Fast reliable charger??

[jvad]

Hello,

I've been using a mod (a vamo) for two weeks after 6 months with standar ego batteries and I'm loving it

The only part that bothers me is my charger, it is sloooow, I have a trustfire tr-001 and it takes 8 hours to charge a 900 mah 18350 and 15 hours for an efest 18650 2000 mah!!!

Not sure if that is normal, but i wouldn't mind a faster charger, any recommendations?

Thanks
Jvad

 

[MaNurse]

Nitecore intellicharger i4... Really good. Charges faster with 2 batteries, but if you have time you can charge 4 at a slower rate. About 20 bucks on fasttech if you don't mind a 10 day shipping wait or about 25 bucks on amazon with free shipping... Might have to add something small because its a little short to qualify for free shipping

 

[wyetterp]

I like the xtar's. Keeps my batteries in good condition over time & charges pretty fast.

Word of advice, go ahead and get the the wp6. You'll need it down the line.

 

[Disconnect]

Another vote for the nitecore. I actually forgot spare batteries today, but it charges fast enough that I'll just unstack this afternoon, throw one in and vape on the other for the hour or 90 mins it takes to charge the other.. (18350)

I won't be able to restack until I charge them both (together preferably) but that is ok.

(ETA: Yes, I actually remembered the charger and forgot the batteries. It is that kind of day..)

 

[jvad]

wyetterp & Manurse,

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated, they both seems like good options!

Any idea on how long it takes to charge a 900mah 18350 and/or a 2000mah 18650 on those charges.

Cheers
jvad

 

[eHuman]

Hello,

I've been using a mod (a vamo) for two weeks after 6 months with standar ego batteries and I'm loving it

The only part that bothers me is my charger, it is sloooow, I have a trustfire tr-001 and it takes 8 hours to charge a 900 mah 18350 and 15 hours for an efest 18650 2000 mah!!!

Not sure if that is normal, but i wouldn't mind a faster charger, any recommendations?

Thanks
Jvad

I must have gotten lucky with my trustfire-001. I have had it for 2.5 years and to this day it only takes 4 hours to charge a 2000mAh battery. I just purchased a nitecore i4 V2 since I have many pvs and batteries in rotation, and it will charge faster than the trustfire does.

 

[eHuman]

wyetterp & Manurse,

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated, they both seems like good options!

Any idea on how long it takes to charge a 900mah 18350 and/or a 2000mah 18650 on those charges.

Cheers
jvad

Nitecore charges 4 batteries at once at 500mA and 2 batteries at once at 1000mA.
So your 900mAh battery will take less than an hour and your 2000 will take less than 2 hours (they are never fully discharged to start with).

 

[Fury83]

I've only ever had a Pila, it works great.

As for charging time, go somewhere like RTDvapor, it will list the charging current for them all. Should be able to deduce from there.

 

[SupplyDaddy]

Nitecore i2 Intellicharger Li-ion Ni-Mh Ni-Cd Universal Battery Charger (Newest edition)

$21.99
Click to view
Nitecore i4 Sysmax Battery charger - Orbtronic
Nitecore i4 Intellicharger Li-ion Ni-Mh Ni-Cd Universal Battery Charger (Newest edition) - Charging Four Batteries
Nitecore i4 will charge these batteries: Li-ion: 26650, 22650, 18650, 17670,...

$27.99
Click to view
- See more at: 18650 li-ion chargers

No shipping charge for regular USPS mail

Should charge an

 

[WillyB]

Nitecore charges 4 batteries at once at 500mA and 2 batteries at once at 1000mA.
So your 900mAh battery will take less than an hour and your 2000 will take less than 2 hours (they are never fully discharged to start with).

It doesn't work like that. Does a 1000mA charger charge twice as fast as a 500mA one? Nope. Nor can it be so simply determined as per your example.


The actual time a charger is running at it's max current is rather limited.

From this chart you can see that at the half way mark of the cycle the current has dropped and is dropping quite a bit. You'll also note that if you start charging when your battery is at a higher voltage that full tilt part is even shorter, but has no influence on the time it takes to fully and properly (full saturation) finish the charge which takes up the lion's share of the cycle.

 

[jvad]

Thanks guys!! That's why I love ECF, so many well informed people willing to share their expertise!!!

@ WillyB, it makes sense that the current the charger puts out will decrease over time, is it because the voltage differential between the charger and the batery decreases over time? (But maybe not as if it were the current drop will be more linear)

 

[Kyndcookie]

If you're the kind of person who like the newest thing around you might like the XTAR VP1. Pila quality with a cool display.

XTAR VP1 Battery Charger w/LCD

 

[AlB53]

my TR-001 charger does 18650's in 4 hrs. did you ever out a meter on it?

 

[Baditude]

I have the Pila. Fast reliable charger worth the money. I also recommend RTD Vapor to purchase chargers and batteries.

 

[jvad]

my TR-001 charger does 18650's in 4 hrs. did you ever out a meter on it?

I guess I got a defective tr-001, mine as I said takes over 14 hours for a 18650. One time i was removing the battery everytwo hours to check and it was charging at about 0.11 volts every two hours...

In case that makes a difference my 18650 is an efest 2000 mah

 

[eHuman]

It doesn't work like that. Does a 1000mA charger charge twice as fast as a 500mA one? Nope. Nor can it be so simply determined as per your example.


The actual time a charger is running at it's max current is rather limited.

From this chart you can see that at the half way mark of the cycle the current has dropped and is dropping quite a bit. You'll also note that if you start charging when your battery is at a higher voltage that full tilt part is even shorter, but has no influence on the time it takes to fully and properly (full saturation) finish the charge which takes up the lion's share of the cycle.

I hear you on the charging algorithm varying the output throughout the charge cycle. That's all I can tell you is my current charger (500ma output) takes less than 4 hours to charge a 2000mAh imr from 3.2v.

 

[WillyB]

Basically the charging terminates by the current, different makers use different amounts, getting to 4.2V is only part of the battle.

BatteryU uses the term 'saturation'.

Looking at 4.20V, I want 100% not 85%.

I'm not into overly coddling batteries, they are by far the smallest part of my vaping budget. I want a full charge. And I'd much rather have a charger that takes a cell to 4.22V than 4.15V.

 

[lamarrk]

I have a Nitecore I4 charger (got it off eBay). The included documentation stated the following:

"When one or two batteries are charged, each slot will receive a maximum output current of 750 mA."
"When four batteries are charged at the same time, each charging slot will receive a maximum output current of 375 mA."

The I4 may not be the best charger available, but it's pretty good for a universal charger (it will charge Ni-Cd and Ni-MH).

 

[sivo]

Odd I have the same charging problem, same charger! After 12-15 hours the light for my efest 18650 is still red.. Is it the battery or the charger? There is this little button on the side of the charger, to switch between 3.0 and 3.6, the guy said never switch it.. Hmm..

 

[jvad]

Odd I have the same charging problem, same charger! After 12-15 hours the light for my efest 18650 is still red.. Is it the battery or the charger? There is this little button on the side of the charger, to switch between 3.0 and 3.6, the guy said never switch it.. Hmm..

Mine has the button on 3.6, I moved and it made no difference.

I doubt it is the battery, I have 4 different batteries and they all take forever to charge, I guess we both got a defective charger as several people here has reported way lower charging times with the same charger

What I'm wondering now is if it defective if it can also be hazardous!!!