High Quality 4-cell charger

[Amnesia1187]

So I got a Provari last week, and I purchased a VP-1 charger for the batteries which has been working great, but it only takes 2 batteries. Not a big deal at the moment, since it charges 1 battery much faster than I can use the other, but I just preordered a Futura, and I'm about to order like 4 18650s, 2 more 18490s and 2 18350s, and I'm sure I'll forget to charge em at some point.

Are there any chargers of the same quality as the VP-1 or the Pila that do 4 cells? Perhaps I should just get another VP-1 as 4 cells at once should be more than I could ever need, but I figured it was at least worth asking.

 

[bosun]

I'm using a Nitecore I4 that is working well for me. Have had it less than a week charging 18490 bats so not really a chance to give a long time endurance report. Bought from RTD Vapor - excellent selection of brands and an amazingly fast ship time!

 

[jow350]

XTAR makes a 4-bay charger, the XP4, and they apparently make a 6-bay charger as well, the WP6, but none of these have the features of the SP1...
Having said that, if I was in your situation I would just get another SP1. Madvapes has them on sale, with lovetovape5 it's $38.76 plus shipping, or you can get it from fasttech for $32.89 shipped if you can wait a few weeks.

 

[Baditude]

I have a Pila which served me well for 1.5 years; I recently had to put it away in storage because one of its two bays stopped working. No complaints about it up to that point, its been the top-rated charger for vapors for a few years. The Xtar VP1 is probably as good presently, and has more updated features than the Pila, so is probably a better value until if or when Pila updates theirs.

I was in the market for a multiple bay charger just as you are now. I chose the six bay Xtar WP6 II. It's a very good charger for any batteries other than 18350 size; this size refuses to stay in the charging bays and pop out on their own. This charger uses cheesy springs - I prefer sliding bars or proper fitting spacers. Other size batteries fit fine. I got so frustrated trying to charge my large collection of 18350 batteries than I was again on the market for a multiple bay charger. In hindsight, the Xtar XP4 would have been a better choice despite only having 4 bays.

I chose the Nitecore Intellicharger i4. This uses the slider bars in the charging bays like I prefer. It also uses independent processors for each charging bay, which the Xtar XP4 does not list as a feature in the product description on RTD Vapor. Very happy with this charger. Battery charging status is real time for each bay via LED lights; three lights for each bay go from 1 - 3 lights to indicate stage of charging. This charger gets the bulk of all my battery charging needs. The Xtar WP6 is now more of a backup charger for me. My daughter uses the Nitecore i2 which she is pleased with.

 

[djtonyb]

+1 on the Nitecore i4. Aside from getting a bad unit shipped initially, I've had no problems with it after 5 months of daily use.

 

[beatlesfan]

+2 in the Nitecore i4. I've got one and it's been rocking steady for almost a year now. Amazon for less than $25.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4

 

[jcco]

No problems with the Nitecore I4. You can mix battery sizes & it charges them independently. Plus I was excited to learn it will charge both AA & AAA. That's good enough for me.

 

[Recon Number 54]

+2 in the Nitecore i4. I've got one and it's been rocking steady for almost a year now. Amazon for less than $25.

Mine just arrived today and is charging my new batteries for my newly arrived mod.

I am glad to hear that my choice is being spoken of so highly. It puts a lot of my concerns to rest.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

+3 on the Nitecore I4. Had one for what seems like forever and it works like a bloody champ.

I have some emergency response/emergency management colleagues who have the same unit and who have also had great satisfaction.

I know that eventually, this charger will die and I will need a replacement. I'm seriously thinking about replacing my four-channel unit with two, two-channel units. This is a "critical asset" for me. It must work, when I need it to. If a two-bay charger dies then I still have a two-bay charger in reserve.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

Mine just arrived today and is charging my new batteries for my newly arrived mod.

I am glad to hear that my choice is being spoken of so highly. It puts a lot of my concerns to rest.

Keep an eye on it. While most folks have used genuine Nitecore chargers with no problems at all, there have been reports of defective units.

You'll know within the first few charges whether or not yours is gonna last. Bad electronics go bad quickly, in my experience.

I had a $1,000 piece of GPS equipment go belly up because the battery pack was defective. It was on its third or fourth charge when it decided to get horizontal, hot and hog wild.

 

[beatlesfan]

I actually have an i4 and an i2. I keep the i2 in my go bag for when I'm at someone's house or a hotel or something. The i4 had a faulty power cord when I got it, but a new one off of the shelf at Radio Shack fixed that problem.

Remember that in the i4 slots 1 & 3 and 2 & 4 are connected. Two batteries will charge faster if they are in slots 1 & 2 as opposed to slots 1 & 3. BUT, for small batteries such as AAA, you'll want them in slots 1 & 3. This is what I read when researching this charger.

 

[Recon Number 54]

Keep an eye on it. While most folks have used genuine Nitecore chargers with no problems at all, there have been reports of defective units.

You'll know within the first few charges whether or not yours is gonna last. Bad electronics go bad quickly, in my experience.

Good advice and as a tech-geek I am always on the lookout for the reality of "early life failures" in electronics.

I actually AM watching it like a hawk. Mostly due to my eagerness to get the batteries into my new Sigeli Zmax V3 telescope (which arrived today as well), but I will act/say that I am hovering over it for potential "safety issues".

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

Good advice and as a tech-geek I am always on the lookout for the reality of "early life failures" in electronics.

I actually AM watching it like a hawk. Mostly due to my eagerness to get the batteries into my new Sigeli Zmax V3 telescope (which arrived today as well), but I will act/say that I am hovering over it for potential "safety issues".

Atta boy! I like that story, too.

Stick to it.

The Zmax is on my list of maybe's. If my clients continue to pay their bills, well... who knows?

 

[thompsondd]

I literally just got my XTAR VP1 and some AW batteries in the mail today and have some 18650s charging at 1.0A as we speak. I like the LCD but it, and I, are too new to say much more than that.

 

[thompsondd]

I literally just got my XTAR VP1 and some AW batteries in the mail today and have some 18650s charging at 1.0A as we speak. I like the LCD but it, and I, are too new to say much more than that.

Oppss! After reading a few posts in another thread, I popped the 18650s out, dropped the charger down to .5A, and put em back on slow bake.

 

[Amnesia1187]

Oppss! After reading a few posts in another thread, I popped the 18650s out, dropped the charger down to .5A, and put em back on slow bake.

lol, you can change the setting while the batteries are in the charger with the VP1. Also, charging 18650s is fine at 1A, both the 1600mah and 2000mah can do 1A with ease and actually can go higher as that's still only like 0.5 C. 18350s are a different story.

 

[bikerbeagle]

I'm not sure what number we are on, but ++ for the Nitecore i4.

 

[Amnesia1187]

Remember that in the i4 slots 1 & 3 and 2 & 4 are connected. Two batteries will charge faster if they are in slots 1 & 2 as opposed to slots 1 & 3. BUT, for small batteries such as AAA, you'll want them in slots 1 & 3. This is what I read when researching this charger.

I was under the impression that it was 4 discrete channels. Is this true? What's the charge rate on the i4? Does it have overcharging protection and whatnot?

 

[ICHITHEKILLER]

Using i4 for about two months. Works great

 

[jow350]

I was under the impression that it was 4 discrete channels. Is this true? What's the charge rate on the i4? Does it have overcharging protection and whatnot?

It's 2 channels, not 4... Check this detailed review:
Review of Charger SysMax/NiteCore i4 V2