Need help picking a charger for batteries

[VaporDragon]

Another vote for the nitecore i4. Nice charger for a reasonable price. What else could you need?

 

[DrillRX]

I switched from a Trustfire TR001 to and Efest LUC.
Trustfire - 18350 6 to 8 hours, 18650 10 to 14 hours
Efest LUC - 18350 1 to 2 hours, 18650 2 to 3 hours.

Not sure if they made an upgrade on later versions of the Trustfire but i'm getting 3hr full charge on 18350's and between 5 and 6hrs on 18650's depending on if they are 2250mah or 2900mah.

 

[DrillRX]

The Trustfire TR-oo1 is notorious for being a slow charger, esp. for 18650 batteries. It also does not shut off after fulling charging a battery, so remove fully charged batteries soon after they have finished.

Review of Charger TrustFire TR-001

There is no need for the charger to shut off, it will maintain 4.2 volts indefinitely without damaging the battery. More like a battery tender.

 

[lvm111]

Another vote for the nitecore i4. Nice charger for a reasonable price. What else could you need?

An LCD display!

 

[Baditude]

There is no need for the charger to shut off, it will maintain 4.2 volts indefinitely without damaging the battery. More like a battery tender.

Oh REALLY? Why then does everyone warn to remove fully charged batteries from cheap chargers that do not shut down after they are finished? You're taking things rather for granted that all chargers are created equal. Good luck with that theory.

 

[Dakota Jim]

and here is my vote

http://www.fasttech.com/products/14...ore-i2-li-ion-ni-mh-ni-cd-smart-battery-charg

18650 3400mah 5-6 hours

 

[niczgreat]

There is no need for the charger to shut off, it will maintain 4.2 volts indefinitely without damaging the battery. More like a battery tender.

Whenever I hear about a charger catching fire on the forums, it's always a trustfire charger. There is a difference between real life and spec sheets. My personal opinion is based on what I've read about the reliability of the trustfire charger and the cases I've heard of where they've continued charging and caught fire.

I would not trust the safety of my family to a trustfire charger unless I was constantly monitoring it and ready to take battery off when charged. Even then I'd hesitate because I'm not the type of person who would remember to monitor my battery.

People who follow my posts know that I'm usually not one of those people who are overly conservative. I do Sub Ohm Vaping against all the POOH POOH's who say it's unsafe. But you have to draw the line somewhere.

Two Rules
1. Do not ever use ICR technology in a Mechanical. LIMN or Panasonic Hybrid only
2. Only use a quality charger and never leave a cheapie like Trustfire or Ultrafire unattended.
Note: Quality Chargers pay for themselves in the long run. They use charging algorithms that are gentle on batteries and will extend the battery life.

You could give me a trustfire charger as a gift and it would go in the trash.

Don't' chinze on batteries or chargers. That's the rule.

 

[niczgreat]

Oh REALLY? Why then does everyone warn to remove fully charged batteries from cheap chargers that do not shut down after they are finished? You're taking things rather for granted that all chargers are created equal. Good luck with that theory.

Batitude calm down, I know how aggravating it is to see unsafe practices espoused, but we have to try to be civil. They are talking out of ignorance, and not malice.

Let's educate them not berate them.

I found these Posts
http://ukvapers.org/Thread-Efest-battery-Trustfire-charger-just-exploded

http://budgetlightforum.com/node/13539

 

[Nibiru2012]

Here's a great price for the Xtar VP1 charger. One of the most highly reviewed and recommended.

You can get it at Newegg for: $38.99 w/free shipping!

XTAR VP1 Intelligent Charger For 18650/16340/10440 Li-ion battery

 

[r2d2]

I'm a xtar fan. I have had for the xtar wp2 for more than 2 years. Go on the forums and you'll never hear a bad story about them.
The only competition is the Nitecore and the Pila.
Pila is expensive.
Nitcore is newer and I've heard some rumors of issues.

The Xtar Brand is the safe bet based on track record. Mine and others.

I agree with this assesment