Battery charging question

[hildicat]

Hey Folks
when I ordered my IMR AW 18650 battereis I guess I cheaped out a bit and ordered and Ultrafire Radis Charger instead of the Pila charger. My question now is how do I know if/when the batteries are fully charged, and will it hurt the batteries if I leave them on the charger for a couple of days. I believe the Ultrafire charger has indicator lights that show red or green to reflect the charge of each battery, but I am slightly color blind and have a very hard time judging the actual color of these lights. So, should I pony up to the Pila, or am I safe to leave these batteries on this Ultrafire over night or possibly longer.
Thanks!

 

[Rhapsodies Fire]

It is not recommended to leave batteries unattended for too long. Perhaps it would be a good idea to use a timer of some sort for your batteries if you can't see the colored lights. My batteries tend to take just a couple hours to charge. That way you won't have to worry about leaving them on too long. If you don't have a cooking timer, you can use your cell phone.

 

[mlinky]

And get a multimeter. They should come off the charger between 4.18v and 4.22v.

 

[hildicat]

That's great advice, thanks

 

[Mudflap]

The Pila uses red and green LEDs too, so it wouldn't be a huge advantage for you as far as that goes.

 

[washvap]

NEVER leave the batteries unattended when you charge them. That's where the issues come from where some people report batteries blowing up. You don't have to buy a Pila to get your batteries charged well. I use an Ultrafire WF-188 that is also a smart charger but, costs significantly less then a Pila. It still has the trickle charging feature as well.

Also have a spare WF-139 that charges the batteries very well but, doesn't have as much features as the others. Gets the job done and that's the most important thing.

 

[KeithB]

I'm wondering if you had some colored plastic film, I'm thinking those old school 3-D glasses with the red and blue, if it'd make it easier to distinguish the different color LEDs for the colorblind. I am also red-green colorblind but fortunately I can at least tell when my batteries are charged.

 

[Kami]

Hello hildicat

IMHO the Pila charger is a wee bit better for your circumstances. Here is why......It floats...I think?
The Pila has a few different stages.
Stage 1 - Automatic analyzing battery status
Stage 2 - Quick charge
Stage 3 - Slow charge
Stage 4 - Standby mode, trickle charge

Source: Best Rechargeable Battery Chargers: Pila Battery Charger & Pila Charger and a bunch of other places ...even here

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/provape/181938-pila-ibc-4-stage-charger.html

The most important for you would be Standby Mode, trickle charge
Me thinks this is really what is considered to float since Pila has specialized circuitry.
A float charger differs from a trickle charger in having circuitry which keeps batteries from overcharging.The Pila knows when the battery voltage is at the proper level and stops charging (my guess is this is Standby). Then this puppy should keep the charging current at zero until it senses that the battery voltage has dropped off, and starts charging again (Trickle).

This way you should be able to leave the battery on the charger as long as you care to without worries.

Any EE about ...... to verify this is correct ....or I'm just wrong?

 

[mlinky]

Kami, you are correct. Although no charger should be left unattended, I have never heard of a Pila overcharging a battery and causing a (dangerous) failure.

BTW, I LOVE your avatar. Is that your baby?

 

[Kami]

BTW, I LOVE your avatar. Is that your baby?

Thank you mlinky .......Yes 1 of 16 that foaled last winter..........only 15 coming this year so I'll have an easier time of it.

 

[mlinky]

Such a cutie!! We will have a few more babies at the barn this year. Last year, no one had bred.

 

[hildicat]

Thanks for the info. Looks like I will be getting the Pila in the future but in the mean time I have purchased a multi-meter so I can check the charge on my batteries.

 

[Mudflap]

Check out this charger. It has an LCD display that might suit you.