charger question

[Imfallen_Angel]

Oh geez, glowing cables.

I go with cables2go, generally good prices on decent stuff. On Amazon, I go with Amazon Basics. at least those are "certified" for compatibility and prices are OK. Honest, a $1 usb cable or wall wart can end up costing you a lot more than a $3 cable/wall wart if/when something goes south.

Actually, these are excellent cables, and provides visual confirmation that power is flowing, it's got circuitry that shows the rhythm slowing down when the device is in "topping off" mode, and then shows that there's no more power flowing (fully charged).

They are extremely useful for this function, probably some of the best cables I've ever had.

 

[SteveS45]

If the 5V and up to 2A that are flowing through the USB cable make it hot there is something seriously wrong there. Now a wall wart converting 110 A/C to the 5V is another story..........

 

[snork]

Its not a luxury she works at home catering and lunch for night shift workers they place order and pick up lunch before going to work

Off Topic: That sounds like an excellent service and a cool way to make money, I hope it's as good as it sounds for you.

 

[the dog]

Off Topic: That sounds like an excellent service and a cool way to make money, I hope it's as good as it sounds for you.

Yes sir you should see my lunchbox for 12 hours of logging I sold it to a single guy once for 30$ ! And yes its a good little business keeps her home for winter and she has a little restaurant open in the summer and by the way she so happy I quit smoking that she buys me a little vaping gift once a month

 

[SteveS45]

Just a thought if you are going to have your wife taking the batteries out of the charger please show her how to properly store and handle them as they are dangerous if not handled properly as you know.

 

[NU_FTW]

Bla bla bla, dont be cheap, bla bla bla, use common sense, bla bla bla use at your own risk, bla bla bla too many cooks in the kitchen, bla bla bla.

FWIW I have seen usb ports fail without physical "misuse" instead it was due to improper load... have also seen many 2+ amp rated power supplies be it usb wall wart or with cable or just power inverters that are no where near their rating. Just be sure you are using what you need to be using and what things are rated for. More amps available than required is ALWAYS better. Smart chargers turn off under proper function... does not account for malfunctioning. With something as volatile as Lithium batteries it is wise not to take too many risks... i have left batteries charging over night many times.. i have D4 i4 i2 have used them all. They perform as expected. I leave the house sometimes with the batteries charging... I have 5 sets of 2 in rotation so i never ever use ones that were just charged but everyone has to make their own decisions on what faith to put in their equipment.

 

[celticluvr]

Eh, I use mechs with magnetic sliding doors and a spring for a contact.

I don't know, my kid's Amazon Fire now only charges with 1 cable, every other cable gets a bad connection, though they work fine for other devices. Maybe it's the cable though.

I find the USB cords for the KF pretty shoddy. I've had to use my old Kindle cords when the others stopped working for the kindle... but works for everything else.. Of course it could be the ports too. Love my KF though

 

[Lessifer]

I find the USB cords for the KF pretty shoddy. I've had to use my old Kindle cords when the others stopped working for the kindle... but works for everything else.. Of course it could be the ports too. Love my KF though

Ours is just for the kid, so it does get pretty abused. She's also gone through 3 sets of headphones. Kids can be very destructive.

 

[Eskie]

Ours is just for the kid, so it does get pretty abused. She's also gone through 3 sets of headphones. Kids can be very destructive.

I had a dog who ate 4 cellphones in a 3 month period. OK, not the entire phone but enough that there wasn't a much of a chance that any could be put back together to resemble a phone in any manner. The phone store just plain stopped believing me at #5.

 

[96TL]

Sometimes I'll charge my batteries in my Nitecore D4 overnight, but I try to avoid it if possible. It's a smart charger and will stop when fully charged, but like anything else, there's always the risk of failure.

I also have plenty of smoke alarms and a fire extinguisher.

 

[Imfallen_Angel]

Sometimes I'll charge my batteries in my Nitecore D4 overnight, but I try to avoid it if possible. It's a smart charger and will stop when fully charged, but like anything else, there's always the risk of failure.

I also have plenty of smoke alarms and a fire extinguisher.

Then, if you remember the "how to prevent house fires" stuff, you need to unplug every appliances, like your toaster, kettle, microwave, and so on, including your TV, computer, and so forth, when not in use.

Should You Unplug Countertop Appliances to Avoid Fire Risk : Electrical Online
Origin & Cause-Fire Arson Investigator, Insurance Forensics
Hey, if you're going to be paranoid, might as well go full on.

 

[Eskie]

Sometimes I'll charge my batteries in my Nitecore D4 overnight, but I try to avoid it if possible. It's a smart charger and will stop when fully charged, but like anything else, there's always the risk of failure.

I also have plenty of smoke alarms and a fire extinguisher.

Better be sure you have a class D rated extinguisher for a Li battery.

 

[96TL]

Then, if you remember the "how to prevent house fires" stuff, you need to unplug every appliances, like your toaster, kettle, microwave, and so on, including your TV, computer, and so forth, when not in use.

Should You Unplug Countertop Appliances to Avoid Fire Risk : Electrical Online
Origin & Cause-Fire Arson Investigator, Insurance Forensics
Hey, if you're going to be paranoid, might as well go full on.

Haha, good point!

I'm not paranoid about it at all. I just always read they shouldn't be left charging when nobody was around, and avoid it if possible.

 

[96TL]

Better be sure you have a class D rated extinguisher for a Li battery.

It's a "Multipurpose Dry Chemical" Kiddie extinguisher. Doesnt say what class. I'm guessing not class D?

 

[Eskie]

It's a "Multipurpose Dry Chemical" Kiddie extinguisher. Doesnt say what class. I'm guessing not class D?

And, it's not. Those are usually A, B, C extinguishers. Class D are for metal fires (like Li). No water on a burning Li battery ever, only makes it worse. If no class D around, salt is good (which is a common substance in class D fire extinguishers). That will smother it. More common to have a box of salt around the house than a bucket of sand, another way to smother it.

 

[bobwho77]

yup, I second this..

My several spares are always in rotation, after a while I take the ones in the charger and set aside to be taken in order and reload the charger as I go.. some batteries can spend weeks in my charger before I switch over, but that's because the spares are for my single battery mods mostly, as my dual are all charged via the mod directly at night (as I rotate my mods too)...

God as my witness, I shall never have a dead mod again!

I've got three pairs of mated 18650s. One pair is in the mod. The next pair is in a case in my "Go bag", and the third pair is in the charger. Case to mod, mod to charger, charger to case, and repeat.

 

[DaveP]

From working in IT for many years I have never seen a USB port on a PC, Smart phone, Printer or any USB device wear out! The only time a USB fails is from abuse or incorrect usage. I have seem many USB port ripped from main boards because someone decided to move the printer and not disconnect the cable.

You've never had kids use your USB devices in an IT situation. If it doesn't fit, they get frustrated and force it when the correct move was to push gently and wiggle slightly.

I agree that most adults are respectful with electronic devices. USB ports, especially micro USB ports, are best used gently. The tiny PC board inside will crack and break off.

 

[bobwho77]

Sometimes I'll charge my batteries in my Nitecore D4 overnight, but I try to avoid it if possible. It's a smart charger and will stop when fully charged, but like anything else, there's always the risk of failure.

I also have plenty of smoke alarms and a fire extinguisher.

(Nearly) all of the failure modes for a digital charger would stop power flowing to the batteries

 

[96TL]

And, it's not. Those are usually A, B, C extinguishers. Class D are for metal fires (like Li). No water on a burning Li battery ever, only makes it worse. If no class D around, salt is good (which is a common substance in class D fire extinguishers). That will smother it. More common to have a box of salt around the house than a bucket of sand, another way to smother it.

Good to know. Thanks for the info!

 

[DaveP]

It's interesting that Battery University says it's OK to leave Li-ion batteries in the charger because the charger shuts down when charge is complete and doesn't trickle charge after they are full. Of course, that assumes the charger and batteries are healthy and free of dendrite formation, something that we can never really know.

All About Battery Chargers – Battery University

NiCd and NiMH should not be left in the charger unattended for weeks and months. Until required, store the batteries in a cool place and apply a charge before use.

Lithium-based batteries should always stay cool on charge. Discontinue the use of a battery or charger if the temperature rises more than 10ºC (18ºF) above ambient under a normal charge. Li ion cannot absorb over-charge and does not receive trickle charge when full. It is not necessary to remove Li-ion from the charger; however, if not used for a week or more, it is best to place the pack in a cool place and recharge before use.