SBH-13 is what mine came with and it does a great job charging. ?Gets warm but not hot at the end. ?I don't like to put full batteries in for a cycle, but if they're under 80% or so, I don't have a problem keeping them topped up in case I need them. ?I never prefer a <50% battery. ?With the dumb charger, the pack should get slightly warm as soon as it is full, so if it's not empty, you can tell if it's done before 10h if it warms up.
Shelf life? ?I wouldn't count on more than 5 years. ?Having an extra pack you maintain (don't let it go to zero and just sit there for years) is a fine idea. ?After 10 years you can pretty much count on them being dead no matter what you do. ?I do have some 2008 Eneloops that still work, though, so YMMV. ?Yaesu's cells are not, I think, low self discharge, so that's against them. ?They are incredibly low capacity (1500?), which counts for them.
radellaf