Price on these chargers was $50 last week, back down to $40 this week at Amazon.com

I bought this charger after reading so many positive reviews and postings. I got one at $35 and hoping this is the last charger I will ever buy. WRONG! I have two sets of AA batteries that I can only think were permanently damaged by this charger (or maybe the batteries are poorly made, one set is 2500 Energizer and the one set is 2100 Nexcell. Sure it is cool to see all those readings on the LCDs, but I think it killed my batteries. I can't be sure if the entire reason was because of it. The only thing I know is that the batteries worked ok and after ONE charge with the charger, they last a lot shorter after each charge. I don't know what happened. I did refresh mode or test mode, none worked. Now I don't want to risk another set of good batteries on this charger. I have heard that Energizer batteries are poor, but the Nexcell batteries were very good before using this charger.

Maybe someone can help me to find out what's wrong with my charger. Or maybe I used it in a wrong way?

blueking said:Maybe someone can help me to find out what's wrong with my charger. Or maybe I used it in a wrong way?
Could be any number of factors. The two best places to go to find out, would likely be LaCrosse support, and the CandlePower forums. Post your experience and concerns there, and you will likely get plenty of informative opinions in return.

You yourself mentioned reading numerous positive reviews on the charger, so the likelihood of their being some sort of inherit defect with the BC-900 that would kill batteries is probably relatively low.

$35.97 at Thomas Distributing
LINK

http://thomasdistributing.com/shop/la-crosse-bc900-battery-charger-w-lcd-displaybrdeluxe-travel-bag-accessory-kit-brprice-5497-p-539.html?SP_id=41&osCsid=bdba3b22kcopbabb8rouii2eo3


Just found other thread
THREAD
which has another 10% off code GCNE10 to make it $32.37
Credit IceFly creator of that thread.

blueking said:...WRONG! I have two sets of AA batteries that I can only think were permanently damaged by this charger (or maybe the batteries are poorly made, one set is 2500 Energizer and the one set is 2100 Nexcell...

...Or maybe I used it in a wrong way?You may INADVERTENTLY have FRIED / COOKED your batteries.

*MANY* consumer chargers have HARD-CODED safety parameters built-in:

• Reduced current
  
• Timers

...while the LaCrosse BC-900 allows *YOU* to ADJUST these parameters. At the same time, the LaCrosse BC-900 is *ONLY* a machine, subject to the errors allowed by it's designers.

IME, the user should not leave a LaCrosse BC-900 *UNATTENDED* in CERTAIN circumstances:

• Initial Usage of *EACH* MODE
  
• Initial Usage of *EACH* BATTERY
  
• HIGH CURRENT Charging
  
• TBD...

What I'm saying here is that the LaCrosse BC-900 has the CAPABILITY to *DESTROY* / *KILL* batteries, but *NOT* at it's DEFAULT / INITIAL POWER ON settings (200ma CHARGE). Personally, after reading *MANY* posts on various forums regarding the LaCrosse BC-900, I *ALWAYS* have a FAN blowing across mine when it's in use (i.e. I *LOVE* the HIGH CURRENT options!).

• YES, it has OVER-HEAT protection
  
• YES, it has OVER-VOLTAGE protection

But, after *YEARS* of DISSATISFACTION over (High-Current) chargers from Ray-O-Vac (although I *LOVED* their batteries/price ratio ), I've "learned" about what to look out for.

And, YES, I've found *MY* LaCrosse BC-900 trying to push (i.e.) 1400mAh into a 700mAh AAA. Fortunately, I was "puttering around" the basement and noticed it (i.e. WHY AIN'T THIS !@#$% AAA DONE CHARGING YET??? ).

So, out of curiosity, I ask you - these cells that your LaCrosse BC-900 KILLED:

• How old were they?
  
• What was the selected CHARGING CURRENT?
  
• What was the selected CHARGING MODE?
  
• Was there a fan blowing across the LaCrosse BC-900?
  
• Were you regularly / (constantly, if LaCrosse BC-900 "First-Timers"?) MONITORING their progress?

There are PLENTY of *CRAP* batteries available for purchase. AND, there are PLENTY of *CRAP* chargers too. Add to that, that an UNINFORMED consumer can EASILY misuse each. IMHO, it doesn't leave the manufacturer much leeway.

BOTTOM LINE: My opinion is that the LaCrosse BC-900 is a *GREAT* charger *IF* used correctly.

UPDATE: LaCrosse BC-900 vs LaCrosse BC-700?

The LaCrosse BC-900 AlphaPower Battery Charger is $39.99 again or the La Crosse Technology BC700 Alpha Power Battery Charger is $34.50

PnoT said:Is there anyway to recondition / recharge a failing cell phone battery? My sprint battery only lasts about 5 minutes before it dies.
Yes, but not with this. Assuming your cell phone is recent, and has a Lithium based battery, you can directly wire it to a Lipo/Lion charger and possibly bring it back to life. You probably need a charger that handles 1 cell (3.9V). Although you can probably get a new battery cheaper than what the charger would cost.