Best of the Budget Chargers: BQ-CC55 vs

FCT344 vs BQ-CC17
Editor's Note: I'm pleased to introduce Jim Hyman as a new writer for
FilterJoe for the battery category. With my research and writing energy
mostly devoted to baseball these days, it's great to have another
knowledgeable battery enthusiast on board to research and write articles
with even more depth and testing than I did. Expect more battery related
articles and reviews in the future from Jim, and I will continue to provide
the annual battery update — Joe Golton

Fujitsu
FCT344 vs Panasonic BQ-CC55 vs Panasonic BQ-CC17

We’re here today to look at three advanced compact budget smart battery chargers:
the Panasonic BQ-CC17, the Fujitsu FCT344, and the Panasonic BQ-CC55.

To get the best performance and long life from your low self-discharge (LSD) NiMH
batteries the three most important features are:

1. independent charging bays so that each battery can be properly filled but not
overcharged
2. proper voltage termination for each battery to avoid under charging and over charging
3. overheating detection to prevent damage to batteries and the charger

For more detailed information about these features see What Every Charger Needs and the
Budget Models sections of this site’s Annual Battery Overview.

Note: Fujitsu sells four different budget battery chargers in the U.S. that are bundled with
four or more Fujitsu low self-discharge (LSD) batteries but the FCT344 charger is the only
Fujitsu charger that meets the requirements for an advanced smart charger. The Fujitsu
FCT343-AUFX(CL), FCT345-AUFX(CL) and FCT345-AJ models are not smart battery
chargers. Using dumb chargers will lead to under or overcharging your NiMH batteries more
often than not. Overcharging is not good for the long-term health of your NiMH batteries,
and extreme overcharging at a rapid rate can in some cases lead to safety issues such as
batteries melting down or starting a fire. Undercharging will not damage your batteries, but it
will cause lower run time performance.

The Panasonic Eneloop BQ-CC55 battery charger in North America is available as a stand-
alone charger or it can be bundled with Japanese made Eneloop batteries from the FDK
factory, but for best performance and long life make sure that any Eneloop bundles you buy
indicate that the batteries were made in Japan (see Japan vs. China NiMH battery story).

Features
The BQ-CC17, FCT344 and BQ-CC55 chargers share the following features:

 all chargers are designed to be plugged in to a vertical wall outlet, preferably above a
kitchen counter top
 4 battery bays where each battery can accommodate standard and high capacity AA
and AAA NiMH batteries
 each of the 4 battery bays has its own LED indicator which shows if each battery is
charging, done charging or it is faulty
 The BQ-CC55 has additional LED functionality which seems much more advanced
and helpful in theory but wasn’t too precise in practice—each individual LED starts
red for nearly depleted batteries, switches to yellow if battery is between 20% to 80%
full, and then green when close to full. It also claims the capability of indicating faulty
or non-rechargeable batteries but we found this feature to have several false positives,
where low quality, high self-discharge batteries were indicated as not rechargeable.
Probably the most useful of the different colors was yellow, which did tend to reliably
indicate when a battery was neither close to empty, nor close to fully charged. The
“yellow” color is actually green with a thin yellow color below the main green color.
 you can charge different AA or AAA NiMH battery sizes and brands at the same time
 with the BQ-CC55 and FCT344 chargers the battery charging rate is set by the
charger based on whether you are charging 1 – 2 batteries (faster charge rate) or if you
are charging 3 – 4 batteries (slower, more moderate charge rate)
 the BQ-CC17 charger always uses the 300mA charging rate for AA batteries and it
uses the 150mA rate for AAA batteries
 all chargers are made in China
 In North American, Japanese and European markets, bundled battery kits for all three
chargers are made in Takasaki, Japan at the Fujitsu FDK battery factory. This is the
same factory where Sanyo developed and manufactured the original Eneloop LSD
NiMH batteries.
 In Australia and remaining Asian markets, the bundled battery kits for both Eneloop
chargers (BQ-CC17 and BQ-CC55) will probably have the inferior, made in China
Eneloop battery kits

Charger Dimensions
Model Height Width Depth
BQ-CC17 4.14” 2.5” 1.1”
FCT344 4.45” 2.6” 1.1”
BQ-CC55 4.75” 2.75” 1.1”

Default Charge Rates

Charging times are the time it takes for completely depleted batteries to be fully charged.

Charging Rates for the Eneloop BQ-CC17 Charger

Battery Type Number of Batteries Charging Rate

AA 1, 2, 3, or 4 300mA
AAA 1, 2, 3, or 4 150mA

Charging Rates for the Fujitsu FCT344 Quick Charger

Battery Type Number of Batteries Charging Rate

AA 3 – 4 (normal) 550mA
AA 1 – 2 (quick) 1100mA
AAA 3 – 4 (normal) 280mA
AAA 1 – 2 (quick) 560mA

Charging Rates for the Eneloop BQ-CC55 Charger

Battery Type Number of Batteries Charging Rate

AA 3 – 4 (normal) 750mA
AA 1 – 2 (quick) ~1400mA
AAA 3 – 4 (normal) 275mA
AAA 1 – 2 (quick) 550mA

What is a good, safe charge rate?

With battery chargers, lower charging rates usually generate less heat but this results in
longer charging time to fully fill batteries. The following formula shows the relationship
between charging rate, charging time and battery capacity:

charge rate X charging time = battery capacity

An example: 500mA X 4 hours = 2000mAh

In this example 500mA is five hundred milli-amps where amperage is the rate of current
flow. Battery capacity is measured in mAh (milli-amp hours). A charging rate that is too low
can cause a battery charger to miss the termination signal that signifies that the battery is full
and that the charging process should stop. Using a charging rate that is too high puts more
stress on the battery with higher charging temperatures and gradual degradation of the
battery’s useful life. NiMH batteries do not tolerate being overcharged.

With proper care rechargeable batteries can be recharged many times and will maintain their
rated capacity for many years. Charging NiMH batteries at higher rates often causes higher
battery temperatures while the battery is being charged and if the temperatures are too high,
battery capacity (how much energy it can store) and how many times a battery can be
recharged will be significantly lower. A well designed battery charger has adequate thermal
management protections that will prevent batteries from overheating.

Many battery chargers apply a small trickle charge to batteries when the charging process has
completed. NiMH batteries can tolerate trickle charging for a short period of time. A few
hours of additional trickle charging is OK, but I never let the trickle charge run overnight and
certainly not for several days as this can lead to a shorter battery life. I prefer to use a
charging rate that will fully recharge a fully depleted battery within a three to five hour range,
but I recharge batteries when they begin to show signs that they are slowing down.

NiCD batteries are uncommon in recent years. They are susceptible to “memory” issues
which reduce battery capacity if the NiCD batteries are not fully depleted before recharging.
One of the main reasons they have been replaced by NiMH battery technology is that this is
not an issue with NiMH batteries, which are not susceptible to this “memory effect.” This
means that you can recharge NiMH batteries at any time and not have to worry that the
“memory effect” could lead to lower capacity.

So back to the question, “What is a good, safe charging rate?” And specifically, how about
the charging rates for the 3 budget chargers featured here? The BQ-CC17 has the lowest
charging rates but clearly it is high enough as charging terminated properly with all of our
tests. There does not seem to be many reports of this charger failing to terminate charging.
The question remains as to whether the time-saving higher charging rates of the other two
chargers generate too much heat. The next section answers this question.

Battery Temperatures While Charging

Compact battery chargers have the batteries very close together and this restricts airflow that
can help to cool the batteries. It is normal for NiMH batteries to get lukewarm while they are
being charged. Lightly touching a battery with your finger is good way to verify that battery
temperatures are OK. Lukewarm is fine. Hot batteries, on the other hand, are a sign that
something is going wrong.

Overheating batteries degrades performance and will shorten useful battery life. Overheating
is caused by one or more of the following:

 using a “dumb” battery charger that charges batteries for a fixed length of time that is
too long
 using a smart battery charger with a charge rate that is too low to allow proper charger
termination at the optimal time
 using a charging rate that is too high
  the ambient temperature is too high
 using a battery charger that has faulty thermal management
 charging an older battery where the battery’s internal resistance is too high
 improper battery storage such as leaving batteries in a parked car that receives a lot of
direct sunlight during hot summer days

To prevent overheating, a properly designed battery charger has protective features that
should stop the charging process if temperatures get too high. Better chargers will continue
the charging process after the charger and batteries have cooled sufficiently to safely continue
the charging process.

The following tests were run using Eneloop or Fujitsu low self-discharge batteries:

1. four 2000mAh AA batteries

2. four 950mAh high capacity AAA batteries
3. two 2000mAh AA batteries in battery slots #1 and #4 (left to right)
4. two 2000mAh AA batteries in battery slots #2 and #3
5. two 2000mAh AA batteries in battery slots #1 and #2

Fujitsu FCT344 smart charger

  Battery Size Battery Charge Battery Temperatures During Test

and Capacity Slots Used Rate Low Average High

1 AA 2000mAh 1, 2, 3, 4 550mA 30° (C) 35° (C) 39° (C)
2 AAA 950mAh 1, 2, 3, 4 280mA 3° – 4° (C) lower than test #1
3 AA 2000mAh 1 and 4 1100mA 28° (C) 32° (C) 37° (C)
4 AA 2000mAh 2 and 3 1100mA 31° (C) 35° (C) 38° (C)
5 AA 2000mAh 1 and 2 1100mA 32° (C) 36° (C) 39° (C)

Eneloop BQ-CC17 smart charger

  Battery Size Battery Charge Battery Temperatures During Test

and Capacity Slots Used Rate Low Average High

1 AA 2000mAh 1, 2, 3, 4 300mA 31° (C) 38° (C) 39° (C)
2 AAA 950mAh 1, 2, 3, 4 150mA mid 30° (C) range
Eneloop BQ-CC55 smart charger
  Battery Size Battery Charge Battery Temperatures During Test

and Capacity Slots Used Rate Low Average High

1 AA 2000mAh 1, 2, 3, 4 750mA 35° (C) 38° (C) 41° (C)
2 AAA 950mAh 1, 2, 3, 4 275mA low to mid 30° (C) range
3 AA 2000mAh 1 and 4 1400mA 30° (C) 35° (C) 41° (C)
4 AA 2000mAh 2 and 3 1400mA 34° (C) 41° (C) 48° (C)
5 AA 2000mAh 1 and 2 1400mA 39° (C) 45° (C) 53° (C)*
*test halted, battery too hot to touch

BQ-CC17 Charger Summary

 The BQ-CC17 has been around for several years and is still a popular option.
 There are four independent battery banks and each bank has its own LED indicator.
  Each LED light goes out after a battery has completed its charge and a blinking LED
light means that there is a problem.
 It properly charged the batteries to their rated capacities. Battery temperatures were
always below 40°(C).
 Charging times for batteries are long and require ~ 7 hours for depleted 2000mAh
batteries and ~ 6 hours for depleted 800mAh batteries.
 Charging older NiMH batteries (even the high-discharge variety) is not a problem
unless the battery is too far past its prime.
 You can download Panasonic Eneloop battery charger user manuals from: Panasonic
Charger Manuals

FCT344 Charger Summary

 There are four independent battery banks and each bank has its own LED indicator.
 It properly charged the batteries to their rated capacities. Battery temperatures were
always 39°(C) or lower.
 Battery charging times are:
o ~ 3.6 hours for three or four depleted AA 2000mAh batteries
o ~ 1.8 hours for one or two depleted AA 2000mAh batteries
o ~ 2.9 hours for three or four depleted AAA 800mAh batteries
o ~ 1.4 hours for one or two depleted AAA 800mAh batteries
 Charging with only 1 or 2 AA batteries automatically uses the higher 1100mA
charging rate which is moderately high but the temperatures are well controlled.
 Charging with only 1 or 2 AAA batteries automatically uses the higher 550mA
charging rate which is moderately high. My preference is to charge AAA batteries
using a 300mA to 400mA charge rate.
 If you want to use the lower AA 550mA charging rate or AAA 280mA rate when
charging only one or two batteries, insert additional NiMH batteries until at least 3
battery banks are populated, even if the extra batteries are already fully charged.
 Some older high self-discharge batteries get very hot, especially when only 2 batteries
are inserted and the charge rate is even higher. The FCT344 has circuitry to prevent
overheating which halts charging when the battery gets too hot. This is a good safety
feature, but it does mean that batteries which start to get hot do not get fully charged.

BQ-CC55 Charger Summary

 There are four independent battery banks and each bank has its own colored LED
indicator.
 With four AA or AAA LSD batteries, they were properly charged to their rated
capacities. Battery temperatures were always below 41°(C).
 Battery charging times are:
o ~ 2.7 hours for three or four depleted AA 2000mAh batteries
o ~ 1.4 hours for one or two depleted AA 2000mAh batteries
o ~ 2.9 hours for three or four depleted AAA 800mAh batteries
o ~ 1.5 hours for one or two depleted AAA 800mAh batteries
 Charging with only 1 or 2 AA batteries uses the higher 1400mA charging rate which
is moderately high and the temperatures are well controlled, but when charging two
low self-discharge AA batteries, they must be inserted in the #1 and #4 slots to avoid
over-heating the batteries.
  Charging with only 1 or 2 AAA batteries uses the 560mA charging rate which is
moderately high. My preference is to charge AAA batteries using a 300mA to 400mA
charge rate.
 Testing with four older high self-discharge AA batteries with high internal resistance
caused the batteries to get too hot to touch but the BQ-CC55 charger did not pause or
stop the charging process and temperatures kept rising. It was clear after 5 hours that
the charging was unlikely to ever terminate and the temperature seemed dangerously
hot so the test was halted.
 You can download Panasonic Eneloop battery charger user manuals from: Panasonic
Charger Manuals

And the winner is …

The BQ-CC17 is an oldie but goodie that uses lower charging current and easily handles
older and newer NiMH batteries. Battery temperatures were always below 39°(C) during all
tests. The only drawback is that this charger will take two to four times longer to charge your
NiMH batteries.

If you want noticeably faster charging times, the Fujitsu FCT344 charger easily passed all of
the tests and even with its higher charging current, the battery temperatures were excellent
and were always below 39°(C) during all tests. The only drawback with this charger is that it
can stop charging some older high self-discharge batteries when temperatures get too high
and the charging process is halted.

Panasonic’s BQ-CC55 was slightly warmer than the FCT344 and BQ-CC17 chargers when
charging four NiMH batteries but it was still acceptable. When charging with two AA
batteries, the battery temperatures were noticeably warmer and approached 50°(C) in one test
and rose to 53°(C) before the test could complete. The battery temperature rose to 58°(C)
immediately after the test was halted. Charging with older HSD (high self-discharge)
batteries also resulted in excessively high battery temperatures where they too were too hot to
touch and even after several hours, they were not fully charged.

The BQ-CC55 battery charger has poor (if any) thermal management features and is
potentially dangerous where batteries might melt or it might catch on fire.

Do not use the BQ-CC55 battery charger!

Joe and I are thinking there’s a moral to this story: compact chargers and high charge rates do
not easily mix. If you want to charge at a high rate, you’re better off using one of the larger,
more expensive chargers reviewed elsewhere on this site, as these larger chargers simply do a
better job of dissipating heat.

Author Jim HymanPosted on Published: 3/11/17   Updated: 8/19/17Categories Batteries

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31 thoughts on “Best of the Budget Chargers: BQ-CC55 vs
FCT344 vs BQ-CC17”
1. Ken says:

March 13, 2017 at 7:12 PM

May I know is there any update about the newer one CC55C? It looks more advanced
…

2. Jim Hyman says:

March 13, 2017 at 8:04 PM

Ken, Based on a quick web search it looks like the “C” model is for Asian Markets.
The Panasonic user manual that can be downloaded from their European site refers to
the BQ-CC55E / BQ-CC55U models while my charger is the BQ-CC55A model.

Other than the flip out connector on the back of the charger for the wall plug, I’m not
aware of any differences with the different models. All models should be compatible
with 100 – 240 voltage input.

3. Cássio says:

March 27, 2017 at 7:09 PM

Great review. Would like to say thanks to the author for this and the Best Budget
Charger articles, that’s how I found the Panasonic BQ-CC17 smart charger. I have
recently bought it, and it’s indeed a great charger. It wasn’t cheap in my country, but
was worth every cent spent on it. My batteries are grateful and will live longer,
especially the ones which are not LSD type. The batteries do not get very warm, and I
don’t care much about the charging current being low, as long as it keeps my NiMH
batteries healthy. I put them into the charger in the morning before going to work, and
when I get home in the evening, the batteries are fully charged. It seems to be a very
reliable charger, and I highly recommend it.

Being honest, I don’t think the BQ-CC17 I bought was that expensive. It came
packaged with 4 Eneloop BK-3MCCA AA batteries, made in Japan, making a perfect
combo.

4. Jim Hyman says:

March 27, 2017 at 7:56 PM

Cássio – thank you for your kind words. As you have found out, the BQ-CC17
charger does an excellent job taking care of batteries and it doesn’t have any
shortcomings. Our goal is to provide accurate and useful information that helps
readers make informed decisions.
5. John says:

May 28, 2017 at 9:30 AM

Great review. I have the BQ-CC17 charger. It and the eight BK-3HCCE batteries I
have are only two months old. The batteries were made in Japan and came with the
charger. All went well for a while but now the charger shuts down after about ten min,
which I believe is due to the overheating issue. The batteries get quite hot. I can’t
seem to get them charged because of this problem. I use them for photography
( flash ) and am afraid that I can’t rely on them. I thought about getting another
charger but I don’t know if that will help. All eight batteries do this. I’m not sure what
I should do. I don’t want to throw good money after bad if this will continue to occur.
Does anyone else have this same problem Any comments or suggestions?

6. Joe Golton says:

May 28, 2017 at 10:23 AM

Hi John,

I have never heard of anything like this happening with BQ-CC17 so my best guess
(without having your charger in hand to test) is that you have a faulty charger. If it
were just 1 or 2 batteries I would guess faulty batteries but it’s just about impossible
that 8 batteries would all fail in the same way at the same time. My guess is that the
charger is charging at a rate much higher than the intended design, triggering the
safety cutoff mechanisms.

You should be able to get the charger replaced for free from where you purchased it
or from Panasonic.

7. Jim Hyman says:

May 29, 2017 at 3:02 AM

John,
I agree with Joe’s analysis that your charger is faulty and that the charging rate is too
high. My concern is that your batteries might now have reduced capacity where they
might not be able to be charged to their full capacity or that their designed number of
charge/discharge cycles might be reduced. See if you can exchange your eight nearly
new high capacity batteries with new batteries when you get a new charger.

Let us know how you make out with your replacements. Good luck.

8. Hansen says:

June 4, 2017 at 5:17 PM

I am using BQ-CC16 battery charger and I am having blinking lights issue with
eneloop batteries.
My clock is using 3x AAA batteries and there is always 1 battery that have blinking
 issues and refuse to charge it. And I will need to use an Energizer battery charger to
charge it.
Does BQ-CC17 exhibit the same behaviour? Even new AAA eneloop pro batteries
have the same behaviour. Annoying to find batteries uncharged.

9. Jim Hyman says:

June 4, 2017 at 9:53 PM

Hansen – It sounds like there might be a defective AAA battery slot with your BQ-
CC16 charger. Does the blinking charger light always happen with the same battery
slot? Have you tried to charge the blinking battery by itself in a different battery slot?
Have you labeled each battery with a unique identifier, such as E01, E02, …?

The BQ-CC16 user manual states “For AAA battery, insert from (-) terminal, then
place (+) terminal into (+) contact place.” This is different from the AA battery
installation procedure.

With compact battery chargers, I have found that installing AAA batteries can
sometimes be somewhat tricky and it helps to spin or rotate each battery in its slot to
ensure that it is making full contact. Make sure that the battery and charger contacts
are clean before you insert batteries.

The BQ-CC16 is a fast charger that uses higher charging rates when charging 1 or 2
batteries and a lower charge rate when charging 3 or 4 batteries. The BQ-CC17 is a
slow charger that uses a low charge rate no matter how many batteries are installed.

10. Jacek says:

July 25, 2017 at 8:53 AM

@Jim Hyman At which BQ-CC55 model do you get folded (flip-out) AC pins? There
were in my older BQ-CC16 charger (recommended!!), but I see long bulky protruding
AC pins in my ordered BQ-55CCE (still in plastic blister, as I consider returning the
product due to its bulkiness). BQ-CC16 seems much better option when in travel
(smaller dimensions, folded AC pins).
BQ-CC16 is perfect for my Sanyo and Panasonic Eneloops (both classic white and
black XXs/Pros), but refuses to charge any other NiMH battery (LEDs got blinking).

11. Joe Golton says:

July 25, 2017 at 8:27 PM

Jacek – (this reply is actually from Jim):

The BQ-CC55A model has the folding/flip out 2-pin USA setup. It looks like Europe
has two BQ-CC55 models; E and a U models. I found references to BQ-CC55 C
models in Asia. Check out HKJ’s review of the BQ-CC16 model that comes with a
removable European adapter that is installed over the USA flip out plug. In his
conclusion, HKJ says:
 I would have preferred a lower charge current for more time, instead of the
high current pulses, the pulses may give problems with some old cells.

Check out the discussion in the Eneloops: what charger do I need? (info and
discussion thead) at the CPF forum.

I don’t know if your BQ-CC55E model has a similar removable A.C. adapter. The
BQ-CC16’s flip out adapter is located near the top edge of the charger. The BQ-
CC55’s A.C. plug looks like has a different setup that does not have a removable A.C.
plug, check out this picture.

Your earlier post in the FilterJoe 2016 AA battery update blog did not mention if the
other battery brands were older High Self Discharge types. A fair number of newer
model, higher powered, faster budget chargers have problems with charging older
HSD batteries. With non-eneloop batteries, after you started charging, did you wait
for one or two minutes to see if the blinking green lights would stop blinking?

12. Raymer Tan says:

November 15, 2017 at 5:12 PM

do these chargers discharge batteries to a certain level before charging them? I am

from the philippines and i saw a charger online with a refresh button

Newstar Smart Switching Charger w/ LCD Display

https://www.lazada.com.ph/newstar-smart-switching-charger-w-lcd-display-and-4pcs-
2800-ni-mh-aa-batteries-cec-3fa-57015951.html?
spm=a2o4l.cart.0.0.4f5764dfU5f3ot&mp=1

let me quote
“Has Refresh Function:
Discharges the battery to 1.0V before recharging to eliminate “memory effect or
voltage depression” also known as “Battery Conditioning Function.”

Is this a useless function considering panasonic doesnt have this feature? Or maybe its
built-in already?

13. Joe Golton says:

November 15, 2017 at 10:02 PM

Hi Raymer,

Refresh is a function available on most “premium” chargers. All it does is discharge a

battery down to around 1.0V at a slow, controlled rate, and then recharge to
maximum. This can be useful in two scenarios:

1) You have brand new low self-discharge batteries (LSD batteries) and you want to
bring them up to maximum capacity before using them. I don’t know the chemical
 explanation for it, but typically LSD batteries don’t go up to max capacity the first
time you recharge them. It takes about 3 or 4 discharge/recharge cycles before
capacity stops going up.

2) If you do many partial discharge and recharges, then over the course of years, or
maybe even months, the batteries maximum capacity decreases. In some cases, doing
a refresh will increase the maximum capacity, though probably not all the way back
up to the capacity they were when you first got them and did 3 or 4
discharge/recharge cycles.

Note that I have personally observed scenario 1 many times. I have not observed
scenario 2 to be true for any of my batteries, but on the other hand I haven’t done
much experimenting with it.

14. Jim Hyman says:

November 15, 2017 at 10:03 PM

Raymer Tan,

The three compact battery chargers in this review do NOT discharge batteries. The
refresh function would help reduce “memory capacity” problems with NiCD batteries
and would provide little or no benefit with NiMH batteries.

Discharging batteries down to 1.0 or 0.9 volts is a useful feature when using full
featured analyzing chargers and will display how much battery capacity the battery
has or the maximum mAh capacity that a battery can store. Watching several NiMH
analyzing charger youtube videos will explain the different features that they provide.
From personal experience, I’m impressed with the Opus BT-C2000 and BT-C2400
analyzing chargers and it looks like the Opus BT-C700 should also be a very good
charger.

There are several features features of the charger that you linked to that are not good:

1) The charging rate is 1000 mA, which is too high for AAA batteries, a 150 – 400
mA charge rate would be better.

2) The 1000 mA charge rate is OK for newer, high quality AA batteries, but it will
probably be too high when these batteries are several years old.

3) To prevent overheating, the cover of the charger must never be used while charging
batteries.

4) It isn’t clear what information is displayed by the LCD screen.

5) It looks like the included 2800 mAh batteries are the Fujicell brand, and these are
probably lower priced, high self-discharge (HSD) batteries which will not last as long
as more expensive low self-discharge (LSD) batteries.
 6) Fujicell batteries are Chinese batteries that are not related to the high quality
batteries made by Fujitsu in their FDK battery factory.

15. EzioAs says:

March 29, 2018 at 7:34 PM

This is actually a great read. I’m a little sad I only found this after I bought the BQ-
CC55E, should’ve gone for the BQ-CC17. I wouldn’t mind longer charge time as
long as the battery themselves are good over the years. I don’t think I would buy a
different charger for a couple years at least (as long as this one keeps working) but
I’m guessing as long as I buy Eneloop LSD batteries and charge them all at the same
time or charge 2 at a time at slot #1 and #4, I probably wouldn’t see any issues right?

16. Joe Golton says:

March 29, 2018 at 7:38 PM

Charging all 4 at a time should be fine. Yes, if you’re going to charge only 2, using
slots #1 and #4 is the coolest and therefore best way to do it. But if I were using the
CC55E personally on a regular basis, I would always charge at least 3 batteries.

17. EzioAs says:

March 29, 2018 at 8:05 PM

Oh, you mean charge 3 batteries so that the charge rate would be lower ? That’s a neat
idea as well. But, since I’m planning on using 2 batteries at a time and have 2 charged
batteries ready for swap, it might not work for me at the moment. If I find myself
needing to buy more batteries, maybe I’ll do just that.

Thanks for the advice!

18. Doug says:

May 12, 2018 at 3:41 PM

Thanks for all the information. I have 2 questions: based on your review, I bought the
Panasonic BQ-CC17 charger. Is it safe to charge batteries overnight in this charger?
Secondly, have you ever reviewed the XTAR VC4 charger? I’ve used mine frequently
for the past 10 months without a problem. I’d like to know your opinion of it.

Thanks
Doug

19. Joe Golton says:

May 12, 2018 at 4:45 PM

Hi Doug,
 Yes, it is safe to charge batteries overnight in BQ-CC17. It is a “smart charger” which
is able to detect when each battery is full independently of every other battery being
charged. When battery is full, it stops applying any charge. Many high quality
chargers then start to apply a very small “trickle charge” after they stop applying full
charge, but the BQ-CC17 does not. It stops applying any charge at all, and is therefore
totally safe to leave overnight. Even if it were applying a tiny trickle charge, it would
still be safe.

I have never tested the XTAR VC4 so I can’t offer you an opinion on that one.

20. Brian says:

July 14, 2018 at 8:20 AM

I just upgraded to the CC-55 (have been using the CC-17 before) and some of my
batteries reach close to 56c (133f) ! To me that is crazy hot. I actually couldn’t hold
the battery in my hand for long. You need tiny fan next to it, or its just going to
destroy your batteries. Total waste of cash. Shame on you Panasonic!

21. Alex says:

January 18, 2019 at 4:30 AM

Hi,

First of all I want to thank you for the article, since while the title only says about
chargers comparison, in reality you wrote huge amount of useful information about
charging in such a compact text. Excellent!

I have 2 questions.
1) I saw in other reviews that (unlike BQ-CC17) BQ-CC16, BQ-CC55and BQ-CC65
make top-off charge at a low current for 1-2h after main charge phase is finished. BQ-
CC65 shows ‘Full’ after 15m of top-off charge and continues charging for 45m. But
what about BQ-CC55 – does it indicate the start of the top-off charge?
2) I decided to calculate capacity, that chargers put into the batteries in your test:
BQ-CC17: 300*7=2100, 150*6=900
FC: 550*3.6=1980, 280*2.9=812, 1100*1.8=1980, 560*1.4=784
BQ-CC55: 750*2.7=2025, 275*2.9=798, 1400*1.4=1960, 550*1.4=770
Base on this data, can you say that BQ-CC17 overcharges the batteries, or other
chargers undercharges them? Or the difference exists due to different ‘chemistry’ for
different currents?

22. Joe Golton says:

January 18, 2019 at 5:35 AM

Alex – The BQ-CC55 does not indicate whether it has started the top-off charge in
any obvious way. Really, no charger does, though many will have a light that shows
when it charging, and that that light turns off when it goes into trickle charge mode.
 I’m pretty sure BQ-CC55 is in that category but it’s been so long since I used it that
I’m not longer 100% sure.

As for calculating capacity – I don’t think the amount of current supplied is a good
way to determine whether overcharging occurred for a couple reasons:

1) Some of the current supplied is lost to heat. The faster the rate, the more will be
lost to heat.

2) I do not understand the chemistry involved, but in addition heat inefficiencies,

there may be other inefficiency rates caused by the chemical reactions, that vary
depending on charge rate.

3) Batteries lose charge doing nothing. Granted, this is a very low rate normally, but
when a battery is really close to full, that rate is faster. This is likely the least
important of the reasons.

4) And yes – it’s also possible that some are being overcharged or undercharged
because of when the delta V cutoff gets triggered. I remember reading somewhere that
if your current supplied is low enough, than delta V trigger gets delayed or in some
cases never triggered. From what I’ve read among battery enthusiasts, BQ-CC17 is
not too low. But it does seem possible that the much higher charging rates are
triggering the delta V cutoff a little earlier, and therefore slightly undercharging
relative to the batteries’ full potential.

23. Brian N says:

February 5, 2019 at 6:17 PM

The CC55 is horrible with older cells, they get really warm to the touch. I pointed my
temp gun and it said one of the batteries were around 58c … Yikes! I stopped my
charge right there. With newer cells however, it works just fine. Luckily I also have
the CC17 so I use that one for older cells (or when time doesn’t really matter).

One thing I don’t like about the CC55 though is the 1 hour trickle charge. Maybe they
thought it was necessary in a fast charger? As far as I know though, NiMH batteries
don’t need it. However it is nice to see the colors change as the voltage goes up. It’s a
rough estimate when the charge is done which helps. Of course you can invest in a
more advanced charger that has an actual display etc.

Many thanks for a detailed review

24. Johnny says:

March 1, 2019 at 12:54 AM

Nice review. I wonder if you’ve tried the Energizer Pro? It’s quite nice and charges at
500ma for AA and 280ma for AAA. Has an audio beep when finished as well as
lights to show charging/charges/etc. The only thing I find fault with it is you must
 charge either 2 or 4 batteries at a time. There’s a user manual link toward the bottom
that shows the specs:

https://www.energizer.com/battery-chargers/nimh-pro-charger

25. Joe Golton says:

March 1, 2019 at 6:44 AM

Johnny – neither Jim nor I have ever tried the Energizer Pro, so we can’t give an
informed opinion. In general, though, I only recommend chargers that have
independent charging bays, because paired charging means that one of the two
batteries in each pair will either by under or over charged when the charging stops.

26. Johnny says:

March 4, 2019 at 2:21 PM

Thanks alot! I hadn’t considered that and it makes very good sense. I just purchased a
used CC-17 on ebay. I hope you try out the new recycled Energizer batteries however,
they seem really great even with the charger not being overly kind to them. I really
appreciate the help.

27. Amith says:

April 30, 2019 at 6:14 AM

Hi Joe,
I really appreciate you taking your time to publish this data. It’s rare to come across
something like this for an electronic product these days. What are your comments on
the following (it’s about the BQ CC55 charger that I own):

1. About the charging current: I’ve read elsewhere about an upper limit of the
charging current where the battery chemistry can’t absorb the energy fast enough.
Every document that I read indicated I < 1C to be safe provided there are control
mechanisms in place. The other effect of higher current is the heat output. So, is the
higher charge current of the BQ-CC55 really that much of an issue?

2. Impact of the battery life: This is my primary concern about this charger. Your data
suggests that it runs a few degrees hotter than the CC17 and heat is bad for battery
life. On the other hand the CC55 would finish charging much quicker than the CC17,
so the amount of time the battery stays at an elevated temperature is less. So, given
this, is it possible that CC55 probably gives a better battery life?

28. Joe Golton says:

April 30, 2019 at 6:36 AM

Hi Amith – Good questions on the BQ-CC55 and heat in general.

 1) I am not really sure if the high charge current in and of itself is an issue. I don’t
have the technical capability to test that, and I’ve never heard anyone claim that it’s
the current in and of itself that hurts the battery. It’s internally generated heat that is
the issue – heat is bad for batteries. The hotter the worse. And if it gets hot enough,
the battery can melt or in some instances cause a fire (I’ve read many reports of both).

2) The impact on battery life is why I don’t recommend using the CC55. As we say in
the article, the heat isn’t too bad for CC55 with 3-4 batteries (though still higher than I
prefer). And if the batteries are half full, then as you say, it won’t be charging long
enough to get really hot. But the CC17 is not just a little cooler, it is a LOT cooler. In
my experience, the temperatures are more toward the low end then the average with
the BQ-C17. Try touching the batteries after you’ve been charging for over an hour
and it is a dramatic difference between the two. Even after 2 hours of charging, I can
very comfortably touch batteries in the CC17 with my fingers, and I never have to
worry about it.

If you want a battery charger to charge at a relatively high rate, as happens with the
CC55 with only 1 or 2 batteries inserted, you want some thermal management
features in place, which are generally two things:

a) lots of space between each charging bay

b) a fan

If you don’t have at least one of these on your charger, then charging at 1400 mA is
simply not a good idea, and even 750 mA is higher than I prefer.

I am currently testing an 8-bay Maha charger that charges at 1000 mA by default. But
it has very widely spaced bays and a fan. So the batteries don’t heat up much beyond
room temperature and I have no worries about battery life in a product which such
ample spacing and a (noisy) fan.

29. Renard says:

June 29, 2019 at 12:24 AM

I am pretty disappointed by the CC55’s high temperatures. I find 4 AA hit 50C or

above despite the lower current. I found the older 550mA (MDR02) rate to be perfect,
wish they had a 4ch current model with that. 330mA is slower than it needs to be to
stay cool.

As far as a fan, I agree. If I ever want to use the CC55 for a full charge I’ll point a fan
at it. Probably I’ll just use it if I’m in a hurry, especially if so much of a hurry that I’ll
pull the cell before it hits green.

30. Doug says:

July 14, 2019 at 7:10 PM

I’d like to ask in the event of a prolonged power outage, most usb battery chargers
charge batteries in pairs. If that’s all you have, what is the best way to use them to
 keep your batteries charged? It’s hurricane season, and I’d like to be prepared. I have
a foldable solar phone charger that’s capable of powering a usb battery charger. If I
could use it to keep some batteries charged it would be a real help. I use an Opus
charger or a BQ-CC17 when A.C. is on. What do you suggest?

31. Joe Golton says:

July 14, 2019 at 8:41 PM

Doug – With a paired charger – if you simply charge a battery one battery at a time
until fully charged – you should be good as it cuts off when fully charged – there’s no
problem with a 2nd battery being over or under charged. Also – there is a decent USB
smart charge I’ve recently become aware of – the Nitecore UMS4 USB. I haven’t
personally tested it but it seems like it should be good in theory.

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