My $20 Custom 4-Battery Charger for Nikon batteries

480sparky

Senior Member
During my recent 3-week vacation, I had one minor problem at the end of each day when I checked into the motel. And that was half the time, I didn't have the ability to charge up the 6 batteries I had been using (3 gripped bodies). The problem wasn't enough chargers.... the problem was usually lack of electrical outlets. Today, most lodging facilities are woefully inadequate in terms of spare outlets, most being taken up by the TV & cable box, a fridge, micro, clock, etc.

Another problem was, even if I did have enough outlets, some were so old they wouldn't support the weight of the charger and battery. Yea, I know... I can plug them in with the supplied cord, but even then, sometimes it was only one battery at a time as I only had one outlet available.

So I started scheming on a solution. Of course, my first thought was to see if there were any commercially-available multiple-battery chargers made. Yep... ebay and Amazon both have 'em. But they would only charge a paltry two batteries............ for a hundred bucks! Nope, not an option for me.

I engineered several different designs in my head using the 4 chargers I do have, with the goal of being able to use all 4 at once, utilizing only a single power outlet, and still be small and lightweight. At first, I thought about bolting or epoxying 4 chargers together with internal wiring run between them. But in the end, the answer was a result of Nikon's 'Soviet-style' charger design. You know, the one where you can either plug the charger directly in, or swap the adapter for a cord. I felt my solution was easy, simple and elegant. Not to mention......... cheap.

Now, I know some of you are going to say, "Gee, you dolt... just buy one of those 6-outlet strips that are sold at Best Buy, K-Mart, Radio Shack, Wal-Mart, and even the freakin' gas station!". Well, I said I wanted it small and light. And those clunkers any anything but. Remember.... this is for travelling! Small and light rules.

What I did was go to the local camera store in search of 4 additional power cords. Thinking they'd stock just the Nikon OEM cords for $40 per, I didn't hold my breath. Surprisingly, they stocked a ProMaster version, and they were a whopping $3.99 (plus the gubbamint's cut) out the door. NOW we're talking!

Being an electrician by trade, this was a stupendously easy project. Just cut the cords to length, strip the ends, slide on some heat-shrink tubing, and splice them together. Slide up the heat shrink into place(two layers.... two smaller pieces to cover and insulate the two wires and a larger one to wrap up the whole mess).


The end result: I call it my Medusa Cord.

MedusaCord.jpg



Total cost: $17.02 for the cords, and $3 would be a stretch for the cost of the heat-shrink. 50¢ would probably be much closer.



I can now plug in all four of my chargers into one solitary outlet..... Leaving other outlets available for my laptop, cell phone & Phantom chargers, etc. And not have to get up 4 times during the night to change batteries in a charger. So when I check out the next morning, I have six fully charged, rarin'-to-go batteries!
 

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
MedusaCord.jpg



Total cost: $17.02 for the cords, and $3 would be a stretch for the cost of the heat-shrink. 50¢ would probably be much closer.

And having all your batteries charged: PRICELESS!

Nice, MarcelHowever, I see room for only four batteries. Don't you have to swap some of them out? And does it slow down the charging process, or are the charging times the same? I have one of the two-slot chargers, but it only charges one battery at a time.

WM
 

480sparky

Senior Member
The batteries charge just as fast regardless of whether any other chargers are hooked up and/or being used.

This is the same as plugging in 4 chargers into 4 outlets.

Yes, I would have to swap two out somewhere along the line if I want to fully charge all 6, but I can do that by tossing in the batteries that just need 'topped off', let them charge up, then swap them with the more-discharged batteries before turning in.
 

jdeg

^ broke something
Staff member
Do any of the wires get hot? I've never actually tested how much power the charger pulls. Now I'm curious.
 

fotojack

Senior Member
That's brilliant, sparky. Thinking outside the box! :) How exactly did you wire it up? Would it be possible for you to draw up a wiring diagram showing which wires were connected together? I'm not an electrician, but this could prove useful should I ever get another charger for my ENEL3E batteries. :)
 

Bob Blaylock

Senior Member
Being an electrician by trade, this was a stupendously easy project. Just cut the cords to length, strip the ends, slide on some heat-shrink tubing, and splice them together. Slide up the heat shrink into place(two layers.... two smaller pieces to cover and insulate the two wires and a larger one to wrap up the whole mess).


The end result: I call it my Medusa Cord.

MedusaCord.jpg

The cords going to these chargers, are those 120VAC straight from the receptacle, or is there a transformer to step them down to a lower voltage before going into the chargers? If the latter, then I'd be concerned that the transformer was designed to supply only enough current for one of these chargers, and you might be overloading it with four.

Also, for this sort of project, I would not have counted on wires just twisted together. I'd have soldered the connections.
 

480sparky

Senior Member
The cords going to these chargers, are those 120VAC straight from the receptacle, or is there a transformer to step them down to a lower voltage before going into the chargers? If the latter, then I'd be concerned that the transformer was designed to supply only enough current for one of these chargers, and you might be overloading it with four.

Also, for this sort of project, I would not have counted on wires just twisted together. I'd have soldered the connections.

No transformer, as the chargers are just like the ones you have.... they run on line current.

I don't think a connection that passes a whopping 0.6 amps needs soldered.
 

480sparky

Senior Member
That's brilliant, sparky. Thinking outside the box! :) How exactly did you wire it up? Would it be possible for you to draw up a wiring diagram showing which wires were connected together? I'm not an electrician, but this could prove useful should I ever get another charger for my ENEL3E batteries. :)


Nothing on the chargers is changed. It's simply putting 4 charger ends together with one end that plugs in to the outlet.
 

weebee

Senior Member
I probably would have soldered them just to be sure. This is a great idea though. How does the other end look? Did you just use one of the plugs from one of the chargers?
 
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weebee

Senior Member
The cord has five ends. Four plug into four chargers. The fifth plugs in to the wall.

I figured that. I was wondering if you were using one of the plugs from one of the chargers. Or if you went with a heavier gauge wire/plug. I'd imagine one of the stock plugs would handle the load without an issue. I never paid attention to what gauge the cord was on the chargers
 

480sparky

Senior Member
The MH-25 charger comes with both a cord, and an adapter that allows you to plug the charger in directly like yours does.

The chargers have a rated input of 0.2 amps. You could easily put 50 chargers on a normal cord.
 
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weebee

Senior Member
Well, maybe not 50. But I get your drift! I'm going to do the same once I purchase a couple more chargers. That's a great project.
 

Felisek

Senior Member
What's wrong in using one of these (UK version)?

Edit: Should have read your post more carefully. You wanted something small. Fair enough...

EL43.jpg
 
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