nitecore intellicharger blows up!

[hazarada]

whaaat? nowai, thats impossibru, nitecores are so popular, they cant blow up. Second cheapest wine

Their lack of input regulation was the first thing i noticed about mine, they are exposed to all the whims of the power in your building. Also, if your wall socket voltage happens to be on the higher side of the standard, they will overcharge your batteries.

 

[twiggums]

I've used the Nitecore Intellicharger i4 quite heavily for about 4 months now. My son and I both share this charger. We charge 18350, 18490, and 18650 IMR batteries, often four at a time. I've had no issues with this charger, no heat at all. I check the charged batteries coming off the charger with our Provari's - always read out @ 4.2 volts.

The most reported battery incidents happen during charging batteries. The issue can be because of either the battery or the charger having a issue. This is why people warn not to leave batteries charging unattended if you leave your home or overnight. It sounds like the outlet you used had a short circuit and should be evaluated by a certified electrician.

Given the complexities of a charger vs a wall outlet and the fact that the charger was smoking and not the wall I'd lean towards one of the hundreds/thousands of parts in the charger failing. Now if the outlet fries anything that gets plugged into it then perhaps not. But i certainly wouldn't call out an electrician just yet. But to each their own, electrical fires are very real and dangerous.

While I know that we're not using Li-Po chemistry batteries, I can't break the habit (and am not about to start either) of tucking my charger (which also happens to be a Nitecore Intellicharger i4) into a safety bag whenever I am charging.

Those bags are not intended to house a charger, their original intent is to hold only batteries connected via leads from a charger (check out RC charging setups). Not sure tucking something that generates heat into a bag with the batteries while charging is a great idea. Though most chargers are cool to the touch, they all generate heat, it's impossible for them not to. Well not impossible, but if you've made a %100 efficient charger you're likely going to be a very rich person

4 Bank charger?
4 30a Batteries at once?
If like MNKE's they can pull 10a charge.

Maybe they sucked the life out of it.

Can't tell if this is a joke or not? but in case it's not, that's not how chargers work, the charger pushes power into the battery, the battery doesn't "pull" the charge. If it was a joke, my apologies, it's hard to tell on the interwebs at times (edit: i worded that badly. trying to say max charge current rating doesn't dictate the rate at which a charger charges)

 

[zoiDman]

The Internet is a Funny Thing.

My first 3.7v Charger was a Trustfire TR-001. I have used it Hundreds of Times. With Many Different Batteries. Never had Problem One.

Then came the Wave of People saying how Crappy a TR-001 was/is. Some even called it "Dangerous".

What wasn't mentioned much, sometimes Never, was that there have Been Numerous Revision of the Trustfire TR-001. And that the TR-001 has been made by Many Sub-Contractors of Trustfire. (I'm not even sure if Trustfire ever Physically made Any of the TR-001's?)

That, and Like All things Popular, there is a Small Army of Shops Silk-Screening brand names onto Cheap, Inferior Products and then turning them onto the Masses.

So when I read about something like a Charger "Exploding", I kinda wonder, Is what happened reflective of what could/would happen to me if I used this Product?

Is it that the Bad News is the news that makes a Bigger Headline?

Nobody likes to read 10 Threads about a Certain Charger Exploding. And Fire is the Devil's Only Friend. But is 10 Failed chargers out on 1,000 what is Really Happening. Or is it 10 out of 10,000? Or maybe 100 out of 1,000,000?

Perhaps if I read a bunch of Threads about people Not Having Problems with a Charger I could put things into Perspective? But not many people get Excited about reading a Thread that says a charger does what it is supposed to do. And Didn't Explode.

 

[wonner]

The Internet is a Funny Thing.

I'm always up for a good debate, but I got nothing. Agreed.

 

[twiggums]

The Internet is a Funny Thing.

My first 3.7v Charger was a Trustfire TR-001. I have used it Hundreds of Times. With Many Different Batteries. Never had Problem One.

Then came the Wave of People saying how Crappy a TR-001 was/is. Some even called it "Dangerous".

What wasn't mentioned much, sometimes Never, was that there have Been Numerous Revision of the Trustfire TR-001. And that the TR-001 has been made by Many Sub-Contractors of Trustfire. (I'm not even sure if Trustfire ever Physically made Any of the TR-001's?)

That, and Like All things Popular, there is a Small Army of Shops Silk-Screening brand names onto Cheap, Inferior Products and then turning them onto the Masses.

So when I read about something like a Charger "Exploding", I kinda wonder, Is what happened reflective of what could/would happen to me if I used this Product?

Is it that the Bad News is the news that makes a Bigger Headline?

Nobody likes to read 10 Threads about a Certain Charger Exploding. And Fire is the Devil's Only Friend. But is 10 Failed chargers out on 1,000 what is Really Happening. Or is it 10 out of 10,000? Or maybe 100 out of 1,000,000?

Perhaps if I read a bunch of Threads about people Not Having Problems with a Charger I could put things into Perspective? But not many people get Excited about reading a Thread that says a charger does what it is supposed to do. And Didn't Explode.

Haha, it's sort of like the news. %99 of the time you hear the bad and not the good. At times it can make it hard to put issues into perspective!

 

[yzer]

Anything can break and fail. Just another appliance of far eastern origin kicking the bucket.

 

[Bunnykiller]

The title said it all anyway have these battery chargers and had any problem with them blowing> I don't know if it was just like a fuse inside or what but the whold thing blew and wont charge or light up or charge anything and I noticed like a burnt plastic smell coming from it. let me know.

after reading the rest of the posts, seems as if the "chips" died on you 4 30amp batteries probably took the charger to its maximum limits and the chip overheated thus letting the smoke out time for a new charger and charge 2 maybe 3 at a time when using hi output batteries

 

[AttyPops]

Manufacturers get bad batches of PCB's all the time. Or bad components...like capacitors in particular...they "go boom". Resistors can too.

Anything can "fry".

Fry/blow-up/smoke/fail/die. All the same thing.

Sorry about your luck OP. Hope you get a different "run" of the charger. Also the input being different COULD make a difference...who knows.

The batteries determine the amp DRAW (there is no push...except voltage...it's really flow allowed by resistance. That's why shorts are so bad.) Hence varying ohms of coils. So I suppose there could be something to the battery-side over amping thing. If the batteries, collectively, had too low of a resistance for the device.

For a CHARGER though, I'd think it would be amp limited for safety.
Anyone know how these are designed (chargers in general)????

Do IMR batteries charge any faster per mAh than, say, Li-Ion? The output should be amp limited I would think.

 

[lvm111]

I'll just say this... if you depend on a charger to keep you off tobacco, have a backup, and a backup for the backup. At least one of them should've been used for a couple of months on 120VAC, verified to charge off the 12 volt outlet in your vehicle for power outages, and then disconnected from power and packed back up as a spare. A backup that's plugged in can be taken out with the primary in the event of a power line surge such as from a lightning strike. I have three of the i2, one at work, one at home, and one at home packed up as a spare. Even if my house burns down, I have the one at work.

I'd have to agree, backups can't hurt. Although if I said that's why I've bought all these chargers, I'd be lying. The truth is, I kept seeing better products, they were reasonably priced (on sale even), and I just couldn't resist.

Guess if I had to, I could always pull out the first chargers I received with my lasers. Cheap, one bay, no display, no name even, items. To be fair though, they did work as intended with no problems. However, if I knew then, what I know now, I wouldn't have used them to charge batteries for a $300 laser.

You could say the same thing about batteries/chargers one uses for a $32 Vamo, vs using in multiple $215 Provaris, VTRs, 134s, etc. Except, we must use these devices every day, so were putting these things (chargers and batteries) through quite a test of time. They must work every time, day after day. Not to mention the safety factor. Probably the most important thing actually.

best regards, larry mac

 

[Mark Anthony]

I've used the Nitecore Intellicharger i4 quite heavily for about 4 months now. My son and I both share this charger. We charge 18350, 18490, and 18650 IMR batteries, often four at a time. I've had no issues with this charger, no heat at all. I check the charged batteries coming off the charger with our Provari's - always read out @ 4.2 volts.

The most reported battery incidents happen during charging batteries. The issue can be because of either the battery or the charger having a issue. This is why people warn not to leave batteries charging unattended if you leave your home or overnight. It sounds like the outlet you used had a short circuit and should be evaluated by a certified electrician.

This exactly ^^^^^ while it's a shame that you lost a good charger to this you need to have this outlet checked out before someone plugs something into it and it catches fire. Electricity is nothing to be taken for granted.

 

[Mr.poche504]

Picked up a nitecore intellicharger i4 from fasttech. Is this a junk clone?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[zoiDman]

Picked up a nitecore intellicharger i4 from fasttech. Is this a junk clone?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hard to know for Sure what is Genuine and what is a Clone.

 

[440BB]

Hard to know for Sure what is Genuine and what is a Clone.

Within a few days of each new product being released, somebody in China is making a copy. Sometimes it seems the copy arrives before the original.

 

[zoiDman]

Within a few days of each new product being released, somebody in China is making a copy. Sometimes it seems the copy arrives before the original.

I worked with an Owner of a Company that made Very High End Knives. Extremely Tight Tolerances and the Highest End Materials. The Fit and Finish was Superb.

One day I go to his shop and he was packaging some of his Knives in White Boxes. And not the Normal Presentations Boxes.

I asked him what he was doing? Did he run out of the Good Boxes. Or was this just a Cost Cutting Measure. LOL. He told me he was making Knock-Offs. The same knife only with Less Workmanship and the Blade Material wasn't as good.

Said that he was tired of trying to Fight people Copying his products. That there was no Real Way to Stop It. So why not make his Own Knock-Offs and at least make Some Money of them?

Kinda an Interesting Twist when you think about it.

 

[Ref Minor]

Picked up a nitecore intellicharger i4 from fasttech. Is this a junk clone?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It has the same chance of being a clone as the one bought from a Chinese wholesaler by a US retailer.

 

[hazarada]

but in case it's not, that's not how chargers work, the charger pushes power into the battery, the battery doesn't "pull" the charge.

technically in a switched charger, the charger creates controlled potential(voltage difference) in bursts between the battery and the supply and forces of nature even it out.
In case of a non switched charger (such as most of the usb->ego type things), the potential is dampened and resistance is added between the source and the battery which is wasteful and rough but works well enough under most conditions

 

[ch2468]

Do IMR batteries charge any faster per mAh than, say, Li-Ion? The output should be amp limited I would think.

Charging speed depends on the charger and the battery. AW IMR 18650 (2000mAh) batteries can be charged at a full 2A (sometimes referred to as 1C). Whether the charger is capable is detecting capacity and adjusting itself accordingly is up to the charger, most chargers use a fixed rate much lower than the maximum charge rate, mainly for safety reasons (they usually pick the lowest rate based on the various battery sizes the charger can physically support).

 

[WarHawk-AVG]

technically in a switched charger, the charger creates controlled potential(voltage difference) in bursts between the battery and the supply and forces of nature even it out.
In case of a non switched charger (such as most of the usb->ego type things), the potential is dampened and resistance is added between the source and the battery which is wasteful and rough but works well enough under most conditions

Actually not exactly accurate...due to the very specific charge pattern of Li Ion, integrated circuits have been created in order to detect and control that CC/CV (constant current/constant voltage) charge pattern, and to prevent overcharging which is INCREDIBLY stressful on Li Ion cells...that stress shortens the Li Ion recharge cycles...the IC is VERY VERY VERY tiny (about 1/8" square) the rest of the board is the supporting resistors and capacitors needed to control the flow rate of the charger

Charging Lithium-Ion Batteries

How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries - Battery University

TP4056 Standalone Linear Li-lon Battery Charger Datasheet

1.06 in x 0.79 in x 0.20 in

If you reaaaaly want to get into the nitty grity of it
http://www.ti.com/lit/ml/slyp089/slyp089.pdf

 

[StormFinch]

Just a quick note because I haven't seen anyone mention it before. The Nightcore I series version 1s were recalled due to a engineering flaw which caused them not to convert 110v AC correctly. Make sure that when you purchase one of these they have the yellow Nightcore labels not the blue on white, especially if you live in the US. Here's a page showing the differences between the two: Difference between Sysmax charger V1 and V2 There are also a couple of things mentioned there that you can check to make sure some supplier isn't simply slapping new stickers on the old product.

 

[BabyCrusher]

Mine friend last night. V2 as well. ::shrug:: to bad its impossible to find a charger in AR.