Need recommendation on charger

[holimakaru]

I have an Intellicharger I4 and had an Intellicharger I2 that just went bad on me. Went to Rtd Vaper and am interested in Xstar but they got 15 of them suckers for sale. Pila is not in stock. I read all the specs and they all seem pretty much the same...ex machinist, not an elictrical guy. Just got a Provari Mini...meh, thought it would last longer than it does without changing batteries according to the reviews. So, have to buy more batteries and want to get another charger cause the Intellicharger kinda has me spooked. Guess the vaping budget is gonna be blown and I'm gonna end up with too much month at the end of my money again!!!

 

[stevegmu]

If you don't want to carry around extra batteries, have you thought about an extension cap and getting 18490 batteries? I have the Pila ProVape sells and 2 of their Tenergy chargers. I haven't noticed any difference between them...

 

[k702]

I can give my full recommendation for the xtar vp1. Truly great charger, never gets warm let alone hot. It's performed spectacularly for me.

If you use 26650's they have the vp2



They are expensive, but they also come with a year warranty and from my experience when I do get a 26650 mod I will be getting an xtar charger to charge the batteries for it with.

 

[holimakaru]

I can give my full recommendation for the xtar vp1. Truly great charger, never gets warm let alone hot. It's performed spectacularly for me.

If you use 26650's they have the vp2



They are expensive, but they also come with a year warranty and from my experience when I do get a 26650 mod I will be getting an xtar charger to charge it with.

Thanks, probably will go with the vp1

 

[holimakaru]

If you don't want to carry around extra batteries, have you thought about an extension cap and getting 18490 batteries? I have the Pila ProVape sells and 2 of their Tenergy chargers. I haven't noticed any difference between them...

Don't mind carrying extra batteries...kinda like the short mini.

 

[stevegmu]

Don't mind carrying extra batteries...kinda like the short mini.

I do too. 18350 batteries are fairly inexpensive. I'd just pick up a couple extras and a battery box.

 

[k702]

Thanks, probably will go with the vp1

It's such a nice charger. All of the extra stuff, the easy to interpret readout, adjustable charge rate, ability to bring overdischarged batteries back to life.. and the ability to not really have to worry about it because it's built so well and does it's job right every time. You will be happy you got it, and it will pay for itself in chargers you didn't have to buy because the last one stopped charging right in no time.

 

[Rickajho]

Thanks, probably will go with the vp1

Didja order yet? Since I don't know I'll keep this short:

The VP1 is great and that display has me spoiled now. Diagnostically, that display can be relevant since it will flag you if you are allowing batteries to go under voltage, indicate a problem with a protected battery etc.

If you can't afford to go that deep right now, something from the WPII series will do just as good a job charging - but you are down to red/green LED's for the display. Also the VP1 has three selectable charge currents - 250 mA, 500 mA & 1 amp - while the WPII 2 is limited to 500 mA and 1 amp. It's differences like that between the Xtar chargers that reflect in the price. A couple only do 18500 or 18350 size, some use spacers - but they are getting away from spacers in newer models like the VP1 etc.

If you go with a WPII 2 you will need to order two extra spacers for 18350 charging. That charger will come with two spacers, you will need two more. (The VP1 does not need or use spacers.)

An important point: Xtar's and PILA's can recover Li-On batteries that have gone under voltage. Those multi-function chargers from Nitecore that do Li-On, NiMh and NiCd batteries can't do that, because of that added "feature." I would rather have a charger than knows what to do with Li-On's than one trying to do everything - and not doing any of it all that great.

 

[Rat2chat2]

I saw one yesterday on Vaperjoes.com. It is a Nitecore D4 if you want to check it out. For some reason I couldn't get the link to work. Sorry.

 

[Michael7]

I have had the xtar wp2 ii for about ~ 3months now and it works excellent. Same charging features as the vp1 just w/o the led screen. Which isn't a big deal to me as I always quit vaping a batt at around 3.6 and my multi meter is next to my charger. But I believe when I was researching them that the current / new versions don't need spacers. And it comes with a car adapter.
Got mine from illumination gear? In Florida. They ship extremely fast. I ordered at like 3pm Saturday and it shipped the same day and made it to Oregon in 3days. Anyways it was $22 I believe

Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using Tapatalk

 

[holimakaru]

Steve...yea, just gonna pick up more batteries. I just was surprised how fast I had to replace them. Maybe my batteries are kinda old.
K7...Thanks, really blown away how helpful everyone is!
Rick...Didn't buy it yet. Guess I gotta get the dam ting now cause you guys like it. Gonna wait till Monday cause if I order it now I'm gonna go crazy waiting for it to ship and nobody works on Sunday. I know this and yet it still drives me batty
Rat2 I'm kinda leery of nitecore cause one just acted up on me. Thanks though.

 

[stevegmu]

I have noticed on several AW IMR batteries that they improve after multiple charging cycles.

 

[holimakaru]

Ok...I'm a liar. Pulled the trigger and ordered the vp1 with a couple batteries.. Did'nt even look for coupon codes, What a dummy. Just gotta get to the mailbox before the wife.

 

[Rickajho]

Ok...I'm a liar. Pulled the trigger and ordered the vp1 with a couple batteries.. Did'nt even look for coupon codes, What a dummy. Just gotta get to the mailbox before the wife.

If you went with RTD Vapor:

Trusted vendor here for real, deal batteries. Can't go wrong with getting AW's there.

RTD doesn't do ECF coupon codes any more. They have gone down the path of some other places - just keep the prices down and lay off the coupon codes. They do, however, run sales on other stuff on occasion. Like for Labor day they did have a coupon code for 25% off mechs and their line of liquids only. Short version - you didn't miss out on anything. Sign up for the newsletter anyway. Last year Xtar in combination with RTD had an anniversary sale on chargers - but I didn't see that repeat this year.

Shipping runs a bit more at RTD, but for most of us that means if you order on a Monday you have stuff on Wednesday. Just noticed you are in HI so... no idea.

About your existing batteries: Have you checked the voltage on those coming off the Nitecore with a meter? When Nitecore's behave badly they have been known to charge to over-voltage. (Among other things...) If you were unlucky and have/had a Nitecore running your batteries above 4.2 volts that will definitely shorten their life span.

 

[holimakaru]

Funny you asked. Just took a battery of and it was 4.19. I guess that is good? No coupon codes...Well I don't feel so bad, still a dummy though! I did sign up for the newsletter. My other Nitecore was stuck on the second blinking lite and everything was starting to heat up. Good thing I was watching! USPS Priority to HI is pretty fast, UPS and FedEx really sucks though

 

[Rickajho]

4.19 is good. "My other Nitecore was stuck on the second blinking lite and everything was starting to heat up." is bad bad bad. And - unfortunately - not an insolated incident here for a Nitecore.

You don't get anything hot - or even warm - on an Xtar. It just doesn't happen unless you do something you really shouldn't - like set it to charge a 700 mAh battery at the 1 amp setting. As it is, I charge all my badderies using the 250 mA setting. Especially if you are using 18350's I bet you won't notice a huge difference in charge times. The theory here is if you charge at the lowest available current it will extend the life of the batteries. You can charge your 18350's at the 500 mA current setting - but chances are you really won't need to either.

 

[holimakaru]

Yeah...tossed the that nitecore and will dump the one I'm using now when I get the Xtar.
Thanks so much to everyone for taking the time to answer all my stooped questions, really makes life so much easier getting answers that I can unnastand.

 

[Rickajho]

Not stoopid at all man. I am so bloody frustrated by these NitefireCore chargers on ECF and all the problems that get reported. The only reason we don't see the huge pile of complaints about TrustFire's any more is because we now see the huge pile of complaints about Nitecores. Why Nitecore is the darling of the e-cig community is beyond me. For a whopping twenty bucks you can get a WPII2 that's backed with a USA warranty exchange program even. But no - people gotta jump on a Nitecore that's four bucks cheaper that if it doesn't take itself out takes out batteries you put in it and has to be replaced anyway.

It's the ones that are silent on ECF - the PILA's and the Xtars - that don't get enough attention - because they just work.

 

[rurwin]

If you use 18490s, the XTAR Hummingbird is a very nice backup charger. I've got one at work for when I need to charge there. It's only 250mA/500mA and it doesn't do 18650s, but it's a solid bit of kit and very, very tiny.

 

[Rickajho]

If you use 18490s, the XTAR Hummingbird is a very nice backup charger. I've got one at work for when I need to charge there. It's only 250mA/500mA and it doesn't do 18650s, but it's a solid bit of kit and very, very tiny.

The one I'm looking at is the tiny single cell Xtar MC1. It's fixed at 500 mA charge current, but it can fit any single battery from 16340's to 18650. Actually, it's barely larger than an 18650 and comes with it's own USB cable. If you have a USB power source you can charge - and still do it right. Considering LiteCigUSA carries them and they are only 6 bucks... Like I need another charger with a working VP1 and WPII 2 - but I want it.