Xtar's new VC2s charger is great.

[264]

It has been a week since I emailed Mr. Hu with the question. No response. From my personal experience with the VC2s charger is that the VC2 plus master charger is far superior in performance.

Update:

Mr. Hu says:

1. Yes, VC2S can not charger Li-Po4 batteries.
2. Yes, the termination voltage of 4.2 volts can not be changed.

Thank You Sir.

[teacher]

@TheIntruder

Based on my experience with a TC1, I’m leery of the voltmeters and some of the automatic controls of the newer XTAR chargers.

While the end result is on target at 4.2v, verified by a meter, a discrepancy between the displayed voltage and measured voltage always exists when they are put in for charging, so I question whether the internal meter is accurate. The last time, a 30Q at 3.5v read 3.8v when first installed in the meter.

Additionally, of late, the charger was displaying odd behavior, with everything, including the indicator light fluctuating between being engaged in the charging process and being empty, of finished. Cleaning all the contacts mostly mitigated that, but it’s still sensitive to movement, which can result in momentary loss of contact. These are the same flat-topped 30Qs that had no issues earlier in the charger’s life. Worse, it now refuses to charge them at greater than 1A, on cells that are relatively new.

The VC2S looks great on paper, but if it has the potential to act in any way similar, then IMO a lot of the utility is lost and it might be better to look elsewhere.

On the flip side, my ANT MC1+ promises nothing except that it will indicate the general progress and let me know when it’s fully charged. It too, is on target, so the fundamental process is sound, so perhaps it’s better to keep things simple.

Regardless, the next charger I choose will allow manual control of charging current.

We’re pretty much on the same page TheIntruder… there is a lot to be said for ‘’keeping it simple’’.

When I first saw this charger I thought I had to have it. But before I ‘pulled the trigger’, in a very rare moment of self control :person_facepalming: ; I resisted. Instead of buying I asked myself what the Xtar VC2S would do better than my Xtar SP2’s or XTAR SV2 Rocket’s.
Honestly, there was nothing it would do better.

Sure it had/has a super cool looking display…. it really does. :+1:
But charging values are chosen by the machine, with no manual override. To me that is a severe negative.

This charger has the ‘bells & whistles’ many people are looking for, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that; I just decided to stay with the more simple tried & true Xtars I already have.

Great review 264, very thoroughly done.

[264]

More testing this weekend. December 29-31, 2018. Will test the power bank function charging my tablet. Charge and discharge a completely different pair of batteries. Side by side charging of the VC2s and VC2 plus. Which one is faster? Checking the anti-counterfeit serial number and displaying the result. I will not be doing anything silly like running over the charger with a four wheeler or an immersion test in water as some testers do to flashlights. What kind of photos do the readers of this post want to see concerning the VC2s?

[264]

@teacher

@TheIntruder

Based on my experience with a TC1, I’m leery of the voltmeters and some of the automatic controls of the newer XTAR chargers.

While the end result is on target at 4.2v, verified by a meter, a discrepancy between the displayed voltage and measured voltage always exists when they are put in for charging, so I question whether the internal meter is accurate. The last time, a 30Q at 3.5v read 3.8v when first installed in the meter.

Additionally, of late, the charger was displaying odd behavior, with everything, including the indicator light fluctuating between being engaged in the charging process and being empty, of finished. Cleaning all the contacts mostly mitigated that, but it’s still sensitive to movement, which can result in momentary loss of contact. These are the same flat-topped 30Qs that had no issues earlier in the charger’s life. Worse, it now refuses to charge them at greater than 1A, on cells that are relatively new.

The VC2S looks great on paper, but if it has the potential to act in any way similar, then IMO a lot of the utility is lost and it might be better to look elsewhere.

On the flip side, my ANT MC1+ promises nothing except that it will indicate the general progress and let me know when it’s fully charged. It too, is on target, so the fundamental process is sound, so perhaps it’s better to keep things simple.

Regardless, the next charger I choose will allow manual control of charging current.

We’re pretty much on the same page TheIntruder… there is a lot to be said for ‘’keeping it simple’’.

When I first saw this charger I thought I had to have it. But before I ‘pulled the trigger’, in a very rare moment of self control :person_facepalming: ; I resisted. Instead of buying I asked myself what the Xtar VC2S would do better than my Xtar SP2’s or XTAR SV2 Rocket’s.
Honestly, there was nothing it would do better.

Sure it had/has a super cool looking display…. it really does. :+1:
But charging values are chosen by the machine, with no manual override. To me that is a severe negative.

This charger has the ‘bells & whistles’ many people are looking for, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that; I just decided to stay with the more simple tried & true Xtars I already have.

Great review 264, very thoroughly done.

Thank You Teacher for the kind words about my review.

[264]

These are the batteries that I will be testing this weekend. I will allow my ASUS tablet to run down to 15% then I will use these batteries in this PB2 to charge the tablet. I will keep the batteries plugged in till the charger reads 0%. Posting images of the batteries charging the ASUS and the depleted batteries voltage. Then a trip to the new VC2s charger to charge. Images to be posted are:

# Time it takes to reach a full charge.

# Each batteries voltage according to my Ideal 61- 310 meter and VC2s.
I will wait 24 hours with the batteries in a plastic case before refilling the ASUS.

# The pairs charge according to the PB2.

# The display of the PB2 after one minute of charging.

# Time it takes to charge my tablet from 15-100%.

# Time it takes to recharge depleted cells in the VC2s

# Time it takes the VC2s power bank to refill my tablet from 15-100%

[HelloHazel]

Nice Charger

[Jaded]

Is the IR measurement of the new VC2 good? I’m curious to see the result of your last testing. Are those Sanyo NCR18650GAs you’re testing?

[desmondkun]

Will be better If it has longer slot length.

[264]

@Jaded

Is the IR measurement of the new VC2 good? I’m curious to see the result of your last testing. Are those Sanyo NCR18650GAs you’re testing?

I do not know if the red batteries are Sanyo NCR18650GA. I purchased the charger from illumn.com as a combo pack that included a pair of cells. I received these cells according to illumn “(39%) NCR18650BF 3400mAH MCD: 6.8A”

They are currently charging in my new Xtar VC2S charger. Will post about the test soon. Still learning about the IR measurement.

[264]

I just received the VC2s I purchased from Amazon. The box the charger arrived in looks like the one I received direct from Xtar. The one difference is that the anti-counterfeit sticker is on the box and not on the charger itself. The anti-counterfeit numbers passed the look up as authentic on Xtar’s website. The one big difference in the charger itself. The logo on the charger reads “Xtar VC2 2019” and not Xtar VC2S like my first charger. The outer dimensions of the charge are the same as the first one. The display looks identical. The sticker on the back of the box has an identical warranty/serial number as on the box.

Charging the Pair of NCR18650NF Batteries-BAY ONE

#1 3:40:39 Charging Time.

2. 58M ohms Internal Resistance.
3. 3290mAh Capacity

Charging the Pair of NCR18650NF Batteries-BAY TWO

#1 3:17:27 Charging Time.

#2 60M ohms Internal Resistance.

#3 2890mAh Capacity

In my haste I forgot to measure the voltage of the depleted batteries. According to my PB2 and the new VC2s the resting voltage was 3 volts. The pair did not at all become hot or overly warm during their charging. They were just slightly warm. When I removed them from the charger the machine said both had reached 4.2 volts. The charge voltage slowly increased from 3 volts to 4.2 volts during the charge. The charge current started at 1ma and top out at 1015ma. After the batteries reached 4.2volts the charging current was automatically reduced by the VC2s charger for roughly ½ hour till it reached 0 current.

After 22 hours I measured the resting voltage of each cell. Both cells had a resting voltage of 4.16volts. I then placed the pair in my Soshine power bank and began to charge my tablet. After one minute the Soshine display read 95%. The cells were fully charged by the VC2S and held their charge under load with no problem. I then placed the pair in the VC2S and used it as a power bank. Once the cell in bay one was depleted the machine automatically switched to the cell in bay two to charge the tablet. I then connected the VC2S to a USB power supply. The machine switched to charging the cells and my tablet with no problem.

[264]

Next week I am going to charge the pair of 30Q batteries I did in the first charger and compare the results.

[264]

The original 30Q pair of cells that I discharged and charged in my first Vc2s never regained their vim and vigor from the 2.46 volt depletion or so I thought. Sunday afternoon I charged them with my second VC2S. 20 hours later they were still holding their charge and are performing like new. They are currently refuelling my tablet. I am very pleased with Xtar's VC2s and would recommend it to anyone wanting a full feature lithium ion, metal hydride capable charger.

[marcolopes]

I have the annoying “digital hiss” from this charger, with or without batteries charging

Any users have this? I use to return all the electronics that make “hiss”, as it’s a sign of “bad design” or at least bad electronics…

I bought it from the XTAR OFFICIAL store on ALI Express: https://pt.aliexpress.com/item/32830649369.html