The making of the BLF UC4 charger: the start of a new venture, INTEREST LIST, UPDATE 7 (Well, ramping stopped :/ )

I think it needs to stay exclusive to us in this forum & chargerholics because if it’s to become available to joe public (muggles) they will slap to many safety features on it to try and stop muggles killing himself or set fire to his house ,eg don’t tolerate the charger to terminate early on the er of safety etc ,we are responsible adults & we know the risks & monitor things.
Edit ,no that’s a stupid idea because the manufacture will want to make & sell as many as they can ,& we’ll have to put up with the changes they make to it.

I predict 5k+ pages of future posts. Call me in two years when this is ready. In for two.

Ok, here are the basic features of the chargers that I want:

1. Adjustable charging current (0,1A-3,0A) in 0,1A steps.

2. Support for multiple chemistries (NiMH, lithium-ion, lithium ion HV, LiFePO4).

3. Temperature monitoring (45C max below 2A, 60C max below 3A).

4. 4 cell channels, with support for AAA sized cells all the way to the largest 21700/26650/D cells up to 78mm length.

6. Full current cutoff according to charging current (10%).

7. 12V-20V compatibility.

8. Nickel coated phosphor bronze/brass rails for highest conductivity and accurate internal resistance measurement. Or just well plated nickel plated A3 steel if everything goes wrong.

9. Internal resistance measurement.

10. Low voltage recovery
Below 2,5V, charge at 150mA.
Below 2,0V, charge at 100mA.
Below 1,0V, charge at 25mA.

11. Adjustable max voltage for lithium ion charging: 3,90V-4,20V in 0,1V steps.

12. Storage charge mode: 3,6V. Lower would be better, but it is too low otherwise for most people.

13. Individual channel selection.

17. Automatic charging current adjustment available.

Other features are nice, but not necessary.
If I can get them on this BLF charger, that would be dope.
These are the bare minimum requirements for me.

I’m in

Everything sounds so I would be in for at least 1.

Definitely interested

Thank all of you guys and gals for the support.

I’m going to use as much of my knowledge and experience in charging batteries and electronic experience to get BLF its own best, customized charger.

Way to go Blue, I admire the spirit! :slight_smile:

"The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain."

Captain of Engineering Montgomery Scott (Scotty), USS Excelsior, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Guess I'm an outlier here.

I'm a hands-on, button-pushin' guy. The more automation, the more things can go wrong. I'd prefer a minimum of automation, only what's necessary for safe operation. Otherwise, this looks like an outstanding device that could appeal to advanced muggles outside the flashlight community.

slmjim

I will buy one when available

Thanks Blue for your generous act.

I am exited by the ambitiousness of your mission statement, BlueSwordM, as well as your intitial list of features. It’s in the true spirit of BLF. Stick to your guns!

It’s confusing to me that some BLF’ers who agonize over every detail of flashlight hardware and firmware seem content with a simple Nitecore or LitoKala charger. If that suits your needs, hey, that’s great, but why would we want a BLF charger to emulate that? It would be like a BLF 2AA Maglite.

Yeah, I hear you. The SkyRC MC3000 did not not start out as a CPF project, but it kind of turned out that way. The thread has 5200 posts, of which 200 or so are by HKJ. And a lot of development work was put in by a member who shall go nameless. And the result is the benchmark for a universal analyzing charger for cylindrical cells, with enough of a market, apparently, to keep it in production.

I am definitely 1000% IN to purchase a BLF custom designed charger!

Simply awesome idea, thank you BlueSwordM . :+1:

Sign me up please i`ll be more than happy to purchase some.

I’ll keep my eye on this. I’m interested, although not convinced I NEED another charger… :stuck_out_tongue:

@azj, that’s why I’ll convince you.

@CLB, thanks for the support. I saw that thread at CPF. Not as long as the Q8 and FW3A threads, but still very long.

There’s actually another good reason for why I want to make this charger, and it is this website:

I’ve learned so much stuff over the years, did a paper on a specific lithium-ion cell subject(low-voltage recovery), and managed to meet amazing people.
It’s the reason I’m on BLF now.

So, to thank BLF and SecondLifeStorage, I want to make the charger to rule them all.

Great to see 10180 support.

Can it still have a “dark mode” with a color LCD screen?

Make it meet UL rather than Chinese flammability test.

china - Google Search%22Glowing%2Fhot-wire+based+test%22

The UL test using contact with an open flame
https://www.google.com/search?q=underwriters+lab+flammability+electronics+test&client=firefox-b-1-d&channel=tus&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjKiJa7oa7jAhVKj54KHeDRA2sQ_AUIEigD&biw=1267&bih=762
is more likely to reveal a problem than the glowing-hot-wire test, I’d think.

Yeah, that’s not enough.

We need to use graphite electrodes that can reach 2000C.

600-1000C is not enough.

Excellent Idea and I am totally interested.

Agree with your bare minimum requirements. Want to reiterate them and also have a few questions:

1. Adjustable charging current (0,1A-3,0A) in 0,1A steps. - Could this be done using Constant Current (without PWM on low end) from .1-3A? (Upgrade from OPUS)

2. Support for multiple chemistries. - Perfect

3. Temperature monitoring (45C max below 2A, 60C max below 3A). - Temp sensor to monitor cell temp (approximate) or internal board temps?

4. 4 cell channels - Perfect

5. Active cooling if temperature exceeds 45C, and if all channels are active above 2,5A. - Temp at cells or board location? If for cells, maybe active cooling can turn on lower, say 35C? Variable speed fan please, or connector for us to plug our own in.

8. Nickel coated phosphor bronze/brass rails. - Perfect

9. Internal resistance measurement. - Perfect

11. Adjustable max voltage for lithium ion charging: 3,90V-4,20V in 0,1V steps. - Perfect

12. Storage charge mode: 3,6V. - Could this also be adjustable (from say 3.2-3.7V) or would discharge mode have adjustable termination voltages?

15. 100-200-350-500mA-750mA discharging functionality. - Adjustable termination voltages possible? Say 2.X-3.7V?