Overcharged battery

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Mooch

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  • May 13, 2015
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    Bit late but thought I'd relate my experience with the eFest V4 charger.

    In a word: Bad.

    This charger routinely over-charged batteries, in the range of 4.24V, while I was using it.

    Charger canned. batteries canned.

    Not a good charger imo.

    Always wondered if manufacturers picked a slightly higher charging voltage to "make their customers happy" by ensuring the highest capacity (and run time) for their batteries? It comes at the expense of cell life and safety though.

    Or if they just have a wide tolerance on their charging voltages. :)
     
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    Monotremata

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    At the end of the day, how big of a deal is .04v?

    Four hundredths of a volt doesn't seem like a catastrophe waiting to happen to me.

    Thoughts @Mooch ?

    The Xtar charged the OPs battery way more than .04v. It almost hit 4.5. Thats something to worry about!
     
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    Big Me

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    @Big Me, are you going to replace the charger? We've spent so much time talking about that cell that I forgot about the charger that caused this trouble!

    Without a doubt! Lol I've contacted the vendor for a return/replacement under warranty.

    And before you ask - No, I didn't use it again after the first time.
     
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    Mooch

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    Without a doubt! Lol I've contacted the vendor for a return/replacement under warranty.

    And before you ask - No, I didn't use it again after the first time.

    Actually, that question never occurred to me. :)
    I phrased my post poorly. I was originally wondering if you were going to replace it with the same model charger or try a different one? Hope they quickly agree to replace it.
     
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    Big Me

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    Actually, that question never occurred to me. :)
    I phrased my post poorly. I was originally wondering if you were going to replace it with the same model charger or try a different one? Hope they quickly agree to replace it.
    I think they will. The vendor, although small, has a good reputation.

    And the reviews I've seen for the VC2/4 have all been positive so I'm hoping my unit is a rare duff one.
     

    Monotremata

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    I think they will. The vendor, although small, has a good reputation.

    And the reviews I've seen for the VC2/4 have all been positive so I'm hoping my unit is a rare duff one.

    Xtars reputation is pretty much up on top, but like any product, once in awhile a dud gets through QC. For all you know it might have been fine leaving the factory and got bumped or something a little too hard in shipping. Maybe it sat in a heated trailer being delivered for a little too long, or one of the components simply tested fine for a bit but took a dump once it was under stress. Happens to the best of em every now and then. I see people loving their Nitecores theyve had for years but my D2 stopped working properly after 2 months and now it will only charge a battery to 4.07v, even though it says its 4.2 on the display.
     
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