The LiiTokala Lii-500 charger was released a couple of years ago, and there are already several reviews of it. So, why do we need yet another review? Because Banggood was nice enough to send me one to give it a review.
Okay, I also include both written and video reviews, and I will use it to analyse the discharge capacity of some popular cells (lithium-ion and NiMH), and determine how they degrade with age and use.
The LiiTokala Lii-500 is a 4-slot charger that accepts both lithium-ion cells as well as NiMH cells. It accepts a broad range of cell sizes, from AAA batteries up to 26650 batteries. It will also analyze cell capacity, using both charge capacity and discharge capacity. Finally, it can also function as a stand-alone USB power bank, with cells installed in it.
This is a video review of the charger I put up on Youtube:
The charger and specs can be found here:
You can use the discount code “05083e” to buy the charger for $22 from Banggood. Or, sometimes it is on sale.
The Lii-500 was provided by Banggood for review purposes. I receive no other form of compensation.
Overview:
The LiiTokala Lii-500 is an ideal charger for most charging and analyzing needs of all your usual cells, both lithium-ion and NiMH. The main thing I like about it is its simplicity. The default settings of the charger whenever you power it on or insert a cell, are ideal for almost all your charging needs.
Standard charge rates for all 4 slots is 500mA, for all lengths and chemistries. Lithium-ion cells will charge to 4.2v, and NiMH cells will charge until they are detected as full (usually around 1.5v). When you power it on, if there are cells in it, that is the charge they will get. If you insert a cell into an empty slot while the unit is on, it will get a default charge of 500mA.
You may also very easily change the charge rate after inserting a cell or powering on the unit. Charge rates can be 300mA, 500mA, 700mA, and 1000mA. A simple press of the “Current” button changes the charge rate.
One thing I really appreciate is that this charger will fully charge very old worn-out NiMH cells, that most other chargers refuse to charge. Select the lowest charge rate for very old cells (300mA).
Analyzing:
In addition to charging, there are also two different kinds of analyzing functions on the LiiTokala Lii-500. These are selected using the “Mode” button, after power-on or inserting a cell.
The “NOR” analyzing function (which stands for Normal), does a discharge test to report the amount of mAh of capacity for a cell. There are 4 phases to this:
1. Charge the cell to full.
2. Discharge the cell to 2.8v (lithium-ion) or 0.9v (NiMH).
3. Display the amount of discharge capacity (this remains until you remove the cell).
4. Charge the cell back up to full (or you can remove the cell before this completes).
The NOR function is the most useful analyzing tool, since it reports the discharge capacity which is really what you want.
There are two discharge rates you can select: 500mA and 250mA. These are implicitly determined by whatever “Current” rate you use. A current of 300mA or 500mA will result in a discharge rate of 250mA. A current of 700mA or 1000mA will result in a discharge rate of 500mA. This is not obvious, but I suspect they do this to prevent higher discharge rates. If you were testing 4 cells, it might cause the unit to get too hot. All that discharge energy has to go somewhere.
The “FAST” charge will give you the amount of mAh put into a cell during a full charge. There are 3 phases:
1. Discharge the cell to 2.8v (lithium-ion) or 0.9v (NiMH).
2. Charge the cell back up to full.
3. Display the amount of capacity used to charge the cell.
This can give you a rough estimate of the cell’s capacity, especially with lithium-ion cells (because charging is very efficient). But it is not as accurate as a “Normal” test, especially with NiMH cells because charging NiMH is not as efficient. I would suggest not to bother with “Fast” testing, and instead do a proper test with the “Normal” function.
Interface:
Each of the 4 slots on the LiiTokala Lii-500 operates independently, so you can perform different tasks (charging or analyzing) and different rates of charge for each of the slots. You can also mix different lithium-ion cells and NiMH cells together.
There are 6 buttons used to operate the unit. 4 of the buttons are used to select each slot, and they are laid out nicely under each slot. Pressing one of those buttons will display all the information about that slot. Unfortunately, there is not a way to display information about all 4 slots simultaneously.
The other 2 buttons are a Mode button and a Current button.
Pressing the Mode button cycles through the different functions: Charge, “FAST” Analyzing, and “NOR” analyzing.
Pressing the Current button selects 300mA, 500mA, 700mA, or 1000mA charge rates.
The type of cell (lithium-ion or NiMH) is determined automatically by the Lii-500. Note that only lithium-ion cells meant to charge to 4.2v should be used in this device (which is the vast majority of cells). LiFePO4 cells should not be used.
After inserting a cell, the slot will default to a Charge function with a current of 500mA. You can change this within about 10 seconds by pressing the Mode and/or Current buttons. You can also change it at any time by pressing and holding the Mode button for 2 seconds.
Note that if you load in multiple cells before you turn on the unit, if you change the default function or current, it will affect all 4 slots. This is a nice time-saver if you’re dealing with several cells at once and don’t want to use the defaults.
Display:
The LiiTokala Lii-500 has a display panel that displays information about each slot.
Press a slot button (1, 2, 3, or 4) to display information about that slot.
Displayed, is the function going on (Charge, NOR, or FAST), as well as whether it is finished or not. Also displayed is the capacity in mAh. For charging, this is the amount of capacity put into the cell. For analyzing, this is the result of the analyzing function.
Other useful information is the amount of time that slot has been charging (or discharging), and the current being used for charging.
Finally, there is also an internal resistance of the cell displayed. As with almost all chargers, it’s not very accurate, but it can give you a reasonable idea of whether the cell has low or high internal resistance, and thus the health of the cell. I find it works best with lithium-ion cells. With NiMH, it appears to max out at 52mR for some reason.
Power bank:
The LiiTokala Lii-500 can also be used as a USB power bank, if you need to charge your USB devices and don’t have access to regular power. It will charge USB devices (such as a smart phone) at a rate of 1 amp. It must have lithium-ion cells loaded into its slots (use 2 or more for best results). Unfortunately, NiMH cells can not be used as a power bank energy source.
Using it as a power bank is very simple. Unplug the unit from the wall, load in some lithium-ion cells, and plug your USB cable into the back of the unit.
It’s not the most elegant-looking power bank, but it’s good to know you have the option to use your lithium-ion cells for this purpose if needed.
Error handling:
The LiiTokala Lii-500 charger handles several kind of errors, usually displaying “Null” on the screen if a problem is detected.
Most importantly, it detects whether you insert a cell the proper way around. This is called reverse-polarity protection. This is a very important function that most good chargers have, since it is rather easy to accidentally insert a flat-top lithium-ion cell the wrong way.
Other protection features are: overcharge and over discharge, short circuit, temperature, zero volt activation function, and recognition of a bad battery.
Contents:
The LiiTokala Lii-500 comes with:
- The Battery Charger
- A plug/adapter, with either a US plug or European plug
- A plug for a 12v car socket
- Manual
Specifications:
Construction: Plastic
Size: 16cm x 9.5cm x 3.5cm
Weight: 209g
Input: 2A 12v power, using either the wall adapter or car plug.
Output: standard USB, 5V 1A
Charge rate: up to 1A, 4 cells.
Protection: see above
Heat: The unit does get warm when charging 4 cells at 1 amp, otherwise it remains fairly cool.
My impressions:
Pros:
- Easy to use, good all-purpose charger.
- Fully-independent slots.
- Good default rates, applicable to all cells.
- Good termination for full charge of 18650 cells and NiMH.
- Power bank is a nice additional feature.
Cons:
- Due to its small size, it will get warm when charging 4 cells at the maximum rate.
Summary:
This is a nice general-purpose charger that is simple to use. Since it charges both lithium-ion and NiMH cells, it really is the only charger you’ll likely need. Being able to do discharge analyzing of your cells is a great way to check whether your old cells are performing as expected. While a 1 amp charge is not considered “fast”, it will charge most cells in about 3 hours, and not put any stress on them due to a high charge rate. Normally, I use use 500mA, because I’m not in a hurry and it’s applicable for all kind of cells.
That’s all for now. Thank you for reading.