Liitokala Lii - 500?

I hear ya man. Most connectors are 5.5 x 2.1mm, but I have some that are 2.5mm. Never heard of 1.7mm on the positive end.

Not connector related, but a Lii-500 question;I have a old charger that recognizes and charges an older unprotected cell of mine, but the Lii-500 does not activate at all when I insert that cell. What does this mean?

Are you sure it’s making contact on the positive end?

I’ll double check. Thanks.
I really love this charger, by the way.

Frank, I do too

Frank & Glenn…… I do three. :wink:

Me too….four.

No worries Glenn and appreciate the kind gesture.
I ordered some 2.1mm connector from Aliexpress. I should be able to solder them on easily.

Just bought this light at the same store(aliexpress) still shipping.

I know you can find those adapters around somewhere, try the usual China and eBay sources.

Search for:

2.5 to 2.1 adapter

Ever since I started playing with 18650 cells and chargers that need high current 12V supplies I've been keeping an eye open for 12v power supplies when browsing 2hnd/pawn shops, found 2 x mint Xbox 360 power supplies, beasts for $4 a piece. Can't beat that value and their build inside must be excellent. Here's how to convert them to our uses:

Has anyone tried taking them near their limit of 12V 12A?

That's probably enough to charge a lead acid car battery quite quickly!

Except that I wouldn't want to quickly charge a lead acid battery: BU-403: Charging Lead Acid @ Battery University

Cheers

finally got my Lii-500 nice charger smaller than i thought it would be.

Just a heads up guys…There is an identical LiitoKala Lii500 clone known as the Varicore V40 and the Accupower IQ338 is the same charger with a slightly different body. I have been searching high and low for the best prices for the Lii500…in fact I was almost scammed by 2 different eBay sellers for 6 chargers. Luckily eBay came through and banned the fake sellers.

Varicore V40
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32514274058.html?trace=wwwdetail2mobilesitedetail&productId=32514274058&productSubject=2015-New-VariCore-V40-LCD-Battery-Charger-3-7V-18650-26650-18500-16340-14500-18350-lithium

IQ338

I saw somewhere that there are a couple of brands that claim to be the LitoKala inside. The vendor I am looking at model is JDY IC99V3.1. They seem to be knowledgeable. They cite newer differences with earlier LitoKala versions.

Anyone ever heard of that item? Is it a fake? Or just an different badge?

That looks more like an OPUS 3100 to me. Granted its name is V3.1 I am wondering if it is an OPUS 3100 clone. I am currently in dispute with the official LiitoKala store on Aliexpress over a defective Lii-500 Engineer they sent me. The mode button was completely depressed into the housing and even after repairing it, it still sinks into the unit. I am looking for a suitable, economic replacement.

That is what I thought as well for the V3.1. They seem to be talking about the Lii, but what they say seems like Opus.

There is an Opus 3400 V3.1. But what I saw did not have anything about improvements. The JDY unit does not look like either the new Opus or the Lii 500. So I am thinking I should leave it alone.

I have been looking for a review of the JDY without luck.

Just a question out of curiosity. Why is anyone interested in a ‘clone’ of the Lii 500??

Why not just get a Lii 500?

What am I missing??

These things are all built in the same factory (I imagine) For the amount of cells I need to process I need a dozen chargers. I don’t care whose name is on a charger, as long as it functions as it should. A clone is not really a knock off but the same item with a different brand name. Price point may shift with brand name, even though units are identical.

12 chargers x $25 = $300
12 chargers x $15 = $180

I build batteries with recovered cells because performance per dollar its a lot of bang for the buck. Doesn’t make sense to pay $25 for something if I can get it for $15.

I asked the guy selling the JDY charger. It has been developed by an engineer from Opus. As an engineer, I can identify with the idea of getting tired of people saying “you can’t do that” then leaving and doing it anyway.

It is not clear if they have sold many. The site I talked to had less then 10 sales. They had a decent pitch comparing their device to Opus.

It would be interesting for HKJ to look at product.

But I need a couple of chargers now, so probably the Lii.