Best battery charger?

[MaxximusRevelation]

So I have been using an Efest Luc V4 for about a year now with no problems and actually enjoy the charger... The problem is I have a problem with using a charger produced by a company that sell batteries that perform no where near the stats they claim which bugs me. Are their business practices better in the charger market than it is the battery market? Because I know Efest is the never go to guy when it comes to batteries but I see the exact charger I use recommended in so many topics. Just seems weird to have all these LG batteries and charge them on an Efest

 

[KenD]

So I have been using an Efest Luc V4 for about a year now with no problems and actually enjoy the charger... The problem is I have a problem with using a charger produced by a company that sell batteries that perform no where near the stats they claim which bugs me. Are their business practices better in the charger market than it is the battery market? Because I know Efest is the never go to guy when it comes to batteries but I see the exact charger I use recommended in so many topics. Just seems weird to have all these LG batteries and charge them on an Efest

The Efest luc chargers seem to be fairly liked. However, Mooch just posted a warning about the Efest Soda charger.

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[Shawn Hoefer]

Actually, their last several runs of batteries have been getting closer to accurate labelling, according to Mooch's tests.

That's not an endorsement of their batteries or chargers... just an FYI...

For chargers, I use Enova Gyrfalcon All-44 and All-88. Great, low profile chargers! But, I do have my eye on an Opus BT-3100/3400...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

 

[lil_buddy]

This person does interesting and comprehensive (imo) reviews of battery chargers.
He seems to have a high opinion of xtar chargers. (I haven't read every one of his reviews)
Batteries and chargers

 

[Hightech Redneck]

Pbusardo and mooch were on a live show and Phil talked about his dragon something or other charger that had refresh battery options etc...
I have a luc v4 for a good while now with no issues.
@Mooch What was that charger, or a good one?

 

[DaveP]

Efest LUC 4 is my go to charger when I have more than 2 cells to charge at once at a 1A rate.

XTAR VCT4 is my everyday charger. It's one that provides lots of info on a graphical screen, but it will only charge at .5A with more than 2 cells.

Check the reviews here on ECF for info. Just search for battery chargers from the home page. There's lots of new 18650 chargers reviewed.

 

[Mooch]

Pbusardo and mooch were on a live show and Phil talked about his dragon something or other charger that had refresh battery options etc...
I have a luc v4 for a good while now with no issues.
@Mooch What was that charger, or a good one?

Hmm...I don't remember.
Sorry, I don't have any charger recommendations I can make.

 

[MaxximusRevelation]

The Efest luc chargers seem to be fairly liked. However, Mooch just posted a warning about the Efest Soda charger.

Sent from my K6000 Pro using Tapatalk

That is the thread that had me like


I appreciate all the input everyone! You guys gave me something to do today. Gonna watch reviews of all chargers recommended and see which one suits my needs.

 

[ShowerHead]

I'd give high marks to the GyrFalcon chargers. I have the 4 bay model.
It does great with all bays filled with 20700 or 18650s.
Very few will hold 4 20700s
Fast charge, good info.

 

[Baditude]

Pbusardo and mooch were on a live show and Phil talked about his dragon something or other charger that had refresh battery options etc...

@Mooch What was that charger, or a good one?

Could it be this one? Pretty pricey at $80.

 

[Hightech Redneck]

Could it be this one? Pretty pricey at $80.

I think so, I need to go back and find the show, may have been when they were on djlsb live q&a.

 

[oplholik]

Hmm, I've been wanting to get a new charger, and the GyrFalcon 4 bay looks good to me, and only $30.00 at imrbatteries.

 

[madstabber]

I just got the liitokala engineer lii-500. It is a four bay smart charger for $25 I think from fasttech. Lygte guy that does charger reviews gave it a good review. He seems to think it's better than the opus 3100 because it doesn't pulse charge which is good for the cells. Also some complained about the fan noise from the opus which was a factor for me. I'm usually watching tv near by my charger and didn't want excessive fan noise. So long story short th liitokala is a quality four bay smart charger to consider. Also the opus gets good reviews if the two issues I mentioned don't bother you. Also the opus is slightly more expensive.

 

[BreSha6869]

I don't know about THE BEST available at any price, but my XTAR VC4 has been rock solid for over a year of heavy daily use. And around $30 for a 4 bay charger isn't bad.

The only negative IMO is the proprietary cable. Mine has been fine, but a replacement down the road could be hard to find and/or costly.

 

[ShowerHead]

I just got the liitokala engineer lii-500.

If you are buying one of these chargers, do yourself a favor and get a good power brick for it.
The included one may or may not be up to par. This one is.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B015FKKGBC/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I3ONZNTOBIXBGY&colid=3BGE2JSM6TTV2

Actual UL listed, great performance.
1000mA setting, 1.98ADC, 11.860VDC, 200mVAC ripple, 23.48Watts
700mA setting, 1.31ADC, 12.038VDC, 156mVAC ripple, 15.77Watts
500mA setting, 0.92ADC, 12.133VDC, 128mVAC ripple, 11.16Watts
300mA setting, 0.57ADC, 12.227VDC, 93mVAC ripple, 6.97Watts

 

[nevin]

I've been using a Tenergy TB6AC for a long time now. (it's a hobby charger that will charge all kinds of cells, the right way.) I put together a charging sled with some battery holders to charge individual cells. I can charge them faster & safer than any bay charger I've had or looked up specs for. This option isn't for everyone, but I love it.

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[madstabber]

If you are buying one of these chargers, do yourself a favor and get a good power brick for it.
The included one may or may not be up to par. This one is.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B015FKKGBC/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I3ONZNTOBIXBGY&colid=3BGE2JSM6TTV2

Actual UL listed, great performance.
1000mA setting, 1.98ADC, 11.860VDC, 200mVAC ripple, 23.48Watts
700mA setting, 1.31ADC, 12.038VDC, 156mVAC ripple, 15.77Watts
500mA setting, 0.92ADC, 12.133VDC, 128mVAC ripple, 11.16Watts
300mA setting, 0.57ADC, 12.227VDC, 93mVAC ripple, 6.97Watts

The one that came with mine seems fine. It charges batteries in a timely manner so it seems like it can handle all the current charge rates.

 

[DaveP]

I don't know about THE BEST available at any price, but my XTAR VC4 has been rock solid for over a year of heavy daily use. And around $30 for a 4 bay charger isn't bad.

The only negative IMO is the proprietary cable. Mine has been fine, but a replacement down the road could be hard to find and/or costly.

I had the same issue with wall-wart chargers when I bought my Xtar VC4. It needed a good 2A power supply to function properly. The 8A 4 port adapter I ordered from Amazon didn't have the guts to give it 2A with all bays loaded. I ordered the Xtar power cable and the VC4 operated as advertised. I ordered my wall charge adapter directly from Xtar for about $8 or $10.

My Xtar VC4 has been my goto charger for a couple of years now. I like the display information. Its only downfall is the 2 cell limit for 1A charging. If you have a 3 battery mod and put them in it downshifts to .5A.

For my 3 or 4 bay battery charging I either bite the bullet and let it charge most of the day at .5A or get out the Efest LUC 4. The LUC 4 will charge 4 18650's at 1A, but it only has a segmented LED display for charging progress. It'a a small price to pay for half the charging time.

My old Nitecore I4 is a strange animal. It's fine for 18650's at .5 amp, but it heats my NiCads to a pretty warm state. I use two pairs of AAA NiCads a week in my guitar wireless beltpack transmitter. Those I generally charge on the Xtar VC4. The VC4 charges them in about the same time, but doesn't overheat them.

 

[ShowerHead]

The one that came with mine seems fine. It charges batteries in a timely manner so it seems like it can handle all the current charge rates.

And thus, the may or may not.

 

[madstabber]

And thus, the may or may not.

Yea the one that came with mine works just fine. It works at all the different current charging without fail.