Panasonic Eneloop Basic BQ-CC51E

The undeniable leadership in the segment of rechargeable power sources has been firmly held for several consecutive years by the widely known "eneloops" — Eneloop batteries originating from the Land of the Rising Sun, manufactured by Panasonic. And where there are batteries, there are also chargers for their "refueling". The youngest in the lineup of chargers from the Japanese manufacturer is the model with the Basic prefix, designated by the numerical index BQ-CC51E.

Charging in Pairs or Quarters

The basic version of the device is designed to charge nickel-metal hydride power sources in sets of 2 or 4 pieces. There aren't many options here: either they will be "AA" format batteries or "AAA" ones, as commonly referred to. Note that batteries of one type cannot be charged simultaneously using two slots on one side of the charger.

Measured Charging

The model fills the battery cells with energy at low power charge current values (up to 200 mAh). On one hand, this guarantees a long life cycle of the rechargeable batteries, but on the other, it extends the charging time. It should, by the way, be timed manually according to a special table in the device's paper documentation. For example, the duration of a full charge for a set of four AA Panasonic Eneloop batteries with a capacity of 1900 mAh is about 10 hours, while a quartet of AAA batteries with a capacity of 550 mAh takes about 8 hours. The Panasonic Eneloop Basic BQ-CC51E itself turns off automatically in one case — after 13 hours of continuous operation.

Price/Quality

The model is excellently built in a white shell, from which the power plug protrudes directly. Due to its size, the device sometimes blocks access to adjacent sockets if they are crowded. You shouldn't be upset about this, as the charger is a good compromise in terms of price/quality. It is worth considering for those users looking for a top-tier solution without unnecessary settings for a small price.