Test/Review of Charger LiitoKala Engineer Lii-500

[quote=will34] Thanks for the review!! I've been waiting for this. HKJ: I have a "Hobby style" 13.8V 25A power supply in which I have all my 12V devices connected. So far they have been working great but I don't a way to prove that it will not give me any trouble on the long run. Do you think feeding 13.8V into the Lii-500 is safe? I always tend to stay away from the generic 12V adapters because once I had one overheat and melt the plastic casing. Thanks This is the power supply: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__17423__HobbyKing_350w_25A_Power_Supply_100v_120v_.html [/quote] i such a case i connect few power diodes in series to drop its voltage (most diodes are .7v ) .

1N5404 is rated for 3A and vf is 1.2 volts so you can use this to drop to 12.6 volts ..

Anything that has 12V input and includes or has an auto adapter as extras, can be used with that power supply without any worries.

With age all modern adapters/power supplies will do that or the internal fuse may blow first. If the adapter is hot it will happen faster.

Nice to see that this charger gets HKJ’s seal of approval for lithium use. :slight_smile:
I have been using it for some time now. The only problem I’ve had with it was that the mode button went in and stopped working soon after purchase. Had to open up the charger and align the “long” shaft behind the button on top of the microswitch again.

Awesome review thanks

i want add that i figured a way to SET ALL BANKS TO THE SAME SETTING AT ONCE

if you have all cells in the charger
UNPLUG the power and plug it back in THEN within a second SET 1 bank to the feature and current you want the rest will be set to the same setting IF ITS DONE WITHIN A SECOND OR SO

now that the Lii-500 has the seal of approval i can point you to a low price for the Lii-500 (from Ali E. no paypal)
i just noticed a new low price NOW $23.05 SHIPPED or LE$$ on their app
or here for $22.99 or 2 for $20.92

what to prefer… this or the opus c3100 ?
for this i don’t see support for 4,35v and 3,6v ( max voltage) batteries…. so i think opus is preferable

I can’t wait until mine arrives so I can test all of my laptop pulls.

I have a variety of batteries including some 18650 pulls that I would like to know what their real capacity is. But my old Nitecore D2 is working fine for charging and knowing what the capacity of my batteries is doesn’t really make a difference in how they function. So I am thinking instead of buying a new charger I may just take the money and buy some new batteries instead.

i had 50 or so pulls before i even bought any charger and i started with empty DIY power banks for $1-$4 and i was happy
then i bought a D4 and not so happy it was slow like the DIY power banks
i recently bought some Lii-500 and i am very happy at the same time i started to buy 18650 the best ones Sanyo NCR18650BF but i still use my old pulls as with the Lii-500 i can spot the good ones and most are and i am happy

BTW between the old GOOD pulls (say the ~2200mAh ones) and the new Sayno 3400mAh i get 2x the run time with my small leds so there is something to say about getting new cells

Older cells have higher resistance and lower capacity.
They can still be used, provided the amp draw is moderate and you are not looking for max output or throw.

I plan to use this charger to roughly analyze my cells as well - especially the laptop pulls.
Will report back on that.

Grtz
Nico

HKJ, thank you very much for the review! Do you always test the included power adapters regarding safety and stated capacity?

Kind regards

With dedicated adapters I do all my charger tests with it and do the 5000 volt test on the adapter.

With usb adapters I usual use my own power supply and do a abridged usb adapter test on the usb adapter.

Poster I wish I were in your position. I certainly would try those Sanyo’s you told us about, except that I hardly use the 18650’s that I have now since I mostly use an L2M for EDC. Maybe if I buy a Trustfire R-J12 or 16 and need those 18650’s I will change my mind. I already have 8 18650’s from Dell pulls and have another 2 battery packs that will give me 12 more. (I plan on opening these last two this weekend. They are red 18650’s. (can’t figure out which brand they are but work great so far.) Maybe I’m finally getting the cure for flashaholicism. :>)

i go through 30-40 a week for various lights where i need them
and i guess i am willing to pay for not have to charge as many cells all the time
with most of my pulls (mostly 2200-2600mAh) my new 3400mAh NCR18650BF run 2x as long

maybe i need to try NEW 2600mAh cells
NEW Samsung ICR18650-26F 2600mAh are ~$2.10 for 50pcs
NEW Sanyo NCR18650BF 3400mAh are ~$3.86 for 20pc

or does anyone know what Laptops packs have the highest rated cells inside
do any use 3000mAh or higher the most i have seen are 2800mAh

Excellent post HKJ!

I got this charger about month ago. This time there were no any reviews so had to test and open the device.
What I like:

  1. 4 totally indipendent channels, no matter where to place Li-Ion or NiCd/NiMh
  2. Charging curve for Li-Ion is very good (compared with my iCharger 206). “Semi-fast” charge, ended with 1/10 charging current.
  3. mOhm (mR for chinese people I guess) reading is not very precise but at least it is same (+/-1mOhm) for all slots. For comparing - good enough.
  4. 1A charging for all 4 slots together is good to have
  5. NOR test is informative.
  6. Place all 4 batteries, plug the power and change only one slot’s current (or charge/fast test/not test) - all slots are changing simultaneously. This is handy option.

What I don’t like:

  1. Voltage display showing diffrent voltage. There is strictly 4,20V, display shows 4,22V. In lower values it’s off even by 0,1V.
    (measured with voltage reference calibrated multimeter) Dicharging voltage shows more accurate. Something to do with rail’s resistance maybe?
  2. FAST test is for what? Would be “fast” if charger immidiately starts discharging - showing then SOC for particular battery.
  3. LCD backlight is turning off complitely. Yes, it would consume current in USB mode, but during charge it is hard to see without pressing any button…
  4. Charger becomes very hot when charging 4 batteries together. There are 4 little chokes 64uH with 0,4mm wire. They become wery hot. So does schottky diodes.
  5. NiMH charging stops in 1,52V and no deltaV protection. It means that some batteries can be ovecharged and most undercharged.
    There are two (interesting why 2 and not 4) NTC resistors thermally connected with plastic case but didn’t help with older Eneloops. Overcharged these poor things.
  6. No 4 electrolytic capacitors in charging circuit. There are empty places for caps. For purpose or manufacturer tries to keep prices low?

What I did:

  1. Added resistor to backlight switching transistor. Now BL after while goes just dimmer (not off) and consumes still only few milliamps. So no problems even with USB charging.
  2. Changed chokes to bigger ones but nearly same inductance. Much less heat.
  3. Added big heatsink (just copper plate) to schottky diodes. I guess that in such hot enviroment inside the case they just blow out after some time.
  4. Addede some hetsink to MOSFET’s in discharge circuit.
  5. Added 100uF capacitors.

Can add some pictures of circuit if someone’s intrested…

seb,

I can see that you really know what you are talking about - Welcome to the BLF!

I do not know what I am talking about:-)

I just ordered this charger yesterday, and am hoping for the best.

Thank you so much for your post, and I do hope that you will stay with us!
-Chuck

Thanks chuckhof :slight_smile:
Hard to find a good 4-bay universal charger these days but I guess Lii-500 is not bad at all.
With little tweaking it becomes even better. For those who use it mostly for Li-Ion.

i would love to see what you did to this otherwise great charger

BTW is this the only under ~$25 charger that will do 1amp for each bank

+1… !

Not that I would know what I am looking at - I just want him to continue posting!

Seems like a great guy!

Thanks!
-Chuck

Original pics:

1kOhm resistor for LCD transistor Q35 (sorry for bad soldering…):

Original coils:

Bigger coils:

Original, without heatsink:

Heatsink (It touches only schotty diodes underneath, with thermal paste. Diodes seen below doesn’t heat much):

If you want pictures bigger rez. please tell me, didn’t know how big forum allows…