I recently noticed that I use batteries more often than I initially thought. I think it is a waste of money to buy new batteries when they are empty. So why not go for rechargeable batteries and charge them by plugging a battery charger into my laptop? It is always standby and within reach.
So I searched for a battery charger and found the USB Battery Charger: zanflare HXY – H2m Versatile USB Battery Charger. Let’s find out if it’s really that handy.
Contents
Specifications
- Input: DC 5V 2A
- Charging current: rechargeable Li-ion batteries 4.2V, 300mA / 500mA / 1000mA // rechargeable Ni-MH batteries ( or Ni-Cd batteries ) 1.5V, 300mA / 500mA / 1000mA
- Output: USB 5V 2A
- Material: ABS
Packaging specifications
Product weight: 0.0940 kg
Package weight: 0.1220 kg
Product size (L x W x H): 11.70 x 6.20 x 3.20 cm / 4.61 x 2.44 x 1.26 inches
Package size (L x W x H): 12.80 x 7.20 x 3.80 cm / 5.04 x 2.83 x 1.5 inches
Does it fit your mailbox?
Yes it does 🙂
What’s in the box
The charger itself, a very short USB cable and a multilingual user manual (English, Italian, Spanish, German and Chinese)
Features
- Capable of charging two batteries simultaneously
- Automatically stops charging when complete
- Pocket size
- Multiple protections
- over-voltage, over current, short circuit protection, battery reverse polarity protection, smart identification of damaged batteries and 0 V voltage activation function.
- 3 different charging current options to choose from 300 mA / 500 mA / 1000 mA
- The zanflare USB battery charger is not only suitable for various rechargeable batteries: Li-ion, Ni-MH and Ni-Cd; but also equipped with a 5V 2A USB port to charge directly your iPad, iPhone, or other devices.
- Provided with integrated LCD display to monitor the information of the two charging slots: charging voltage, charging current and the battery level.
- And with charging indicator, it is easy to monitor the charging state, you can still lean on the sofa, and just read the charger on the desk: when the battery is in charging status, the light will turn red; when the battery is fully charged, the light turns green.
Test
To test this charger I used my Notebook Pro USB 3 port and used the included USB cable to charge 2 2700 AA batteries from GP. After placing the batteries in the socket I let it charging for about an hour. When charging is completed, the charger gives you a clear green LED.
When finished I removed one battery and the display updates immediately that the battery holder is empty. When inserting another empty very old 2500 GP Battery there was a message ‘Err’ shown in the LCD screen: it displays “Err” if the battery is wrongly inserted or when it is damaged. I think the battery is dead (there was also a little bit of white residue on the + pole.
I don’t have the knowledge nor hardware to test this charger in depth with fancy graphs etc. But charging your batteries won’t be a problem I can assure.
USB Connectors 
Charging 
One battery removed 
Finished charging
Build Quality & Design
It’s made from ABS and it’s black. It feels very solid and it’s lightweight.
The LED’s are also buttons to change info on the screen, however, I did not notice this the first time I used the device.
Heath / Power consumption /Noise
After an hour of charging the charger was not warm at all. The charger is completely silent when on standby and even when charging.
Portability / Mobility
Because the charger is lightweight and small it is easy to carry with you. Because of the USB connection it is easy to charge on a USB charger on a computer.
Alternative
There is also an bigger charger of zanflare available. In contrast to the unit we tested, this Zanflare c4 can charge four batteries simultaneous and has many more options. You can also go for the Sorbo AA batteries that can charged over USB.
pro / cons
pros
- Multi-language manual.
- Very portable and handy.
- Rock Solid.
- Because of the indicator it is easy to check when charged completely.
- Good price.
cons
- Not compatible with LiFePO4 batteries
- Short USB Cable
- Because it is suitable for multiple batteries AA batteries are placed a little bit strange in the holder.
Price quality
For around 17 dollar you will never run out of full batteries. So therefore it is a good buy, which probably will charge your batteries for many years.
Where to buy the USB Battery Charger?
