My Charger Overcharged my 18350

[tA71ana]

I just received an xtar MP2 today.
Charged two 18350s...one indicator light went green - I pulled that one off the charger and it tested out at 4.2v.
The other one was still red 20 min later and I pulled that one off and it red 4.3v O.O
Holy mother - of - pearl..can I still use this batt or should I chuck it?
I'm gonna have to get a Pila or something...I want an accurate charger that's not going to overcharge my batt

 

[Thrasher]

I have taken mine and left it for an emergency should my other one die for any reason, but mine did the same thing after charging till 4.2 for months.

the battery should be fine, extended overcharges will just shorten the output and lifespan of the battery.

 

[glasseye]

I was looking at these yesterday. I think I had seen them mentioned here before? Not sure but they sound so good and the reviews are favorable.
http://goinggear.com/flashlights/ch...i4-lithium-ion-nimh-nicd-battery-charger.html

 

[BuGlen]

I was looking at these yesterday. I think I had seen them mentioned here before? Not sure but they sound so good and the reviews are favorable.
http://goinggear.com/flashlights/ch...i4-lithium-ion-nimh-nicd-battery-charger.html

I've been hearing good things about the Nitecore chargers and I'll probably get one to replace my current backup (XTAR). My primary charger is a Pila and it's been going strong for over a year now.

To the OP: I agree with Thrasher. Try the charger again, but when the first bay is done charging, test the battery in the second bay. I would also say that if the battery didn't get hot (or even very warm), you shouldn't have any issues.

 

[Heavyrocker]

Just be careful,these batts are not too be disrespected,ive read that if you have a batt reading over 4.2,dont use it,play it safe.

The main challenge in charging a Li-Ion battery is to realize the battery's full capacity without overcharging it, which could result in catastrophic failure. There is little room for error, only ±1%. Overcharging by more than +1% could result in battery failure, but undercharging by more than 1% results in reduced capacity.


http://www.analog.com/library/analogdialogue/archives/31-2/liion.html

 

[tA71ana]

i notice for lower /smaller batteries the .5A setting works better. and i had this happen once, when the battery was new, it always charged to 4.2 after that. so maybe check it a second time before switching it out.

over charging usually just shortens the lifespan of the battery it should be safe only being .1v over, just might not get as many charge cycles out of it after repeated overcharges.

Thanks Thrasher
This isn't a new battery but doggone it, now I'm wondering about this charger, lol
I have A NiteCore but just didn't like how warm the 18350s got on those and I thought using a charger with a lower charge rate would keep them from getting warm like that...which it did, but I don't want to keep overcharging them...phooey, lol

 

[trouble1000]

I've got the Nitecore i4 charger, it works great. I can charge 14500 and 18650's at the same time.
I just make sure I'm always close by when it's charging so I can remove the 14500's when they're ready.
For the price it's a great piece of kit.

 

[SissySpike]

I have a Nitecore i4 charger also and no complaints. It dose take longer if you stick 4 batteries in instead of 1 or 2. But not to big of a deal.

 

[Zak Rabbit]

You may be seeing just a slight amount of hysteresis in the battery due to the charging. If you were to put a quick load on it, like one dry burn, then recheck it, you'd find the voltage is correct. Manufacturers of these chargers and the battery manufacturers themselves don't screw around. If the charger is designed to charge Li Ion batteries, you would generally have to try to screw it up.

 

[tA71ana]

Well sheesh...maybe I will just go back and use the NiteCore for my 18350s and put the MP2 away for emergencies..
Can't have too many backups.
It would be nice to have a Charger where I could monitor the progress of the charge (accurately)...I guess the LEDs just aren't enough for me, lol

 

[TheSystemHasFailed]

I must ask, what kind of batts?

 

[tA71ana]

I must ask, what kind of batts?

Sorry, I should have indicated what kind of batts they were (that would have been helpful).
They are Efest IMR 18350 800mAh

 

[SissySpike]

I also Have a Xstar 2 6 bay and no complaints with it ether had it for over a year. I have a gazillion and 1 batteries so Both chargers get used allot. I wish they made something like the Efest LUC charger in a 4 or 6 bay It has a LCD screen. Its probably the same quality charger as the Xstar or Nitecore but the screen just makes if cooler;-)

 

[Thrasher]

actually i misread the mp1 part lol but its still a little off at 4.3
and recently i been reading up on this one
Amazon.com: XTAR VP1 2 Channels 10440/16340/14500/14650/17670/18500/18650/18700 Intelligence Charger: Camera & Photo

getting many favorable reviews on several of the flashlight forums.even has a real time charge status to tell you exactly where the battery voltage is while charging.
im getting one this weekend i think while a slightly shorter overall lifespan isnt a real big deal might as well make them run the very best they can.

and if you already have a pila you should be good to go, i dont know if it has a charge settings but 500ma would be best for an 18350 i would think. you dont want to charge the battery at a rate higher then the output of the battery (350= 550 to 700 mah), and a side note: it will make the battery heat up doing so and that could be what is making them so warm.

 

[tA71ana]

actually i misread the mp1 part lol but its still a little off at 4.3
and recently i been reading up on this one
Amazon.com: XTAR VP1 2 Channels 10440/16340/14500/14650/17670/18500/18650/18700 Intelligence Charger: Camera & Photo

getting many favorable reviews on several of the flashlight forums.even has a real time charge status to tell you exactly where the battery voltage is while charging.
im getting one this weekend i think while a slightly shorter overall lifespan isnt a real big deal might as well make them run the very best they can.

and if you already have a pila you should be good to go, i dont know if it has a charge settings but 500ma would be best for an 18350 i would think. you dont want to charge the battery at a rate higher then the output of the battery (350= 550 to 700 mah), and a side note: it will make the battery heat up doing so and that could be what is making them so warm.

This looks promising..I notice that they don't list 18350 but if it will charge an 16340 an 18350 should be compatible as well.
I had seen this charger but had only taken a cursory glance at it...I will look at it more closely now - the 50.00 price tag is def worth it for some peace of mind...

 

[Heavyrocker]

Try too charge another new batt and see if it overcharges,this way you can tell if its the batt or the charger causing the problem.like i said before,be EXTRA careful,i had a experience with a batt and let me tell you,these batts are NOT too be taken for granted.

My Vamo makes a great batt tester.

 

[Thrasher]

i would say any interest in researching things battery related deserves a trip over to candlepowerforums these guys are flashlight nuts like were ecig nuts, and they research the ell out of batts and all things associated.
most if not all my knowledge is gleened over there when it comes to our power., example of how into it they are is part of a post i ran into the other day that stuck in my mind.

"those chargers are not needed for your purpose - for the price difference you just add a second pila to your cart for back up and have enough left over for a handful of those (20 dollar ea) batteries" lol i didnt want to see the charger they were considering ................



oh yea and remember also, a cheap multimeter usually has a +/- error around .05v

 

[Heavyrocker]

I must ask, what kind of batts?

Love your avatar.Rocking Ronnie.

 

[Rickajho]

Thanks Thrasher
This isn't a new battery but doggone it, now I'm wondering about this charger, lol
I have A NiteCore but just didn't like how warm the 18350s got on those and I thought using a charger with a lower charge rate would keep them from getting warm like that...which it did, but I don't want to keep overcharging them...phooey, lol

Couple few points:

Do you know which version NiteCore you have? The V1 version - which was recalled in the USA - uses higher charging current than V2 version. There were several things about the V1 models that made them not great chargers, including too high charge current for smaller capacity batteries.

To tell the difference between a V1 and V2 model: Difference between Sysmax charger V1 and V2

Review of the V1 model: Review of Charger SysMax i4

There are enough problems with that version that it shouldn't be used by anyone but an expert.

Review of the V2 model: Review of Charger SysMax/NiteCore i4 V2

Ok, so what's going on?

See which version NiteCore you have and what the capacity of your 18350's is. I suspect you may have a V1 if 18350 batteries are getting warm during the charge cycle. There is the possibility that overcharging the batteries in a V1 NiteCore could have damaged them, making it difficult for any charger to now properly work with them. To rule in/out try some new 18350's in the Xtar and see what voltage you are getting at the end of charge cycles.

 

[jfrich]

Another big concern is whether or not you are being sold the genuine goods or not. China has been producing some excellent copies of the big brands without the chemistry or quality to be sure. I got some AW's last year for another project from a china drop shipper, and man they were convincing until we put them to the test under conditions that real AW's would have handled easily. Our APV's don't generally stress batteries to the max, so we never realize the crap we're using until a failure occurs. buyer beware has always been true, and I no longer buy batteries from China or any other company that sources from China. My 2 Penny's for what it's worth.

jfrich: