Hi, the VC4L can also charge with C to C cable, pls check the pic below.
Both USB-A to USB-C and USB-C to USB-C cables are fine. May I know what kind of cable you use?
I bought one of these because I like the VC4. I’m charging some protected 21700 cells now. I like the new usbc plug too I wont have to worry about bringing an extra cable with me when I travel.
Ok so I’ve tried various usb c to c cables I’ve got.
Didn’t work with any 100w rated cables I own, Anker, choetech and Spigen. I can link the exact cables if needed when I’m on the computer.
It works with the 60w rated cables I have, various ones from ugreen, Anker, choetech, spigen. The only 60w cable it didn’t work with was a usb IF certified cable from choetech
So it does work with some cables but can’t seem to negotiate with a 100w rated cable so at the very least it would seem like the port hasn’t been implemented completely as it should still charge.
Compatibility with protected 21700 looks nice, but with a max. charging current of only 1 A, it would take something like 6 hours to charge a fully depleted 5 Ah cell.
Nowadays, I consider 1 A unnecessarily slow even for most 18650 cells, and 2 A is the lowest charging current for 21700 in order to keep times on the charger reasonable.
Using the capabilities of QC and PD over USB-C, it would have been possible to design it with at least two slots capable of charging at 2A.
My guess is that having QC may make the charger more expensive?
The Xtar SC2 does use QuickCharge to allow 2 slots to charge at 2 Amps per slot.
while the Xtar ST2 requires USB-PD which allows 2 slots to charge at up to 4 Amps per slot.
I suppose the FC2 is supposed to be a more all-around entry-level but still versatile enough to handle both NiMh & Li-Ion battery types and also different charge currents.
I’m sorry I’m not a battery charger engineer & I can think of many shortfalls or reasons I wouldn’t buy this charger. It’s spec level is of past decades. 4x slots with 0.5A/0.5A/1A/1A is just way too weak and slow for the high capacity cells made currently today. It should be up to 3A per slot. If I wanted to charge several 21700 5000mAh cells on that charger I’d be better off using my flashlights on board charging that will charge @1.5A give or take. A good charger today should detect li-ion/NiMH/NiCd cells have selective/auto charging current, do cell sizes from 16340-32650 have an output QC3.0 & PD18w ports. Accept PD18w input. And have all the other features of a modern charger. With all the cell sizes and how far quick charge has come in the computer world offering 5V/0.5A charge rate is like going back 20 years. The only people who would buy it are the uninformed. I’m sorry but a charger with specs like this VC4L would be so frustrating to use compared to other modern offerings. You should consult the forum, many know much more than I but we could make a list of ‘must have’ features and other ‘possible’ features and you could easy have the best charger on the market. Many cell chargers sold today are not using current tech so it’s not just you guys. Get it right and you would sell them faster than you could stock them.
Apparently, the VC4L was designed to be a minor upgrade of a product from several years ago. They increased the slot size and added a more universal input connector, that’s it. It is obvious that it was designed to be a budget offering. IMO, it may appeal to some people on a tight budget, that do not mind very long charging times, or people that use smaller/lower capacity cells. I, personally wouldn’t use a charger with less than 2 A/slot capabilities nowadays, but I only use 5 Ah 21700 and 3Ah 18650 cells. For someone who uses cells with rated capacities up to 2-2.5 Ah, and doesn’t need to charge more than two at the time, it could be an option.
But I’ll have to agree, with its limited charging current capabilities, it is not the most useful 21700 charger out there.
(I believe Xtar upgraded the slot length of their X2 & X4 models and called them “X2 Extended” and “X4 Extended” versions.
Also, adding a manual charge current selection (like they did for the Xtar VC8) to the VC4S would also be nice… (VC2S and VC4S seems to auto-charge at higher current for low-resistance small capacity batteries, which isn’t good for the smaller batteries; a manual override charge current might help for users who’re more particular with this issue)