I'm IN HELL I tell you! Help! 14500 rechargeable batteries taking forever

[frosting]

Maybe the fact of the matter is I just need a better charger. I have a cheapo single cell charger and it's taking roughly 4 hours to charge one single Trust Fire 1400 900MAH 3.7 volt battery. It's hell because I only have 4 batteries for my VV box mod annnnnd one of them was a dud so while I wait for Monday this issue is really getting old, fast.

Does this sound about right? 4 hours to charge one single batt? Would an actual Trustfire double cell charge them faster? Oh and a random question from my strange little mind... While I'm living in hell until Monday, Could I use double AA batteries in my box mod?

 

[denali_41]

the AA batts may fit,but they are only 1.5 volt as opposed to 3.7 with the 14500 batts,,,

sounds like you really need a double batt charger,,cheapies are usually a slow charger while the ultrifire's are fast chargers

 

[Str8V8ping]

You need you a Pila charger. AA battery will NOT work expecially in a VV mod . You should get yourself a few 6.00 joye 510 batteries for the emergency charging waits .

 

[markfm]

The pretty low cost trustfire tr-001 2 bay is quite respectable, I've used one continuously since last feb with 14xxx and 16xxx batteries. If your batts are 3.6 or 3.7v, it is quite cost effective.

 

[yo vapo]

Yes, definitely go for the Trustfire. I have two 14500s in my PV, which last me 24 hours (counting the obvious 8 hours I'm not vaping). Every day at 5 pm is the changing of the batteries ceremony. It takes the Trustfire about 2 hours to charge my batteries.

I have a cheaper battery charger from the same site which lots of ppl there seem to like, but it's SLOW, and is only $2 cheaper. Took me 4-5 hours to do with it what the Trustfire does in two.

The only problem with the Trustfire, and it's more of a minor annoyance than a problem really, is that I have to fiddle with the 14500s a little to get good contact on the negative end.

It's a good charger; I really like it, and it's hard to beat at the price.

 

[frosting]

I use my eGo in-between. It just after experiencing VV you don't wanna go back!! lol.... even more so when it's brand a new toy.

Thanks everybody. I am planning now on officially getting a trustfire. I saw one on clouds of vapor at a really good price, about 13/14$. Double, AAs.... out the question! lol but sure was tempting... When I bought my boxmod I thought I was going to get a good charger with it when I clicked the "add charger?" button... bahahaha no of course not. I have a feeling I may ceremoniously kill this charger with a steel baseball bat because well.... it really sucks.

 

[Nomoreash]

I've got a UltraFire WF-188 and it charges my 14500s in about 1.5 hours, never really timed it but it's in that area.

Different chargers will have different rates of charge and it sounds like you just have a slow one. You'd need to look at the specs and check the charging rate to be sure.

What I like about the 188 is it has selectable charging rates, selectable between 3.2 or 3.7v depending on your batteries and will handle just about any size and it's fairly cheap at less than $20.

 

[AttyPops]

I've had a trustfire tr-001 charger for over a year... hasn't failed me.

2 INDEPENDENT channels (like having two single channel chargers and one plug). Works great. I think it was about $10.00 ish.

 

[Maximillian]

Heyas,

I have 3 trustfire tr-001 chargers that I've received in different kits now. They Get the job done. No problems so far. Madvapes sells that charger for about 10 bones.

I've read, although I'm not certain, that the 500mA output of the tr-001 charger is shared between the two charging channels, so if you charge two batteries at once it will take twice as long.

However, using the trustfire chargers, the only batts I have that take anywheres near 4 hours to charge are my 1600mah 18650 imr's. I usually do charge those one per charger, just in case it is faster. And Even those are more like 3 hours, I think (never really timed them).

As said, madvapes is a great site for good deals on chargers. Also, super t manufacturing has good prices on chargers, and carries some higher end chargers than madvapes, I think. I've dealth with both vendors with great results.



Maximillian the Vaguely Disreputable

 

[Maximillian]

I've had a trustfire tr-001 charger for over a year... hasn't failed me.

2 INDEPENDENT channels (like having two single channel chargers and one plug). Works great. I think it was about $10.00 ish.

Oops. Sorry Atty. Didn't see that about the independent channels on the tr-001 before my last post. Good to know. I'll start slapping those big li-ions into the charger 2 at a time now



Maximillain the Mostly Mischievious

 

[AttyPops]

Well, check the specs... but I believe they are independent. I mostly use 14500's tho, so can't say. Would guess it's fine.

I think it's the heat (how hard the charger "pushes" the batteries) that I'm most worried about. I don't need it to charge fast, I need it to charge safely. My batteries don't get hot, so that's a good thing. 2 hours to charge the 2 14500 batteries in a set for my box mods. 12-16 hours of use out of em (for me). So meh.

 

[zara1269]

Sounds about right. I have a cheapy charger that came with my 510 box kit that charges one single Ultra Fire 14500 at one time. Mine takes exactly 3 hours (yeah I'm a loser who timed it). I only get about 3 hours out of each battery as well but I have the Ultrafires so maybe that makes a difference. I will be buying the Trustfires as soon as Madvapes gets them and probably upgrade my charger as well soon.

 

[madjack]

I have a Trustfire TR003, a 4channel charger(4x500ma) and really like it...takes a couple of hours for my 900mah14500s, around 3 for my 1100-1300mah14650s and near 5 for my 2400mah18650s...they sell for around 20bux+-...I got mine from DealExtreme for around 15(4wk free shipping from China).........
madjack

 

[stephpd]

My cheep single cell charger is rated at 300 mAh so to charge a 900 mAh battery it should, in theory, take 3 hours (if they could fully discharge). But since the end of the charge is usually a slower trickle I see where it could take up to 4 hours to fully charge.