Home > Consumer Reviews > BC1HU 110-240V Universal Fast Smart Charger for AA/AAA/C/D/9V Rechargeable Batteries

The "Tenergy Speedy Box" (aka "Ni-Cd & Ni-MH Computer Controlled Smart Charger" Model BC-1HU) is, as of this writing, the best (and one of the fastest) smart chargers I've owned yet.

Likes:

* CAPACITY: it has 2 groups of charging bays. The first (located in it's upper right corner) can handle two 9v batteries. The second (under it's silver lid) can handle 4 of any combination of the following types: AAA, AA, C, D. The charger can handle both NiCad and NiMHi.

* ERGONOMICS: There's no need to toggle any switches in order to handle different types of batteries ... the charger's CPU automatically detects the size and type (NiCad or NiMHi) of any given battery placed into any individual charging slot, and it automatically adjusts the charging curve for that slot to the optimum method ... and you can mix and match different types of batteries in different cells, and it will individually charge and monitor each one independantly.

* SPEED: Because this charger is truly 'smart', it can quickly sense when a battery has reached full charge and switch that one battery to standby (the LED for that battery will change from Red to Green) ... which really helps extend battery life by avoiding unnecessary overcharging (esp when the power blinks and would otherwise trigger another full charging pass in many older 'dumb' chargers). The only battery type that takes an unusually long time is the 9v, but that's probably true of all chargers.

NITS:

* I wish the two 9v charging slots each had their own individual charge status LED (like the other 4 slots in the main bay do). Other than that, I'm very happy with this unit. Waxing philosophical for a moment - it'd be nice if someone would make a true "universal" charger that could also handle things like IPods, Cellphones, Car Batteries, etc. (each whith they own connecting adaptor), but that sort of technology convergence is still a ways off in the future.

Highly recommended - I've owned mine since early 2006.

Also recommended are the Tenergy 2600 mAh AA batteries, which have very good capacity and lifespan. I use them in everything that can handle the slightly decreased voltage inherent in rechargeables. This charger, and my batteries, have already paid for themselves several times over. Newer users will reach their break-even point even faster than I did, because this charger's price is now (as of this writing) less than half what it cost me when it first came out.

I bought one of these chargers about five years ago when it was a brand-new model, and considerably more expensive. Still, considering the near-constant use it has seen charging my large collection of batteries that sustain my digital existence, the investment has paid off several times over. This represents many hundreds of charges. At its current price, it is quite competitive with the handful of newer models that have digital readouts (in contrast to simple red and green LEDs,) and has the added advantage of being able to handle C-and D-cells, a feature I call upon frequently.

This is a real "smart charger." That means a microprocessor monitors the charge status of the batteries to ensure that they are not overcharged, and as far as I can tell, it works the way it is supposed to. In five years, I have only thrown out two cells, whose failure is most likely attributable to their dubious origin. Better types, like the "generic" Tenergy batteries, have worked flawlessly with heavy use; the same goes for the Sanyo Eneloops and Rayovac hybrids. //my two cents

I've had many battery chargers over the years and this is the best by far.
It will charge one battery or up to four batteries at the same time. If I'm having a problem with batteries not holding a charge well when charged in another charger I'll charge them in this charger and if the battery is any good it will hold a charge longer than if charged in faster chargers or chargers that don't have a circuit for each battery.

Recommend five stars.

Tenergy calls this "Universal Fast Smart Charger for All Batteries". But splashed on the box (readable after you've paid your money:), it says it's only for NiMH and NiCd batteries- no lithium for example. And there used to be chargers that claimed they could recharge regular batteries. It has limitations for 9Vs also. (See below.)

I bought this because I had been limping along with an '80s NiCd charger. I bought two 9V rechargeables for a new gadget. -This charger will do my new 9Vs and my old NiCds too. Then there are the 10 or 20 AA/AAA NiMHs that had probably never been accurately recharged before. (One reviewer questions this charger's accuracy, but I'm giving Tenergy the benefit of the doubt for now. With more experience, maybe I'll change my tune.)

Very helpful that it can charge one battery at a time. (My old one charges in pairs.) It is really 4 single-battery smart chargers in one box, plus two 9V chargers.

There's a handy feature, never really explained. You can use the Tenergy "charger" to discharge batteries before beginning to recharge them.... I take it this is for the NiCds- a type of battery that has "memory". So if you (still) have some of these batteries, be sure to use the discharge mode on them, prior to recharging.

But...

I don't believe this is a smart charger for 9Vs. Unless I am mistaken, it simply charges one or two 9Vs for 14 hours and then stops. -This is the reason I gave 4 stars rather than 5. I haven't tried it with C or D batteries.

It only charges, at most, 4 AA/AAA at a time. This charger is much larger than my old one but charges the same max number of batteries at a time.

It can't be left plugged in when there are no batteries charging. This is inconvenient; I liked to have my old charger at the ready. The need to unplug the charger stems (I believe) from the charger's power pack. But on the bright side, the power pack has a sideways plug so that when the charger *is* plugged in, it doesn't take up as much space on a power strip.

I have a set of tenergy Cs and Ds and although this charger works with them fairly quickly, I'm not convinced its charging them completely. Of course there's no way to check this, and it could also be the batteries, but it seems like 4 Cs should last longer than 3 days when non-rechargeable batteries last 3 weeks in the same device.

Charge speed is decent, meaning overnight at the most. Build quality is pretty good. One of the green status lights died the 1st night we used it, but that's not really critical. If the red light is off then its done.

Far better than the other chargers we've tried.