Yup, I too noticed that in this case, the 17track was showing information before the postalninja I linked.
I can tell that it was accepted on the 23rd December, then it was dispatched internationally on the 24th. After that I only got some notice on January 11th, when it was received in Lisbon. 2 days later I got information about distribution and delivery.
This was the first time I received a package through this LT posting, but so far I received it. Maybe yours got āstuckā in the airport meanwhile?
I hope so. Otherwise, thereās a slight chance it was seized by German customs. Customs will not be able to charge me any import tax for it (value is below EUR 25.00) but still they are (over)cautious about lithium batteries from outside the EU. I do not want to imagine what will happen after July 2021 when European customs regulations will demand import tax as of EUR 0.01 total value. :person_facepalming:
I hope not. Mine normally come with a yellow sticker mentioning āGoods not fulfillingā¦ā (an EU regulation), but they arrive here.
Top values here is 20ā¬ (I guess), but I normally pay only when things come from the US or from China through DHL or similar carrying services.
Didnāt know that about the new regulations. I guess Iāll buy all I need before thatā¦or not :person_facepalming:
Obrigado MascaratumB. :-) I see these yellow stickers all the time and I wonder what the heck they complain about (manual in local language, CE sign, etc.). Never mind...
I guess you are right about the 20ā¬. I guess those 25ā¬ come from a minimum fee they need to charge you over here, so as long as it's below that number they will not charge anything.
"(...) The introduction of the import scheme goes hand in hand with the abolition of the current VAT exemption for goods in small consignment of a value of up to EUR 22. This is also in line with the commitment to apply the destination principle for VAT. (...)"
To not completely deviate this thread, Iād like to say that I left my T50 batteries charging over the night, 2 on the Astrolux BCs and 1 in the Vapcell Q1.
The Vapcell Q1 lighted green when the battery was at 4.14V. I left it a little more and it didnāt go upper than this.
The Astrolux lighted the 4 blues when the batteries were at 4.13V . Same thing as above!
The voltage was measured through a DMM.
I donāt have other 21700 charge to go upper than this, but being at 4.13/4.14V seems a good top using these chargers. :+1:
I wish my two T50 batteries were here already. Ordered November 21, shipped on November 25. Tracking has stopped in Amsterdam since mid of December. I know that batteries can take a bit longer due to customs procedures but more than one month is quite some time. :-(
Dennis, will there be any further update for the S4+ charger?
lower termination current (< 0.05A) in order to charge batteries to actual 4.20V (not 4.15-4.18V only)
off switch for the beep after charging is complete
wider slots to charge 4x 26650 batteries
Will you offer some (BLF) discount for the upcoming Chinese New Year sale? I am willing to spend some more bucks in your shop if the T50 becomes available again and if you were to offer a faster/more reliable shipping method to Germany. I have already contacted Vapcell's customer service but all I was told is to keep waiting and the window before I can raise a dispute was shifted by another 30 days.
Dennis - not sure if you've done so, but please send a pair of T50's to HKJ for testing when they arrive, if possible.
TimMc - your results may be a little better than mine, but there's always variances between lights and methods, etc. Also my 40T's are pretty lightly used, so the more heavier use, the lower a cell performs. I think I've seen the T50 do better than the 40T in some of my tests.
Sincerely apologize for keeping you waiting for the battery for too long
The normal delivery time is 2-4 weeks
I hope you can receive the goods as soon as possible
S4 + version has been upgraded
The full charge voltage is close to 4.20V, and if the low current charge is 250mA and 500mA, the cut-off current is changed from 100mA to 50mA
The market share of 26650 will gradually decrease, the share of 21700 batteries will gradually increase, and S4 + shell mold should not change. If the volume is too large and the weight is too large, the freight will be increased
The ring after charging is not expected to be cancelled. This is the first suggestion to be cancelled. Many users like this ring
BLF members have discounts when contacting customer service. The more styles they buy, the more discounts they get
If you want more discount activities, please contact customer service
Thanks a lot for your reply, Dennis. Coincidentally, the goods showed up in Frankfurt yesterday, so they should eventually arrive anytime soon. I could have walked the way from Frankfurt to Amsterdam back and forth and would have been 2x faster than this. :-D Anyway, not Vapcell's fault but maybe worth to note that some parcels can take an eternity to be processed.
Concerning the S4+ charger:
Good to see the termination current is down to 50mA. That should be in line with Miboxer's famous C4-12 charger. I agree with you that 26650 cells will slowly disappear from the market. Still, many of us here have/buy new flashlights with 26650 battery tubes and would really appreciate to have a four-bay capability for these big ones. Moreover, I always struggle to fiddling out batteries from those charging bays if they are too close to each other. Having more space between the bays will give you more convenience to put batteries in or out. Actually, I am surprised that I am the first to ask you for an option to turn off the alarm when charging is complete. I am quite sure you would give a lot of customers more peace of mind if they were able to turn off this sound.
Maybe Vapcell can offer an 8-bay charger based upon the upgraded S4+ charger. Four of these bays could then be used for 26650 batteries. I am pretty sure that there is demand for an "S8+" charger as we get so see some flashlights that need 8 cells (Lumintop GT series for example).
Having the ring/beep/buzzer tone in automatic mode only but not in manual mode is not really what I was hoping for. In most typical charging scenarios the user just want batteries topped up to 100% again, regardless of automatic or manual mode. The problem I see here is the noise that drives many men's wives into madness because they were just watching their favorite TV series or they were taking a nap on the couch*. Guess the look of their faces when the beep comes up again. ;-)
So, a cheap straighforward-solution would be a (hidden) press-button-combination to turn the ring tone on and off. More sophisticated would be to see in the display if it's switched on or off (bell symbol?). I don't know, I just want to state some recommendations how to make a good charger a great charger.
* I did not mean to offend anyone or anyone's wife here. It's just a metaphorical illustration how things can be in people's living rooms. :-P