battery charger broke? overcharging!

[Groundswell17]

i'm gonna throw this out there kinda quickly, gotta get going for work here...

i noticed this only because i use a kick in both my apv's, the kick will not function with an overcharged battery. i use AW IMR18490's, and an ultrafire rapid charger (dual battery charger)

It just began charging some of my batteries to 4.6 volts, while two charge correctly to 4.2. this is out of 8 batteries. It has never done this before. I'm assuming my charger is going toast, but it's not that old at all, maybe 6 months? Anyone ever had this happen? know a good reliable charger to use instead?

only thing i can think of is i just always leave it plugged in, and there's usually a battery or two in it at all times. i always just trusted it, (no more obviously) any input/suggestions? thanks guys

on a side note, kicks protection circuit works! lol, that is comforting. and yes the kick still works with a properly charged bat

 

[iowajosh]

That is cool the circuit works correctly. I'd totally ditch the overcharged bats too.

I have an ultrafire wf-139. Ultrafire is like the yugo of the flashlight world. So I check with a voltmeter a lot and it has been ok but vaping has me charging bats a lot more than just flashlight use.

Pila is supposed to make the holy grail of 18650 chargers. It isn't really that expensive.

The other charger that looks cool is the xtar one that does like 6 bats but when they came out they didn't cut off voltage right either. Maybe there has been a revision? Haven't checked that out yet.

I know people say you should be watching these things as they charge but that is also insane. I'm currently charging them in the garage. Have plans to set up some sort of containment box to put the chargers in for winter time use.

Keep checkin the voltage, especially when you get a new charger, etc. Luck

 

[kazz63758]

While I don't think this is your issue since some are checking at the correct voltage--make sure that batteries in your multimeter are good. When mine start getting low, it always shows my battery voltage as higher than they actually are. Usually in the 4.5 range. Fresh multimeter batteries remedy the situation.

 

[Groundswell17]

i have the WF-139 also, i feel like the pila is expensive for a charger, anyone know if it really is safer? better? more consistent?

 

[kazz63758]

I don't own nor have ever used the WF139, but did originally own a WF188. I can say that the Pila is better built and much more consistent than that one was.

I finally decided that with my investment in batteries, it was worth it to me to spend an extra $20 to keep them in top condition. I have no complaints at all about the Pila chargers that I own.

 

[Nomoreash]

The WF 139 in several reviews and test has been found to continue trickle charging the cells after they show charged. Are you leaving the batteries on the charger after they first show charged? That could be what's happening. Google WF139 trickle charge and you should be able to bring up plenty of information on it.

I've had the WF-188 for almost two years with no issues and it doesn't trickle charge. There are better quality chargers out there though like the Pila as already mentioned and XTAR is gettting alot of great feedback also.