More Advanced Chargers for ecig Bats?

[hificat101]

Hi everyone. I just helped a friend out this weekend who was having trouble with some rechargeable AAA's he had just purchased. They weren't holding a charge for longer than a few hours, so I found some better ones for him, but I also was able to find a better charger for him. The charger has 4 independent compartments for charging batteries, each with it's own LCD readout. Each compartment can charge at 3 different speeds from 200ma to 700ma, and has different modes you can put them in. You can do a straight charge, a "discharge" which completely discharges the battery then recharges it, and a refresh that discharges then recharges the bat several times to try and bring back a bat. When the charge is complete, each display shows the capacity available on the bat, so you can monitor when your bats are wearing out. The charger can be viewed here:

Amazon.com: La Crosse Technology BC-700 Alpha Power Battery Charger: Home & Garden

This one is for NiCad and NiMH AA and AAA rechargeables. Does anyone know if anyone makes anything like this for ecig style bats? I haven't had any luck.

If it's any help, my Prodigy V3 uses protected AW 17670's, and I just ordered a Buzz Pro yesterday that I will be using the unprotected Powerizers that Mike sells.

 

[tiburonfirst]

bump to keep this thread on my radar!

 

[hificat101]

Thanks for the bump. I'm not sure how much business they do in this thread though. We will see.

 

[Psy-Crow]

Pila 4 Stage Charger

 

[tiburonfirst]

Thanks for the bump. I'm not sure how much business they do in this thread though. We will see.

we might have gotten our answer from psy but in the meanwhile i had carried your link

here http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...78-advanced-battery-chargers.html#post5112347

and here http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...74-advanced-battery-chargers.html#post5112316

 

[tiburonfirst]

Pila 4 Stage Charger

i don't see any readouts with the pila charger?????

 

[hificat101]

i don't see any readouts with the pila charger?????

Right. I really like the idea of a readout of actual bat capacity in mah, rather than just metering the voltage capacity. I also like the manual charging and conditioning options available on the NiCad/NiMH charger I found for my friend.

I wonder if any of these features would be unworkable or unnecessary with the typical bat chemistries we use?

 

[BuzzKilla]

For that price, you can get a hobby grade charger... but power supply would be an additional cost.
>This is what i got< but i had this charger for RC use... WAY before i started vaping.
The rebranded Turnigy version is only $38.35

i just wired up a cheap adjustable battery holder to the - & + and I was done...

Charged a AW IMR18350(700mAh) in 28 minutes, and my Protected AW 18650(2900mAh) in just over an hour.

Its not for everyone, you do need to program it for each battery. Small learning curve. Its not a plug and play setup...
But the 15 seconds you spend punching in the #'s makes up for its self in charging times.
I can theoretically charge a months worth of batteries in a single day.

And if you make a 6 cell charging cradle. you can connect to the balance ports to ensure a perfect charge of each cell.

 

[hificat101]

For that price, you can get a hobby grade charger... but power supply would be an additional cost.
>This is what i got< but i had this charger for RC use... WAY before i started vaping.
The rebranded Turnigy version is only $38.35

i just wired up a cheap adjustable battery holder to the - & + and I was done...

Charged a AW IMR18350(700mAh) in 28 minutes, and my Protected AW 18650(2900mAh) in just over an hour.

Its not for everyone, you do need to program it for each battery. Small learning curve. Its not a plug and play setup...
But the 15 seconds you spend punching in the #'s makes up for its self in charging times.
I can theoretically charge a months worth of batteries in a single day.

And if you make a 6 cell charging cradle. you can connect to the balance ports to ensure a perfect charge of each cell.

Cool charger. Would that work with the 16340's for a Buzz Pro? Because it looks like I could get a third set, and always have two sets charging.

 

[BuzzKilla]

I wonder if any of these features would be unworkable or unnecessary with the typical bat chemistries we use?

From my experience with Lithium batteries "conditioning the batteries" is a myth. I have never gotten any power boost/life extension from doing so.


My credentials...
I have been pushing the limits of Lithium batteries for over 6 years... with only 2 big BOOMS along the way...
Carbon fiber never moved so fast... lol

 

[BuzzKilla]

It would work... but this is a more "Advanced" charging system. i would suggest you read up a bit on hobby chargers, and Charging voltage/rates. before actually purchasing a hobby grade charger...

It can get very overwhelming for someone that has never tinkered with one of these.
Being able to talk to someone in person on how to use one, would be my best and only recommendation before making this kind of purchase.
A local hobby store would be a good start, or a friend that is into hobby RC racing.

Like i said before, its not a plug and play unit, but i thought i would post it for those that were looking into a more advanced charging station.
I really hate overnight wall charging boxes....

 

[Traver]

It can get very overwhelming for someone that has never tinkered with one of these.

Im already overwhelmed any suggestion on what to read?

 

[hificat101]

Thanks Buzzkilla. Excellent info. Just don't kill the Buzz I just ordered. :>)

 

[BuzzKilla]

here is a good start. the info is generic, but does apply to most chargers.

What is a Hobby Charger

i still recommend reading the manuals and finding more info on the specific charger you may choose.

*Side note* if you plan on charging multiple cells at the same time, i recommend using the balance ports(if you have them use them) and connect them properly. charging them otherwise can lead to uneven voltage causing a cell to possibly be over charged.
Charging in series is only recommended if the cells are equally discharged. And if you dont know what you are doing, this can cause premature failure.

 

[Traver]

Thanks for the link. I want to build a safe charging station for all the batteries we have. The hobby chargers look like the way to go for the pv batteries. Although most of them seem to a lot bigger than anything I need. I have a lot of reading to do first.

 

[BuzzKilla]

The main reason to go this route over a Pila/TrustFire or whatever is out there is charge times and 6 cell charging...
not much else... just convenience at the expense of teaching yourself how to use a new tool.

But the graphing feature on my charger does put some people in their place, when they tell me that their brand batteries are "superior to mine" just cuz the cost more

Big company RC car LiPo packs have gon for $200+

 

[DaveP]

I use a Trustfire dual channel Lithium battery charger for my Ultra-fire ecig batts and it does a good job.

The one pictured in the original post gets lower review remarks than the 1000 model that costs about $20 more.

For my wireless guitar transmitter, which takes 2 AAA NIMH batts, I use Ray-O-Vac 15 minute rechargeable batteries and the IC3 charger that comes with them. These do a good job and last a long time in cameras, radios, and flashlights. I like the 15 minute charge in lieu of the 8 hour charge for slow chargers.

 

[Song]

Hi everyone. I just helped a friend out this weekend who was having trouble with some rechargeable AAA's he had just purchased. They weren't holding a charge for longer than a few hours, so I found some better ones for him, but I also was able to find a better charger for him. The charger has 4 independent compartments for charging batteries, each with it's own LCD readout. Each compartment can charge at 3 different speeds from 200ma to 700ma, and has different modes you can put them in. You can do a straight charge, a "discharge" which completely discharges the battery then recharges it, and a refresh that discharges then recharges the bat several times to try and bring back a bat. When the charge is complete, each display shows the capacity available on the bat, so you can monitor when your bats are wearing out. The charger can be viewed here:

Amazon.com: La Crosse Technology BC-700 Alpha Power Battery Charger: Home & Garden

This one is for NiCad and NiMH AA and AAA rechargeables. Does anyone know if anyone makes anything like this for ecig style bats? I haven't had any luck.

If it's any help, my Prodigy V3 uses protected AW 17670's, and I just ordered a Buzz Pro yesterday that I will be using the unprotected Powerizers that Mike sells.

Someone correct me if i'm wrong on this one but i think li-ion batteries don't really have a memory effect to start with and over discharging it or completely draining it is a pretty good way to kill you li-ion battery

 

[BuzzKilla]

Someone correct me if i'm wrong on this one but i think li-ion batteries don't really have a memory effect to start with and over discharging it or completely draining it is a pretty good way to kill you li-ion battery

No memory effect on lithium, it is safe to top them up before use, even if they are 80% charged.

I refer to Lipo's because that is what i am most familiar with but should follow the same rules(lithium is lithium). But discharging a single cell bellow 3.0V can cause a charger to throw error codes and not charge the cell. Bringing a Lithium cell way below 3V can actually cause the chemicals in the battery to loose its charging capability permanently and turn it into an overpriced ugly paperweight....

because of the drastic drop in the voltage of a lithium cell at the end of its cycle. It would be very easy to tell when a cell is low.
In my mechanical mod. My AW IMR18350 looses its power at about 3.5V making it unpleasant/difficult to vape. Way above its limit. which makes me feel comfortable vaping it in a mechanical mod.
In a regulated mod, you rely on the circuitry to cut/shut off the mod when the battery gets low. If that fails and mod keeps pulling power out of the cell to almost 0V the you neutralize the cell and it becomes useless.........
This really only applies to un-protected batteries

YAY mechanical mods!

P.S. i like hearing myself talk, so stop me if im getting annoying

P.P.S. all my info is of personal experience/research, and should be taken as such, if you find any info that disproves anything that i've said. please share it with us.