Best charger for 14500 and 18650 batteries?

[grantemsley]

I currently have this charger:
UltraFire WF-139 3.7V 14500/17500/18500/17670/18650 Battery Charger (AC 100~220V/DC 12V) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme

It's recently decided it doesn't want to work on AC power (even took it apart, resoldered the fuse that had come lose and a few other bad solder joints, still doesn't work). It's working on on DC power, but I don't trust it now. And having looked at the soldering job they did inside...I'd really like to replace it with something better. Battery charging isn't something you want to mess around with!

Any recommendations for a good charger to replace it? I don't want to spend more than I have to, but I want something that is safe and reliable.

 

[throatkick]

I have heard nothing but the best from many people about Pila and xtar chargers.

 

[Bozzlite]

I think, for the money, go for the xtar WP2 II. I believe it to be as good as the much higher priced Pila.

You can compare both of them at SuperTmanufacturing, or RTDVapor.

 

[AriM]

What is your budget? I ask because there are some very nice charging solutions out there, that will handle most (if not all) modern cells. That way you can charge any battery on hand, from one unit.

Also most of them include internal balancing (for multi-cell packs), as well as a USB interface/software for data logging. They can also do cell cycling/conditioning....which is very useful for li-ion cells that have been abused.

You might feel some sticker shock when you first see the price, but if you want a charger that does multiple cell chemistry (like your wf-139 did) then you are really saving some money buying one solution (rather than a dedicated, high quality charger for each type of cell).

 

[GLRogerss]

How do know if a charger is bad?

 

[mwa102464]

What is your budget? I ask because there are some very nice charging solutions out there, that will handle most (if not all) modern cells. That way you can charge any battery on hand, from one unit.

Also most of them include internal balancing (for multi-cell packs), as well as a USB interface/software for data logging. They can also do cell cycling/conditioning....which is very useful for li-ion cells that have been abused.

You might feel some sticker shock when you first see the price, but if you want a charger that does multiple cell chemistry (like your wf-139 did) then you are really saving some money buying one solution (rather than a dedicated, high quality charger for each type of cell).

AriM,,,Could you link the ones your speaking about I would like to see them I'm not worried about sticker shock Are you talking about ones like this = http://www.redcatracing.com/RC-Cars/Redcat-Parts/Tenergy-90252_2

Or some of these = http://www.all-battery.com/chargersandbalancersforli-ionli-polymerbatteriesandpacks37vto60v.aspx

Just curious to the ones you would recommend AriM

 

[bully mom]

How do know if a charger is bad?

I noticed that no one answered your question GL and I too would love to know how to determine if a charger is bad.

Hope someone comes along and lets us know.

 

[DaveP]

There have been several people who had sparks shoot out from the ac cord on these chargers. It's small and poorly made on some chargers and obviously has a high failure rate. My Trustfire TR-001 is most likely the same as your Ultrafire. Mine is about a year old and hasn't had any problems.

I'd look at the cord and see if it reads open on an ohm meter ... unplugged of course. The cord on my Trustfire has a two prong plug that inserts into the charger. Yours may be exactly like that. If it is and it reads open, you can use a cord from an electric shaver, provided the plug fits.

The plugs on these chargers are a poor press fit to a small wire inside the molded plugs. Chances are that since it works on the 12v input, it's just not getting voltage from the power cord.

Amp rating on the cord wouldn't matter much. The output of the charger is 4.2v @ 500ma. The line input current would be tiny for only 1/2 amp of output.