[REVIEW] MiBoxer C4-12 (NiMH/NiCd/Li-ion Smart Battery Charger)

Yes, 4x2A charging posed no issues for me. Possibly even 4x2.5A may have been OK - I have not tested that yet.

In all honesty though, I don’t see myself needing to use 4x3A much if at all. I don’t own any cells larger than 18650. A typical high drain 18650 has about 3000 mAh capacity. It’s not going to be that much quicker to charge it using 3A vs 2A or 2.5A. Now, if you own large 26650 cells with 5000+ mAh capacity, that difference in charging speed will become more noticeable.

Correct.

I recently purchased this charger and haven’t had any re-booting problems when charging at 3A. It looks like they may have fixed the re-booting issue as you mentioned in your review:

However, what I have is a first version of this charger and Miboxer told me they tweaked it since and that in the newest version, the charger will better control temperature and will not reboot.

Yup, but if yours is an updated version, then you should see current rate dropping below 3A in order to prevent temperatures from climbing.

Also, just to be clear, in my case the re-booting did not happen when charging only 1 or 2 cells at 3A. It happened when charging all 4 cells at 3A.

Also, the rebooting is fairly quick, so unless you are watching the charger throughout the entire cycle, you might miss it.

Also, based upon battery level and resistance , the current rate will drop even if you set it at 3A - so those are additional things that will lower the charge rate. The next time I have 4 batteries pretty well depleted I will keep an eye on the current rate to see how it behaves.

Yes, try with 4 depleted high current drain unprotected cells, such as Samsung 30Q.

You don’t want to be pushing 3A of current into low current / high IR cells to begin with.

My review Charger did not reboot with 4x3A charge

Good to hear. What was the highest temp you observed during 4x3A charging? Starting with fully depleted cells, how long were all the cells at 3A before current started ramping down?

I switched to 3A after 15 minutes
the other charger is 1A all the way

Because of the rapidly cycling current/voltage/IR display in your video, I can’t tell when it started ramping down. I also can’t see what the other 3 channels are doing… what level of charge they’re at.

But your temps are much lower than mine. Mine reached 53C, and that’s when the reboot happens.

I looked at the pictures
to 4208 is last with 3A
start picture 4101 with 30 seconds pause
so at 4116 12,5min I switched to 3A manual
54minutes till current ramp down

charge for a 3000mAh high drain cells took 86 minutes

Very helpful review thanks!

Is there an “advised amps” list for cells? Is it a percentage of the peak discharge or just a fixed number for a certain cell size?
I even saw a charger that does 4A.
So before I start cooking my cells I would like some advise on 18650, 20700, 21700, 26650, 32650

Not on the list, do you think 32650 fits?

Recommend charge rates are from .5C to 1C. They say for longer cell life, .8C or below is recommended.

1C mean 1 times the capacity (of the cell). The Samsung INR18650-30Q for example, is a 3000mah cell, so 1C = 3amps… while .8C is 2.4amps (or below)

That’s very clear. Thanks!

[quote=ZoomieFan]

Yes, but only two 32650s at a time, and not side-by-side.

two 32650s at a time, and not side-by-side.

working perfect

Every battery model has a data sheet from the manufacturer. Each model will specify a charge rate for rated life (typically 500 cycles at a certain capacity loss) and a maximum safe charge rate (which could reduce capacity quicker). Typically 1A is good for all 18650 and your not in a rush.

There was a list of 18650 cells with recommended charge rates, but I cant find it.

Try this link.

https://goo.gl/images/B58TBW

What very helpful post thank you.

I just bought this charger for $15.99 on Amazon? $9 promo with $5 coupon!

I have an Opus arriving too but I couldn't resist this deal after reading this and other great reviews! I actually need to replace an Xtar VC2 that is 50% malfunctioning.