I’m looking to buy a 18650 charger that can charge 1A across all bays. Some people recommended the Opus BT C3100 v2.2 and the Liitokala Lii 500. After reading reviews saying the Opus has a fan that can be loud and can die quickly, I’m leaning towards the Lii 500, although I’m not done researching yet. I’d like to finish researching this weekend and have something delivered by end of next week.
I did notice the Lii 500 seems to be shipped from China at most places. I don’t want to wait one month for it to arrive. I found one seller on Ebay who is shipping new ones from California. (Here’s a link to it.) The seller only has 539 feedback (97.9% positive) - would you be comfortable buying from such a seller on Ebay?
I’ve read about how some charger manufacturers (like Nitecore) are including QR codes on the charger that you can scan to make sure they are authentic. I wonder if there are fake Lii 500s being sold anywhere.
I wouldn’t buy from that seller. Certainly not anywhere near bad as some. But I wouldn’t chance it. He hasn’t delivered any yet since the 22nd. Maybe too soon, but I just have a bad feeling about this seller. Choose another, pay a couple bucks more for a good seller, its worth it for the piece of mind.
Get the Opus Bt-C3100 v 2.2 from ebay seller “rdana” only. I bought my BT-C3400 v 2.1 from him right when they came out years ago and it still works fine. I gave it to my brother and bought the cheaper BT-C3100 v 2.2 for myself, I have 4 batteries in it right now and it works flawlessly. Fan is singing away VERY QUIETLY LIKE THEY ALL DO. Please don’t complain about the fan noise. I mean really?
I’m new to the world of flashlights and 18650 batteries. I only have experience with NiMH chargers and had never heard of a charger with a fan until I started looking into these 18650 chargers. If there’s a charger that works fine without a fan, I’d prefer to get that one, as it’s one less point of failure to worry about.
The link that jescereal provided is interesting, when compared with my link. They both ship from La Puente, CA, and the item descriptions look almost exactly the same. They are probably the same seller. It’s good to know you had a good experience with that seller. I can’t even find your listing when I do a search for the item.
Maybe I will get the Opus BT C3100 v2.2 after all.
I notice GearBest is selling it for under $33 (less than rdana on ebay) from their “US-LA” warehouse, so that will only take 3-5 business days to get to me.
delerious, you can buy standard 25×25×10mm fans for not much more than a buck on eBay. Even an original replacement can be had for just above $2 on FastTech.
Standard fiberglass insect screen mesh is cheeeap, readily available everywhere and will effectively prevent the fan from getting fluff clogged while being easily cleanable with a brush from the outside. Just attach a small square of it over its inlet nozzle. I learned this stuff years ago and one can only smile at those paying big bucks for fancy computer fan filters, LOL!
A pic of the left side panel from an ancient rig I had:
Opus is probably the best bang for your buck. But they aren’t all quiet and there have been reports of fan failure. One of my friends has a fan die every 6 months. He doesn’t seem to mind though.
I bought the opus 3100 v2.2 and it works fine. Loud fan!!??? Yeah, I read that too in reviews. They need to turn their hearing aids down. If that’s a loud fan then they must only communicate in writing to get something that doesn’t hurt their ears.
If I had it to do over again, and I might at some point, I’d get a charger that allows full programming. But they cost a lot more and for now the Opus is working fine.
It will do 1 amp in each of the 4 stations and 2 amps in both outside bays if no batteries are in the middle 2.
I have both. The Lii is just a tad easier to use, and a bit less capable than the Opus. The fan it not a big deal, IF YOU LUBE IT.
Both will get warm if you charge/discharge at high rates with a full complement of batteries. At least the Opus HAS a cooling fan. Don't like it > disconnect or remove it, then you won't hear the noise and it'll get hotter, same as the Lii. Does no one ever think about that?
FWIW I have mine sitting on top of a 80mm computer fan, AND my stock fan works just fine. I believe in cooling electrical components, especially batteries.
Yes, I lube it. Takes about 10 minutes every 6 months or so. Terrible burden, just terrible.
I really don't know why a bunch of people capable of modding electrical components seem to have such a difficult time with this simple task of putting lube in a bearing.
But for the fan I use high quality silicone grease from a dive store, inject with a syringe and large bore needle. This lasts longest.
Any decent oil (not WD-40, which is a poor lubricant), including automatic transmission oil will work for awhile. I tried a couple of oils before the silicone and they worked, were easier to apply, but didn’t last as long.
You can get new fans, but they will just do the same thing. Pretty much all tiny fans like that are not very good no matter what they are attached to. If you lube them BEFORE you wear them out and they jam, they will last longer, run better, and be quieter. But it seems no one does that. They just bitch about it when it happens, or worry that it will. There is absolutely no perfect charger in this price range.
Too much! Cool lubes, but not what I had in mind Barkuti. LOL though. Not the same machine that needs lube.