Chargers and who's who @2020

Batteries and Chargers Chargers
9

That’s probably true… but I still see some formerly “Miboxer” chargers being sold online, like in Banggood, and also a few other online sources…

Provided the charger works as intended and doesn’t malfunction prematurely (and not really mind about possible warranty issues — since it seems the “Miboxer” is not around anymore, I feel that they’re still good to use).

I suppose if longer warranty is important, then may have to cross out Miboxer chargers… (I got Miboxer charger from BG before and they did address issues that I encountered with the charger, if problems occured within a few days after receiving and using the charger)…

10

If you find the need for a smaller, 2-slot charger, I got a Littokala Lii-S2 for $13.50 a while back and honestly it charges my Li-ion cells better than my “new version” i4 Intellicharger or my DLYFULL T5 Test Charger.

The Lii-S2 holds my unprotected 21700s just fine, and has user-selectable charge current, and will charge NiMH, Ni-Cd and even LiFePO4 with user selection of voltage. Charging isn’t the fastest, but it will do a single cell at 2 amp.

I just wish it was USB-C input instead of Micro.

My cells often come off the other chargers at 4.15 to 4.17 V, but the Liitokala seems get them to 4.18 to 4.20 much more reliably.

Really glad I got it and more packable than the bigger chargers.

Oh, and I like the “retro-green” LED display.

11

Aha. I was picturing someone intentionally setting them in snow… “That should keep those batteries cool!”, etc.

Whew!

12

Lightbringer, what do you make of Xtars VP series chargers?

13

Me? No idea. Ain’t got any yet.

I’m already hip-deep in my Opi, almighty Miboxers, Zanflares, Nitecores, from back when I was trying to find The Charger™, and GB and others were having hella good discounts like every week.

I just popped in here to see if there was any blazing new tek that might be of interest.

14

Don’t need snow to keep them cool, was 9 Degrees Fahrenheit last night. :smiley:

15

Is there anything "better" than Vapcell's S4+ charger right now? The only device that matches or even surpasses the S4+ charger in terms of reasonable features is the SkyRC MC3000. Unfortunately, it barely accepts unprotected 21700 batteries that have to be squeezed into the slots. So far, SkyRC does not seem to be interested in upgrading this model or in launching a successor.

Then there's the Miboxer C4-12 which has less features than Vapcell's S4+ but offers perfect voltage termination at 4.19V - 4.21V. I cannot tell at what voltage the S4+ settles batteries yet but I hope it's closer to 4.20V than most of my other devices that leave batteries finished with a resting voltage of 4.12V - 4.17V. Too sad that Miboxer has stopped selling chargers.

Then there's the BLF charger project by BlueSwordM. As much as I am looking forward to seeing this charger come to life, I doubt it is going to happen anytime soon.

16

I’m in the market for a new 4 bay charger too. Protected 21700 capability is a must.
So far, it looks like nothing fits the bill as well as the Vapecell S4+.
What about Nitecore’s offerings?

17

Better? Well that depends on what you are looking for I like the 3A charging for all channels and the over all performance so far.

I am only a single source on the internets so research out a bit more. I am biased to my own choices, and I am not you.

I am still looking at getting a second charger 4 possibly a 8 channel charger It just kinda depends on my mood.

18

This kind of sucks because there are VERY few chargers that can do what the C4-12 can do.

3Ax4 slots with 4x26650 and 21700 support. I also like having all of the different current options it has.

Heck I’m looking for a backup with those features and would be happy to find a decent one that does 2A on all slots for around the same price.

VC8 seems Ok, but needs an additional QC PS. Also HKJ gave it a meh rating.
Vapcell S4 also had some issues in his testing as well, but was somewhat solid.

Maybe multiple Xtar SV2s, but then I’d have to deal with multiple wall warts and tight fitting 21700s

19

Someone else mentioned that Miboxer is still alive, check this website
http://miboxercharger.com/

However, we're unsure if "Miboxer charger" is still affiliated with "Miboxer" (a different division? or a separate company now?)

chargers that can do 4x3A charging (that I know of, there are likely others that I'm not familiar with):

a) Miboxer C4-12 v1 (single-button) = supports 4x 26650 & 4x 21700 (but may not fit longer protected 21700)

b) Miboxer C4-12 v2 (two-buttons) = supports 4x 26650 & 4x protected 21700

c) SkyRC MC3000 = supports 4x26650 and 4x unprotected 21700 (unprotected 21700 are a "tight fit" for the MC3000 though ; won't fit protected 21700)

d) Vapcell S4 Plus = supports 2x26650+2x21700 or 4x protected 21700 (the 2 inner slots won't fit 26650 when the 2 outer slots are occupied with 26650 batteries)

e) Liitokala Lii-600 = supports 4x 26650 and 4x unprotected 21700 (won't fit protected 21700)

20

Thank you for the guidance! I must have missed some of that information above.

21

I couldn't agree more with you. I do have a couple of chargers here, among them the C4-12 V1, C4 V3, C2-4000, SkyRC MC3000 and Vapcell's S4 Plus. They all have their pros and cons. Maybe I can find the time to discuss some ideas with Vapcell in order to see an improved and enhanced S4 Plus model in the future. For instance, I miss the storage or LiFePO4 charging function to level my batteries at 3.6 - 3.7V.

22

I didn’t even know this was a thing until I stumbled across someone on reddit who mentioned it. I’ve been just watching the charger and charging at low current to do storage. This makes it SO much easier.

23

That’s just depressing. I really liked the C8 and would have loved to see an updated version that had a higher total power rating.

24

I noticed in a few of the reviews (HKJ’s review thread), the Vapcell S4+ is a little bit buggy? Has there been any firmware improvements since? I’m torn between the Lii602, the Dragon VP4, and the Vapcell S4+

25

Vapcell S4+ has (from what I know), the earlier version and later version with some fixes. But it seems (based on reports), that they may have some issues, more specifically regarding the charging portion when doing a capacity test of NiMh batteries. But for other basic functions (eg. regular charging, capacity test for Li-Ion batteries), the (old & new) Vapcell S4+ seems good.

Liitokala Lii-600 still need more in-depth test review by people who can do in-depth testing (like HKJ)… I’ve tried out the Lii-600 and it appears to work good (it doesn’t seem to “overcharge” (not that much) unlike the Lii-500S where reports are that the Lii-500S tends to charge to 4.23-4.25v. On the Lii-600 I tested, it appears to just charge to 4.20-4.22v which is a very good result, but then that’s only 1 sample…) I haven’t tested much charging / doing capacity test with the Lii-600 so I can’t comment too much with this unit yet.

Xtar Dragon VP4 is an older model but charges very well, both Li-Ion & NiMh batteries. It doesn’t have as much informative display (I usually like to see voltage instead of percentage charged) and is a reliable charger. It’s also a bit more expensive.

I probably would pick the Vapcell S4+ given the 3 choices you mentioned… if you charge/test mostly Li-Ion batteries.
If you have more bigger batteries and “D” size NiMh, then the Xtar Dragon VP4 is the only charger that can fit 4x “D”-size NiMh at the same time (it’s the widest charger I’ve encountered in terms of individual width per slot…) Charging current is not too high (compared to the other chargers), but should be good enough unless often need to charge higher-capacity cells (eg. 21700/26650) more quickly…

Just my opinion though…

26

Thanks, I’m awaiting more reviews of the liitokala. I do a mix of nimh aa/aaa and li ions. Lots of almost perfect options…(example: xtar vc4s would be great, except it occasionally charges aaas at 2 amps)

27

Might be worth a shot to snag a 2 button version Miiboxer C4-12 while they’re still around. HKJ rated it quite well and it does multi chemistry well too. Only thing I don’t like or use on mine is the auto current selection which can easily be overridden. It also uses a 12v 5a laptop style power supply.

28


I'm not sure if HKJ reviewed the 2-button version Miboxer C4-12.. He did review the original 1-button Miboxer C4-12 that had a USB-out function.

The 2-button version Miboxer C4-12 actually has some revision in the later batch too.

Some noted difference of the earlier Miboxer C4-12 (2-button) v2 with a recent Miboxer C4-12 (2-button) v2.2 ("v2.2" is indicated in the manual only, not on the charger):
(the v2 and v2.2, both 2-button versions of C4-12s look physically the same)

I) Miboxer C4-12 v2 (2-button):

a) has A for automatic charge current selection, when cycling the charge current (ie. user-selectable charge current can cycle from 0.1A up to 3.0A, then the "A" (automatic setting) then back to 0.1A

b) automatic charge current selection appears to be solely based on the measured IR by the charger, so if it's a small capacity battery that has a very low IR, then it will automatically charge at higher charge current (as high as 3A if the measured IR is low enough) (user can manually select charge current, or go back to the "A" automatic setting)

c) the charger will display IR measurement even when the battery is at 4.20v


II) Miboxer C4-12 v2.2 (2-button):

a) when battery is first inserted, it uses Automatic charge current selection (appears to be based on the measured IR), but when user-selecting the charge current, it cycles from 0.1A to 3A, but not the "A" (automatic) setting

b) the automatic charge current appears to still be based on the measured IR, but now there is an upper limit of 2A (i;e. when the IR is very low, it will charge at max 2A automatically; user can still manually select own charge current)

c) the charger does not display IR value anymore when the just-inserted battery is nearly full voltage (ie. if the battery just inserted into the charger is at 4.16v or higher, then the IR display will just indicate "---", in contrast with v2, it will still show an IR value)