@ENAUD ... I received the Zanflare C4 battery charger yesterday or maybe a couple of days ago. I don't know enough about chargers to know if I can recommend this charger or not. I will say that I'd buy it again if I had a do over.
I've never owned Nitecore. I can only compare to my Xtar VC2 Plus. I think the Zanflare charges more thoroughly. Certainly more intelligently. Both the Xtar and Zanflare max charge @ 1A but I think the Xtar might charge slightly faster ... I attribute that to the thoroughness factor. Heck, I think I might even see a little longer battery use and life from Zanflare charged batteries but that is just a gut feeling and nothing scientific.
The battery testing features of the Zanflare are a nice to have. I don't know the chemistry and parameters of various batteries. The good thing is I have multiples of the same batteries, so I can compare them to each other.
What I have found so far with the batteries I have: I have 3 different brands of 18350 batteries ... Vapecell, Xtar and AW. The Vapecell's and Xtar's tested fine and in advertised spec. In sets of each, the internal resistance was about the same, though different between brands. Had a problem with the AW's (my least used 18350's). The AW's are said to be 800mAh 18350's. That was a lie. They tested on the Zanflare to be between 650 and 700mAh. I always felt they didn't last as long as the Xtar or Vapecell 18350's and I clearly see why now.
I tested 6 Sony VTC6 18650's and found the advertised mAh's were correct, but one of the six had WAY WAY higher internal Resistance than the other five. What that means in the real world of vaping, I'm not sure ... maybe warmer battery when vaping(?) ... but anyway, it showed remarkable inconsistency and possible defect.
Speaking of the battery tests, the Zanflare has 2 methods to chose from, Fast Test and Normal Test. The normal test took over 12 hours to run on 4 at a time, Sony 18650's. The normal test fully charges the battery (for testing, it's limited to half an amp charging), then fully discharges and then fully charges again. All the while monitoring mAh's and internal resistance. Only half an amp charge and discharge on 18650's are part of why it took so long. Smaller batteries take a long time in normal test mode too, but not as long as 18650's.
Fast Test on 18350's and 18490/500's took between 3-3 1/2 hours.
The only way to get the most accurate reading of mAh's and internal resistance is to run either the fast or normal test. Simple charging won't reveal the truest measure but will certainly give an idea IF further testing is needed on a particular battery.
The Zanflare has 4 bays. The slides and springs are stronger than on my Xtar and the polarity mating surfaces are textured and hold batteries in the place much better than the Xtar. Overall, the Zanflare is more robust than the Xtar and as noted, has features the Xtar doesn't. Each bay on the Zanflare can be used individually with a different size battery in each bay, and charge or test independently of the other bays. So you could be charging a battery or two while testing a battery or two. Kind of like having 4 chargers LOL ... but all in one. Current isn't shared between the bays either. Could be charging batteries in all 4 bays @ 1A each.
Bottom line as I stated at the top, if I had a do over, I'd get the Zanflare again. If I were a professional or even someone with good battery science, chemistry and characteristic knowledge, I might chose something else. Dunno, but I'm happy with the Zanflare and the Xtar VC2 Plus waits in a box in the closet until needed again.
ing squirrels...
