Need help picking a budget 4 bay charger (please)

[DaveP]

I have the Intellicharger i4, Efest LUC4, and the xtar VC4. All are good, but with varying features and amp ratings across all bays.

My i4 is only used these days for NiMH cells. It has a tendency to heat up 18650 cells more than I like.

The Efest LUC4 I use when I need to charge all 4 bays at 1A. It was and still could be my goto charger, but the VC4 won me over with its cool display!

The xtar VC4 is my daily charger because I like the display and the MAH reading during charging. It doesn't do four bay charging at 1A (only the outer bays charge at 1A), but most of the time I'm using single and dual battery mods, anyway.

Someone mentioned an issue with a wall wart USB charger on the VC4. I bought the xtar USB supply for $10 after finding out the Xtar VC4 doesn't come with the USB charger. The only problem I've had with the VC4 happened recently after a couple of years use. The VC4 started downshifting charge rate with multiple cells in the bays. It turned out to be a resistive USB plug at the wall wart charger. A few inserts and removals wiped the connections and there's been no problems since. I wrote that up as a dissimilar metals issue, which is common with brass connectors mated to steel plugs.

 

[Ladiekali]

what's the difference between charging at 1 .5 and .25 amps?
i always use .25, i think 1 amp is fastest but i thought fast charge wasn't good.

 

[listopencil]

I am using an Efest LUC 4 that I have had for quite a while. I can't remember exactly how long but I think it has been 2 or 3 years. No complaints at all. Still going strong.

 

[listopencil]

what's the difference between charging at 1 .5 and .25 amps?
i always use .25, i think 1 amp is fastest but i thought fast charge wasn't good.

Yes; the higher the Amperage the quicker the charge but the more stress on the battery.

 

[Ralph_K]

Just ordered a nitecore D4 it will charge at 375mA with 4 batteries and 750mA with 2 batteries. 8hrs to charge 4 3000 mAh batteries or 4 hours to charge 2

 

[Caterpiller]

I've been using the Efest Luc v4 for about two and a half years with no problems or complaints.

I recently ordered a Nitecore SC4 from Fasttech, it is supposed to be able to handle 6A across the four slots, so charging four batteries at 0.5A should be no problem.

I don't like to stress 18650's with anything more than 0.5A

Can't say much more about the SC4 as it's still shipping.

 

[Vinnybagodoughnuts]

I won an Xtar Queen ant here and have had no issues with it.I just wish someone would make a decent charger with a simple on/off switch so I can stop plugging and unplugging the thing.Seems like a simple add and was quite surprised when I couldn't find one.

 

[sorrynomore]

I have an Xtar MC1 and an Efest Luc v4, both have worked well for me.

 

[Ladiekali]

I won an Xtar Queen ant here and have had no issues with it.I just wish someone would make a decent charger with a simple on/off switch so I can stop plugging and unplugging the thing.Seems like a simple add and was quite surprised when I couldn't find one.

my xtar turns off with out unplugging it!

 

[Baditude]

I've owned a Pila, a Nitecore i4, an Xtar 6 bay, and now use an Xtar VP4. The VP 4 is the best of the lot.

My son owns an Efest LUC V4 and loves it. I debated between the LUC V4 and the Xtar VP4 recently when purchasing a new charger and chose the VP4 simply because of what I thought was a better display screen.

Can't go wrong with either one IMHO.

Guide to Choosing a Li-ion Battery Charger

• Guide to help a novice in choosing a charger. Covers recommended brands; suggestions for the number of charging bays you'll need, discusses what independent charging bays are, LED and Liquid Crystal Display models, and "smart chargers".

 

[Baditude]

what's the difference between charging at 1 .5 and .25 amps?
i always use .25, i think 1 amp is fastest but i thought fast charge wasn't good.

• Charging at a slower rate is better, to a point. Most of our 18650 batteries have a "standard" charge rate of 1.0A-1.5A and a "rapid" charge rate of up to 4A. Charging at 0.5A might help extend the life of your batteries a bit but if the batteries are not getting warm at 1.0A then that's a good compromise between battery life and convenience. Going down to 0.375A or 0.25A won't help much versus charging at 0.5A.
• From Mooch's blog How can we extend the life of our batteries?

 

[Ladiekali]

oh thank goodness... it takes 8 hours to charge these batteries at .25!!
i think i'll bump it up

thanks

 

[TwistedThrottle]

I like my nitecore i4. Its basic, but does what I need it to and with less stuff to go wrong. I mostly keep the charge rate at .5 (above 1000 mAh) unless I am doing small batteries like 14500 or 18350 (below 1000 mAh) and then I like the .25. The 1 amp is used for quick bumps if I forgot to get a (larger) battery ready for the next day but I have no problem charging at 1 amp for the bigger 18650's and 20700's. A little noalox on the slides helps with the crunchieness.

 

[Vinnybagodoughnuts]

my xtar turns off with out unplugging it!

You mean the display/light shuts off? Which one do you have?

 

[Ladiekali]

i have the xtar vp2, i just press and hold down the button and it shuts it off. when i want to charge batteries i have to turn it back on.

 

[Vinnybagodoughnuts]

i have the xtar vp2, i just press and hold down the button and it shuts it off. when i want to charge batteries i have to turn it back on.

Well I guess I need one then. Its weird that I don't see it mentioned anywhere in the description.Thank you.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

Not exactly budget minded, but I like having two Efest LUC 2-bay chargers rather than one 4-bay. The reason is that if one goes south, I'm still good while its replacement ships.

 

[Ladiekali]

Well I guess I need one then. Its weird that I don't see it mentioned anywhere in the description.Thank you.

i don't even remember if it was in the directions or not. might have been on accident. because its the same button you change the charge speed with.. and i found that one accident.

 

[Ladiekali]

Not exactly budget minded, but I like having two Efest LUC 2-bay chargers rather than one 4-bay. The reason is that if one goes south, I'm still good while its replacement ships.

That's smart thinking.. i already have a 2 bay, i'll be sure not to get rid of it. Some where in the attic i have a nitecore 4bay.. but yeah.. that's from two house moves ago. no telling what box that one is in. i thought it was crunchy anyway, and it only had lights.. no digital reading. but it worked.

 

[rob33]

i got an xtar vc4, works great but you have to have a decent usb power source or it wont work at the full 0.5a on all 4 batteries if you dont

I used to be an Xtar fan til this happened, I want a 6 bay, but they are at the bottom of my list. Just give me a wall plug my life is complicated enough.