Efest charger question

[DaveP]

That looks similar to the Opus BT-C3100 v2.2 that I use, but with a little less adjustability and without the internal fan that the Opus has. It does have more info displayed on the screen, with the Opus you have to press a button to cycle through the info.

About the efest chargers, I had 2 of the exact same model chargers from them. One would barely fit a 2x700 and the other would not fit them at all. Since it would be bad for a sales site to state that on the description, it is best to just make a blanket statement that they don't fit that size battery so you don't get a bunch of returns and complaints.

After reading way too many reviews I have decided on the Opus BT-C3100.

I see a lot of noisy fan posts on vendor sites and Ebay. Is your Opus quiet or has your fan become noisy? I can change it if needed, but would rather not have to with a new charger.

 

[Zaryk]

After reading way too many reviews I have decided on the Opus BT-C3100.

I see a lot of noisy fan posts on vendor sites and Ebay. Is your Opus quiet or has your fan become noisy? I can change it if needed, but would rather not have to with a new charger.

It fits 2x700 batteries with room to spare. I use it for my 2x700s exclusively with zero worries of damaging wraps.

I can only hear the fan if I am right next to it, and it still isn't what I would call loud even then. It doesn't come on when charging (I never noticed it at least), but when checking resistance it will come on.

 

[DaveP]

It fits 2x700 batteries with room to spare. I use it for my 2x700s exclusively with zero worries of damaging wraps.

I can only hear the fan if I am right next to it, and it still isn't what I would call loud even then. It doesn't come on when charging (I never noticed it at least), but when checking resistance it will come on.

I've heard a lot of comments about fan issues in the Opus, but fans are common computer hardware items in standard sizes. If it fails, then a standard computer fan of the right size and CFM velocity should replace it fine for $5.

I ordered mine this morning and Amazon says one day delivery (tomorrow) under Prime shipping. Amazon is opening a new warehouse in our area and shipping should be even faster once it's under full operation. The newspaper article said that many items would be delivered the same day within its local range if ordered with Amazon Prime.

 

[Zaryk]

I've heard a lot of comments about fan issues in the Opus, but fans are common computer hardware items in standard sizes. If it fails, then a standard computer fan of the right size and CFM velocity should replace it fine for $5.

I ordered mine this morning and Amazon says one day delivery (tomorrow) under Prime shipping. Amazon is opening a new warehouse in our area and shipping should be even faster once it's under full operation. The newspaper article said that many items would be delivered the same day within its local range if ordered with Amazon Prime.

There are a couple of versions of this charger. Mine is a 2.2, so it may have a quieter fan than the previous versions did, just speculating though.

 

[DaveP]

There are a couple of versions of this charger. Mine is a 2.2, so it may have a quieter fan than the previous versions did, just speculating though.

Mine is the V2.2. Amazon says it will be delivered today. It's going to be nice not to have to swap chargers in and out and to have all the features on one charger. Until 21700 came into the picture I was happy with the Zanflare C4 since it charges 4 bays at 1A, but it mars the wraps on 21700. Efest LUC v4 doesn't fit 21700, but does everything but internal resistance. Xtar VC4 fits 21700 but won't charge 4 bays at 1A.

The Opus does it all and more.

 

[DaveP]

FWIW, my Opus BT-3100 V2.2 charger arrived today and It looks nice. I tried a 21700 for fit and it goes in and comes out easily with no scrubbing on the wrap. I haven't loaded all four bays yet and the fan hasn't come on, so it's very quiet. I'm guessing that the fan is temperature controlled and I haven't loaded it enough to trigger the fan. All in all I'm happy with it. It ticked all the boxes when I started comparing features. My other 4 four bay chargers will probably stay on the shelf unless I need to charge more than 4 cells at once.

It will be nice to only need one charger for all charging needs.

 

[Zaryk]

FWIW, my Opus BT-3100 V2.2 charger arrived today and It looks nice. I tried a 21700 for fit and it goes in and comes out easily with no scrubbing on the wrap. I haven't loaded all four bays yet and the fan hasn't come on, so it's very quiet. I'm guessing that the fan is temperature controlled and I haven't loaded it enough to trigger the fan. All in all I'm happy with it. It ticked all the boxes when I started comparing features. My other 4 four bay chargers will probably stay on the shelf unless I need to charge more than 4 cells at once.

It will be nice to only need one charger for all charging needs.

The fan is temp controlled. I never had mine come on during charging, just on mah tests (I think I misspoke in a previous post and said resistance tests, but meant mah tests).

It really does have all the features one could need in a charger for recreational use. I like having control of each bay individually so I can test resistance on one bay while charging one bay at 1 amp and another bay at .5 amp, and testing mah on the last. Nice to be able to if I need to. All of my other chargers (efest, xtar, nitecore, ect) have been put in storage for back up use, a beater charger for travel, or to give to a friend if they end up needing one.

 

[DaveP]

The fan is temp controlled. I never had mine come on during charging, just on mah tests (I think I misspoke in a previous post and said resistance tests, but meant mah tests).

It really does have all the features one could need in a charger for recreational use. I like having control of each bay individually so I can test resistance on one bay while charging one bay at 1 amp and another bay at .5 amp, and testing mah on the last. Nice to be able to if I need to. All of my other chargers (efest, xtar, nitecore, ect) have been put in storage for back up use, a beater charger for travel, or to give to a friend if they end up needing one.

I put my Opus into service last night. The bays have plenty of room for my 21700's and I'm figuring out the menu system already. This one should be my goto charger unless I need to charge more than 4 cells at a time. If that happens I'll just pull out the Efest LUC 4 and put it back to work as a side charger here and there.

 

[DaveP]

That looks similar to the Opus BT-C3100 v2.2 that I use, but with a little less adjustability and without the internal fan that the Opus has. It does have more info displayed on the screen, with the Opus you have to press a button to cycle through the info.

About the efest chargers, I had 2 of the exact same model chargers from them. One would barely fit a 2x700 and the other would not fit them at all. Since it would be bad for a sales site to state that on the description, it is best to just make a blanket statement that they don't fit that size battery so you don't get a bunch of returns and complaints.

So, how do you make the display stay on while charging? It cuts off after a minute or two and I have to press a button to light up the display. I'm accustomed to just walking by the charger and looking at the display to monitor charging. I can see how the display shutting off would be an issue in a commercial environment where a wall of chargers is constantly at work to maintain a supply of cells for employee devices. A dark display doesn't tell you when a bay has completed charging.

Never mind. I somehow got the bays to all stay lighted, but I'm not quite sure which button did that. Time to go back and look at the documentation.

 

[Zaryk]

So, how do you make the display stay on while charging? It cuts off after a minute or two and I have to press a button to light up the display. I'm accustomed to just walking by the charger and looking at the display to monitor charging. I can see how the display shutting off would be an issue in a commercial environment where a wall of chargers is constantly at work to maintain a supply of cells for employee devices. A dark display doesn't tell you when a bay has completed charging.

Never mind. I somehow got the bays to all stay lighted, but I'm not quite sure which button did that. Time to go back and look at the documentation.

Hold the display button for a few seconds and it will toggle the auto off and always on modes to the backlight.

 

[DaveP]

Hold the display button for a few seconds and it will toggle the auto off and always on modes to the backlight.

I think that's what I did. In default mode the backlight cut off after about 15 seconds of inactivity.