Fast reliable charger??

[xbassman]

I got a a xtar SP2 a week or so ago and love it! Charging @ 2 amps is awesome!

It would be nice to see some specific charge times on this charger.
I also saw a thread here that Efest made one similar. (It only does 1A, .5A charge rates though)

That 2A charge probably would come in handy with the really high mAh batteries.
It's probably not as necessary for 2000 mAh and lower though IMO.
The charge rate steps down to a lower level as the charge nears completion.
At what level and how low it steps down can vary quite a bit depending on the charger.

My Panasonic CGR's charge in 2-3 hours @ 1A no matter the discharge level. (xtar WP2-II)
I've got some AW 3100 mAh ICR's that prompted me to upgrade to the WP2-II and I can definitely see hitting those with with a 2A charge rate.

 

[bapgood]

It would be nice to see some specific charge times on this charger.
I also saw a thread here that Efest made one similar. (It only does 1A, .5A charge rates though)

That 2A charge probably would come in handy with the really high mAh batteries.
It's probably not as necessary for 2000 mAh and lower though IMO.
The charge rate steps down to a lower level as the charge nears completion.
At what level and how low it steps down can vary quite a bit depending on the charger.

My Panasonic CGR's charge in 2-3 hours @ 1A no matter the discharge level. (Xtar WP2-II)
I've got some AW 3100 mAh ICR's that prompted me to upgrade to the WP2-II and I can definitely see hitting those with with a 2A charge rate.

I can't say I agree with this.

A true to spec charger should charge the set current in ~1 hour....so 2a=2000mah charge per hour, 1a=1000mah per hour, etc. The cc-cv charging method is tried and true, yes different chargers may vary on how they transition from cc to cv, but I doubt the overall charge time varies much between the decent chargers.

So to say "My Panasonic CGR's charge in 2-3 hours @ 1A no matter the discharge level. (Xtar WP2-II)" just doesn't compute to me. Unless the batteries have some built in circuit that causes this phenomenon.

I can say a dead 2000mah 18650 charges quite quickly at 2a....~1hr like it should.

Like I said in an earlier post....I like to charge as close to a 1C rate as possible.

 

[xbassman]

So to say "My Panasonic CGR's charge in 2-3 hours @ 1A no matter the discharge level. (Xtar WP2-II)" just doesn't compute to me. Unless the batteries have some built in circuit that causes this phenomenon.

I guess I should rephrase that....

I should have said.
My CGR18650CH's charge in under 3 hours no matter the discharge level (I don't discharge them below 3.5V).

or more specifically:
I timed their charge from 3.64V -4.22V. (4.21V after 1hr rest)
Both channels occupied, both batteries completely charged in 2 hrs 45 min. (left bank finished 1 minute ahead of the right bank)

 

[Fury83]

2A charging is a must for 26650's

 

[bapgood]

2A charging is a must for 26650's

I agree, and was the reason for the SP2. But I have a DNA20 mod with a 6000mah 65c lipo and 500mah DNA usb charger, if I let it run dead it takes like 14 hours to charge

 

[Ryedan]

I use the trustfire multi charger. I heard that they randomly explode though.

Hmm, that's not good

 

[Strontium]

Applying 1C charging for all 18650 batteries can be quite dangerous for you, and your batteries.
That is very good way to destroy some of yours 18650 batteries. My recommendation for guys who have hobby chargers is: do not charge 18650 at 1C if you do not know what are you doing. Let's say you have 3400mAh Panasonic battery, and you want to charge it at 1C = that is 3.4A charging current 8-o



Guy who said that charging CGR18650CH takes around 3 hours at 1A is right. If you are getting into discussion you should understand how CC/CV charging algorithm works. Increasing charging current by 100% will not decrease charging time by 50%.


IMR, and Hybrid IMR can be charged at 1C without any problem. Xtar SP2 will do the job quite well at 2A.

Keep it safe, and don't do any experiments with 18650 batteries. Read manufacturer specs.

 

[bapgood]

Applying 1C charging for all 18650 batteries can be quite dangerous for you, and your batteries.
That is very good way to destroy some of yours 18650 batteries. My recommendation for guys who have hobby chargers is: do not charge 18650 at 1C if you do not know what are you doing. Let's say you have 3400mAh Panasonic battery, and you want to charge it at 1C = that is 3.4A charging current 8-o



Guy who said that charging CGR18650CH takes around 3 hours at 1A is right. If you are getting into discussion you should understand how CC/CV charging algorithm works. Increasing charging current by 100% will not decrease charging time by 50%.


IMR, and Hybrid IMR can be charged at 1C without any problem. Xtar SP2 will do the job quite well at 2A.

Keep it safe, and don't do any experiments with 18650 batteries. Read manufacturer specs.

I won't argue with any of this information. As Strontium mentioned as did I in one of my posts.....Read manufacturer specs! as well as getting a good understanding of what is going on with the batteries you are using.

There are too many specifics to the variety of batteries out there (some 18650's specs have a 4+ amp max charge rate).

So yes keep it safe.....but I still recommend the SP2 for a good charger with some extra capacity.