Battery Charger

Frank,

We use one similar to this Duracell Charger at home, although ours is several years old now and we don't really use it abroad (it's dual voltage, however). The quality of ours has held up and it always gets the job done, which is why I'm mentioning it, but I'll be interested to see what types of products people use specifically for travel.

I have the following: Maha MH-C204W White World Charger, bought from Thomas Distributing.com. I’ve had it for some time, it is light to carry with its detachable cord and works fine in Europe. I’ve always bought my batteries and chargers from this source and have been pleased with their service.

I use an Energizer travel charger, does 4 AA and AAA as well. Only problem is that it usually takes at least 4-6 hours, but I always charge overnight. Taking longer, it doesn't need a fan, so is very small and lightweight. It opens and closes, so it's not much bigger than 4 batteries when packed. And it costs less since it's not a 15 minute charger.

Frank, exactly how many AA NiMH batteries are you planning on using. Can you bring them with you? Can you buy batteries over there?

I went out today to Walgrens (listed on the website as a seller for the charger). It was $16 and the packaging said nothing about dual voltage. I guess you could ask the clerk about it, and then bring it back when it wasn't dual voltage.

A few years ago, I had to buy batteries because I couldn't remember to turn off my wireless mouse. They were pretty inexpensive in Europe. (I found a € store in Braunlage.)

The charger is not for me. I have a friend who is going to Ghana for eight months and one of the devices she's taking to purify water takes only lithium batteries or rechargeable NIMH. We don't know the availability of either there.

I thought taking along a couple of sets of rechargeables might be easier but I need to make sure the device is dual voltage.

In Ghana a solar charger may make sense.

I'm not sure if you're using a Steripen or Miox (or something else?) but if it's the former be aware that I've had reports from friends that the Steripen is great when it works, but is prone to fail/break. Make sure you have a backup purification method!

It is for a SteriPen.

I'll have to look into solar chargers.

I would also consider looking into Eneloop NiMH batteries. These are "low self-discharge" ones. Basically, most NiMH batteries will lose their charge over a few months. Eneloops will hold their charge for a long period of time (50% remaining even after a year). This could be useful for charging up a few sets and holding them, especially if her electrical supply will be sporadic or limited.

I recently bought (on Amazon) a Steripen for a trip to the Mideast. For it I bought disposable Lithium batteries (about $17 for 8) as they are supposed to last longer. But my trip is only six weeks.

http://www.amazon.com/Energizer-L91BP-8-Lithium-Battery-8-Pack/dp/B0000DC4EL/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1281232728&sr=1-1

I also just bought a Duracell charger. I looked at it and it is 100V to 240v. Came with 4 AA and 4AAA pre-charged for about $25. It said they would stay charged for a year.

http://www.amazon.com/Duracell-Charged-Rechargeable-Batteries-batteries/dp/B002Q8JQYU/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1281232676&sr=1-2

As an aside I read a lot of reviews on the Steripen and got a pretty good feeling about it.