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Charger Zanflare C4 vs Opus BT-C3100

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I’ve got free charger Zanflare C4 for review purposes. Then I started to digg at BLF and found there are already four reviews:

http://budgetlightforum.com/node/55185
http://budgetlightforum.com/node/55720
http://budgetlightforum.com/node/55609
http://budgetlightforum.com/node/55835

“Dammn”, what to do now. Then I’ve got an idea to say few words about some differencies I could observed comparing with well known Opus BT-C3100 (C3100 in short). There is a lot of quite good chargers out there but not so many with analyzing features. Will try to concentrate on that feature.

Main difference between the two is the power they can use during charge and discharge. Since C3100 is using more power it has to use fan to cool down eletronics. Most of us has some sort of problems with C3100 fans. I have already to replace it. Fan is pretty loud and can be anoying if you want to run it in living room, specialy when you want to monitor behavior.
On the other hand C4 has no fan so it is completly quiet. Of course the power used has to be lower, specilay during discharge. Otherwise resistors would be burned quite quickly. So if you are satisfied with slower dischage C4 is good choice.

On discharge/test features I’ve noticed both chargers gives to high readings. Wanted to know why. I’ve studied HKJs reviews and hopefuly found out the reason for this. It might be obvious for some but most people probbaly won’t know. Discharge is not using constant current and it stops for short time to check the voltage. This time is not extracted from the capacity calculation. Longer is the pause higher is the capacity reading.

For test I’ve used brand new Samsung 26L M cells discharged/tested at 0.5A and got C4 on left, C3100 on right

Capacity readings for some LSD AA cells

Looks like C4 has to have longer period of pauses during discharge but it is more consistent. Will see how they are doing with internal resistance.

What do you think? Can we get some percentage to correct capacity readings?


[REVIEW] MiBoxer C4-12 4 slot Charger each 3A

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I received a free sample of this charger from Miboxer to do this review

They sent me this charger with DHL express.

The charger comes in a cardbox, that is slightly damaged at an edge.



The box contains:
- Charger
- 230V EU power cable
- 12V 5A PSU
- Manual

The manual is in English.

The UI is quite easy and good described in the manual so I don’t go further into it.

This review is long enough, for specifications look for them on their “website”:http://www.miboxer.com/eng/p6.html.
I made a time-lapse to show how the charger operates.

At 12 minutes I change the current from automatic range to 3A per cell.

The charger has a conservative automatic selected current, it does not provide too much current to any of my cells, but on some with PCB it charges very slow.
Better use manual charge current.

It charges all types of lithium batteries and NiCd/NiMh with the proper CC/CV and delta V charge curves.
Good charge characteristics for lithium and NiMh.

The charger also is capable to run as a powerbank from slot 4.

The charger design seems similar to my Nitecore D4 or my Klarus CH4S just it is bigger so it can charge 4 26650 at the same time.


It comes with a EU plug to my destination, easily to change the cable to other sockets.

The first thing was opening the charger to look inside, how well it is build.

It looks very similar to the C2-6000 that has also 3A per slot.

The charger uses rails with sliders to make contact, all contacts and rails are made of coated steel,
copper would be nicer but being steel seems not to affect the voltage readings much.

The Chargers plastic is durable and also is reinforced.
Both parts of the shell snap in as addition to the 4 screws.

The resistance measurement with the charger seems consistant, just empty cells have higher value than it shows when fully charged

First thing was to bypass the rails with 4 different wires to test this compared to the stock charger.

The display comes with a protective film that is also labeled as such, often it’s hard to see if there is a protection film on the charger
so people don’t remove it.
The overall looking is better than my Klarus CH4S charger.

The charger weights 615g with PSU so it is heavier than most other 4 slot chargers,
definitely not a travel charger.

The PSU is heavy and seems of good quality, I do not open it as it is sealed.

The SMD parts are all lined up perfectly and soldering is good.
There is one resistor that has a 2. stacked on top, soldered by hand there.

The charger board is single sided the rails are soldered well.

The springs are not soldered like in many charger so there is no risk that it gets loose.

The charger board is really clean the contacts are made of plated steel.

The battery contacts have 3 raised points to make contact to 10440, 18650 and 32650 sized cells.
The slider has 2 raised points.

The Charger uses low ESR capacitors the inductors are glued with silicone for mechanical stability.

The charger has temperature probes for each slot individually.

The microcontroller is the same than in the other Miboxer chargers.

The slots have each 2 0.068Ohms sense resistors parallel.

On the right side of the board is the USB output boost converter for slot 4.

Near the DC power socket there is a claw chip like AMC7135s.

The power socket is high quality

Display board looks good.

It is possible to charge 2 D sized cells but not really fitting.



If the side would be shallower at the battery positive side it would fit.

This was better in the C2-6000.

Conclusion

Pros:
- high quality build
- 3A each slot
- proper charge characteristic
- can charge 4 26650 at the same time
- good electrical safety
- easy UI
- slowly ramping up charge current
- temperature control for each slot

Neutral:
- only NiMh and 4.2V lithium batteries supported

Cons:
- 2 D-cell sized batteries do not fit in well, a minor change in the case design could fix this

Test/review of SODA Dual Battery Charger 2017

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SODA Dual Battery Charger 2017

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This is a dual cell mains and 12V powered LiIon charger with a switch to select charge current.

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It arrived in a small cardboard box with specifications on it.

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The box included the charger, a mains cable, a warranty card and the instruction sheet.

DSC_0163

The charger has a mains socket with universal power (100-240VAC 50/60Hz) and a 12V DC connector.
The current selector is placed between the two power input.

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The only user interface is a led light for each channel, it is red when charging and green at other times.

DSC_0164

Specifications are on the bottom.

DSC_0165DSC_0166

The slots uses the classical slider construction and it works fine.
The slots can work from 29 mm to 70.2mm. This will give problems with long protected xx650 batteries.

supportedBatteryTypes

supportedBatterySizes

DSC_0520DSC_0516DSC_0517DSC_0518DSC_0519DSC_0522DSC_0521

The charger can handle 70 mm long batteries including flat top cells.



Measurements


  • When not connected to power it will discharges with less than 0.3mA.
  • Below 0.8V the charger will not detect a battery
  • Between 0.8V and 2.9V the charger will charge with about 50mA to 100mA
  • Above 2.9V the charger will use regular charging.
  • Charger will restart silent when voltage drops slightly.
  • It will restart charging on reinsertion of the battery or power cycling.
  • Power consumptions when idle without battery is 0.4 watt in 1A and 0.3 watt in 0.5A setting.
  • From 12V it need 19mA when idle without battery in 1A and 15mA in 0.5A.

Efest%20SODA%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%231

The charger uses CC/CV charge algorithm and charges to 4.2V, but it is not terminating this time (I might do it later).

Efest%20SODA%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%232

The second channel terminates slightly below 100mA

Efest%20SODA%200.5A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%231

Here I am chargint at 0.5A and the channel terminates nicely.

Efest%20SODA%201A%20%28SA18650-26%29%20%231

Again a missed termination.

Efest%20SODA%201A%20%28PA18650-31%29%20%231

And a perfect termination.

Efest%20SODA%201A%20%28BE18650-26%29%20%231

This old cell is also terminated perfectly.

Efest%20SODA%200.5A%20%28KP14500-08%29%20%231

But on this smaller cell it misses termination.

Efest%20SODA%200.5A%20%28AW18350-IMR%29%20%231

And the very old and nearly completely worn out cell it terminates fine, at a very low current.

Efest%20SODA%201A%20%282xSA18650-33%29

No problem with two cell at a time.

Efest%20SODA%201A%2012V%20%282xSA18650-33%29

Running it from a 12V supply it can be seen that it needs about 0.9A for charging two cells.

Temp4370

M1: 47,2°C, M2: 47,6°C, M3: 61,0°C, HS1: 88,9°C

Temp4371

M1: 59,4°C, HS1: 65,3°C

Efest%20SODA%201A%20load%20voltage%20sweep
Efest%20SODA%200.5A%20load%20voltage%20sweep

Sweeping the battery voltage from zero to 4.25 shows charge current at the different charge levels.
I did also add a curve to show how much heat is generated in the charger, most of the time the voltage will be between 3.5V and 4V, i.e. just below 3 watt with one cell at 1A.

Poweron

The charger needs about 3 second to start.

CurrentChange

Current can be changed at any time.

Testing the power supply with 2830 volt and 4242 volt between mains and low volt side, did not show any safety problems.



Conclusion

I do not like the very discrete current switch, I want some easy to see indication with selected charge current.
The missing or more likely late termination on some cells means it is best to remove batteries when they are charged.

I will only rate it acceptable, due to the termination or lack of.



Notes

The charger was supplied by Efest for review.

Here is an explanation on how I did the above charge curves: How do I test a charger

My website with reviews of many chargers and batteries (More than 1000): http://lygte-info.dk/

Test/review of Efest LUSH Q4 Charger 2017

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Efest LUSH Q4 Charger 2017

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DSC_0421DSC_0422

This is a simple quad cell mains powered LiIon charger without any settings.

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It arrived in a small cardboard box with specifications on it.

DSC_0417

The box included the charger, a mains cable, a warranty card and the instruction sheet.

DSC_0424

The charger has a mains socket for power and is universal power (100-240VAC 50/60Hz).

DSC_0572

The only user interface is a led light for each channel, white when charging and blue when finished.

DSC_0423

Specifications are on the bottom, but not very easy to read.

DSC_0426DSC_0427

The slots uses the classical slider construction and it works fine.
The slots can work from 27 mm to 70mm. This means that it will handle most 18650/26650 batteries, except the longest ones.

supportedBatteryTypes

supportedBatterySizes

DSC_0529DSC_0530DSC_0531DSC_0532

The charger can handle 70 mm long batteries including flat top cells.
The charger current is on the high side for many regular cells, but fine for IMR batteries



Measurements


  • When not connected to power it will discharges with about 8mA.
  • Below 0.55V the charger will not detect a battery
  • Between 0.55V and 2.8V the charger will charge with about 600mA to 1.2A
  • Above 2.8V the charger will use regular charging.
  • When one cell is full, the others will be charged with the higher current.
  • Charger will restart silent when voltage drops slightly.
  • It will restart charging on reinsertion of the battery or power cycling.
  • Power consumptions when idle without battery is 0.2 watt

Efest%20LUSH%20Q4%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%231

The charger uses a CC/CV charge curve, but has problems terminating the charging. With one battery the current is around 2A, this is rather high for many battery.

Efest%20LUSH%20Q4%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%232
Efest%20LUSH%20Q4%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%233
Efest%20LUSH%20Q4%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%234

All slots works the same.

Efest%20LUSH%20Q4%20%28SA18650-26%29%20%231
Efest%20LUSH%20Q4%20%28PA18650-31%29%20%231
Efest%20LUSH%20Q4%20%28BE18650-26%29%20%231

Other capacities and older batteries is handled the same way.

Efest%20LUSH%20Q4%20%282xSA18650-33%29

With two batteries in the charger the current is reduced to less than 1A

Efest%20LUSH%20Q4%20%284xSA18650-33%29

With four batteries the current will be reduced to less than 0.5A.

Temp4420

M1: 43,4°C, M2: 48,4°C, M3: 49,6°C, M4: 46,4°C, M5: 59,0°C, HS1: 67,9°C
The two center batteries is a bit warm.

Temp4421

M1: 44,3°C, M2: 44,0°C, HS1: 55,4°C

Efest%20Lush%20Q4%20load%20voltage%20sweep

Sweeping the battery voltage from zero to 4.25 shows charge current at the different charge levels.
I did also add a curve to show how much heat is generated in the charger, most of the time the voltage will be between 3.5V and 4V, i.e. a bit above 4 watt.

Poweron

The charger is very fast at starting.

RemovingBatteries

The charger will always charge at full current, here I removed batteries during charging and it automatically increased current.


Testing the power supply with 2830 volt and 4242 volt between mains and low volt side, did not show any safety problems.



Conclusion

The charger uses a rather high current, when charging a single battery, but with four batteries the current is fairly low.

I will rate it as acceptable due to the termination problems.



Notes

The charger was supplied by Efest for review.

Here is an explanation on how I did the above charge curves: How do I test a charger

My website with reviews of many chargers and batteries (More than 1000): http://lygte-info.dk/

Test/review of PortaPow AA+AAA usb battery charger

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PortaPow AA+AAA usb battery charger

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DSC_8743DSC_8742

Portapow has usb chargers, cables, power banks, solar panels, usb meters, etc.. Here I have found a simple usb powered charger for AA/AAA batteries. I can charge from 1 to 4 NiMH batteries and is specified to use -dv/dt termination.

DSC_8735

I got the charger in a plain white cardboard box.

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The pack contains the charger, a A-A usb cable and a instruction sheet.

DSC_8741DSC_8739

The charger has a usb-A connector for power input, this do not fit the normal usb cables, but requires a special USB-A to USB-A cable (it is supplied). I would have preferred a micro usb input, then it could have used the same cables as most phones and other usb equipment.

DSC_8749

At the back the charger has a red led to show when power is connected.

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The display has four animated battery symbols when charging.
Pressing the refresh button will stop the animation and slowly discharge the cells. When the cells are empty they will be charged again.

DSC_8747

The charger has a flip down spacer to select between AA/AAA batteries.

DSC_8748

The other end is just normal connections, but not in very good quality. I had to bend them a bit to get enough tension on the batteries.

DSC_8746

One AA and one AAA.

supportedBatteryTypes

supportedBatterySizesDSC_8745DSC_8744



Measurements


  • Power consumption when idle is 21mA from usb.
  • At 0.3V or below the charger will report error (The battery symbol flashes).
  • Above 0.3V the charger will use normal charge current.
  • Trickle charge is about 13mA (Good).
  • When not powered it will discharge batteries with about 0.1mA
  • Charge will restart charging after power loss, or battery insertion.


Charge

Portapow%20%28eneloop%29%20%231

The charge current is about 0.75A, termination looks to be -dv/dt with a low trickle charge.

Portapow%20%28eneloop%29%20%232
Portapow%20%28eneloop%29%20%233
Portapow%20%28eneloop%29%20%234

The other slots looks the same.

Portapow%20%28eneloopXX%29%20%231

The XX cell is old and the charger must have termination on time or voltage.

Portapow%20%28eneloopPro%29%20%231
Portapow%20%28powerex%29%20%231

These two cells do also terminate early, i.e. they are not completely filled. It looks like the charger has a 2100mAh maximum charge?

Portapow%20%28eneloopAAA%29%20%231

The AAA cell is charged nicely with a -dv/dt termination. The current is a bit high at 0.75A (This is about the rated maximum charge speed for AAA cells).

Portapow%20full%20%28eneloop%29%20%231

As usual it takes some time to detect a full cell when using -dv/dt.

Portapow%20%284xeneloop%29

With four cells the charge current is reduced to about 0.3A and termination is a bit slow (Maybe it was on a 2100mAh limit, but the charger is rated for 3000mAh cells).

Portapow%20%284xeneloop%29a

And it uses about 0.7A from usb.

Temp4158

M1: 31,0°C, HS1: 37,7°C

Temp4159

M1: 36,3°C, M2: 37,6°C, M3: 35,9°C, M4: 34,2°C, M5: 38,1°C, HS1: 45,1°C
Even when charging with the lid on the battery temperature is fine (I only opened the lid when taking IR photos).

Poweron

When power is turned on the charge need about 5 seconds to initialize. It has one 1.5A charge circuit and will time shared it between the slots. One or two slots will get 50% of the time.

Charge3

With 3 cells it adds one phase to the time sharing, i.e. about 30% to each slots.

Charge4

And for four cells it is below 25% of the time for each slot.

TrickleCharge

The trickle charger is a 15 millisecond pulse every 1.65 second at 1.5A, this is about 13mA



Refresh

A press on the refresh/charge button will start a refresh cycle, a second press will cancel the refresh and continue with charging.

Portapow%20refresh%20%28eneloop%29%20%231

The refresh is done at a rather moderate speed with about 200mA discharge current.

Portapow%20refresh%20%284xeneloop%29

The discharge speed is the same with four cells, but the charge speed is reduced, making the total time a few hours longer.


Temp4173

HS1: 30,7°C

Temp4173

M1: 34,0°C, M2: 35,4°C, M3: 34,9°C, M4: 33,6°C, HS1: 43,2°C
The discharge is at a fairly low current and do not generate much heat in the charger.

This discharge is with constant current, for that reason I did not do any scope images (It would just be a straight line).




Conclusion

The charger do a good job on 2000mAh batteries with a nice low trickle charger, but it cannot charge larger cells.
As is often the case with chargers it will reduce the charge current when it has to charge many cell simultaneous.
Because it did not charge any of my high capacity cells fully I will only rate it acceptable.



Notes

Here is an explanation on how I did the above charge curves: How do I test a charger

My website with reviews of many chargers and batteries (More than 1000): http://lygte-info.dk/

(Review) Opus BT-C3100 V2.2 NiMH-NiCd-Li-ion Battery Charger

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The opus BT-C3100 V2.2 is an intelligent 4 slot lithium-ion battery charger with a easily readable backlit LCD display. This charger supports up to 2Ax2 or 1Ax4 charging current. The BT-C3100 is a great choice for charging multiple 18650s at once and especially testing different cell’s capacitys with its numerous functions.

This charger can be found on amazon for $37.99

https://www.amazon.com/Opus-BT-Intelligent-Compatible-Batteries/dp/B0185...

Specifications Listed by Manufacturer

Main Features:
The charger integrates the minus delta voltage for NiCd or NiMh battery charging termination, and for Li-ion batteries charging to 4.2V with pre-selected constant current. ( 3.7 Li-FeO4 and 4.35 type high voltage batteries charging mode can be selected through switch on board )
Easy to read LCD with back light Showing Battery Voltage, Charge / Discharge Current, Charging Time, Battery Capacity etc.
Operating temperature: 0 – 40 deg.C
Max charging capacity: Up to 20000mAh
Power adapter: DC 12V, 3.0A ( Output ), 100 – 240V, 50 / 60Hz ( Input )
Highlight:
1. Voltage update rate is 30s instead of 60s.
2. 4.35V charging time can be very long because charging current is regulated in entering the CV stage at 4.12V, which is same as 4.2V type. Now
3.35V charging algorithm is changed to 4.27V.
4. New fan cover make better protection for cooling fan.
5. Charging current range ( mA ): 200, 300, 500, 700, 1000, 1500, 2000
6. Discharge current range ( mA ):200, 300, 500, 700, 1000 ( li-ion cell battery only )
7. Max. charging capacity: 20000mAh
8. Voltage deviation: max 0.03V 4.2V
9. Current deviation: max 5%
Type: Charger
Brand: Opus
Model: BT-C3100 V2.2
Rechargeable Battery Qty: 4
Input Voltage: AC 100~240V 50/60HZ
Output Voltage: DC 12V, 3.0A
LCD Screen: YES
Auto Circuit Detection: YES
Built-in Protected Circuit: YES
Over Voltage Protection: YES
Short-Circuit Protection: YES
Over-Charging Protection: YES
Over-Discharging Protection: YES
Battery Quantity: 4

Packaging

Package weight: 0.558 kg
Product size (L x W x H): 14.4 × 9.8 × 3.9 cm / 5.66 × 3.85 × 1.53 inches
Package size (L x W x H): 16 × 22 × 5 cm / 6.29 × 8.65 × 1.97 inches


Contents

1 x Opus BT – C3100 Battery Charger
1 x US Power Adapter
1 x English User Manual

Included AC-DC adapter outputs 12v 3A Max

Physical Attributes

The Opus BT-C3100 is made out of ABS plastic and feels like is has a very sturdy structure and is built well. The buttons below the LCD feel very solid and have a nice click to them when used. The charging bays adjustable negative poll is attached via spring which also is very strong and holds the battery in place very well.

This charger holds 4 18650 cells comfortably and is very easy to extract them from the bays when they are done charging. Protected versions of all compatible cells fit snugly inside the charger except for protected 26650’s.



The negative end of the cell is just barely not connecting thus the problem with this charger and holding protected 26650’s

Cooling The unit
The charger has a cooling fan built in to cool down the internal components when charging at high currents
The fan is somewhat loud but not loud enough to be bothersome when in listening vicinity

Measurements
The unit is approximately 4“x 5.75” or 10cm x 14.5cm

Display and Selectable Modes

The BT-C3100 has multiple different modes (Charge, Discharge, Test, Quick test, Refresh) and charging currents to choose from including 200,300,500,700,1000,1500,2000 mAH

Operating the Unit
Pressing the mode button will cycle you through the 5 selectable modes (Charge, Discharge, Test, Quick test, Refresh)
Pressing the display button will cycle you through the 4 different informational displays (Voltage, Current, Capacity, Charge time)
Pressing the current button will allow you to select the desired charging/discharging currents
Pressing the slot button will cycle through the 4 slots in the charger

Volatge

Current

Capacity

Charge Time

The Modes

The unit has 5 selectable modes including Charge, Discharge, Test, Quick test, and Refresh.

Charge Mode: The rechargeable battery is charged up to its maximum capacity. Accumulated charging capacity is displayed at mAH display mode.
The charger will charge 4 cells at once charging each at 1 amp. But if you are charging only 2 batteries you should put them in the outer slots (slots 1 and 4) to increase the charging rate to 2 amps a piece. This is especially good for charging 2 26650’s at the same time

Discharge Mode: Discharge mode is used to reduce memory effect, The rechargeable battery is discharged to a preset battery voltage (0.9v for Ni-Cd & Ni-Mh, 2.8v for Li-ion batteries). Once discharge is finished, total accumulated discharging capacity is displayed at mAH display mode.

Refresh Mode: The rechargeable battery is charged and discharged repeatedly to optimize to its maximum capacity. Old rechargeable batteries or rechargeable batteries that have not been used for a long period of time can be restored to their rated capacity

Test mode: Checks the present capacity of a rechargeable battery. The maximum capacity is determined by discharging the rechargeable battery after it was fully charged.

Quick Test mode: The charger will analyze the dynamic internal battery resistance by applying a load and the current reading is referred to the voltage drop detected on the battery. Within 10s, the tested battery resistance will be displayed in the unit of milliohm.

Supported Batteries/ Technical Data

This charger can only hold 2 26650’s in the outer slots

Final Thoughts

The Opus BT-C3100 V2.2 is a great all around charger option for all those who want to charge multiple cells at a time and for those who want to test the capacities of their cells. This charger can be used by anyone with any experience level due to the simplicity of the operation of the device. My favorite aspect of this charger is its ability to discharge your cells to get the exact readout of mA to see if your cells capacity is infact true to what the label says. The charger also fully charges all cells to a even voltage of 4.2 volts and trickle charges them to keep the cells topped off if you leave them on the charger after they are done charging.

The only thing I would have liked to see in this charger would be a higher charging current when charging 4 cells at a time, especially for high capacity 18650s it will take about 3.5 hours for them to fully charge at 1A

All in all I highly recommend this charger to anyone who wants a well built, multi mode charger that will act true to its specifications.

Current collection Olight -M3XS UT -S1R turbo S -I3E EOS -S mini brass -S2A -X7R Sofirn SP33 Nitecore TM06S Thrunite TN36 2017 Lights I’ve ordered Astrolux MF02 ThorFire S70S

 

Product Reviews

Opus BT-C3100

Test/review of Charger Efest LUC V6 2017

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Charger Efest LUC V6 2017

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This is one of the larger chargers from Efest with 6 slots and Bluetooth connection.

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The charger comes in a cardboard box.

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In the box is the charger, a mains cable, a instruction sheet and a warrant card.

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The charger is powered from mains with universal voltage input (100-240VAC 50-60Hz).

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The front has the display, a button and 6 slots with a led each. The led is red when charging and green when done. It is off when no battery is in the slot.

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The button can be used to select what slot to display and change between 0.5A, 1A and 2A charging on some slots.
A fast press will change slot, hold down to change current.

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Display during power on with all segments shown.
The display will turn off rather fast, to turn it on again press the button.

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0.5A charging is supported on all slots. One slot digit will flash, this is the slot the voltage is shown for.
Current is common for all slots.

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1A current is supported in slot 2-5, the current selected slot do not have a battery in it (Voltage=0).

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2A current is only supported in slot #1 and #6 (The ones supporting 26650 cells).

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As usual there is some specifications on the back of the charger

DSC_0464DSC_0466

The sliders for the battery work smoothly and can accept batteries from 29mm to 70.5mm. This means the new xx700 batteries will fit, but some long protected xx650 will not.

supportedBatteryTypes

supportedBatterySizes

DSC_0514DSC_0515

The charger is rated for 10440 batteries, but due to the charger current it is only recommended to charge IMR 10440.



Bluetooth app.

A charger with build in Bluetooth need an app before the Bluetooth is interesting.
I found it in the Google play app. store.

App1App2App3

It did connect to the charger and it looks fairly good, but it never shows any data or allow any control of the charger.
I.e. it is NOT WORKING.



Measurements


  • When not connected to power it will discharges with up to 0.08mA.
  • Power cycling or reinsertion of the battery will restart charging.
  • At about 0.6 volt the charger will detect a battery and start charging with 50mA
  • At 3V the charger will apply full charge current.
  • The charger will silent keep the cell charged.
  • The voltmeter is limited to 4.2 volt
  • The voltmeter starts showing a value at about 0.6V, but it shows around 1V
  • Generally the voltmeter is within 0.3V
  • Power consumption when idle is 0.4 watt


Efest%20Luc%20Blu6%20LCD%200.5A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%231

A nice 0.5A charge curve with a termination around 110mA

Efest%20Luc%20Blu6%20LCD%200.5A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%236

Slot #6 did not do as a nice a charge, and stopped too early.

Efest%20Luc%20Blu6%20LCD%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%232
Efest%20Luc%20Blu6%20LCD%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%233
Efest%20Luc%20Blu6%20LCD%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%234
Efest%20Luc%20Blu6%20LCD%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%235

1A in the four center slots, there is some variation in the voltage.

Efest%20Luc%20Blu6%20LCD%202A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%231
Efest%20Luc%20Blu6%20LCD%202A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%236

2A in slot #1 and #6, it works, but slot #6 is a bit low on in voltage.

Efest%20Luc%20Blu6%20LCD%201A%20%28SA18650-26%29%20%232
Efest%20Luc%20Blu6%20LCD%201A%20%28PA18650-31%29%20%232

This time slot #2 was fine with voltage and did a good job on both batteries.

Efest%20Luc%20Blu6%20LCD%201A%20%28BE18650-26%29%20%232

But the older cell did not work as fine.

Efest%20Luc%20Blu6%20LCD%200.5A%20%28KP14500-08%29%20%231

A smaller cell at 0.5A work find.

Efest%20Luc%20Blu6%20LCD%200.5A%20%286xSA18650-33%29

The charger can charge 6 cells at 0.5A, but this time there was a problem with voltage on the slot I measured on.

Temp4472

M1: 39,1°C, M2: 40,1°C, M3: 40,6°C, M4: 40,4°C, M5: 40,2°C, M6: 36,5°C, M7: 43,0°C, HS1: 44,2°C

Temp4473

HS1: 55,2°C

Efest%20LUC%20Blu6%20load%20voltage%20sweep

Sweeping the battery voltage from zero to 4.25 shows charge current at the different charge levels.
I did also add a curve to show how much heat is generated in the charger, most of the time the voltage will be between 3.5V and 4V, i.e. around 1.5 watt with one cell at 0.5A.

Poweron

The charger need about 5 seconds to start.

CurrentChange

It is possible to change current at any time.



Testing with 2830 volt and 4242 volt between mains and low volt side, did not show any safety problems.



Conclusion

I am not impressed with this charger, there is way to much tolerance on the charge voltage. It looks to be something in the logic, because it can sometimes do it right and sometimes wrong on the same slot.
The not working Bluetooth application is also a big minus for this charger.

I will only call it acceptable.


Notes

The charger was supplied by Efest for review.

Here is an explanation on how I did the above charge curves: How do I test a charger

Compare to other chargers

My website with reviews of many chargers and batteries (More than 1000): http://lygte-info.dk/

Test/review of Charger GyrFalcon All-88 2017 (Enova)

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GyrFalcon All-88 2017 (Enova)

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Enova has updated their universal 8 slot charger.

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The cardboard box lists a lot of specifications for the charger.

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The box included the charger, a power supply, some accessories for special battery sizes and a instruction sheet.

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The accessories are spacers for handling small batteries and some extensions for the plus connection for handling C, D and 32xxxx size batteries

DSC_3550DSC_3551

The extension in use.

DSC_2543

The DC input is the usual barrel connector and it is rated for 12V input at 4A.

DSC_3542

The display has many elements on it, because the charger can handle many types of cells.

DSC_3540

One this image the charger is in automatic mode, i.e. it is not possible to select voltage, that will be done automatic and only NiMH and 4.2V LiIon can be charged. (Hold down Fn and CV for some time to switch between manual and automatic)

In manual mode it is possible to select both voltage and current for each slot:
Press button for slot to select it.
Press button for slot again to select voltage.
Press CV to select current setting.
Press button for slot to select current.
Press CV to select voltage setting again.
Hold button for slot down to start charging.

Start a slot (Method 2):
Press button for slot to select it.
Press button for slot again to select voltage.
Hold button for slot down to start charging.
Press CV to select current setting.
Press button for slot to select current.

The above methods are rather long if you want to charge many cells, the charger has some shortcuts to handle that:
Hold button for charging slot down and tap button for other channel will copy the settings and start charging on the other channel.
Hold Fn down and press CV will select 1A and 4.2V charge voltage for all idle slots, pressing multiple times on CV will change voltage.

These short-cuts means that charging any number of (4.2V) 18650, 26650, 32650 can be started by holding Fn down and tapping once on CV.
Charging any number of AA can be starting by holding Fn down and tapping CV twice.

DSC_3543

The C.A line shows selected current and is also used to select current when the “>>” marking is at this line.
The V.V line shows selected charge voltage and is also used to the select voltage when the “>>” marker is flashing at this line.
The battery icon is animated when the charger is charging.
The display will automatic dim after some time, any button press will bring it back to full brightness.

DSC_3544

In this image adjustment of current is select (>> is at the C.A. line).

DSC_2545DSC_2546

The sliders work very smooth and can handle from 30.2mm to 71.7mm, up to ø26mm cells can be placed in each slot and it is possible to use ø32mm cells in each other slot when the extension is used (Only two supplied). For NiMH extension must be used for both C and D cell.
Due to the wide slots, care has to be taken with thinner batteries to get a connection.

DSC_3550DSC_3551

Using the “Extensions” both C and D cell can be charged.

supportedBatteryTypes

supportedBatterySizes

DSC_3546DSC_3545

DSC_3548DSC_3549

DSC_3547

With 10180 cell the 100mA charge current is on the high side, but because most 10180 are high current cell it will usual be acceptable.
C, D & 32xxx cells can have trouble with the plus connection, using the small extender will fix this.



Measurements on charger


  • Power consumption when idle is 0.8 watt with display off (1.4 watt with display on).
  • Will discharge a LiIon with 0.1mA when not charging.
  • Will discharge a NiMH with 0.15mA when not charging.
  • Will not charge at 0 volt.
  • LiIon charging start at about 1.0 volt with a few mA.
  • NiMH charging start at 0.7 volt with selected current.
  • Ib automatic mode it will assume LiIon above 2V
  • From about 1.5 volt to 3.0 volt it will charge with 50mA (72mA for 0.5 and 1A charge current), this is the same for all LiIon chemistries.
  • Above 3.0 volt the select current will be used
  • Meter starts working at 0.7 volt, but is first precise at around 1 volt.
  • Meter is within 0.03 volt.
  • Meter stops updating when battery is full.
  • Meter will not reduce reading.
  • Charger will restart silent if LiIon battery voltage drops below 4.1 volt (4.2V charging).
  • Power cycling and insertion of a battery requires button press to start charging in manual mode.


Charging 4.20V LiIon cells

GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%231

The charger uses a CC/CV charge curve with 100mA termination at 1A charge current.

GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%232
GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%233
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GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%235
GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%236
GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%237
GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%238

All the other slots look the same, but there is a small variation in final voltage, it is within acceptable tolerances.

GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28SA18650-26%29%20%231
GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28PA18650-31%29%20%231
GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28BE18650-26%29%20%231

These cells are also handled nicely, even the old one.

GyrFalcon%20All-88%200.25A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%231

A very low charge current also works and there is not timeout.

GyrFalcon%20All-88%200.5A%20%28AW18350-IMR%29%20%231

This very old cell drops significantly in voltage when charging stops and the charger restarts again. I could probably have avoided this by selecting a lower charge current.

GyrFalcon%20All-88%200.5A%20%28KP14500-08%29%20%231

The 14500 is not as worn and the charger stops as it is supposed to do.
It looks like the termination current at 0.5A charge is 100mA, this is a bit on the high side.

GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%288xSA18650-33%29

The charger can handle 8 cells at 1A simultaneous.

GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%2012V%20%288xSA18650-33%29

Charging 8 cells requires nearly 4A from 12V

Temp4735

M1: 44,4°C, M2: 46,3°C, M3: 49,0°C, M4: 48,4°C, M5: 49,5°C, M6: 46,1°C, M7: 46,2°C, M8: 41,0°C, M9: 48,6°C, HS1: 54,4°C
When charging 8 cells at full current some cells are fairly warm.

Temp4735

M1: 60,4°C, HS1: 69,9°C

PoweronLiIon

Here I tested in automatic mode, where the charger starts in about 2 seconds.

CurrentChangeLiIon

It is possible to change current during charge.



Charging 4.35V LiIon cells

GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28LG18650-30%29%20%231

The charger supports both 4.30V and 4.35V cells, I only did a test with 4.35V and it looks fine.



Charging 3.6V LiFePO4 cells

GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%2818650-LiFePO4%29%20%231

GyrFalcon%20All-88%200.5A%20%28SO14500-LiFePO4%29%20%231

The charger charges LiFePO4 to 3.6V, but the restart voltage is too high, i.e. the charger will restart a couple of times after it is finished.




Charging NiMH cells

GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28eneloop%29%20%231

The NiMH charging stops on -dv/dt and looks fine.

GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28eneloop%29%20%232
GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28eneloop%29%20%233
GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28eneloop%29%20%234
GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28eneloop%29%20%235
GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28eneloop%29%20%236
GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28eneloop%29%20%237
GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28eneloop%29%20%238

On all slots, there is a small difference in current, but that is not important.

GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28eneloopPro%29%20%231
GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%28powerex%29%20%231

The two high capacity cells are handled fine.

GyrFalcon%20All-88%200.25A%20%28eneloop%29%20%231

Here I use a very low charge current on a NiMH and the charger terminates fine.

GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20full%20%28eneloop%29%20%231

With -dv/dt termination it will take some time to detect a full cell, here it is about 13 minutes.

GyrFalcon%20All-88%200.5A%20%28eneloopAAA%29%20%231

No problems with a AAA cell at 0.5A

GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%20%288xeneloop%29

No problem with charging 8 NiMH cells at a time.

GyrFalcon%20All-88%201A%2012V%20%288xeneloop%29

It needs a bit below 2A at 12V for charging 8 NiMH cells.

Temp4741

M1: 47,8°C, M2: 49,0°C, M3: 50,3°C, M4: 49,0°C, M5: 50,6°C, M6: 49,2°C, M7: 47,9°C, M8: 43,1°C, HS1: 55,3°C
8 cells at full current will give some heat.

PoweronNiMH

Starting is exactly the same as for LiIon.

CurrentChangeNiMH

Current change is also the same.

ChargingNiMH

With NiMH the charger stops every 20 seconds to check the voltage of the cells.


Testing with 2830 volt and 4242 volt between mains and low volt side, did not show any safety problems with the transformer.



Conclusion

This is a fairly advanced charger with support for most round cells on the market, both fairly large and very small. The automatic mode makes it very simple to use and the advanced mode adds support for just about any cell on the market. To use the advanced mode it is a good idea to learn the short cuts, this makes it fast to program multiple slots.

Due to the wide slots, it is necessary to be a bit careful when loading thinner cells (Like AA), they have to be centered in the slot.

I will rated this charger as a very good charger, but it requires a bit care when starting a charge.



Notes

The charger was supplied by Enova for review.

Here is an explanation on how I did the above charge curves: How do I test a charger

My website with reviews of many chargers and batteries (More than 1000): http://lygte-info.dk/


Test/review of Charger Miboxer C4-12

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Charger Miboxer C4-12

DSC_3426

DSC_3427DSC_3428

Miboxer is a new brand in chargers, this model is a four slot universal charger with automatic current selection.

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DSC_3361


I got the charger in a cardboard box

DSC_3421

The pack included the charger, a power supply, a mains cable and a instruction sheet.

DSC_3430

The charger requires 12V 5A power and has a usb power bank output.

DSC_3432

The user interface is a single button and a large display.
A short press on the button will switch between slots.
A long press on the button will allow adjustment of charge current for the selected channel (with short presses).
The interface is easy to use, but it is a lot of presses to select current for all slots.

DSC_3811

During power on all segments are shown.

DSC_3812

Charger is idle.
The background light will turn off after a short time, the first button press will turn it on again.

DSC_3813DSC_3814
DSC_3815

During charge the display will show voltage, charge current and internal resistance.

DSC_3816

WHen using usb output the usb current is shown on the display.

DSC_3433DSC_3434

The charger has the usual slider construction. It can handle from 31mm to 73mm, this means even the longest cells. The large plus connection also means it can handle D and 32xxx cells.

supportedBatteryTypes

supportedBatterySizes

DSC_3867DSC_3868DSC_3869DSC_3870

DSC_3871DSC_3872DSC_3873DSC_3874
DSC_3875DSC_3876DSC_3877DSC_3878



Measurements charger


  • Power consumption when idle is 0.26 watt (Background light off).
  • Without power it will discharge a LiIon battery with 1-3mA depending on voltage.
  • Without power it will discharge a NiMH battery with about 0.2mA
  • A full LiIon battery will be pulsed with a few mA.
  • At 0V battery voltage the charger will charge with 1.5mA.
  • Above 2V the charger assumes LiIon
  • The charger will restart when a battery is inserted or power is cycled.
  • The meter is within 0.01V and works from 0.02V

Charging LiIon

Charging current: Auto, 0.1A, 0.2A, 0.3A, 0.5A, 0.8A, 1A, 1.5A, 2A, 2.5A, 3A

Miboxer%20C4-12%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%231

A nice CC/CV charge curve with termination around 60mA. The tick on the curve is a internal resistance check.

Miboxer%20C4-12%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%232

Display shows: 3181mAh, 173mohm, 4:40

Miboxer%20C4-12%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%233

Display shows: 3095mAh, 77mohm, 3:57

Miboxer%20C4-12%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%234

The other channels looks similar.
Display shows: 3054mAh, 111ohm, 4:22

Miboxer%20C4-12%20auto%20%28SA18650-26%29%20%231

With the charger on auto it will select current depending on the internal resistance of the battery (And my measurement resistor). After about 10 minutes it do a IR check and increase the current slightly.

Miboxer%20C4-12%20auto%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%231

This time it increase the charge current to 1.6A after a IR check.

Miboxer%20C4-12%20auto%20%28PA18650-31%29%20%231

Again a nice charge curve.

Miboxer%20C4-12%203A%20%28SA20700-30%29%20%231

A slightly large cell that can easily hand a 3A charge current, the charger do a nice job.

Miboxer%20C4-12%20auto%20%28AW18350-IMR%29%20%231

This very old and worn down cell is also handled nicely, with a very low charge current.

Miboxer%20C4-12%20auto%20%28KP14500-08%29%20%231

With the automatic selection the charger is a bit slow to charge this cell, but it do get charged nicely.
Display shows: 727mAh, 322ohm, 3:57

Miboxer%20C4-12%203A%20%284xSA18650-33%29

The charger can charge 4 cells at 3A, but these cells is heated significantly.

Miboxer%20C4-12%203A%2012V%20%284xSA18650-33%29

Charging four cells at 3A requires nearly 5A from 12V. For the first test I used a 4A power supply, the charger handled that very nicely by reducing the charge current a bit.

Temp4811

M1: 46,1°C, M2: 47,4°C, M3: 49,5°C, M4: 47,3°C, M5: 46,5°C, HS1: 63,4°C
Charging 18650 at 3A means the batteries will generate some heat.

Temp4812

M1: 42,4°C, HS1: 50,5°C

PoweronLiIon

The charger uses a internal resistance check to decide the charge current and will then ramp the charge current slowly up.

CurrentChangeLiIon

It is possible to overide the current setting at any time.




Measuring Internal Resistance LiIon

RiLiIon

The results looks good and the consistency is also fine.



Charging NiMH

Charging current: Auto, 0.1A, 0.2A, 0.3A, 0.4A, 0.5A, 0.6A, 0.7A, 0.8A, 0.9A, 1A

Miboxer%20C4-12%201A%20%28eneloop%29%20%231

This is a nice -dv/dt termination with no top-off or trickle current.

Miboxer%20C4-12%201A%20%28eneloop%29%20%232

Miboxer%20C4-12%201A%20%28eneloop%29%20%233

Display shows: 1641mAh, 69ohm, 1:58

Miboxer%20C4-12%201A%20%28eneloop%29%20%234

The 3 other also shows the nice -dv/dt curve.
Display shows: 1639mAh, 153ohm, 1:58

Miboxer%20C4-12%20auto%20%28eneloopPro%29%20%231

I uses auto mode for this cell, the charge current was a bit low, but the charge looks fine.
Display shows: 2252mAh, 89ohm, 5:42

Miboxer%20C4-12%20auto%20%28powerex%29%20%231

A problem with using low charge current is a missing -dv/dt signal, but the charger terminates fine on this cell (I do not know if it is due to timeout or because it detects a full battery).
Display shows: 2814mAh, 171ohm, 15h

Miboxer%20C4-12%20auto%20%28eneloop%29%20%231

Display shows: 1686mAh, 97ohm, 5:30

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I selected a very low charge current for this cell, the charger did not like it and reported error after some time.

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The AA is handled nicely.
Display shows: 637mAh, 104ohm, 2:14

Miboxer%20C4-12%201A%20full%20%28eneloop%29%20%231

With -dv/dt it takes some time to detect a full cell.
Display shows: 54mAh, 224ohm, 0:12

Miboxer%20C4-12%201A%20%284xeneloop%29

No problem with 4 cells.

Miboxer%20C4-12%201A%2012V%20%284xeneloop%29

The charger uses about 1.5A from 12V to charge 4 cells.

Temp4821

M1: 34,4°C, M2: 33,9°C, M3: 35,5°C, M4: 33,7°C, HS1: 46,5°C

PoweronNiMH

The charger starts up with low charge current and after some time change to high charge current. This makes it possible to select low current before the charger switches to high current.
The total staring time is about 25 seconds.

ChargingNiMH

CurrentChangeNiMH

Current can be changed at any time. As is common with all NiMH chargers the current is turned off to measure the NiMH voltage.



Measuring Internal Resistance NiMH

RiNiMH

I have a bit problems with contact resistance here, especially on slot #3, but the final result looks fairly good.



USB output (Power bank)

  • Without power it will discharge a LiIon battery with 1-3mA depending on voltage.
  • Usb output is coded as DCP
  • Usb output uses slot #4 for power.
  • Usb output will turn off after 30 seconds with below 75mA load.
  • Usb output turns off when power is connected to the charger.
  • To keep display and usb power on requires about 42mA from the battery (17mA when background light is off).


Miboxer%20C4-12%20load%20sweep

With a full battery the usb output can deliver exactly 1A, before the output voltage drops. Overload protection kicks in at 1.5A

Miboxer%20C4-12%20usb%20out%2010ohm%20%28SA18650-33%29

The output voltage stays nicely at about 5.2V when I draw 0.5A

Miboxer%20C4-12%20usb%20out%205ohm%20%28SA18650-33%29

With 1A output the boost converter has problems maintaining the output voltage, this is not very impressive.

10ohm

At 0.5A the noise is 106mV rms and 1244mVpp

5ohm

At 1A the noise is 159mV rms and 1615mVpp, this is way to much noise.

USBCurrent

The current display is not precise at low currents.

Testing with 2830 volt and 4242 volt between mains and low volt side, did not show any safety problems.



Conclusion

This charger can handle four 26650 LiIon cells at 3A, this is a very impressive charge current. It can either do automatic current selection based on internal resistance or current can be selected manually. For optimal charge speed manual selection must be used, automatic will use a high current for new cells and a low current for old cells.
The internal resistance measurement circuit works fairly well, especially on LiIon.
I wonder why the charger has a power bank function, the charger is too big to carry around and with only one cell feeding the power bank it cannot deliver that much output power. In fact it is a fairly weak power bank with a lot of noise.

I will give the charger a good rating.



Notes

The charger was supplied by Miboxer for review.

Here is an explanation on how I did the above charge curves: How do I test a charger

My website with reviews of many chargers and batteries (More than 1000): http://lygte-info.dk/

[Review] Miboxer C4-12 Fast Charger

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The flashlight was provided directly from Miboxer for review.
Here's the product's page: Miboxer C4-12

 

Starting from the packaging, the charger comes in a nice cardboard box.

 

The charger itself is firmly seated inside the box.
In order to protect the LCD screen from scratches, a plastic film is installed over it.

 

The contents of the box are the bare essentials to get you started.
In total, you get the charger, a power brick and a detailed user manual.

 

The design of the charger is minimal.
It accepts up to 4 cells and is utilizing a spring loaded negative terminal mechanism. 

 

The back side of the charger houses the air vent hole as well as four anti-slip pads.
Speaking of the air vent, it's worth noting that the operation of the charger is very quiet.
The fan doesn't turn on unless the system detects a raised body or cell temperature.

 

The back side also has a small table that lists the supported cell types.
As seen, the charger supports pretty much all of the common sized Ni-MH and Li-Ion cells.

 

The top of the charger houses the 12V input port and a USB output port.
The USB port is utilized once the charger is turned into a powerbank - We will see more about it down the review.

 

The LCD display is quite bright and provides a whole lot of information once a cell is inserted in the charging slot.
The backlight will dim out after about a minute of the charger being inactive.


The picture below demonstrates the charging of four different cells: 26650, 18650, 14500 and AAA.
As seen, the spring loaded terminal system can accept pretty long batteries (up to around 76-77mm in length)


A nicely designed featured that I observed is the three raised tabs that each slot has.
Thanks to the multiple bumps, the manufacturer ensures that any type of battery can make good contact with the charging plates.


At any given time, the charger displays information about only one cell.
The user can scroll through all the 4 slots by pressing the 'Slot' button.
By default, the charger automatically selects the charging speed considering the internal resistance and the voltage of the battery.
A constant press of the 'Slot' button enters the manual mode, which enables the user to selects the preferred  charging current (up to 3A per cell! ). 

Every 5 seconds, the information that's being displayed will be cycled through (Cell Voltage -> Charging Current -> Internal Resistance)
Here are a few pictures that will help you understand the whole deal.

 

Being a fast charger, the Miboxer C4-12 needs quite a bit of power to push a total of 12A through the cells.
The integrated power supply unit is 'AOK' branded and comes with some nice, long cables (Both EU and US plug models are available).
According to the engravings, its rated for 60 Watts of constant power and can work both on both USA's and EU's power grid.

 

For ease of carry, the power cord is detachable from the power supply unit.



In case of an emergency, the 4th slot of the charger can be turned into a powerbank by simply inserting
a cell while the PSU is disconnected. The USB slot is rated for a maximum of 1A current, which I found
to be pretty accurate.

 

To sum everything up, I have really enjoyed using the charger.
It automatically selects the best charging current, it allows you to use fast charging and its operation
is very simple and automated.
Another bonus point goes for the nice amount of information that the LCD displays.

My daily deals thread: ☢ [Gearbest.com Special Deals]
If you need any coupon code, just leave a reply on the thread.

Review: XTAR Over 4 Slim 4A Fast Charger

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XTAR Over 4 Slim Fast Charger

Notice!
The XTAR Over 4 Slim was provided free by Xtar for my honest and unbiased review no other payments are received other then the charger provided.

Introduction

I have several XTAR Chargers namely ANT MC1 Plus and MC1 all are small traveler friendly chargers with small form factor and also small charging current, what i like about the MC1 is that it is powered by your phone charger but it’s charging current is not something to bring home about.
I have been eyeing a more powerful charger that can charge bigger battery “properly” such as the 26650 most cheap charger can only charge at 1 amps or 2 amps for the more expensive one so when XTAR contacted me if i want to test their new charger with 4.1A charging per slot i was excited to say the least. I have several big boy charger that can charge at 1000w or more but that is what we call a hobby charger, i have been using my hobby charger to charge my 18650 at a higher current if the need arises but such charger is an overkill for this kind of purposes. My smaller ISDT with 8A charging ability can happily charge 4×18650 at 2A each and that is what i have been having so i know that my 18650 Samsung is HOT when charged at 4A.
so now on to the XTAR Over 4 Slim.

Positive:
High 4.1A current charging.
UI is really simple with only 2 buttons for adjusting current.
Charging current can be changed anytime, choices are 4.1A, 2A, 1A
No changing or scrolling information on the LCD, only the Internal Resistance measuring at the beginning of the charging process, so the information you need is there on the LCD without having to wait for it to appear.
Displays the voltage, not the battery voltage tough but a charging voltage as the charger doesn’t have voltage sense.
Function as USB output device, can charge your mobile phone, gopro or any devices powered by USB port.
Nice soft touch material on the outside.
No spinning fan inside so no fan noise which usually audible in quite room.
Reversed protection protected.
2 USB output ports, i think 1 port is enough but i think XTAR is being generous that they gives us 2 Ports.
12v 4A Adapter is provided.
Temperature probe, you know how hot your batteries are and the temperature reading are also available on the LCD.
Bright and sharp LCD and good viewing angle, also has auto dim function. to wake it up just press either CH/CH2 buttons.
Nice white with blue fresh design different compared to other tired all black design, look different and interesting.

Negative:
No Accumulative capacity so you dont know how much capacity you put back into the battery.
Ringing sound when charging probably the inductor, really subtle no intrusive or annoying.
No incremental charging current you stuck with 3 current options.
No discharge function and measure capacity.
External power supply, this could be cumbersome.

Neutral
Cannot charge Ni-MH or Ni-CD to be fair this charger probably meant for Vaping or Flashlight communities so lacking Ni-MH charging is probably a decision made by XTAR to reduce the cost somewhat, but this make the charger not the ultimate charging solution. I still have use for AA Ni-MH such as my camera speedlite but all of my flashlights are lithium powered.

Positive contact toward the front of the charger, for some this could be annoying as most charger has negative on the front side thankfully charger is protected from reversed insertion so no harm done.

Some observation i made.

Notice: this is just some measurement and observation made with amateur tool.
Ampere draws from the AC outlet when charging. as you can see the 48watts is just enough that is if the power rating is true. On the right side is a measure vs stated charging current that the charger is outputting.

When charging 2 slots at 4.1A and 1 USB output is use one of the Charging port will reduce the current to 2A. if two USB output is use both Charging will reduce to 2A. There are 2 USB ports and each port is tied to each charging ports. So in total the charger will not draw more than 40 watts from the wall.

the big gun, but probably to much even for parallel charging 18650 battery. Each can charge 30A and 40A without braking sweat.

I have been using this ISDT to charge my 18650 at 4A

Charging my 18650 at 4A, hot i tell you.

The white box, the material is excellent feels expensive, the same feel as the box you got from the more expensive smartphone and also has weight to it thanks to 4A power supply/adapter. On the lower left there is XTAR counterfeit scratch code. I haven’t test if mine is genuine Big Smile

The box on the front side

Text on the back of the Box

Battery sizes and the chemistry that this charger accept, no 14500 and no 16350. Notice the 20700 and 21700.

This charger will activate your over-discharged batteries by charging it slowly.

The right side of the box

Another box inside the outer sleeve box with XTAR name on it.

What inside the Box, 12v 4A adapter and the charger.

The charger itself

The included adapter has pilot lamp but doesnt seems to work/light up, but the adapter itself is working just fine.

DC Jack to power the charger with center positive on the back side.

Underneath the charger, no fans just vent holes

The sliding mechanism only small travels that is why it wont charge a smaller battery. i found it to be smoother than most.

Temperature probe made of metal that is curved to match the curvature of the cylindrical batteries.

LCD when battery is inserted, there is 5 seconds delay before the charger recognize the battery and start charging.

When the charger is start charging then it displays the information

In the beginning of the charging and only in the start of the process, the charger will displays iInternal resistance of the battery and it cycles through between battery percentage and IR then it only displays the percentage.

Samsung 30B charging.

Notice how hot the batteries are at 4A and this is charging 26650 at 1C now imagine charging 18650 at 4A i’ll probably stick to charging at 2A for 18650s good to have extra power when needed.

Charging 2×26650 at 4A each, it shows 100% and green light when full.

What it is look like when charging 2×26650.

Summary

Overall this is a really nice charger, with different look compared to all other tired black design. The UI is simple, choose your current and set your are done. Adapter is supplied so you are ready to go. LCD is bright and sharp with good viewing angle. Despite its lack of charging smaller battery and other chemistry such as Ni-MH/Ni-CD and no small increment in charging current its simplicity and its power what makes this rally an interesting charger. I am really liking this charger.

Charging at 4A is making the batteries really hot, i think adding a small fan underneath the battery cradle to create a small air movement will helps a lot, i doesn’t need to be fast just create some movement of air. The charger itself doesn’t have cooling fan for the electronic because it doesn’t need to, i found even at 4A x 2 charging the charger remain cool and the provided power supply doesn’t get hot either but the batteries do get hot and needs some cooling.

Video review for more detail on the Charger

Test/review of Charger Xtar MC6 II Queen Ant II

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Xtar MC6 II Queen Ant II

DSC_3616

DSC_3620DSC_3619

Xtar has updated the Queen Ant charger from dual usb input to power supply input and with all slots delivering the same current.

DSC_3605DSC_3606
DSC_3608DSC_3607

The cardboard box lists lot of specifications, battery types and features.

DSC_3614

The box contains the charger, a power supply and a instruction sheet.

DSC_3622

The charger has a barrel connector input for 5V 3A.

DSC_4666

The only user interface is 6 leds, one for each slot, they are red while charging and green at all other times.

DSC_3623

The supported batteries are listed on the bottom of the charger.

DSC_3624DSC_3625

The slots uses the usual construction and works well. They can handle batteries from 31mm to 72 mm long.

supportedBatteryTypes

supportedBatterySizes

DSC_3879DSC_3880DSC_3881

The charger can only handle two 26xxx battery at a time.
The charger can easily handle 70 mm long batteries, inclusive flat top cells.



Measurements


  • Discharges with less than 0.02mA when not connected to power
  • Between 0V and 2.8V it will charge with 50mA
  • Above 2.8V it will apply regular charging.
  • Will restart if battery voltage drops below 4.06 volt.
  • Charge will restart charging after power loss,
  • Inserting a nearly full battery will not start charging.
  • Power consumption is 0.2 watt when idle.


Xtar%20MC6II%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%231

This is a nice CC/CV voltage charge curve with a termination current about 60mA

Xtar%20MC6II%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%232
Xtar%20MC6II%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%233
Xtar%20MC6II%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%234
Xtar%20MC6II%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%235
Xtar%20MC6II%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%236

The other slots looks similar.

Xtar%20MC6II%20%28SA18650-26%29%20%231
Xtar%20MC6II%20%28PA18650-31%29%20%231



Xtar%20MC6II%20%28BE18650-26%29%20%231

The old cell is also handled nicely.

Xtar%20MC6II%20%28AW18350-IMR%29%20%231

With the worn down cell the charger drops to a low CV charge current. The final voltage is slightly on the low side.

Xtar%20MC6II%20%28KP14500-08%29%20%231

This cell is better and is charged perfectly.

Xtar%20MC6II%20%286xSA18650-33%29

The charger do not have any problems with 6 cells at a time.

Voltage%20sweep

The charge circuit is this charger is fairly simple and I could do a voltage sweep to show when it charges.

Temp4854

M1: 29,7°C, M2: 35,3°C, M3: 38,1°C, M4: 37,0°C, M5: 34,5°C, M6: 30,0°C, HS1: 57,8°C

Temp4855

M1: 39,1°C, M2: 29,7°C, HS1: 46,2°C

Poweron

This charger has a simple charge circuit that will start very fast and not do anything, but charge.




Conclusion

This update to the charger has made it a very simple charger to use: Put batteries in any slot and wait. The waiting can be a bit long, but that is the price to pay for the simplicity.

I will call it a good LiIon charger.



Notes

The charger was supplied by a Xtar for review.

Here is an explanation on how I did the above charge curves: How do I test a charger

My website with reviews of many chargers and batteries (More than 1000): http://lygte-info.dk/

Review: Uniross 3T Compact Smart Charger (Support Ni-MH/CD, Li-Ion, LiFePO4)

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Uniross 3T is a smart compact charger from Uniross that can be used to charge various battery types and size. It can handle all the most popular types and sizes of Ni-MH/CD, Li-Ion, LiFePO4 batteries including 1 or 2 pcs of AA, AAA, C, SC, D, 26650, 26500, 22650, 18650, 18490, 18350, 17670, 17500, 16340/RCR123, 14500, 14430, 10440 etc.

uniross compact 3t charger package

I received a free sample from Uniross some weeks ago and it came in a neat vibrant orange color cardboard box. It contains the charger, micro USB cable, and a manual book.

uniross compact 3t charger package contents


Uniross 3T Overview


Uniross 3T is a compact battery charger and is powered by a 5V micro USB input, means you can use either your laptop or plug socket to add juice to your batteries wherever you are.

The charger also equipped with 12 volts input port but no cable or power adaptor is included.

It has two charging slots that can be used independently. It means we can charge two batteries at a time even if the sizes are different.

uniross compact 3t charger sliding individual charging ports

Polarity sign is displayed clearly on the charging slot and Uniross puts reverse polarity protection feature on this smart charger. Should we insert the battery in the wrong direction, an “ERROR” text will be displayed on its LCD screen.

Small LCD screen on Uniross 3T is quite intuitive, it displays detected battery type, charging status, charging process, and technical numbers (charging time, current, voltage).

uniross compact 3t charger lcd display

Because the screen is quite small, it can only display one detailed battery information at once. To display another battery information (when charging two batteries at once) we must press the “SLOT” button on its side part of the charger.

Another button is a “MODE” button which is used to switch output current from 500 mAh (default charging current) to 1000 mAh (for Li-Ion and LiFePo4 only).

The button also used to “activate” charging for LiFePo4 batteries by pressing both buttons (SLOTS & MODE) at same time. Please refer to their user manual for more operating information.

 

Charging With Uniross 3T


The slider springs on the charging ports are strong but not pressing the battery too hard. It can accept 16340 batteries as well as several 18650 brands I have.

The ability to charge different battery size in the same time is a nice and a must have feature nowadays. I guess most battery chargers already have this feature too.

Eneloop batteries (not pictured) also fit nicely in the charging port.

Charging time might vary depending on your battery type, capacity, as well as the power source. I tried using iPad Mini’s charger and it draws 800-1000 mAh.

I’m not sure if my “Charger Doctor” is accurate, though. I’m planned to purchase decent multitester in the near future for better measurement.

Default output current is 500 mAh, we can select 1000 mAh output by pressing the MODE button. The little triangle above the battery icon on screen is an indicator of which battery information is currently displayed.

Press the SLOT button to see another battery information and it will be displayed on screen.

When the charging is done, it will display a FUL message and a “finish” status. You can also see that the battery gauges are all full.

 

Summary


Uniross 3T compact smart charger is a nice charger to have. It supports Lithium Ion, NiMh, and LiFePo4 battery types. The charging slots will fit various battery size from 16340 to 26650, including D size batteries.

The only thing I missed from this charger is the feature to bring back a “dead” battery after being over discharged. I tried to insert an over discharged battery and it shows an “ERROR” on the screen.

Pros:

  • Supports Li-Ion, NiMh, LiFePo4
  • Accept numerous battery size
  • Compact size
  • Informative LCD screen
  • Two input sources: micro USB & 12 volts DC jack
  • Reverse polarity protection


Cons:
  • Unable to charge an over discharged battery
  • Can’t display both batteries information at the same time


 
PS: This review also posted on my blog.

www.lumenzilla.com

(Review) MiBoxer C4-12 NiMH-NiCd-Li-ion Battery Charger

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Supplied via MiBoxer for product review

The MiBoxer C4-12 is an intelligent high amperage 4 slot battery charger with power bank functionality for charging seperate devies off your rechargable batteries via USB port on the side of the device. The C4-12 supports up to 3.0A per slot for high efficency charging rates compared to most other chargers on the market. This charger stands out due to the fact it has an intelligent charging system where the charger takes information from the inserted battery and automatically chooses and adjusts the carging current based on the batteries specs.

This charger can be bought on Amazon for $49.99

https://www.amazon.com/Miboxer-Battery-simultaneously-rechargeable-batte...

Specifications Listed by Manufacturer

Parameters:
Size: 6.2in*4.7in*1.7in
Weight: 485g
Material: Fireproofing PC+ABS
Color: Black
Input Voltage /Current: DC12V 5A
Output Voltage: 4.2V±0.1%/1.48V±0.1%
Output Current: Li-ion maximum 4*3A /Ni-MH/Ni-Cd maximum4*1A

Apply to:
Li-ion(4.2V) (IMR/INR/ICR) 10340 / 10350 / 10440 / 10500 / 12340 / 12500 / 12650 / 13450 / 13500 / 13650 / 14350 / 14430 / 14500 / 14650 / 16500 / 16340(RCR123) / 16650 / 17350 / 17500 / 17650 / 17670 / 18350 / 18490 / 18500 / 18650 / 18700 / 20700 / 21700 / 22500 / 22650 / 25500 / 26500 / 26650 Ni-MH / Ni-Cd(1.48V):AAAA / AAA / AA / A / SC / C / D

Package information:
Package include:
1*C4-12 Battery Charger
1*Adapter( 12V 5A)
1*User Manual

Adapter information:
Input Voltage: 100-240V
Output Voltage: 12V
Output Current: 5A
Material: PC

Advantage:
Super Fast Charger 3A for each slot, total 12A; four slots charging independently with a power bank function.

Attention:

Only 4th slot have the usb output function, and only for li-ion battery. It can’t charge for LifePO4 and 4.35V li-ion battery.

Packaging

Weight: 485g
Product size (L x W x H): 6.2 × 4.7 × 1.7 inches

Contents

1*C4-12 Battery Charger
1*Adapter( 12V 5A)
1*User Manual

included AC-DC adapter outputs 12v 5A Max

Physical Attributes

The MiBoxer C4-12 is made out of ABS plastic and seems to be made very well. The single button feels very nice and feels like it will hold up to regular use. The negative contacts are very smooth and the batteries are held in quite tightly except for 16340s and similar sizes.

This charger can hold up to 4 26650s side by side in the charger with ease.

Cooling The unit

This unit doesnt offer up any active cooling but the software does take that into account via system throttling if the tempature of the batteries exceed 60°, if the batteries exceed 70° the charger will completely stop charging and display “Err”.

Measurements

the unit is approximately 4.6” × 6” or 11.6cm × 15.2cm

Display and Selectable Modes

The Charger has 8 different pieces of information displayed on the screen when charging batteries, it shows the temp, internal resistance, current, voltage, charging time, battery capacity, battery percentage and battery type.

The C4-12 doesnt have any other modes except charge, but the charging current is selectable by holding down the button for 3 seconds. Once the button has been held down for 3 seconds the amperage readout will begin to blink and you can go through 10 different charging currents or select auto and let the carger decide the current. The carger also is able to restore over discharged lithium batteries.

Selectable currents are as follows

Li-ion

0.1/0.2/0.3/0.5/0.8/1.0/1.5/2.0/2.5/3.0/Auto

Ni-MH/ NI-Cd

0.1/0.2/0.3/0.4/0.5/0.6/0.7/0.8/0.9/1.0/Auto

Supported Batteries/ Technical Data

Other Features

The powerbank feature has a max output of 5v 1A from the USB port, it is powered by inserting a battery in slot 4 of the charger. (this only charges from the 4th slot not all 4 slots combined)

Final Thoughts

The MiBoxer C4-12 is a great charger if you want to get the most out of your batteries thanks to the auto charge feature where it will ramp up/ramp down the current depending on the current state of the battery. This is my favorite charger I have used so far because of how fast it can charge and all of the data it can tell you about your cells. The power bank feature works as advertised but I wish that it ran off of all four slots instead of just the one slot it supports. All in all I would recommend this charger as it is a great buy for such a quality charger.

Current collection Olight -M3XS UT -S1R turbo S -I3E EOS -S mini brass -S2A -X7R -S mini copper Sofirn -SP33 Nitecore -TM06S Thrunite -TN36 2017 -TN42 ThorFire -S70S -BLF Q8 -C8s Manker -Mk35 Noctigon -Meteor M43 -Emisar D4 Rofis -TR31

 

Product Reviews

Opus BT-C3100

Test/review of Xtar Over 4 slim (O4S)

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Xtar Over 4 slim (O4S)

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This is a high current charger from Xtar, the “Over 4” name is because it can charge with over 4A, it is only for LiIon batteries, especially high power batteries. In addition to charging batteries it is also a usb charger.

DSC_4203DSC_4204DSC_4205DSC_4206

I got the charger in a cardboard box with the specifications printed on it.

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Inside the box is the charger, a power supply, a mains cable and a manual.

DSC_4211

The charger has a barrel connector for input from the power supply

DSC_4522

The user interface is two buttons, a display and for two red/green leds.
The buttons is used to select charge current, one for each channel.
The two leds shows charge status, red while charging and green at all other times.

DSC_4523

Charger is analyzing a battery and shows the internal resistance. It will not be shown during charger or when the charger is finished.

DSC_4524

During charge it will show a percent.
The charge current is the requested current, not the actual current.

DSC_4213

The charger has specifications on the back.

DSC_4212

It has not one, but two usb charger outputs and both are rated for 2.4A.

DSC_4554

To handle the high charge current without batteries getting too warm the charger has a temperature sensor and to secure good contact it is pressed against the batteries with a spring.

DSC_4215DSC_4216

The charger can handle both button top and flat top batteries, but only long batteries, i.e. basically xx650 or xx700 types with or without protection.
The slider moves smoothly and can hand cells from 60.3mm to 77 mm long.

supportedBatteryTypes

supportedBatterySizesDSC_4532DSC_4531DSC_4530



Measurements charger


  • Charge current is 4.1A, 2A or 1A, depending on internal resistance in the battery charge will automatic select 4.1A or 2A.
  • Power consumption when idle is 0.43 watt from mains.
  • The charger will charge with 160mA from 0 volt, but always starts with a high current pulse.
  • Below 2.5V the charger will report “Actv” for activating.
  • At or about 2.6V the charger will test internal impedance
  • Above 2.9 volt the full charge current will be applied.
  • When charge is finished the charger will charge with 1mA.
  • Voltmeter will not show above 4.20V
  • Voltmeter will update voltage, even after charging is done (Very good).
  • Voltmeter is within 0.02V
  • When not connected to power it will draw up to 6mA from a battery (This is a bit high).
  • Display will reduce brightness after 60 second, but is still readable.
  • Charger will restart if voltage drops to 3.9 volt.
  • Charge will restart charging after power loss, or battery insertion.


Xtar%20O4S%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%231

A nice CC/CV charge curve with about 130mA termination current.

Xtar%20O4S%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%232

The second channel is about the same.

Xtar%20O4S%201A%20%28SA18650-26%29%20%231
Xtar%20O4S%201A%20%28PA18650-31%29%20%231

No big surprise with these two batteries. The -31 is a bit worn and the voltage drop at end of charge is a bit large.

Xtar%20O4S%20auto%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%231

With automatic current selection the charger uses 2A, this is a bit high for this battery.

Xtar%20O4S%20auto%20%28BE18650-26%29%20%231

It also starts out with 2A for this old cell, but it get reduced very fast, because the voltage goes up close to a fully charged battery.

Xtar%20O4S%20auto%20%28SA217000-30%29%20%231

With this cell it works much better, the charger select 4.1A and the battery can handle it.

Xtar%20O4S%204A%20%282xSA21700-30%29

With two 21700 cells at 4.1A the charger is at maximum power, it reduces the current a bit after about 27 minutes, I wonder if it is due to temperature. The charging looks fine.

Xtar%20O4S%204A%2012V%20%282xSA21700-30%29

Using my 12V power supply I can see that the charger uses about 3.2A.

Temp4888

M1: 48,8°C, M2: 48,1°C, M3: 38,7°C, M4: 43,8°C, HS1: 61,6°C
At 4.1A charging current even these larger batteries get warm, but if they get too hot the charger will reduce the current.

Temp4888

M1: 41,2°C, HS1: 56,7°C

Poweron

From power is applied the charger need about 1 second to initialize, then it start a internal impedance analysis and after that goes into charging.

CurrentChange

It is possible to charge current at any time during charging.

Pulse

During my testing I saw some initial high current pulse and was I bit curious about it. I connected a NiMH battery (That looks roughly like a over discharged LiIon) together with a current clamp to record it. As can be seen I recorded a 5A pulse, but the spike at 0.0 is much higher, but very short (20uSec), this might be a capacitor that discharges. The full short spike cannot be seen because the curve is filtered.



Internal resistance measurement

The charger bases the automatic selected charge current on the internal resistance.

Ri

There is as always the problem with contact resistance as can be seen in the first row.
When eliminating that the results are fairly consistent, but not completely correct, I only gets about 70% of the real resistance.
I tried with higher resistances and the display would not show more than about 190, even with 1ohm in series with the battery.
I checked the current selection, it was rather simple: Below about 45mOhm it used 4.1A, above it used 2A, it never dropped down to 1A.



USB charger function


  • Usb ports are auto coding.
  • Usb outputs are independent, but with a common + connection.
  • Usb shield is not connected
  • Usb 1 will turn usb indicator on in display at 230mA
  • Usb 1 will drop charge rate from 4.1A to 2A when drawing 710mA or more from usb 1
  • Usb 2 will turn usb indicator on in display at 200mA
  • Usb 2 will drop charge rate from 4.1A to 2A when drawing 640mA or more from usb 2


Xtar%20Over%204%20slim%20230V%20%231%20load%20sweep

The usb charger can deliver 2.5A, before overload protection kicks in.

Xtar%20Over%204%20slim%20230V%20%232%20load%20sweep

The second channel is the same.

Xtar%20Over%204%20slim%20120V%20%232%20load%20sweep

And 120VAC supply do not change anything.

Xtar%20Over%204%20slim%20230V%20load%20sweep

When using both outputs I can draw about 4.9A

Xtar%20Over%204%20slim%20230V%20charging%20load%20sweep

Even when the charger is charging batteries the usb output works, the steps on the efficiency curve is when the charger is reducing charge current to the batteries, to get more power for usb.

Xtar%20Over%204%20slim%20230V%20load%20test

The charger has no problem running with full load for 1 hour.
The temperature photos below are taken between 30 minutes and 60 minutes into the one hour test.


Temp4900

M1: 50,4°C, HS1: 80,2°C
Some electronic inside the charger gets warm while handling full usb power.

Temp4901

M1: 51,6°C, M2: 62,0°C, HS1: 68,4°C

Temp4902

M1: 44,9°C, HS1: 60,8°C

Temp4903

M1: 63,9°C, HS1: 91,8°C

10ohm

At 0.5A noise is 34mV rms and 213mVpp

5ohm

At 1A noise is 44mV rms and 205mVpp

2ohm

At 2.5A noise is 6mV rms and 182mVpp


Testing the power supply with 2830 volt and 4242 volt between mains and low volt side, did not show any safety problems.



Conclusion

The charger is fast, but this is best used on batteries rated for high charge current. I am not impressed with the automatic current selection, it uses too high current for many batteries. The temperature sensor will catch the worst cases and reduce current, but for long battery life it is better to always verify that the current is low enough, when not press the button to reduce it.
The usb power supply is a good dual usb charger with enough current.

I will rate the charger as good, but remember to turn the current down!



Notes

The charger was supplied by XTAR for a review.

Here is an explanation on how I did the above charge curves: How do I test a charger

My website with reviews of many chargers and batteries (More than 1000): http://lygte-info.dk/


Test/review of Golisi i1

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Golisi i1

DSC_4090

DSC_4091DSC_4092

Golisi have got a simple one slot charger, but with a a better readout than usual.

DSC_4075DSC_4076DSC_4077DSC_4078

It arrived in a black very stylish cardboard box, there is some specifications on the back.

DSC_4086

The box included a bag for the charger.

DSC_4087

The total contents of the box was the charger, the bag, a usb cable and a instruction sheet.

DSC_4093

The charger is usb powered and can use up to 2A.

DSC_4097

The user interface is a single button and a small display.
Fast presses on the button will change between Volt, mAh and time readout, it will also turn the display on when it is off.
A long press will enable current adjustment.

DSC_4512

All segment on the display.

DSC_4513DSC_4514DSC_4515

The 3 different readouts (I never got around to remove the protection foil on the display).

DSC_4098

On the bottom of the charger there are specifications.

DSC_4094DSC_4095

The slots uses the classical slider construction and it works fine.
The slots can work from 32 mm to 71.5mm. This nearly covers anything.

supportedBatteryTypes

supportedBatterySizesDSC_4533DSC_4534DSC_4535DSC_4536

DSC_4537DSC_4538DSC_4540DSC_4541DSC_4542DSC_4543DSC_4544

The charger can handle 70 mm long batteries including flat top cells.

All sized NiMH will fit in the charger, but the NiMH charge current is rather low!
As long as the D cell has a flat top it will just about fit.



Measurements


  • Idle current is about 30mA from usb
  • Discharge LiIon battery with 0.3mA when not connected to power.
  • Discharge NiMH battery with 0.03mA when not connected to power.
  • When power is connected with a full battery, it will charge with about 0.3mA.
  • Below 0.3 volt the charger will report error
  • Below 1.6V the charger will assume NiMH
  • Between 1.6V and 2.2V the charger will not charge.
  • Above 2.2V the charger will assume LiIon.
  • Below about 0.7 volt the voltmeter is not very precise.
  • Display turns off after 30 seconds.
  • Voltmeter is within 0.01V
  • Voltmeter stops updating when charging is stopped and will not show above 4.20V
  • NiMH is always charged at 0.5A
  • Charger will not restart when voltage drops.
  • It will restart charging on reinsertion of the battery or power cycling.


Charging LiIon

Charge current is 0.5A, 1A and 2A, charger always starts at 0.5A

Golisi%20i1%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29

A nice CC/CV charge curve with termination around 120mA
Display shows: 3308mAh in 3:50

Golisi%20i1%201A%20%28PA18650-31%29

This older cell also charges fine, but has large voltage drop at the end.
Display shows: 2852mAh in 3:40

Golisi%20i1%201A%20%28SA18650-26%29

The 2600mAh cell is nicely charged.
Display shows: 2643mAh in 3:21

Golisi%20i1%201A%20%28BE18650-26%29

The old cell is also nicely charged
Display shows: 2206mAh in 4:00

Golisi%20i1%200.5A%20%28KP14500-08%29

At also this smaller cell at 0.5A.
Display shows: 754mAh in 1:44

Golisi%20i1%200.5A%20%28AW18350-IMR%29

The charge also handles this very old and worn down cell nicely.
Display shows: 177mAh in 0:42

Golisi%20i1%202A%20%28SA18650-33%29

Also 2A charging works fine.

Golisi%20i1%202A%20%28SA217000-30%29

Especially with a cell that is rated for high current charging.
Display shows: 3189mAh in 1:54

Golisi%20i1%201A%200.5ohm%20%28SA18650-33%29

Adding a 0.5ohm resistor in series with the power simulated a weak usb supply or long usb cable, the charger works slower, but will charge the cell.
Display shows: 3276mAh in 4:26

Temp4873

M1: 37,3°C, M2: 39,5°C, HS1: 52,6°C

Temp4874

HS1: 53,7°C

PoweronLiIon

The charger needs about 4 seconds to initialize. Notice the pulses during charge, it looks like this charger use some sort of simulated CC/CV, this do also fit with the final charge voltage that varies slightly.

CurrentChangeLiIon

The current can be changed at any time.



Charging NiMH

Charge current is always 0.5A with NiMH

Golisi%20i1%200.5A%20%28eneloop%29

The NiMH charger current is a bit low, but it terminates fine on with a nice -dv/dt (or maybe 0dv/dt) termination.
Display shows: 2079mAh in 4:19

Golisi%20i1%200.5A%20%28eneloopPro%29

Nice charging and termination.
Display shows: 2681mAh in 5:34

Golisi%20i1%200.5A%20%28powerex%29

Again nice charging and termination.
Display shows: 3266mAh in 6:47

Golisi%20i1%200.5A%20%28eneloopAAA%29

With the AAA cell is it a -dv/dt curve.
Display shows: 800mAh in 1:39

Golisi%20i1%200.5A%20full%20%28eneloop%29

This type of termination is a bit slow to detect a full cell, there it takes nearly 20 minutes.
Display shows: 159mAh in 0:19

Golisi%20i1%200.5A%200.5ohm%20%28eneloop%29

Simulating the weak power supply do not affect NiMH charging.
Display shows: 2008mAh in 4:10

Temp4879

M1: 29,3 , HS1: 37,9
At this low current there is not much heat.

PoweronNiMH

NiMH also needs about 3 seconds to initialize.

ChargingNiMH

As usual with NiMH chargers the charging is pulsed, here the voltage is checked each 10 seconds.




Conclusion

This is a nice “little” charger, I like it has capacity and voltage display, but the digits are rather small. The current selection also means a good and not too slow charge current for most LiIon cell, but the 0.5A for NiMH is too low.
I am not that happy about the display turning off, this requires a button press to see if the charger is done or just to check how far it is in charging.

I will call this charge a good one.



Notes

The charger was supplied by Golisi for review.

Here is an explanation on how I did the above charge curves: How do I test a charger

My website with reviews of many chargers and batteries (More than 1000): http://lygte-info.dk/

Test/review of Charger Efest LUC V6 2017

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Efest LUC V6 2017

DSC_0438

DSC_0440DSC_0439

This is one of the larger chargers from Efest with 6 slots.

DSC_0378DSC_0379DSC_0380DSC_0382

The charger comes in a cardboard box.

DSC_0432

In the box is the charger, a power supply, a car adapter, a instruction sheet and a warrant card.

DSC_0442

The charger is powered from 12 volt and has an usb output. The usb output can only be activated when no power is connected to the input.

DSC_0441

The charger has one button, it is used to select between 0.68A and 2A charging.

DSC_0584

All segment on the display is shown during power on. The center symbol is the usb output active indicator.

DSC_0585

Charging at 0.68A, when selecting 2A only the center two channels are displayed.

DSC_0445DSC_0447

The sliders for the battery work smoothly and can accept batteries from 30mm to 69.5mm.

supportedBatteryTypes

supportedBatterySizes

DSC_0550DSC_0551DSC_0552

The charger is rated for 10440 batteries, but due to the charger current it is only recommended to charge IMR 10440. The 16340/14500 is only slightly to high.
Note: Using a bit too high charge current will usual not make the batteries explode, but will reduce lifetime of the batteries.



Measurements


  • When not connected to power it will discharges with up to 0.08mA, except the USB out channel that will discharge with 0.4mA.
  • Power cycling or reinsertion of the battery will restart charging.
  • At about 0.6 volt the charger will detect a battery and start charging with 60mA
  • The charger will silent keep the cell charged.
  • The voltmeter is limited to 4.2 volt
  • The voltmeter starts showing a value at about 0.6V, but it shows around 1V
  • Generally the voltmeter is within 0.1V
  • Power consumption when idle is 0.4 watt


Efest%20LUC%20V6%200.68A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%231

This is a CC/CV charge curve with about 100mA termination current.

Efest%20LUC%20V6%200.68A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%232
Efest%20LUC%20V6%200.68A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%233
Efest%20LUC%20V6%200.68A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%234
Efest%20LUC%20V6%200.68A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%235
Efest%20LUC%20V6%200.68A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%236

The other channels are fairly similar.

Efest%20LUC%20V6%200.68A%20%28SA18650-26%29%20%231
Efest%20LUC%20V6%200.68A%20%28PA18650-31%29%20%231

The two other cells also looks similar.

Efest%20LUC%20V6%200.68A%20%28BE18650-26%29%20%231

Even the old cell is charged nicely.

Efest%20LUC%20V6%200.68A%20%28AW18350-IMR%29%20%231

But this very old cell has termination problems, due to the voltage drop the charger keeps restarting.

Efest%20LUC%20V6%200.68A%20%28KP14500-08%29%20%231

This small cell is charged fine.

Efest%20LUC%20V6%202A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%233

The charger can charge with 2A in slot #3 and #4.

Efest%20LUC%20V6%200.68A%20%286xSA18650-33%29

6 batteries at once is not problem.

Efest%20LUC%20V6%200.68A%2012V%20%286xSA18650-33%29

But it do require nearly 2A from a 12V power supply.

Temp4450

M1: 38,5°C, M2: 41,3°C, M3: 39,9°C, M4: 40,1°C, M5: 42,3°C, M6: 40,5°C, M7: 41,6°C, HS1: 54,6°C

Temp4451

M1: 46,1°C, HS1: 48,4°C

Efest%20LUC%20V6%200.68A%20load%20voltage%20sweep
Efest%20LUC%20V6%202A%20load%20voltage%20sweep

Sweeping the battery voltage from zero to 4.25 shows charge current at the different charge levels.
I did also add a curve to show how much heat is generated in the charger, most of the time the voltage will be between 3.5V and 4V, i.e. a bit above 4 watt with one cell at 2A.

Poweron

The charger only need about 2 seconds to start.

CurrentChange

It is possible to change current at any time.



USB output


  • When using usb output, the symbol will flash when the battery is nearly empty
  • Usb output turns off after about 15 seconds with a load below 55 mA.
  • Usb output turns on when loaded.
  • When mains power is connected, the usb output is off.
  • Usb output is coded as Apple 1A
  • Usb output will turn off when overloaded
  • Usb output uses slot #3 for power.


Efest%20LUC%20V6%20load%20sweep

It can deliver up to 1.4A before the overload kick in.

Efest%20LUC%20V6%20usb%20out%2010ohm%20%28SA18650-33%29

At 0.5A output the voltage is very stable.

Efest%20LUC%20V6%20usb%20out%205ohm%20%28SA18650-33%29

It can also handle 1A, but output drops slightly when battery is near empty.

10ohm

The noise at 0.5A is 57mV rms and 512mVpp

5ohm

The noise at 1A is 77mV rms and 591mVpp


Testing with 2500 volt and 5000 volt between mains and low volt side, did not show any safety problems with the power supply.



Conclusion

This charge works fine, the available currents are a bit limited with only 0.68A and 2A. The usb output also works fine, but the coding is rather old style and will probably not work with all types of phones.

I will rate it as a good charger.



Notes

The charger was supplied by Efest for review.

Here is an explanation on how I did the above charge curves: How do I test a charger

Read more about how I test USB power supplies and chargers

Compare to other chargers

My website with reviews of many chargers and batteries (More than 1000): http://lygte-info.dk/

Test/review of Charger Golisi i2

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Golisi i2

DSC_4103

DSC_4104DSC_4105

This is a simple two slot charger from Golisi have with a a better readout than usual.

DSC_4079DSC_4080DSC_4081DSC_4082

It arrived in a black very stylish cardboard box, there is some specifications on the back.

DSC_4099

The box included a bag for the charger.

DSC_4100

The total contents of the box was the charger, the bag, a usb cable and a instruction sheet.

DSC_4106

The charger is usb powered and can use up to 2A.

DSC_4107

The user interface is a single button and a small display.
The button is used to change the readout between volt, mAh, and time

DSC_4517

All segments on the display.

DSC_4518
DSC_4519
DSC_4520

The 3 different readouts.

DSC_4521

With a single LiIon cell the charger will use 2A charge current in the first slot. The second slot will charge with 1A.

DSC_4110

On the bottom of the charger there are specifications.

DSC_4108DSC_4109

The slots uses the classical slider construction and it works fine.
The slots can work from 31 mm to 71.5mm. This nearly covers anything.

supportedBatteryTypes

supportedBatterySizesDSC_4545DSC_4546DSC_4547

DSC_4551DSC_4552DSC_4553


The charger can handle 70 mm long batteries including flat top cells.




Measurements


  • First slot will charge a single LiIon with 2A, second slot with 1A
  • Idle current is about 42mA from usb
  • Discharge LiIon battery with 0.3mA when not connected to power.
  • Discharge NiMH battery with 0.07mA when not connected to power.
  • When power is connected with a full battery, it will charge with about 0.3mA.
  • Below 0.3 volt the charger will report error
  • Below 1.6V the charger will assume NiMH
  • Between 1.6V and 2.2V the charger will not charge.
  • Above 2.2V the charger will assume LiIon.
  • Below about 0.7 volt the voltmeter is not very precise.
  • Display turns off after 30 seconds.
  • Voltmeter is within 0.01V
  • Voltmeter stops updating when charging is stopped and will not show above 4.20V
  • Charger will not restart when voltage drops.
  • It will restart charging on reinsertion of the battery or power cycling.


Charging LiIon

Charge current is 1A or 2A for one cell (depends on slot) and 1A for two cells.

Golisi%20i2%202A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%231

The simulated CC/CV charge curve is nice, but 2A is a bit high for this cell.

Golisi%20i2%201A%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%232

Moving to the second slot reduces the charge current to 1A, but the termination is around 250mA.
Due to the charge algorithm the cell ends up very close to 4.2V
Display shows: 2990mAh in 3:15


Golisi%20i2%202A%20%28SA18650-26%29%20%231

Display shows: 2498mAh in 2:02

Golisi%20i2%202A%20%28PA18650-31%29%20%231

I did these two at 2A and they where charged fine.
Display shows: 2674mAh in 1:55

Golisi%20i2%202A%20%28BE18650-26%29%20%231

I even tried this old cell at 2A, the current dropped fast and the charger do not use a too high charge voltage. The end result is fine.
Display shows: 2018mAh in 2:21

Golisi%20i2%201A%20%282xSA18650-33%29

With two cells I am down to 1A on both cells and the charger uses a bit above 2A from usb.

Golisi%20i2%201A%20%282xSA21700-30%29

My high current 20700 cells were also charged fine.
Display shows: 2791mAh in 2:53 and 2827mAh in 2:55

Golisi%20i2%201A%200.5ohm%20%282xSA18650-33%29

Adding a 0.5ohm resistor in series with the power simulated a weak usb supply or long usb cable, the charger works slower, but will charge the cell.

Temp4896

M1: 36,2°C, M2: 36,8°C, M3: 37,7°C, HS1: 59,6°C

Temp4897

M1: 43,9°C, HS1: 67,8°C

PoweronLiIon1A

The charger needs about 7 seconds to initialize. Notice the pulses during charge, it looks like this charger use some sort of simulated CC/CV, this do also fit with the final charge voltage that varies slightly.

PoweronLiIon2A

The 2A looks the same.

ChargeLiIon1A

LiIon stops at regular intervals to check the voltage.



Charging NiMH

Charge current is 1A for one NiMH and 0.5A for two NiMH

Golisi%20i2%201A%20%28eneloop%29%20%231

This is a nice -dv/dt (or maybe 0dv/dt) charge curve, that stops when the battery starts getting warm.
Display shows: 1886mAh in 2:01

Golisi%20i2%201A%20%28eneloop%29%20%232

Same on the second channel.
Display shows: 1907mAh in 2:02

Golisi%20i2%201A%20%28eneloopPro%29%20%231

The Pro is also handled nice.

Golisi%20i2%201A%20%28powerex%29%20%231

The powerex is starting to get old, but the charger has no problem with it.
Display shows: 2927mAh in 3:07

Golisi%20i2%201A%20%28eneloopAAA%29%20%231

The AAA is charged at a slightly high current, this gives a very obvious -dv/dt signal for the charger to stop on.
Display shows: 792mAh in 0:50

Golisi%20i2%201A%20full%20%28eneloop%29%20%231

As usual -dv/dt termination is slow to detect a full cell, here the charger uses about 13 minutes.
Display shows: 194mAh in 0:12

Golisi%20i2%200.5A%20%282xeneloop%29

With two cells the charge rate is only 0.5A, but the termination works fine.
Display shows: 1774mAh in 3:37 and 1698mAh in 3:27

Temp4904

M1: 34,3°C, M2: 34,2°C, M3: 36,1°C, HS1: 47,9°C

Temp4905

M1: 38,3°C, HS1: 49,3°C

PoweronNiMH1A

NiMH needs about 5 seconds to initialize.

ChargeNiMH1A

As usual with NiMH chargers the charging is pulsed, here the voltage is checked each 10 seconds.

ChargeNiMH0.5A

With two cells in the charger it looks like there is a time offset between the two pauses, due to the slightly higher current just after the pause.



Conclusion

The charger handles LiIon and NiMH fine, but because the minimum current for LiIon is 1A it is not good for smaller LiIon cells. I like it has capacity and voltage display, but the digits are rather small.

The charger is good, but I miss a current selection.



Notes

The charger was supplied by Golisi for review.

Here is an explanation on how I did the above charge curves: How do I test a charger

My website with reviews of many chargers and batteries (More than 1000): http://lygte-info.dk/

"Review": Gyrfalcon ALL-40 charger

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As for all my charger reviews, the usual disclaimer applies: I’m not an expert in electronics or chargers, but I’ve been using flashlights, batteries and chargers for almost a decade as a consumer. So I’ll give you my honest opinion on this product as a user.

I received the Gyrfalcon ALL40 for the review from Gyrfalcon.com

The Gyrfalcon ALL40 is a multi-chemistry 4 slot charger, powered either by a micro USB port or a 12v cigar plug with the provided adapter.

This is the box the ALL40 comes in

The ALL40 comes with a micro USB cable, a 12 V charging port, manual and warranty card.


The ALL40 can be powered through any micro USB port or via the provided 12V power adapter

The ALL40, in action.


As you can see the slots have a lot of room and length. The slides are stiff but run with smoothness.

There is only one switch on the charger, and it can be used to turn the screen backlight on and off, and for changing the charging current (250, 500, or 1000mA).

Every slot has its own display portion, showing the voltage of the cell, the estimated charge point and the charging current.


The charger works automatically: you put the batteries in, and the charger automatically detects if the cell is either a li-ion, nimh or nicd and starts the charge.
When using the micro USB port, the max overall current is 2A (250mAx4 or 500mAx4 or 1000mAx2); while when using the car charger 12V all channels could run at 1A (beside 250mAx4, 500mAx4).
If the USB power supply gives less than 2A and the charging current set is higher, the current will be reduced.

A couple of things:
- Every time you disconnect and re-connect the charger, the charging current will be set at the default 1A current, a current fine for bigger or IMR cells, but if you are using smaller cells, you need to lower it (either 250mA or 500mA),
- The charging current can not be set for each channel, only for all the slots at the same time. It means that if you are charging big and small cells, in order to safely charge the small ones, even the bigger cells will be charged at a lower speed.

A micro USB powered charger allows you to use it in the car even if you left home the dedicated 12V port, even if not at full speed (a charger with lower speed charges always faster than a charger without its cable).

Thanks to AntoLed for the camera help.

All my reviews, in italian and english, here: Lumenreviews.com

Test/review of Charger NiteCore F2

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Charger NiteCore F2

DSC_3686

DSC_3688

This charger from Nitecore is a light weight dual cell charger with two charge currents and power bank function.

DSC_4675DSC_4676DSC_4677DSC_4678
DSC_4679

The charger is in a cardboard box with some specifications, battery types and features on it.

DSC_3682

The box contains the charger, two rubber bands, usb-3 cable, instruction sheet and warranty card.

DSC_3689DSC_3687

The charger is powered from a micro usb 3.0 connector (Using standard micro usb works fine). The word “INPUT” is molded in the plastic.
The usb output is at the other end and the word “USB1” and “USB2” is molded in the plastic.

DSC_5584

The charger has 2×3 leds hidden under the plastic, they have a couple of different functions:
When a battery is put into the charger they will show voltage: 3 flash on the first and 7 flashes on the last means 3.7 volt.
During charging and power bank they show the usual charge bar, i.e. 1, 2 or 3 leds on depending on power level.

DSC_3690DSC_3691

The slots uses the usual construction and the slider is very smooth. It can handle batteries from 29mm to 71mm long, that means just about any protected and unprotected LiIon cell. The charger works best with flat top cells, button top cells can be a bit more difficult to place in it, because they have a tendency to slide.
Depending on the position of the slider the charge current will be 0.5A or 1A, the changeover is around 61mm.

DSC_3692

The rubber bands can be used to secure the cells to the charger when it is used “on the move”.

supportedBatteryTypes

supportedBatterySizesDSC_5587

DSC_5588DSC_5589

DSC_5590DSC_5591

DSC_5592DSC_5593

The minimum charge current is 0.5A and that is a bit high for 10440 cells.
The charger can handle 71mm long batteries, inclusive flat top cells.



Measurements


  • Around 61mm battery length it will switch between 0.5A and 1A charging.
  • When charger has selected charge current it will stay with it.
  • Below 2.3 volt the charger will charge with a low current.
  • Between 2.3 volt and 2.8 volt the charger will charge with 80mA.
  • Above 2.8 volt regular charge current it applied.
  • When not powered the charger will discharge with about 0.4mA
  • Idle current for charger is 22mA from usb
  • Charger will restart if battery voltage drops.
  • Charge will restart charging after power loss or battery insertion.
  • Charge will make audible noise when powered without a battery to charge.


Nitecore%20F2%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%231

The curve is not a fully CC/CV charge curve, because the current drops from 1A to 0.5A rather fast, for the battery this is just as good as a fully CC/CV curve, but it will be a bit slower.
Termination current is slightly below 60mA.

Nitecore%20F2%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%232

The other side looks the same.

Nitecore%20F2%20%28SA18650-26%29%20%231

Nitecore%20F2%20%28PA18650-31%29%20%231

Other batteries also looks the same.

Nitecore%20F2%20%28BE18650-26%29%20%231

Even the old cell.

Nitecore%20F2%20%28AW18350-IMR%29%20%231

The very old cell is shorter and the charger will only use 0.5A. It do a fairly good charge of this cell.

Nitecore%20F2%20%28KP14500-08%29%20%231

A more recent small cell is also charged nicely.

Nitecore%20F2%20%282xSA18650-33%29

Two batteries at a time and it draws 2A from usb, while charging each cell at 1A.

Temp4830

M1: 35,3°C, M2: 41,0°C, M3: 52,3°C, HS1: 54,9°C
The charger uses a linear regulator and get fairly hot during the initial part of the charging. Later in the charging it will be cooler.

Temp4832

M1: 42,2°C, HS1: 50,1°C

Poweron

The charger starts in less than a second, but needs some time before it will change to 1A charge current.



USB output


  • When usb output is powered it uses 15mA from the battery
  • When usb output is turned off it uses 0.4mA from the battery
  • Without a battery the charger uses about 23mA from usb input
  • Usb output is on while charging and powered directly from usb input.
  • Charge can be used as ups, but output voltage will be a bit low.
  • Usb output is coded as usb charger (DCP)
  • Usb outputs are in parallel.


Nitecore%20F2%20usb1%20%28SA18650%29%20%231%20load%20sweep

With a single battery the usb output is limited to 1A, the overload protection will first kick in above 2.5A

Nitecore%20F2%20usb1%20%282xSA18650%29%20load%20sweep

With two batteries the output current is double up.

Nitecore%20F2%20usb2%20%282xSA18650%29%20load%20sweep

Both usb outputs looks the same.

Nitecore%20F2%20usb12%20%282xSA18650%29%20load%20sweep

Running them in parallel do not change anything.

Nitecore%20F2%20usb1%20%28usb%20power%29%20load%20sweep

Without batteries and connected to a usb power supply there is voltage on the usb output, but it is a bit on the low side. The limit at 3A was my usb supply that shut down.

NiteCore%20F2%20usb1%20out%2010ohm%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%231

At 0.5A with one batteries the usb output works nicely for about 4 hours. The battery is discharged to about 2.7 volt, this is fine for most modern LiIon batteries.

NiteCore%20F2%20usb1%20out%2010ohm%20%282xSA18650-33%29

With two batteries the runtime is doubled. It looks like it first drains one battery, then switch to the other.
This is probably because there is a minor voltage difference between the two buck converters. A check shows: USB1: 5.071V USB2: 5.098V.

NiteCore%20F2%20usb1%20out%205ohm%20%28SA18650-33%29%20%231

At 1A with a single battery it has trouble maintaining the voltage when the battery voltage is low.

NiteCore%20F2%20usb1%20out%202.5ohm%20%282xSA18650-33%29

With two batteries and 2A I get much better result, it run about 1½ hour before voltage drops.

10ohm

There is not much noise in the output: 5mV rms and 64mVpp

5ohm

At it do not increase much with increased load: 9mV rms and 92mVpp

5ohm

Again very low noise at 11mV rms and 88mVpp



Conclusion

This is a nice little charger, the termination current is low enough to also handle smaller cells, the automatic current selection may give longer charge times, but prevents mistakes. It can be a bit tricky to load two cells into the charger, especially button tops.
The power bank function is not perfect, but with two batteries it works fairly well.

I will call it a good charger.



Notes

The charger was supplied by a FastTech for review.

Here is an explanation on how I did the above charge curves: How do I test a charger
Read more about how I test USB power supplies and chargers

My website with reviews of many chargers and batteries (More than 1000): http://lygte-info.dk/

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