500mah)batteries when you purchase this unit. That will give you a total of 8 batteries. This charger also detects failed batteries (like my Walmart ones) and can charge from 1 to 4 batteries at a time. Also, somewhat unique, is that it has a refresh cycle to recondition batteries that have developed some "memory" and aren't holding a full charge as well as they once did. You'll need 4 to 5 hours for a full charge but if you buy a second set of 4 batteries for about $11.00, the time needed for a recharge really becomes academic. The charger clearly displays the status of each battery through its charge cycle. Really a well thought out device.

As i travel a lot to different places with varying voltages this charger suits me very well. Also the Sony battery which comes along with this is 2500mA which offers the best battery life in any electronic equipment. I kind of like the design of this charger which has the neat charging compartment with shutters. Also this has a automatic cutoff saftey, Voltage monotoring functions, saftey timers which all accounts for the health of the charged battery which in turn yields better battery life.

Another plus point is it charges both AA and AAA Ni-MH batteries with support for 2500mAh,2300mAh,2100mAh,900mAh,800mAh. Phew... so thats a big range in case if u have old lesser mAh Ni-MH batteries. The typical charge time i see from 0-full on 2500mAh is 3hours 10 minutes with all the 4 batteries on which is ok (instead of those fast chargers which kind of heat up the batteries and would reduce some battery life...)

So in over all this is a neat piece of equipment that u must have as u dont need to worry about changing voltages..

Also i booked at Amazon and it came to me pretty fast..Keep it up AMAZON :-)...