Difference between battery chargers?

Can any mah rated aa/aaa battery be charged in a 1000mah to 3000mah charger?

• This is putting the "type" (NiCd, NIMH....etc) aside unless it matters ? ! ? and yes I do know that there are many mah standards such as 1000-1800 AAA or 2000, 2200, 2500, 3000 AA blah blah,... I am using 2000mah and 3000mah as an example From my studies online, I have come to the conclusion that you can charge a 3000mah AA battery via a 2000mah charger,.... it would just take longer than a 2000mah battery would to charge. CORRECT? So, if you charge a 2000mah AA via a 3000mah charger,... the charge time would be quicker than what the chargers time is rated for an 3000mah battery. CORRECT? I do understand that some, but mainly earlier chargers on the market have chips inside them that limit what mah batteries can be charged in them,... lack of technology or a scam to make more monies! My fear is,.. what will a 2000mah charger do to a 3000mah battery,.... will the charger eventually reduce the storage capacity of that 3000mah battery, kinda converting it to a 2000mah battery, not purposely, but as a side effect of continual use on the lower rated charger. Yes I know the difference between "cell" and "battery", every article I found, there is some smartie that has to bring it up. The rechargeable battery market is very confusing cuz EVERY SINGLE CHARGER has a mah rating, yet they don't make it clear that you can use any mah rated battery in their charger,... why dont they put somewhere on the package that says ""ANY MAH RATED NiCd BATTERY WILL WORK IN THIS CHARGER, BUT ITS IDEAL FOR THE 2500mah RATED AA"" ,... and perhaps put a chart on the package that lists the average charge time for different mah rated batteries? I must have something wrong with my understanding on rechargeable batteries cuz it seems like the battery companies don't know how to communicate with consumers. Does anyone know what those "sleves" are properly called that convert an AA battery into a C or a D? They are simply plastic shells that come in D or C sizes in which aa AA battery is put inside to work as a D or C? THANKIES FOR EVERYONE'S HELP

• Answer:

  Yeah, it's confusing and the companies don't do anything to help. What you're dealing with in mAh in terms of the chargers is actually the rate of total electrical transferrance. A battery with a 3000mAh capacity can charge to full with a charger rated at a lower spec, it will simply take longer. It's the same with the discharge of the batteries, just that device manufacturers do not publish the drain rates of their digital cameras, or whatever device you're dealing with. A 2000mAh battery can power a device which would ideally require 3000mAh batteries for optimum battery life, they will simply be drained more quickly. I have several different brands and mAh rated NiMH batteries and a few different chargers. I have never noticed a problem using any pair of batteries with any charger. Unless you are bound and determined to have batteries that are advertised to charge to full capacity in 15 minutes do so when charged by any random charger, don't worry about the marketing hype. I leave whichever batteries are drained in whatever charger is closest, wait until the lights turn green, and use them without worry. I don't know if this answers any of your questions, just my thoughts on a murky subject matter...