Xtar MC6 OR Efest LUC V6?

[jifjifjif]

Good day ,all .

I'm in the market for a new charger for my 18650s (brown wrap LGs) and want the ability to charge up to six at once. Which of these two charges would you buy?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Letitia]

I have the Luc6 and happy with it.

 

[DaveP]

I like Efest chargers. My 4 year old Efest LUC 4 broke a bay contact spring recently and I ordered a new one. LUC 4 is the only charger I've owned that would charge 4 18650's at 1A. That's important to me. My xtar VC4 only does two cells at 1A, although it provides MAH readings and that's valuable info.

I also vote for the Efest LUC V6.

 

[jifjifjif]

Thanks guys I see that the xtar needs two charging cables to power it. The LUC uses one wall cable that's included with it correct?

 

[Letitia]

Thanks guys I see that the xtar needs two charging cables to power it. The LUC uses one wall cable that's included with it correct?

Mine came with one. Have been using it for about a year now and have not noticed any drop in performance. I would buy it again if I had need for a second charger.

 

[Zaryk]

I have a luc6, it works just fine. Charges fast and works well with 18650s. But 2x700s are a tight fit and sometimes rips wraps on them.

 

[jifjifjif]

Thank you very much. I appreciate the opinions.

 

[DaveP]

Thanks guys I see that the xtar needs two charging cables to power it. The LUC uses one wall cable that's included with it correct?

My Xtar VC4 has an AC wall adapter that feeds the charger through a USB cable. I had to buy the 2A wall adapter separately for $9.95, though. It didn't come with the charger. The USB cable can be used in a vehicle if equipped or through a cigar lighter adapter..

The Xtar does require two USB cables to work according to the Amazon description. I'm not impressed with the Xtar's configuration. Given the choice of the two I'd go with the LUC 6. The specs are confusing, but it looks like the LUC V6 can charge 4 cells at 1A or all 6 at .68A.

The reason I like my Efest LUC4 is that it can charge all 4 bays at 1A. The LUC 6 gives you that plus two bays at .68A.

 

[Letitia]

My Xtar VC4 has an AC wall power cord as well as a USB power cord. The USB can be used in a vehicle if equipped or through a cigar lighter adapter. Only the AC power cord is necessary in the house.

The Xtar does require two USB cables to work according to the Amazon description. I'm not impressed with the Xtar's configuration. Given the choice of the two I'd go with the LUC 6. The specs are confusing, but it looks like the LUC V6 can charge 4 cells at 1A or all 6 at .68A.

The reason I like my Efest LUC4 is that it can charge all 4 bays at 1A. The LUC 6 gives you that plus two bays at .68A.

Yep, I can charge 6 batteries at .68. I like the pure simplicity of the Luc 6.

 

[DaveP]

I like my LUC 4 and it's been in use for years. It's just been a week since the spring broke on bay one. That spring is soldered to the board and looped over the bottom of the bay slide. I could fix it, but there's 3 more waiting to break, so I ordered another LUC 4 to maintain my ability to charge 4 cells at once at 1A. Most of the time I'm charging no more than 2 cells at once. If I need more I can use the LUC 4 and the XTAR VC4 at once.

I'm a big Efest charger fan. I like the fancy features of Xtar chargers, but my VC4 drops charging rate as you put in more than 2 cells.

 

[DaveP]

Watch out for rising prices. China just popped a $50 Billion tariff on imports from the U.S. to equal Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports. Trump is poising to hit China with like tariffs, so I look for rising prices until they reach a truce that makes both countries happy.

I don't know how that translates into prices on a $20 charger, but it might be a good time to pull the trigger if you've been sitting on the fence with Chinese made vape product purchases.

 

[Letitia]

Watch out for rising prices. China just popped a $50 Billion tariff on imports from the U.S. to equal Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports.

I don't know how that translates into prices on a $20 charger, but it might be a good time to pull the trigger if you've been sitting on the fence with Chinese made vape product purchases.

From my understanding those tariffs will not affect our gear or shipping costs.

 

[DaveP]

From my understanding those tariffs will not affect our gear or shipping costs.

That's good to know. I haven't looked at the list of items that are included in the tariff fight. U.S. hasn't published the list of Chinese products affected. I didn't see any electronics, but they probably don't buy many of ours ... they make them for American companies.

Here's the full list of US products that China is planning to hit with tariffs