Pila Charger inconsistent

[Scott_Simpson]

I stack AW IMR 18350s in my Zmax and Vamo, and I'm aware of the importance of keeping stacked batteries in pairs and balanced. For that reason, I bought a Pila charger, since they have a good reputation and are supposed to charge batteries to a consistent 4.19V level. However, when the charger light goes from red to solid green (which is supposed to indicate a full charge), the batteries are rarely, if ever, at the magic 4.19V level. The level can be anywhere from 4.10V to 4.18V, and it differs from charge to charge with the same battery. It doesn't seem to make any difference if the batteries are brand new or if they have been in service for a while. It doesn't seem to make any difference what channel the battery is in, left or right; it doesn't seem to make any difference if I'm charging a single battery or a pair. It just never seems to bring the batteries up to that 4.19V level when the light goes green. Even worse, batteries that go onto the charger at the same voltage level (3.75V, for example) come off the charger at different levels! This is exactly what I'm trying to avoid in my stacked battery pairs.

I expected something better from a Pila charger, and I'm pretty disappointed with these results. Am I doing something wrong? Should I just leave the batteries in the charger until they finally get up to proper voltage, in spite of the Pila instructions to the contrary?

Even my trusty old Tenergy TN270 charger, which I retired in favor of the Pila, was at least consistent ... it always over-charged the batteries to 4.22V, but at least it did it all the time!

Any ideas? Have I just got a bum charger, or am I expecting too much, or are there magic words I should be saying?

 

[Baditude]

Contact the vendor you got the Pila from by opening a ticket. It very well could be a defective charger.

I just had to return an Xtar charger to the vendor. It was blinking red and green lights intermittantly, which I thought was strange, because I have a great working Pila, too. Out of curiosity, I reversed the batteries, and the light stayed red until the batteries were charged and the lights turned green. It looks like whoever assembled the charger at the factor just reversed the wires by mistake, but I was still concerned about safety. So I contacted the vendor and he offered to replace it no questions asked.

 

[Unforeseen]

Moved to Assorted PV Topics - E-Cigarette Accessories Discussion

 

[Fury83]

I always hit the little reset button when I pop a battery in to my Pila, multimeter usually says 4.18 when I pull them out

 

[Riverboat]

My Pila is over 2 years old and still chargers to 4.19 every time......