do chargers matter that much?

[catilley1092]

I have the nitecore i2 and it's great, will definitely continue using that one. I've accumulated so many mechs that two charging slots just don't cut it anymore (2x2 should be enough, for now), and if I get something new I might as well try something other than a nitecore. Was looking at the Efest lucs, but the display appears very rudimentary. I guess I'll just get the Soshine and see how it works out.

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I have the Efest LUC V2, one thing for sure, it's far better than the ThreatFire charger that I was using, which would overheat & so were the batteries. I have 2 AW 18490's that surely lost some lifespan due to that cheap charger.

Five things that I like about Efest LUC V2 are first, it can work with many sizes of rechargeable IMR's, the charge level itself can be adjusted (0.5 or 1Amp), there's a USB adapter included (though I don't use it), there's a digital scale that shows the level of each battery & both circuits are independent. It does stop charging when complete, the indicator stops blinking when this happens.

Finally, the Efset LUC V2 doesn't overheat, neither does the batteries during charge, I probably with the purchase saved them from a way premature death. I feel that given it's price (same range as other top brands mentioned in the thread) & performance/features, it also deserves to be considered among the top brands. Mine was $32, hand delivered. Could have obtained on eBay for $4 less, but buying batteries/chargers from locals gives me piece of mind.

Agree with the member that stated anything can fail or not work as intended. No way am I going to sleep with batteries on the charger, after reading one article in the Battery topics, I no longer leave AA/AAA Ni-Mh batteries on overnight charge (on their charger), any battery can fail at any point in it's lifespan.

Cat

 

[AndriaD]

Agree with the member that stated anything can fail or not work as intended. No way am I going to sleep with batteries on the charger, after reading one article in the Battery topics, I no longer leave AA/AAA Ni-Mh batteries on overnight charge (on their charger), any battery can fail at any point in it's lifespan.

Same here; the first time I saw some pics of what it looked like when a battery did a runaway, I stopped charging overnight; now I only charge if I'm awake and either right here in the room, or pretty darn close by, not off in the back watching TV. I've never personally seen a battery do anything strange; I've never personally seen a penguin either, but I have it on good authority that they exist.

Andria

 

[Northern-Lights]

Nitecore i4 for only 20 bucks with 4 charging slots. Nuff said.

 

[twizted]

For the love of god people, take the batteries off the charger when charged. It takes what, all of 5 seconds. How long will it take you to re-acquire all your possessions?

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[AndriaD]

For the love of god people, take the batteries off the charger when charged. It takes what, all of 5 seconds. How long will it take you to re-acquire all your possessions?

Why is it necessary to take them off, rather than just unplugging the charger?

Andria

 

[huhhman]

Love my efest luc v4, charges my batteries so bloody fast. I leave my batteries in the charger and plugged in. Not worried one bit about my charger failing, modern charges have multiple safety features. Plus they've been around much longer than vaping has.

 

[twizted]

A unplugged charger with a battery in the charging bay will in effect let the batteries charge flow back to the circuitry of the charger. If you're going to walk over to the charger to unplug it you might as well take the battery out.

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[AndriaD]

A unplugged charger with a battery in the charging bay will in effect let the batteries charge flow back to the circuitry of the charger. If you're going to walk over to the charger to unplug it you might as well take the battery out.

Ah! I didn't know that; thx for the info!! I've just been unplugging them, but now I'll start taking 'em out too.

Thx!
Andria

 

[AndriaD]

Love my efest luc v4, charges my batteries so bloody fast. I leave my batteries in the charger and plugged in. Not worried one bit about my charger failing, modern charges have multiple safety features. Plus they've been around much longer than vaping has.

That's all true... but as I said, it only takes one mishap to ruin your whole day, maybe by burning down your house. Is it really worth the risk? I really like my house! It's the first one we've ever bought, so I sure don't want to burn it down just by being too lazy to exercise proper caution.

Andria

 

[huhhman]

That's all true... but as I said, it only takes one mishap to ruin your whole day, maybe by burning down your house. Is it really worth the risk? I really like my house! It's the first one we've ever bought, so I sure don't want to burn it down just by being too lazy to exercise proper caution.

Andria

Then you better unplug all your appliances because those could also burn down your house.

 

[catilley1092]

Nitecore i4 for only 20 bucks with 4 charging slots. Nuff said.

Well, next time I'll know, should the Efest LUC V2 give problems. Some vape shops were charging more, plus shipping.

I was originally looking at the top brands listed, the Xtar is often sold out on many sites, obviously the brand is popular.

Choosing the charger wasn't an easy decision, I had read many reviews, there were many positives on all. The one thing that stood out about the Efest is the digital readout. It is accurate, as I measure my batteries before & after charging.

Time will tell, but it's hard to dispute that the Efest LUC V2 is indeed superior over the cheap ThreatFire brand.

Cat

 

[twizted]

Then you better unplug all your appliances because those could also burn down your house.

Gotta be one in every group.

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[Ryedan]

Then you better unplug all your appliances because those could also burn down your house.

Correct. But appliances have UL/CE/CSA approvals. House wiring conforms to national and local building codes. This stuff is pretty safe and rarely burns. A cheap charger may lack any of these safeguards.

Even if the charger has all the safeguards, like all mine do, it takes me maybe a minute a day to take them all off charge when I go to bed. That includes my cell phone, e-cigs, laptop, cordless phones, RC batteries and anything else that's plugged in. If anything needs more charge in the morning I plug them back in when I get up which takes another minute of my time.

Look at the risk/benefit analysis. Batteries are not going to burn often, but if one does it can mess up your entire life. A couple of minutes a day can virtually eliminate that risk. That's practically free.

Makes sense to me, but YMMV.

 

[AndriaD]

Correct. But appliances have UL/CE/CSA approvals. House wiring conforms to national and local building codes. This stuff is pretty safe and rarely burns. A cheap charger may lack any of these safeguards.

Even if the charger has all the safeguards, like all mine do, it takes me maybe a minute a day to take them all off charge when I go to bed. That includes my cell phone, e-cigs, laptop, cordless phones, RC batteries and anything else that's plugged in. If anything needs more charge in the morning I plug them back in when I get up which takes another minute of my time.

Look at the risk/benefit analysis. Batteries are not going to burn often, but if one does it can mess up your entire life. A couple of minutes a day can virtually eliminate that risk. That's practically free.

Makes sense to me, but YMMV.

I'm really glad someone pointed out all this. I wasn't going to waste that many words on someone clearly without a clue.

THANK YOU!
Andria

 

[herb]

Is the Nitecore I2 just like the I4 minus the two extra bays ? On the Manufacturers site it says the I4 is the latest model but nothing mentioned about the I2.

 

[AndriaD]

Is the Nitecore I2 just like the I4 minus the two extra bays ? On the Manufacturers site it says the I4 is the latest model but nothing mentioned about the I2.

Yeah I think so. I guess they'd just rather flog the more expensive product. I've been really happy with my I4, so the I2 is probably just as good. Think the only time I've used all 4 bays at once was when I first got all my batteries.

Andria

 

[beckdg]

Is the Nitecore I2 just like the I4 minus the two extra bays ? On the Manufacturers site it says the I4 is the latest model but nothing mentioned about the I2.

I4 charges @ 1.5 amps total (.75 x 2 or .375 x 4)
I2 charges @ 1 amp total (.5 x 2)

physically and functionally, they're basically the same. though, the I4 does charge a little faster in total than the I2.

 

[anumber1]

Well, next time I'll know, should the Efest LUC V2 give problems. Some vape shops were charging more, plus shipping.

I was originally looking at the top brands listed, the Xtar is often sold out on many sites, obviously the brand is popular.

Choosing the charger wasn't an easy decision, I had read many reviews, there were many positives on all. The one thing that stood out about the Efest is the digital readout. It is accurate, as I measure my batteries before & after charging.

Time will tell, but it's hard to dispute that the Efest LUC V2 is indeed superior over the cheap ThreatFire brand.

Cat

I like my LUC. It was reasonably priced and functions well. My batteries come off right at 4.18 to 4.21vdc. Reliably.

No regrets. My charger is about a year old so it qualifies as dependable also.