Ultrafire Charger Quirk Question (and potential fix?)

[hexagondun]

Hello Everyone,

After 4 days without any charged 18650's and a lot of ego action, I received a new Ultrafire "Rapid Charger" in the mail. I know it's certainly not the best, but the amazon reviews were by and large positive, and, at $10, seemingly good build quality, and free amazon prime 2-day shipping, I figured I'd get one to tide me over 'til I can buy a Pila sometime in the near future.

The most glaring design flaw is that the charger requires two batteries to charge anything! I've attached pics so that you can all see exactly what I mean; but, in short, there are some sort of metal pressure "contacts" (not actual electrical contacts, of course), that fit the batteries firmly side by side allowing for both to make contact and charge. Now, it seems QUITE absurd that I didn't see anyone mention this deal-breaking quirk in an amazon review-- am I simply missing something?

My solution can be seen in the second attached pic (don't worry, I haven't really used it before running it by you guys). I've put an old plastic vivinova cylinder where a second battery would be; it fits just like an 18650 would and applies the proper pressure for the one battery to charge independently. I know this might seem ridiculous (and it is, from a design standpoint), but what I'm left wondering is is it in any way dangerous? Like I said, these metal springy things don't seem to be contacts or anything, just a terrible design element allowing for only two batteries to charge.

Also, and of less concern (I hope), is a very high pitched sound that is imperceptible to most people I've asked -- except, of course, myself. It doesn't always happen, but as I type I hear a really slight but very high pitched sound. I rotated the left battery slightly just now, the light went from red to green (it has been charging for ~6 hours now), and it went away. Now, if this battery is fully charged and I have to keep it in for the other to make contact, I have a potential overcharging situation going on.

Has anyone here had any experience with this sort of funky design? Are there any other (read: better) solutions that you might've thought of/heard about in your battery charger discussions? I'd really hate to have to always charge two batteries at the same time, but I'd hate being totally battery-less again even more.

Sorry for the long post, but God have I been having bad luck with battery chargers. Will order a Pila and put this nonsense in the past sometime next week.

Thanks much in advance!

 

[Ryedan]

This charger looks a lot like this one reviewed at lygte-info. If it says 'WF-139' on it somewhere, it's the same.

The reviewer says the side terminals are not connected to anything, so if yours is the same you could bend them back out of the way. There is also a old and new version around and he tells you how to tell which one you have. Apparently the old version is not so good.

Seems like if you have the new version it will charge just fine. IMO the VVN cylinder is just fine. I see no way it could become a safety issue, but I also don't actually have the charger here in my hands, so take that with a grain of salt.

I would bend the terminals out of the way a bit and use it until I got a better charger. I would never leave it charging unattended. I would not leave batteries in it for long after the light goes green.

Also, you don't have to pay that much for a good charger. You can get a Xtar WP2 for about $20, or a Intellicharger for about the same. That review is for the i4, the 4 bay version. The i2 performs the same.

Vape on!

 

[Baditude]

I would only buy a Pila, Xtar, or Nitecore Intellicharger for my own use. I wouldn't buy any charger which uses wire springs in the charging bays.

I currently use a Nitecore i2 and i4 myself, and have used a Pila in the past. I only charge my batteries while I'm at home, and on my stove top (flame resistant surface).

 

[hexagondun]

I would only buy a Pila, Xtar, or Nitecore Intellicharger for my own use. I wouldn't buy any charger which uses wire springs in the charging bays.

I currently use a Nitecore i2 and i4 myself, and have used a Pila in the past. I only charge my batteries while I'm at home, and on my stove top (flame resistant surface).

This charger looks a lot like this one reviewed at lygte-info. If it says 'WF-139' on it somewhere, it's the same.

The reviewer says the side terminals are not connected to anything, so if yours is the same you could bend them back out of the way. There is also a old and new version around and he tells you how to tell which one you have. Apparently the old version is not so good.

Seems like if you have the new version it will charge just fine. IMO the VVN cylinder is just fine. I see no way it could become a safety issue, but I also don't actually have the charger here in my hands, so take that with a grain of salt.

I would bend the terminals out of the way a bit and use it until I got a better charger. I would never leave it charging unattended. I would not leave batteries in it for long after the light goes green.

Also, you don't have to pay that much for a good charger. You can get a Xtar WP2 for about $20, or a Intellicharger for about the same. That review is for the i4, the 4 bay version. The i2 performs the same.

Vape on!

Good advice, gents. I used the charger with the shoddy vivinova fix and it worked fine until my nitecore i2 came the other day from amazon. Now this junk will only be used supervised and in the case of emergency. Thanks again, guys.

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