Charger for 10440 battery

Just got some 10440 batteries. Now I need a charger. The one I have only does .5 amp. Need a recommendation for a relatively cheap charger to do the job. Thanks in advance.

Opus BT 3100/3400, or an Xtar XP1 Hummingbird.

Chris

Thanks. The xtar looks good and is in the right price range.

It won’t do anything bigger than an AA/14500 and while out of production, it’s inexpensive and it’ll do 250mA/500mA.

I have four of them and use them often, since I’m a 16340 lipstick light kind of guy.

Chris

If I were in your shoes, I would probably invest a few more bucks in order to get an all-around charger - one that's not tied to a specific cell size and/or chemistry.
You're in BLF after all. Getting your hands on other battery sizes and chemistries is just a matter of time

200mA-250mA is pretty benign.

Most are labeled 300-350mAh.

Chris

Already have some 18650 and 26650 with a charger for them, albeit a single cell charger, but it works fine - just doesn’t do .25A.


The little xtar sounds like it will do fine I think.

Most low discharge cells are rated to charge at 0.5C-1C. High discharge cells can do 1C or more.
Most 10440 cells are quite bad in terms of capacity and internal resistance as compared to larger cells, so I would be quite careful with them.
So I would recommend no more than 150 mA for 10440 unless you know it can be charged faster.

How do I know? This cell came with my ReyLight purchase and the only information I have on the cell is the label — Li-10440 320mAH 3.7V

What charger will do the rate you suggest?

0.5C. 160 mA.
Or less if you want to reduce battery wear.

If you can’t find a slow enough charger, you may try more, up to 320 mA on the first try. But be careful to monitor cell temperature during the charge. If it stays mildly warm, that’s OK. If it gets hot, that’s not OK. Do note that even if it gets hot but not very much, it doesn’t mean it’s OK. The cell will wear over its lifetime and its internal resistance will increase. And so - charging temperature will increase as well.

Finding a charger bellow 250mAh charge rate ?
If it’s a smart ( true smart ) charger , it wont hit 250mAh if the internal resistance is high ( one hopes )

those 10440 are very ?? , and ideally you would want to charge them @ 100mAh .

These days I slow charge my batteries .

The heat test !

Hard used batteries get warm / hot . Heat is a sign of stress ! The hotter the battery / the more stress it suffered .
If you batteries come off warm / hot off the charger , then they were stressed again .

This is why I slow charge my batteries , I don’t want to stress them while they are charging .
Need a freshly charge battery ? Buy some more ! That way you can slow charge them and have them last longer and be safer .
How long can a 18650 last - I have some that are over a decade old now .
I should probably recycle my battery collection and just buy some new ones . Actually I might just do that 2021 .
I have some chargers on the way for review , so I need some 18650 to charge … But after that .

I have a charger CRX custom built… it’s little more than a micro-USB charging circuit configured for very low current. He included it with a light that used 10250 cells, and while the leads are short, I extend them to charge my 10440s. Alternately, I can pop them in my DQG Hobi+ with extension tube to charge a 10440.

So the cheapest option for very low charge rates might be a properly configured small micro-USB charge circuit board!