Recently, I bought Orico EV8 Charger, a charging dock for my AA rechargeable batteries. The one I owned was broken, so I needed to replace it with a new one. The Orico EV8 featured a more modern design compared to what I owned before — aluminum-alloy body instead of plastic, a magnetic detachable lid with LED indicator for charging status, and a USB-C charging port. But when I put my batteries into the charging dock, the batteries were not charging at all! Instead, the light indicator shows red and flashing green, which means, based on the manual included in the box, there are errors with the batteries. I was so confused. I own many rechargeable AA batteries, and all of them are still working normally. I use them for my Audio Recorder, VR controller, wireless mouse, remotes, and so much more. I also use them for my IKEA Bettorp LED portable lamp, which can also charge batteries when paired with its wireless charging base — and that lamp had no problem charging them at all. There must be something wrong with the new charger.
Turns out, there is a small detail that I missed before I bought the charging dock: it is only compatible with AA batteries made of Lithium-ion or Li-ion. The ones I own are rechargeable batteries made of Nickel-Metal Hydride or NiMH. That’s why it doesn’t charge. Later I found out, even though they look the same, but there are many types of materials used to make batteries on the market. The most common and cheapest one is Alkaline AA batteries. They are single-use batteries, can’t be recharged, and you have to discard them once they run out of power. Batteries that can be charged have a label “Rechargeable” on the branding, most of which are made of Ni-MH or Li-ion. It’s more expensive than Alkaline batteries, but cheaper in the long-term and more environmentally friendly as it last longer. Lumencraft made a dedicated video about it that I found really helpful, If you’re interested to learn more about different types of batteries. In short, not all batteries are built the same.
Knowing that my Orico EV8 charger does not support my NiMH batteries, I decided to buy another charging case, IKEA Litosfar battery charger. Though it’s not as cool as the Orico EV8, at least it can do the job: charge my NiMH batteries. I also bought some Li-ion AA batteries, so I can still use the Orico EV8 charger and see if it performs better than batteries made of NiMH.
So before you buy a battery, make sure you know what type of material they are made of. Also, make sure that the charging case is compatible with the batteries you own. Don’t make the same mistake as I am!